I still remember this incident. On a sweltering day, I was kneeling on the ground, crying so hard I could hardly breathe. My mother came over, hugged me, and secretly gave me a piece of cornbread. It was the most delicious cornbread I had ever eaten.

As Old Mrs. Shen recalled the events of the past, tears welled up in her eyes: "They all say that I was not good to you. No matter how bad I was, I still raised you. Did you grow up out of thin air? I even helped you get married and have children, and this is how you ended up."

Actually, thinking back, she wasn't that biased at first. They were all her children, and she loved them all equally. But as time went by, her eldest son became sweet-talking and knew how to coax her, making her happy every day. Her youngest son, on the other hand, was too young and needed to rely on her. People only have so much energy, and her clumsy and awkward second son gradually became disliked by her.

Seeing Old Mrs. Shen crying her heart out, Lin Jianguo felt bad too. Niu Shi seized the opportunity and said, "Second son, you have no idea how much I regretted it after you left. I didn't sleep well all night, just worried that you would go hungry."

That's too unrealistic. After all, the image of Old Mrs. Shen as someone who couldn't wait to kick them out and hoped they would die as soon as they stepped outside is still deeply etched in everyone's minds.

However, Lin Jianguo had already been swayed by Old Lady Shen's words and had forgotten all the bad things she had done to their family, including all the insults she had hurled at them.

All I could think about was my childhood. My mother hadn't treated me badly. It was true that we lacked food and clothing, but who doesn't go through that? There's nothing to complain about when a family is poor. I'm not good at sweet-talking people, and it's not a bad thing that my mother favored my older brother and younger brother a bit more.

Seeing that Grandma Shen was crying so hard she was about to faint, he quickly patted her back and whispered, "Mother, don't be sad, it's all my fault."

“You’re not wrong, it’s all your mother’s fault. The family is so poor, we can’t even afford to eat, and we still have to raise so many children. Someone has to do the work. Your older brother is in poor health, and your younger brother is still young. If you don’t do it, who else can we let do it? Are we all supposed to starve to death?”

Lin Jianguo didn't have time to think about why he had to do everything because there were so many children. If Er Ya were here, he could argue with her, but right now Lin Jianguo was filled with guilt towards his mother and couldn't think about anything else: "Mom, I know everything. Don't worry, your son is doing well now and will take good care of you and Dad in the future."

“Sigh, after you left, your father and I have been relying on your older brother. But look at your older brother’s family, there’s nothing decent there. They’re also heavily in debt. If things continue like this, we’re still young and can do some work, but what will we do when your father and I can’t work anymore?”

Niu Shi, standing beside her, also cried and said, "Mother, don't worry, Jianqun and I will make sure you two are well-fed even if we don't eat or drink ourselves."

Lin Jianguo felt even more guilty. His parents had raised him for so long, how could they be left without anyone to rely on in their old age? He patted his chest and said, "Mom, don't worry, your son won't let you suffer. I'll take care of you when the time comes."

Grandma Shen said slowly, "We can still work now, and if we work hard, we won't go hungry. It would be great if there was any way to help your older brother. If your older brother's family has money, then your parents will have someone to rely on in the future."

Lin Jianguo was also troubled: "What good ideas are there? Maybe I should send my older brother to work; he can earn some money that way."

“That won’t do…” Niu hurriedly refused. When she saw Lin Jianguo looking at her, she quickly stammered, “Your older brother is not in good health. Didn’t Mother just say that if he gets sick from working outside, what will happen? Then Jinbao and I will have no one to rely on.”

She couldn't let her husband go out to work; he wouldn't earn much money even if he worked himself to the bone, and if anything happened to her, he wouldn't be able to help her.

"Then I don't have any good ideas either."

Seeing that Lin Jianguo wasn't falling for her tricks, Niu pretended to wipe away her tears and said, "Our family is short of money right now. If we had money, we could catch a couple of piglets and raise them until the New Year to exchange for some money."

Grandma Shen held Lin Jianguo's hand and said, "Second son, now that you have something, you have to help your eldest brother. People in the village are laughing at him. You are all willing to help Li Taohua, who has nothing to do with you, but you are not willing to help him. And Er Ya's maternal grandmother's family, I heard that you taught them."

“That’s different. It was Er Ya who suggested teaching Tao Hua. Her family is struggling financially, and learning this skill could help them earn some money. Er Ya’s maternal grandmother’s family runs their own business; Er Ya just came up with an idea.”

Mrs. Niu immediately exploded: "Does her family have a hard time, but our family doesn't? You're stupid, letting your wife help her family. You're not acting like a man."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jianguo's face turned cold.

Seeing the change in Lin Jianguo's expression, Old Madam Shen glared at Madam Niu and comforted Lin Jianguo: "I'm not asking you to do anything, just give your older brother some ideas so that he can at least support this family."

This matter concerns the family business, and Lin Jianguo is also in a dilemma. He can't make decisions about family matters, and besides, Er Ya has always been unwilling to associate with the old house, so how could she be willing to give them advice on doing business?

Seeing Lin Jianguo remain silent with his head down, Old Madam Shen grew anxious: "Second son, I'm begging you, please help your eldest brother. Do you want me to kneel down?"

Lin Jianguo panicked and waved his hands frantically, saying, "Mom, please don't do this. I really can't make decisions about things at home. It's all up to Er Ya and her mother. Please don't force me."

Seeing that Lin Jianguo was unmoved by reason, Old Lady Shen lost patience with him. This ungrateful wretch, all those tears she had shed were for nothing.

Wiping away her tears, she was about to urge Lin Jianguo to go back. Since she couldn't squeeze any money out of him, she should leave quickly so that her family wouldn't have to provide him with a meal.

Just as she was about to shoo her away, Da Ya deliberately knocked on the pigpen door to attract Grandma Shen's attention. Sure enough, Grandma Shen was about to scold her as usual, but Da Ya silently called out, "Grandma, don't get angry, bear with it for a while." She then pointed to the pigs in the pigpen and gestured for a long time before Grandma Shen finally understood.

That's right, this little girl is really clever. How could I forget? Since there's no hope for a big benefit, I don't dare to mess with that damned Er Ya. Last time she swindled a hundred yuan from them in one go. If she does it again, she and the old man will lose their life savings.

But having acted for so long, she felt she should at least reap some small benefits, considering how many tears she had shed. Thinking of this, she changed her expression, her face full of sorrow, and said:

To be continued!