"You know your family is the poorest?" Qiao Guilan asked angrily. "Then why did you give the money to your older brother? A lot of that money was Yinhua's salary..."
"I didn't give it to my older brother! I didn't give it to him, I didn't give it to him, I didn't give it to him!" Song Erzhuang was so angry that he pounded the table and kicked the chair, scaring Song Caixing into hiding behind Song Yinhua without daring to utter a sound. "Why won't you listen to what I'm saying?"
"If you didn't give it to me, then hand over the passbook!" Qiao Guilan demanded the passbook now.
"I told you, it's too late, I forgot, I forgot where I hid it, I'll find it for you tomorrow morning." Song Erzhuang himself could tell that his words were quite unsure of himself, and he even stuttered.
Song Yinhua advised Qiao Guilan, "Mom, just wait until tomorrow morning for Dad to give it to you. It won't run away."
Qiao Guilan blew her nose again. "Yinhua, don't be fooled by your dad. He didn't forget where he put it; he left all the money with your uncle."
"Qiao Guilan, don't talk nonsense!" In front of his children, Song Erzhuang wouldn't allow Qiao Guilan to embarrass him, and reached out to grab her neck. "If you talk nonsense again, I'll beat you up..."
"Go ahead and kill me! Hit me all you want!" Qiao Guilan cried, pouring out her grievances to her two daughters. "Song Erzhuang, I've never had a single good day since I married you. You listen to your eldest brother in everything. I'm your wife! Your own daughter doesn't have money for school, but you give the money to your eldest brother's son..."
"Stop saying these things!" Song Erzhuang gets a headache just hearing about them. "I used to borrow money from my older brother, and he always paid me back."
"Hanwen is already riding a motorcycle. Is your older brother's family poorer than ours? Do they need to borrow money from you? A couple of years ago, his granddaughter had acute pneumonia and needed money for treatment. His family is so rich, how could they not afford that little bit of medical expenses and have to borrow from you?"
“Isn’t it true that my brother’s money is all in fixed deposits? If you withdraw it early, you need someone to sign for it, and you don’t get any interest. Yinhua just got paid at the time, so I lent it to my brother’s family temporarily for an emergency. The child’s medical treatment is more important!” Song Erzhuang couldn’t help but scold Qiao Guilan, “Why are you so petty, you can’t tell what’s important!”
"Am I unable to distinguish between what's important and what's not, or are you unable to distinguish between what's important and what's not?"
"Qiao Guilan, I think you're asking for a beating!" Song Erzhuang's temper flared up again, and he grabbed a stool from the ground, ready to hit Qiao Guilan.
"Dad, what are you doing!" Song Yinhua pushed Song Erzhuang away forcefully. "Let's talk this out, don't hit me!"
Song Erzhuang was pushed back half a step, and was stunned for a moment, not expecting his daughter to dare to push him.
He was still holding a stool in his hand.
But seeing my daughter's strong demeanor, I realized for a moment that she had grown up and was no longer the child she used to be.
He used to be the one who made all the decisions in the family, and no one dared to disobey him.
This was the first time the girl had talked back to him.
“Baogen is getting married soon. If you beat Mom so badly, will any girl still dare to marry Baogen?” Song Yinhua asked her father. “Dad, are you trying to break our family up?”
Song Erzhuang hardly recognized his daughter anymore.
My impression of the girl was that she was quiet and reserved, and never took the lead in anything.
He and Qiao Guilan used to fight frequently, and the younger children would cry in fear. She was the oldest among the children, and she would always protect her younger siblings and hide in the room, never daring to stand up for her mother or argue with him.
Is it really true that the children have all grown up and I've gotten old?
Song Erzhuang slowly put down the stool. "Yinhua, try to persuade your mother. I can't get through to her. Sigh!"
He sighed and went outside, not wanting to have an awkward argument with his daughter.
The children are all grown up, and we'll have to rely on them to support us in our old age.
Qiao Guilan cried and complained to her two daughters about her grievances.
Song Yinhua didn't like hearing these things.
Whenever her mother and father argued, she would run to her and cry.
When someone in the village comes to her for work, she enthusiastically agrees, but after finishing, she complains that she's tired and that the person didn't thank her. When she gets back, she complains to her and blames her for not caring about her.
Before she got married in her previous life, she was a young woman in her early twenties with little life experience. When these things happened, she would just comfort her mother with a few words.
But if she doesn't provide emotional support, her mother will blame her for being unfilial and not caring about her own mother.
“Mom, what’s the use of crying?” Song Yinhua interrupted her mother’s sobbing. “Dad said he’ll bring you the credit union passbook first thing tomorrow morning.”
Qiao Guilan was convinced that her husband had lent all the money to his older brother's family, and that saying he would take it out tomorrow morning was just a delaying tactic.
"Baogen is getting married soon, and the bride price and wedding banquet will all cost money. How can Dad not help Baogen?"
Qiao Guilan thought that made sense!
“Even if Dad can’t produce the savings book by tomorrow morning, he will still take out the money as a bride price and host a wedding banquet when Baogen’s wife comes to visit,” Song Yinhua added.
Qiao Guilan immediately stopped crying, "Yinhua, you're right! If your dad doesn't give you the money to get your brother a wife, I'll fight him to the death!"
After Qiao Guilan figured it out, she went to fetch water to wash her face.
Song Yinhua went to find her father again.
Song Erzhuang squatted on the hilltop of the house, hitting his head every now and then and sighing "Hey hey".
"Dad, Mom is alright now."
"Your mom's not making a fuss anymore?" Song Erzhuang stood up and looked at his daughter. "That night, Dad was too hot-tempered and impulsive. I shouldn't have gone to your uncle's house and made such a scene, embarrassing your uncle's family. What's wrong with Dad going to the radio to clarify things for your uncle's family to the whole village? We're all family. Your mom just had to make a scene with Dad!"
Song Erzhuang cursed again, "Snuggling woman!"
“Dad, I know you mean well and don’t want the brothers to fight amongst themselves.” Song Yinhua knew that her father was very stubborn; once he made up his mind, no matter what was right or wrong, everyone had to listen to him.
When Song Erzhuang heard that the girl understood him, his brows immediately relaxed.
“Yinhua, you’re so sensible. Your uncle’s family is in a special situation, so it’s only right and proper for Dad to lend them some money for an emergency!” Song Erzhuang confided in his daughter for the first time. “If anything happens to anyone in our family in the future, your uncle said he would treat us the same way. Look at your mother, so petty and narrow-minded!”
“I’ve already talked to Mom. You and Uncle are brothers, and you’ve been so good to Uncle and Aunt’s children. You even lent money to Uncle’s family. If anything happens to our family, Uncle and Aunt will definitely treat us the same way you treat them.”
Song Yinhua's words touched her father Song Erzhuang's heart.
"Yinhua, you're absolutely right. If everyone were as petty as your mother, wouldn't she lose all our relatives in the future?"
“Dad, I support you.” Song Yinhua’s words made Song Erzhuang very happy. “I also support you in apologizing to your uncle’s family on the radio for your impulsiveness, but can you wait a while?”
"Why do we have to wait a while?" Song Erzhuang was in a good mood.
“Baogen is getting married. You go to the radio to apologize to your uncle’s family. The villagers will think that you were being unreasonable that night. Then your great-uncle will jump out and say that I stole the jade pendant. Then my reputation, which I finally managed to clear, will be gossiped about again.”
“That jade pendant was originally yours, but he swallowed it. If he dares to ruin you again, Dad will never forgive him!” Song Erzhuang shouted.
"Dad, it's easy to defend against a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark!"
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