061, classmates and friends

061, classmates and friends

"In that case, I'll leave first."

"Take care, big brother."

Seeing that his third brother and his wife had no intention of inviting him to stay for a meal, Boss Lu felt a little angry that his brothers were so stingy that they were reluctant to treat him, the eldest brother, to a meal. However, he was not in a position to ask his brothers for money, so after he finished speaking, he carried the basket and left.

Lu Youtian watched his brother leave, and he couldn't help but see the look he'd given them before he left, as he looked towards the stove where the meat was cooking. If it were him from the past, he would have invited his brother to eat at their stall, and then packed a jar of meat for him to take home for his mother, nephews, and nieces.

But having died once before, he had long since seen the true nature of these relatives. He still remembered the half-day they locked him in a room, waiting to die, and the dark days he spent lying in bed like a cripple, with only his wife and children to care for him. From then on, he told himself that he had no mother or brothers in this world; only his wife and children were the most important people in his life.

It’s not that he is stingy, but those people are not worth his efforts anymore.

Moreover, Lu Youtian himself knew clearly what kind of people his mother and these brothers and nephews were. If he dared to start this today, other people in the Lu family would dare to come to the city to ask him for things tomorrow. At first, they might just ask for a meal and a piece of meat to take home, but gradually they would ask him to borrow money.

They said they were borrowing, but in reality, they would never return it. They were just talking big. By then, their small fortune wouldn't be enough for the people from the Lu family's old house to borrow.

During these years of separation, they no longer had any contact with the people in the Lu family's old house. He felt much calmer and rarely thought about the people at home and the things in the past.

Moreover, after the division, they could use the money they earned to support their own children's education, which was definitely better than using their own money to support their nephew's education. A son is always his own child, while a nephew is always someone else's child. Even if his nephew passed the imperial examination and became an official, it would not have much to do with their third branch. If his own son could pass the examination, he, as a father, would be truly proud.

After understanding these principles, Lu Youtian was no longer willing to spend a penny on the Lu family's old house and his nephew. It would be better to spend the money on his own son.

After seeing the uncle leave, some of the diners eating at their stall looked over. When Liu Sanniang came over with a cloth to wipe the table, she casually talked to an old acquaintance about some of their family's past. When she talked about the sad part, she couldn't help but wipe her tears with her sleeve and said, "If my man hadn't died young, the grass on his grave would be three feet high by now."

"It's really not right for family members to do things like this." The diners sitting at the stall disagreed when they heard this.

Those diners who had thought Lin Sanniang and her husband were stingy, running a braised food stall but not even offering a bowl of hot soup to their uncle, no longer had such thoughts. If they had encountered such family members and brothers, they would have long since cut off contact and treated each other as strangers. No one would be as easygoing as the man from Liu Sanniang's family, who even agreed to go back for his eldest nephew's wedding. Whoever wanted to go could go, but if they were in their place, they definitely wouldn't go back.

At this moment, someone couldn't help but ask Liu Sanniang, "Now they're calling you back to attend your nephew's wedding, are you going to go back?"

"If I go back, you guys won't be able to come to my place to eat braised pork rice." Liu Sanniang said with a smile.

"Haha, yes, yes, I think you guys shouldn't go back. I just want this bowl of braised pork rice from your restaurant. If you don't open the stall, I won't have anything to eat." A diner who has been coming here to eat braised pork rice recently followed up.

There were three or four other diners at the table, and they all told Liu Sanniang to let her husband go home and stay in the city to run a stall and do business, so that they wouldn't have to go out to eat.

Hearing his wife and the guests talk about the family's past, and facing the sympathetic gazes of others, Lu Youtian felt extremely calm. He didn't think that family disgrace should not be made public. Since those people in his family dared to do such a thing, they must not be afraid of outsiders knowing.

Rather than letting others misunderstand them as heartless and ungrateful, it would be better to let these diners know the reason, so as to avoid affecting their perception of them and thus affecting their family's business. For them now, business, making money, and raising their two children are the most important things. Nothing else matters.

***

In winter, the sun sets early and the sky gets dark quickly, so school ends earlier than in summer.

After Mr. Today finished his lecture that day, he also assigned them homework.

After the teacher left, Lu Mingfei stuffed his books and pens into his schoolbag and walked out. As he was about to leave the school, someone caught up with him, put a hand on his shoulder, and asked him, "Mingfei, why are you walking so fast? I was chasing you from behind and I almost couldn't catch up with you."

"Sorry, I was in a hurry just now and didn't hear you calling me from behind." Lu Mingfei turned his head to look at the young man who put his hand on his shoulder and said a little embarrassedly.

