Chapter 8 Chapter 8
This time, when Liu Shuqin notified her sons to come home to discuss something, they were obviously much more lazy.
Liu Shuqin secretly thought of teaching them a lesson, so she stopped cooking for them and asked them to have lunch before coming back.
Unexpectedly, they kept delaying, and it was not until dinner time that the brothers finally arrived.
There are no wives or children, only four brothers of the Qiao family.
When they arrived, Qiao Jiaxin had clearly pulled all the chairs to the table, but they pulled them left and right, and sat in different places in the room.
Smoking, cracking melon seeds, peeling oranges... everyone was doing their own thing, and no one wanted to start, just waiting to hear what the old lady said.
"I know you don't want to raise Jiaxin. You think she's not a member of our family. Once she gets married, she'll have nothing to do with our Qiao family."
"But Jiaxin is still in school after all. No matter what, she has to finish her last year of high school."
"Jiaxin and I have agreed that she will live on campus and not with you. If she gets into university, you won't have to pay for her tuition. But the prerequisite is that you have to pay for her final year of high school."
"Just one year, isn't that too much to ask?"
When Liu Shuqin was speaking, none of the Qiao brothers interrupted.
From time to time, they glanced at Qiao Jiaxin who was sitting next to the old lady, and their expressions were still unspeakable, as if Liu Shuqin was forcing them to abandon their niece.
But when I heard the words "living on campus" and "don't worry about it", I felt like the burden on my shoulders was lifted and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It only takes one year to raise it, so it doesn't sound like a big deal.
If the four brothers were to share the expenses, each would only have to bear three months' expenses.
Three months shouldn't cost too much.
However, Qiao Wangxi was most sensitive about money. Even though Liu Shuqin said she would only keep it for a year, he still passed the orange slice back and forth in his mouth several times.
"How much money does it cost?" Qiao Wangxi asked tentatively.
Liu Shuqin slowly stood up, pulled out a small notebook, and flipped through a few pages. "Tuition is 500, a year's accommodation is 900, daily necessities are 500, and in case of a headache or fever, medicine is 100. The total is 2,000."
This is what she calculated yesterday.
Originally, the total cost of all the items was about 2,500 yuan, but Qiao Jiaxin took the initiative to say that it was too much and that her uncles might not be willing to bear so much, so she voluntarily reduced it to 2,000 yuan.
It is always better to ask for less than nothing.
But when they heard the number 2,000 yuan, they still gasped in shock.
"What? 2000?"
"Is this for school or travel? 2,000 yuan a year?!"
Qiao Wangnan's reaction was exaggerated.
Among the four brothers, he earned the most from business. A jacket he wore cost several hundred yuan. However, when he heard that Qiao Jiaxin's schooling cost 2,000 yuan a year, he made an expression as if he was going to die.
Liu Shuqin was puzzled and said, "It's only 2,000 yuan a year. If you divide it among the few of you, it will only be a few dozen yuan a month. How can it be too much?"
Putting down the handful of melon seeds in his hand, Qiao Wangnan started to cry poor again: "Mom, you have never worked to earn money. Do you know that it is difficult to earn a few dozen yuan now? If you spend so much money at once, can I still support my child?"
"Yeah," Qiao Wangbei followed up, "In a few months, my little one will be born, and then everything will cost money. How can I afford so much money?"
I don't want my niece to live in my house, but I think the tuition is too expensive.
Liu Shuqin knew clearly that they had to find excuses to support the four brothers for a year. She wondered whether they were really poor or just didn't want to support the family.
The three brothers talked for a long time, until finally, Qiao Wangdong lowered his arms and said calmly: "Mom, I remember when my dad died, the cotton mill gave us a pension."
"The second and fourth children are really struggling. They can't take out the money all at once. How about this? You pay Jiaxin's tuition first. The third and I will continue to pay monthly. We'll give it to the second and fourth children as they have time."
When talking about the pension, Liu Shuqin couldn't help but frown.
When Qiao Wensheng died, the cotton mill gave him 5,000 yuan as a reward for his brave act.
Although the child who was rescued came from a poor family, his parents managed to scrape together about 1,000 yuan.
6,000 yuan is enough for the grandparents and grandchildren to spend frugally for several years.
But if the money was in her hands, how could she be so humble as to ask them for it?
Liu Shuqin did not hide anything and said frankly: "I gave that money to the third brother."
For a moment, the brothers' eyes were all focused on Qiao Wangnan.
Angry? Surprised? Jealous?
Every gaze was so hot that it made his ears burn and his face flush with embarrassment.
Qiao Wangnan: "I, I had some problems at the company. Besides, I didn't take this money for nothing. I will definitely return it to our mother in the future."
