That evening, after dinner, Pan Jinhua left her eldest son and his wife behind.
Li Qing saw this and quickly ran back to her room, her heart pounding with anxiety.
Pan Jinhua remained silent, while the eldest couple seemed somewhat puzzled, their expressions appearing rather serious.
Liu Yun winked at Li Xuming, signaling him to ask a question.
"Did Mother need to speak with us?"
"You two have both been very busy lately."
Pan Jinhua spoke in a calm tone, following Li Xuming's words.
"That's right. The tofu business is booming now. We have a lot of orders from Shaoguan County. We have to make quite a lot every day. We also have to make tofu skin and dried tofu at home every day. Sales of these two items have also picked up. We'll wait until the workshop is built before we can make the rest."
When it comes to business, Li Xuming is very enthusiastic, and all of these are happy events.
"My progress is also going well."
Liu Yun smiled slightly. She had just started and was currently focusing on practicing and creating ingenious flower patterns. With Yan Min around, she understood the previous trends in the capital and was making rapid progress.
"Once business is going well, we should also take care of our children at home."
Li Xuming and his wife were taken aback by these words. "Ah, does Mother mean we don't care about our children?"
The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.
"Mother, Qingzhang is doing well these days, and Qingjing is staying at home obediently. I heard he's been by your side these days. The two younger ones are also being taught how to make velvet hairpins by Yunniang. Aren't they all doing well?"
"You need to pay more attention to Qingjing, this child."
Pan Jinhua decided to lay everything out in the open.
Li Xuming felt wronged after hearing this.
“Mother, Xiao Er is not good at studying, and he doesn’t like martial arts either. I have no choice but to let him stay by your side these days, which is considered filial.”
"What are you saying?"
“He’s a fine young man, but he doesn’t know how to improve himself. I’m his father, so all I can do is try my best to find him a good wife in the future.”
"Boss, you're wrong."
Pan Jinhua sighed.
"What did the waiter say to you?"
The cricket behind him is probably craving bamboo shoots stir-fried with shredded pork!
"What can he say? It's just that you don't care about him."
"He's already sixteen, about to get married, and I still have to coax him?"
“This isn’t how you raise a child, eldest son.”
“You are the eldest son in the family, and Qingzhang is the eldest son and the eldest grandson of the Li family. It’s normal for you and your husband to value Qingzhang more. Qingfei and Qingzhi are girls, so it’s normal to take care of them as well.”
"Qingjing has an older brother who is highly regarded by his parents and family, and two younger sisters. He is sandwiched in the middle, so he is bound to be neglected by you. Now that the child has brought it up, you should take this issue seriously."
"Mother..." Liu Yun wanted to explain that they hadn't neglected Xiao Er; they were all their children, how could they not love them?
"Don't explain to me, go tell the waiter."
Pan Jinhua had already told them to leave, so they couldn't afford to mess things up, could they?
"You can't hit or scold me, you have to apologize. If you do, see how I deal with you tomorrow."
Pan Jinhua made a fierce face, and Li Xuming and his wife shuddered and left.
"What is this waiter saying to his mother?"
Li Xuming was helpless.
“Husband, what Mother said makes sense. We must have been paying too little attention to him, which is why Xiao Er is unhappy.”
Liu Yun seemed to be deep in thought, and then let out a soft sigh.
"Yunniang?"
"My husband has been the eldest son in the family since childhood, and he must be highly valued. It is normal that he does not understand Jing'er's feelings. To be honest, when I was still a young woman, I often felt depressed because my mother favored my older sister and younger brother."
"Such a thing has happened."
Liu Yun nodded. She was the second of three siblings and was often neglected by her parents when she was young, usually just someone who was "incidentally" included.
"I never imagined that I would become like my parents."
Li Xuming didn't say anything, but patted Liu Yun on the back. The two stood there for a while before walking towards Li Qingjing's room.
Li Qing was already tossing and turning in bed, feeling very uneasy.
"Dodo."
Who is it?
Li Qing was deeply moved, and his voice trembled.
"Waiter, these are my parents."
Liu Yun called out softly, her guilt reaching its peak.
Li Qing actually struggled to open the door.
"Father, Mother."
He kept his head down, afraid to see the disappointment on his parents' faces.
"What are you doing blocking the door? Go inside."
Li Xuming coughed lightly and gruffly urged Li Qing to go inside.
Oh no, Dad's making that noise, he must be angry. Grandmother, you're ruining your grandson's life!
Li Qing slowly moved aside, and Li Xuming and Liu Yun walked in. In a corner that Li Qing couldn't see, Liu Yun pinched Li Xuming's waist so hard that Li Xuming almost stumbled in pain.
"It's alright, it's alright."
Seeing that his father almost fell, Li Qing quickly reached out to help him, but Li Xuming politely declined.
What have you been up to lately?
"What else is there to do? Play with Grandma."
Li Qing made no attempt to hide it; everyone knew that.
"You have no shame."
"Don't listen to your father, Xiao Er. These days, your parents haven't been paying enough attention to you."
"mother·····"
Li Qing suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Were his parents really here to apologize to him?
Grandma is amazing!
“Little Er, I know I haven’t been caring enough for you. I’ll change. You were born after I carried you for ten months. How could I not care about you? We were just thinking that if you don’t want to do anything, your father and I will work hard to ensure you have a worry-free future.”
"Mother, I am just a little jealous."
Li Qing turned his back to the two of them, afraid that they would see the tears in his eyes.
"Good boy, I understand."
Liu Yun was almost brought to tears by Li Qing's words. How could she not understand? But she never expected that her own flesh and blood would suffer such torment.
Li Xuming patted Li Qingjing on the shoulder.
“You’re already as tall as your father, and you’ll be getting married in a couple of years. Don’t act like a child.”
Li Qing hurriedly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and nodded.
"Um!"
"Dad, you should have told me sooner. I was angry for so long, thinking you had abandoned me."
Li Qing's emotions changed very quickly; after being coaxed by her parents, she was completely happy.
"Hmph, you silly boy, why haven't you come to see your father? You want me to explain to you?"
"No, Father, I was wrong."
Liu Yun smiled as he watched the father and son playfully bickering. How could a child resent his parents?
"Can we talk about something? Can you please stop calling me 'waiter'?"
"It's like calling someone 'waiter,' meaning 'I'm about to serve you water.' You could call them 'second-in-command' or 'second-in-command.'"
Li Qing really couldn't stand this way of addressing him; his name sounded quite nice too.
"You little brat, you're trying to boss your dad around now?"
"Alright, alright, Xiao Er, your father and I won't call you that anymore."
Isn't it still yelling? Li Qing was speechless.
The heartless couple smirked. Their child was grown up, and they were afraid of losing face; they really needed to change their ways.
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