The boy with his hand on his shoulder was named Ye Zhuoran. He was fourteen years old, a year older than him and half a head taller. He was a fair-skinned man with a handsome face and a cheerful and outgoing personality. He was a very easygoing friend.

Behind Ye Zhuoran followed a young man with broad shoulders, narrow waist and long legs. His surname was Zhang and his name was Lingxuan.

Zhang Lingxuan is fifteen years old this year, one or two years older than the other two of them. He is the tallest among the three of them and is also a very handsome young man.

After Lu Mingfei was promoted to Class A, he first became acquainted with Ye Zhuoran. After becoming friends with him, he later met Zhang Lingxuan through Ye Zhuoran. It was from Ye Zhuoran that he learned that Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan had grown up together, which is why they were so close. He joined the group later, and the three of them became good friends.

The Ye family and the Zhang family also live nearby, so they chose the private school where they are currently studying and sent their children to study with their teacher.

The private school they were attending had over 20 students in both classes combined. Class B had slightly more students, while Class A only had nine. Last year, there were 12 students, but this year, three of them either transferred to another school or stopped attending.

Lu Mingfei was not very clear about these things, nor did he care much about them.

As they walked out, Ye Zhuoran put his hand on Lu Mingfei's shoulder and asked this classmate who always walked very fast after school, "Why are you in such a hurry to go home every day?"

"Go home and eat. Aren't you hungry?" Lu Mingfei asked the two people.

“…” Ye Zhuoran.

Zhang Lingxuan looked at Lu Mingfei's face which did not deceive anyone. If he had not seen Lu Mingfei helping to sell food at his stall on his day off, he would have almost believed what Lu Mingfei said.

However, Ye Zhuoran believed what Lu Mingfei said. He felt that there was no reason for his classmate to lie, so he asked curiously, "Is the food in your house so delicious?"

"Yes, my mother's cooking is the most delicious food in the world. Do you want to come to my house for dinner?" Lu Mingfei certainly would not tell his classmates that every time he hurried home, it was to help with housework and take care of his younger brother.

Before Ye Zhuoran could agree, Zhang Lingxuan covered Ye Zhuoran's mouth with one hand and said to Lu Mingfei, "I won't bother you at your house today. Let's do it another day."

"Mmmmm!"

Ye Zhuoran slapped away the hand covering his mouth and glared at Zhang Lingxuan. Why does this guy always like to cover his mouth?

However, when he met Zhang Lingxuan's gaze, he could only shut up obediently.

"It's okay. Just tell me in advance when you want to come to my house as a guest so that I can greet my family and prepare sumptuous meals to entertain you two." Lu Mingfei didn't mind inviting classmates to his home, as long as they didn't mind the simplicity of their home.

However, based on his understanding of Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan, these two people should not do that.

The three people took different routes home. Halfway through their journey, Lu Mingfei separated from Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan and went back home alone.

When he returned home, his father and mother had already returned.

When he came back and didn't hear his brothers talking, Lu Mingfei came to the workshop and asked his father, "Isn't that kid Mingrui back yet?"

"He is with your adoptive parents. Mingcong didn't let him come back, so your adoptive mother asked them to stay with them for one night. After asking Mingrui for his consent, your mother and I let him stay there." Lu Youtian was carving hairpins in the handicraft room while answering his eldest son's question.

The things he sold on his stall were mostly made by him, with the occasional new item made by his eldest son. So if they sold out, they would have to make new ones to fill the gap.

"Oh, that's good. You don't have to come back home tomorrow morning to pick them up and take them to the store." Lu Mingfei said this, but he was a little worried about leaving his younger brother at someone else's house for the night, even though it was his adoptive parents' home.

After all, children at this age are just learning to walk and don't know anything. When two children play together, especially Lu Mingcong who is very naughty, it is easy for the two children to get into trouble when they get together.

The adults were delighted, and there was no telling what kind of trouble the two kids might get into. If something did go wrong, should we blame the children or the adults for not keeping a close eye on them?

There is another main point. This younger brother was raised by his parents, and now that he has come back and hasn't seen him, he feels empty inside, as if something is missing.

Lu Youtian could tell at a glance that his eldest son was insincere, so he said, "If you miss your brother, go to your adoptive parents' house to see him." Lu Youtian knew that as long as the eldest son went there, the youngest son would definitely come back with his brother.

"You miss your youngest son, don't you?" But Lu Mingfei was a man of his time, so he knew what his father was thinking. He knew he missed his youngest son, but he asked him to go and bring him back.

When the father and son's eyes met, they both understood what was in each other's mind.