"Return, return, return! You always say you'll return it, but have you ever returned it?" Qiao Wangxi scolded him angrily, "You took away my sister's pension, and you took away my father's too. Third brother, do you have any shame?"
Bang!
"I have no shame?"
Qiao Wangnan slapped the table and stood up with a slap. "Has your parents' money been enough for you all these years? When have you ever come to our house for dinner, didn't our father support you? And you still have the nerve to bring me up like that?"
Qiao Wangxi: "What do you mean by aid? I'm the one who borrowed! At least I paid it back. Have you ever paid it back?"
Qiao Wangnan: "Yes, yes, you paid it back, but after paying it back you still asked for more. It's the same as if you didn't pay it back at all."
Qiao Wangxi: "That's not as much as you get!"
Seeing that they were arguing more and more fiercely and were about to fight, Qiao Wangdong rushed to the middle and pushed them apart.
"Okay, stop talking!"
Then, Qiao Wangdong looked at Liu Shuqin with resentment.
He, he didn't even know that his parents gave them money?
He doesn't ask his parents to treat him equally, but there's not even a drop of water in his bowl. Isn't that too much?
"Mom? I just want to ask you, did you and my dad give all your money to them?" Qiao Wangdong confirmed with her.
"You don't have to feel wronged. You spend a lot of our family's money."
Now that the truth had been laid bare today, Qiao Wangnan stopped pretending. As he adjusted his collar, he said, "How much did your parents spend to send you to college? And our eldest sister paid for your tuition and living expenses for four years, so you didn't lose out."
Qiao Wangxi and Qiao Wangnan were resentful of their elder brother Qiao Wangdong, and they took this opportunity to vent it.
In order to support him to go to college, his family could be said to have sold everything they had.
If it weren't for his wish, Qiao Wangxi might have been able to go to high school and get into college, and wouldn't have to be a carpenter like he is now, relying on his physical strength to make money.
If it wasn't for him, Qiao Wangnan wouldn't have to work to earn money at such a young age and endure the hardships of starting a business.
They blamed Qiao Wangdong, and even more so Qiao Wensheng and Liu Shuqin.
Because it was their choices at that time that allowed them to have the life they have now.
Even if they give money now, in their eyes, it is just their responsibility as parents. They owe themselves too much and want to make up for it.
Of course, there is also Qiao Wangbei.
If they hadn't spoiled him and failed to teach him well, how could they have raised him to be a prodigal son, constantly causing trouble for them, their older brothers?
Therefore, none of them felt that they owed anything to their parents. Instead, they felt that their parents had been partial to them over the years and had wronged them.
Liu Shuqin couldn't understand why her sons quarreled and blamed each other.
What did she and the old man do wrong?
In order to allow Qiao Wangdong to go to university, they carefully cultivated him since he was young;
In order to let Qiao Wangxi learn a craft to make a living, Qiao Wensheng asked a circle of people to give him money even though he didn't make much money in these years;
And Qiao Wangnan's small company, whenever they were short of money, they emptied their savings;
Even for the most disappointing Qiao Wangbei, they believed they had never wronged him...
They won and gave away everything they could, so how come in the end, it became their own fault?
After venting all the dissatisfaction, the atmosphere in the room finally began to gradually calm down.
"Well, what about the matter between our mother and Jiaxin now?" Qiao Wangbei asked weakly.
After wiping the dust off his glasses with the corner of his clothes and putting them back on, Qiao Wangdong said coldly, "I can't afford this."
"Dongmei's father is ill, and the family has spent a lot of money recently. I can only give her 30 yuan a month, and I don't have any more."
30? That's 10 less than what we agreed on last time.
Qiao Wangxi: "I have two little ones to raise, and no money... I can only squeeze out 15 yuan from my teeth."
"My company can't even pay salaries right now," Qiao Wangnan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "Twenty, no more."
The total cost for three people is 65 yuan, almost half of what I said last time.
Looking at the number on the notebook that she had been calculating for several days, Liu Shuqin felt her heart sink.
Well, I had too high hopes for my sons.
Blowing out a puff of smoke, Qiao Wangnan continued, "Aren't you going to live with the fourth brother and his wife in the future? Jiaxin doesn't need to apply for boarding school anymore, she can just continue to go to school as a day student."
"Yes, Jiaxin is grown up and doesn't spend much money. 65 should be enough for you to spend. If you really need money, tell me when the time comes." Qiao Wangxi continued.
The moment she closed the little notebook, the last spark of hope in Liu Shuqin's heart turned to ashes because of the lack of hope.
Strangely, when she heard her sons' plans for her, she didn't feel like crying at all.
But my heart, which had always been silent, was pierced by their sharp words and bled profusely.
She seemed to see through something.
It seems that my sons not only don't want to raise my granddaughter, but they also don't want to raise me.
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