Having said all that, Xia Jianguo felt he had made his point perfectly clear.
As for the final decision, that depends on Xia Jiandang's own choice.
As expected, Xia Jiandang did not disappoint him. After standing there for a moment, he turned and left without a word.
Not long after he left, Xia Wan brought in a scruffy, sickly-looking kitten.
Seeing that only her father was sitting in the yard, Xia Wan pouted and said, "He's really stupid. You can't reason with a damned devil. It seems that this little cat is useless."
Hearing his daughter's soft mutterings, Xia Jianguo couldn't help but chuckle. He then pointed to the kitten curled up in Xia Wan's arms and asked gently:
"Where did you get this poor little sick kitten? Since you've already brought it back, just keep it for now. You might need it later."
Xia Wan carefully picked up the kitten with both hands and gently handed it to her father, explaining, "I ran into Aunt Cuihua when I went out just now. She said this kitten had been sick a few days ago. I looked at it carefully and it seems to have feline distemper."
At this moment, Xia Jianguo was sitting leisurely in his old wheelchair, responding calmly and confidently: "Alright, let's put the kitten aside for now. I reckon your third uncle will be home in a little while."
However, Xia Wan curled her lips indifferently and retorted with some disdain: "Old Xia, when did you suddenly awaken such a 'saintly father' kind of compassionate heart!"
They've already vanished without a trace; why would they come back? Besides, even if there was poison in that bowl, it might not kill the kitten instantly, right?
"What if this little guy doesn't die immediately after eating it? Xia Jiandang still won't easily believe what we say, and in the end, wouldn't we have wasted all our time? Why go through all this trouble?"
Deep down, she really longed to witness the father and son completely break up and become enemies, which is why she couldn't help but say a few words.
However, he could tell that Lao Xia did not think that way. Obviously, Lao Xia did this entirely out of a desire to help Xia Jiandang.
He couldn't understand why Xia Jiandang had bothered helping Lao Xia a few times. Wasn't that all for the money his brother gave him? It wasn't a genuine act of help. Why was Lao Xia doing all this?
Xia Jianguo was looking at his beloved daughter with a smile on his face, and said in a relaxed tone: "Since they dared to let Xia Jiandang be this live target, it is enough to show that they don't care about this kid's life or death at all!"
For those people, the sooner I die, the better. If Xia Jiandang could go back and inform them, that would be even better!
At this point, as if he had suddenly thought of something amusing, he pointed in the direction of the kitchen and said half-jokingly, "Daughter, why don't you go to the kitchen right now and smell that bowl of noodles? You might even catch a whiff of rat poison!"
Hearing this, Xia Wan rolled her eyes at her father without hesitation and replied irritably, "Come on! I can't be bothered to smell that stuff. What if it's poisonous and kills me too? That would be so unfair!"
After saying that, she plopped down on the stool next to her and fed the cat, completely ignoring her childish father.
...
Xia Jiandang walked home with heavy steps, each step feeling as if he were carrying a thousand-pound burden.
His emotions were as turbulent as a stormy sea, filled with trepidation and unease, yet a faint glimmer of hope remained in his heart.
It was still before the end of the workday, and Old Man Xia was still the only one at home.
When Old Man Xia saw Xia Jiandang return, he completely failed to notice the strange and complicated expression on his face, and simply asked with great joy, "Jiandang, you're finally back! Did your second brother eat that bowl of noodles?"
Upon hearing his father's question, Xia Jiandang's expression stiffened slightly, and his throat seemed to be blocked by something. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out, "No...no, Dad, my second brother..."
"No?" Old Man Xia's face instantly turned extremely gloomy. His previous joy vanished without a trace, replaced by a face full of anger, and even his voice suddenly rose eight octaves.
"Didn't I tell you to make sure he ate it? He didn't eat it? Then why did you come back now?"
Xia Jiandang's face turned ashen instantly, his lips trembled and opened and closed several times before he finally managed to utter a dry sound from his throat:
"Father, I did send that bowl of noodles to my second brother. As for when he eats it, what difference does it make? Do I have to watch him eat it right now?"
After saying this, he raised his head and looked straight at Old Man Xia. His eyes revealed a deep sense of loss and bitterness. He almost blurted out a question to him, asking if he really wanted to make him a scapegoat and if there was really poison in that bowl of noodles.
Unfortunately, Old Man Xia was completely absorbed in his own emotions at the moment, and did not give him a chance to speak, so he naturally could not notice his strange behavior.
However, Old Man Xia's voice was slightly gentler than before.
"No! You must watch your second brother eat it with your own eyes. Your second brother always dotes on his children. What if he gives it to Xia Wan? How will he recover? Go back and watch him finish eating before you come back."
Old Man Xia said this with absolute certainty, his words leaving no room for doubt.
Xia Jiandang replied helplessly, "Dad, since it's already been handed over to my second brother, let's not worry about it. Even if he really feeds it to his own child, that's only natural. Besides, in my opinion, my second brother doesn't look too bad, so he probably doesn't need a bowl of mixed grain noodles to nourish himself."
After all, if he himself got something good, he would definitely think of saving it for Jinbao first, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with his second brother giving it to Xia Wan.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Old Man Xia flew into a rage and shouted, "I told you to go back and keep an eye on things! Are you deaf? Go and keep an eye on things right now!"
His tone was commanding, and he was very dissatisfied with Xia Jiandang's disobedient behavior.
Xia Jiandang gave him a deep look, but didn't say anything in response. His departing figure, however, appeared rather lonely and sorrowful.
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