"Dad, why are you back?"
It's summer vacation now, and Xu Xin is at home preparing for her wedding. She is very surprised to see Xu Wangde, who should be earning money at the construction site, suddenly come home.
After being dismissed, Xu Wangde searched for a job in the city for half a month but failed, so he had to return to his hometown.
He walked into his house with his head down and said sheepishly, "I was fired by my boss and came back because I couldn't find a job for the time being."
Wang Jiao was cooking in the kitchen when she came out and heard Xu Wangde's words. She immediately exploded, "What! You were fired by the boss? Why would he fire you when you were doing so well?"
Xu Wangde was too embarrassed to admit that he had been caught stealing, so he made up a reason: "I'm too old, and the boss doesn't want me to work here anymore."
"How old are you? He thinks you're too old? What gives Ren Jin the right to fire you so easily!"
Xu Xin also got agitated, "That's right, there are labor laws now, how can they fire you just because you're old? That's illegal, they should give you compensation!"
Xu Wangde was surprised by the mother and son's agitation and quickly reassured them, "It's alright, Ren Jin has already given me 20,000 yuan as compensation."
Xu Xin was not appeased at all; instead, she became even more unhappy. "What good is 20,000 yuan! Yuanyuan's family is asking for a bride price of 188,000 yuan!"
Xu Wangde knew that the bride price was not enough, but he had no other choice. For the past two weeks, he had asked every contractor he knew, hoping to find a job even if the pay was lower. However, the real estate industry was in decline, and many construction sites had stopped or even become abandoned. He couldn't find a job and was reluctant to spend the 20,000 yuan. For the past two weeks, he had been sleeping under a bridge, eating steamed buns and drinking tap water. He finally couldn't take it anymore and went home.
Xu Wangde rubbed his hands together and said in a low voice, "Given our family's situation, how about we discuss with your girlfriend whether we can reduce the bride price a bit?"
Xu Xin replied decisively, "Impossible!"
Xu Wangde was taken aback. "Why is it impossible?"
“I have already promised Yuanyuan’s parents that I will give them a bride price of 188,000 yuan.”
Before going home, Xu Xin went to his girlfriend Wang Yuanyuan's house and patted his chest in front of her family, guaranteeing that the bride price would not be reduced by a penny. Now, he was asked to bargain and reduce the bride price, and he couldn't bear the embarrassment of that.
Xu Wangde sighed inwardly. He couldn't blame Xu Xin for the betrothal gifts he had promised. He could only say, "What about the 50,000 I sent you before? Let's pool our money and think of a solution together."
Unexpectedly, Xu Xin said, "When I went to Yuanyuan's house, the 50,000 yuan was used to buy gifts for Yuanyuan's parents and younger brother."
Xu Wangde stared in astonishment, "You spent all 50,000 yuan on gifts?!"
Xu Xin, however, seemed indifferent, saying, "50,000 yuan is nothing. I just bought a bag, a few bottles of wine, a few packs of cigarettes, and a game console, and it was all gone."
Xu Wangde felt his heart bleed upon hearing this. "50,000 yuan is nothing?! Do you know how hard your father worked to scrape together this 50,000 yuan?"
Xu Wangde never let Xu Xin worry about money from a young age. Especially after he was admitted to a prestigious university, Xu Wangde did his best to satisfy Xu Xin's financial needs. He bought him an Apple phone and an Apple computer worth tens of thousands of yuan, as well as an Apple Watch that Xu Xin didn't know what it was for. If Xu Xin said he needed it for studying, Xu Wangde would borrow money to buy it for him. Over time, he found that Xu Xin had no concept of money.
"Do you know how many kilograms of scrap iron you need to sell to get 50,000 yuan? Do you know how much you get paid for carrying a bag of cement on a construction site? How many bags would you need to carry to get 50,000 yuan? How could you say that 50,000 yuan is nothing!" This was the first time Xu Wangde had reprimanded Xu Xin with such heartache.
However, Wang Jiao couldn't stand Xu Wangde talking about his son like that. "What are you yelling about! Our son is capable. He got a PhD from a prestigious university and even found you a wife from the city. Now all he wants is a dowry. Why is that so hard?! What father doesn't do everything he can to help his children and grandchildren succeed and establish themselves in the city? Do you really want to drag your son back to farm with you and find a rural wife?!"
Xu Xin kept explaining his difficulties, "Dad, Yuanyuan's parents originally looked down on me, but now that Yuanyuan is pregnant, they've agreed to let her marry me. This dowry of 188,000 yuan is the minimum requirement. If our family can't afford it, they'll take Yuanyuan to have an abortion and then we'll never see each other again. Dad, I beg you, please think of a way. I really want to marry Yuanyuan and have this child."
Xu Wangde hadn't had a chance to put down the backpack on his shoulder since he entered the room, and now it was so heavy that he couldn't straighten his back.
Seeing that Xu Wangde remained silent, Wang Jiao pointed at his nose and said, "Xu Wangde, let me tell you, I don't care if you go to the construction site to make a scene, or even jump off a building so that my son and I can get some compensation, you have to give me enough dowry money, or I will take my son and leave this family!"
Xu Wangde gripped the backpack tightly on his shoulders, stood quietly for a while, looked around at the home he had worked so hard to build all his life, and then silently turned around and stepped out of the house again.
He never imagined that this would be the last time he would go home.
——
How is Zhong Xuyang now?
Gu Yueji was on speakerphone, working and chatting with Xiao Yao at the same time.
Because Xiao Yao needs to take care of Zhong Xuyang in Yun City for a period of time, Gu Yueji is currently managing the factory.
Xiao Yao is driving to the hospital. Zhong Xuyang can walk freely now and doesn't need anyone to watch over him at night. She stays with him at the hospital during the day and goes home to rest at night. "He can be discharged tomorrow, but the fracture healed so quickly that he can only recover slowly at home."
"It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone," Gu Yueji knew it wouldn't be that quick. "Then you should take good care of him, future Mrs. Zhong."
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