51 051
◎Chapter 51 of Volume King◎
Jiang Renzhou had just come out of the team headquarters when he saw two people standing at the gate of his own yard in the distance.
Jiang's mother was wearing a faded floral shirt, hands on her hips, with Jiang Tiezhu beside her, his neck hunched, clutching a tattered cloth bag in his hand.
His heart skipped a beat, and his steps became heavy.
Sure enough, before he even got close, Jiang's mother's shrill voice drifted over: "Jiang Renzhou! You're finally back! Your wife made your mother stand here in the sun all day, have you no conscience?"
Jiang Renzhou quickened his pace and walked to the courtyard gate: "Mom, what brings you here? You didn't even tell me beforehand."
"You told me in advance? If you had told me in advance, would you have let me come?" Jiang's mother pushed Jiang Tiezhu to stand in front of him. "I'm asking you, you're the Ren family's biological son, is this really true? The Ren family is rich and powerful, can they really arrange jobs for people?"
Hearing the sound, Shen Xinglian came out of the courtyard, still holding the little clothes she had sewn for Mingyuan.
Upon seeing Jiang's mother, her smile froze for a moment, but she still stepped forward and said, "Mom, please come inside and sit down. It's sunny outside."
"Sit down! I'm here on business, not as a guest." Jiang's mother shoved Shen Xinglian aside and barged into the courtyard, her eyes scanning the area as if she were appraising something valuable.
"Let me tell you, Jiang Renzhou, you're a member of the Ren family now, you can't just abandon your brother! Tiezhu is almost thirty and still doesn't have a proper job, you have to get the Ren family to arrange a good job for him, preferably on an island, with you!"
Jiang Renzhou frowned and blocked her way: "Mom, the Ren family doesn't have the ability to arrange jobs. If Tiezhu wants to find a job, I can help him ask if the team is hiring. He can take the exam based on his own ability; that's the only way to be secure."
"Based on his own abilities? What abilities does he have!" Jiang's mother pointed at Jiang Tiezhu, her tone self-righteous. "You're his brother, and the Ren family's own son. You won't even help with this little thing? Have you forgotten who raised you when you were a child? If it weren't for me, you would have starved to death in the wilderness long ago!"
Jiang Wanzhou had just returned from outside when she heard this and her face turned red with anger: "Mom! My brother sends you money every month, isn't that enough? My second brother doesn't work and always thinks about relying on others, how can that be reasonable?"
"What do you know, you little brat!" Jiang's mother turned around and glared at her. "This is a matter for the Jiang family, it's none of your business to interfere!"
“Jiang Renzhou, let me tell you, you have to agree to this today. Either the Ren family arranges a job for Tiezhu, or you let Tiezhu live with you and support him. Otherwise, I will go to your team and make a scene, so that everyone knows that you are the son of the Ren family, but you are not filial to your mother and do not care about your younger brother.”
Shen Xinglian clutched the clothes in her hands, her face pale: "Mom, there are rules in the team that family members can't just move in. Besides, we only have this much space at home, and Mingyuan is still too young to fit."
"If there's no room for Sanya, I'll just take her back. Why should she enjoy this privilege?" Jiang's mother peeked into the house.
Mingyuan ran out of the house and saw Jiang's mother's fierce expression. He hid behind Shen Xinglian and whispered, "Mom..."
Jiang's mother glanced at Mingyuan and frowned in disgust: "Why is this child so timid? Just like your mother, good-for-nothing."
Jiang Renzhou's fists were clenched so tightly they turned white, and his knuckles turned blue.
Looking at Jiang's mother's unreasonable behavior, and then at Mingyuan who was trembling with fear, he felt a pang of sadness and pain in his heart: "I really can't arrange a job for him. There are people here who work as porters at the docks, and they earn enough for him to live on. As for accommodation, there are temporary dormitories in the team. If that doesn't work, he can go back home."
"A temporary dormitory?" Jiang's mother sneered and spat on the ground. "Jiang Renzhou, who are you trying to fool! The Ren family could easily get Tiezhu a job in the government with just a word, but you refused. I think you've become a regimental commander, recognized your relatives, and forgotten your roots."
"If you don't agree today, I won't leave. I'll cry at your gate every day and let everyone in your team see what kind of person you are!"
As Jiang's mother spoke, she sat down on the ground, and with a flick of her wrist, two buttons on her floral shirt popped open.
"What a miserable life! I raised a thankless wretch! Now that he's become the young master of the Ren family, he doesn't even acknowledge his mother and brother anymore!"
Hearing the commotion, the neighbors all peeked out to see what was happening.
Jiang Renzhou was both anxious and embarrassed. He bent down to help her up, saying, "Mom, don't be like this. Let's talk this out."
"I won't get up! Unless you promise me!" Jiang's mother lay on the ground, patting the ground with her hands.
"I'm suffering! If I had known you were so heartless, I shouldn't have picked you up in the first place!"
Shen Xinglian felt both angry and anxious as she watched the onlookers pointing and whispering.
Jiang Wanzhou stood to the side, so angry that tears were about to fall: "Mom, how can you be so unreasonable?"
Jiang's mother ignored everything and just kept crying and shouting.
Jiang Renzhou looked at the chaos before him, then at Mingyuan, who was hiding in Shen Xinglian's arms.
Jiang Renzhou's bent-over hand suddenly stopped. Seeing Mingyuan clutching Shen Xinglian's clothes with fear in his eyes, his tolerance vanished instantly.
He straightened up: "Mom, get up."
Jiang's mother was still pounding the ground and crying when she heard this. She paused, looked up at him, and said, "I won't get up! You won't agree..."
"I won't agree." Jiang Renzhou interrupted her, reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her up with a little force.
“I don’t need the Ren family’s connections. Tiezhu has to work on his own. If you keep causing trouble and scare Mingyuan, I really won’t take care of you anymore.”
He was strong, and Jiang's mother struggled twice but couldn't break free. She could only stubbornly yell, "Jiang Renzhou! How dare you treat me like this? I raised you!"
“It’s because you raised me that I’m giving you travel expenses to take you to the station.” Jiang Renzhou didn’t let up, and turned to Jiang Wanzhou, saying, “Wanzhou, go and get Mom’s and Tiezhu’s cloth bags.”
He then looked at Shen Xinglian and said, "Xinglian, take Mingyuan inside."
Shen Xinglian quickly carried Mingyuan inside. Mingyuan leaned on her shoulder, secretly looking back and whispering, "Mom, doesn't Grandma like me?"
"No, Grandma was just too anxious." Shen Xinglian ruffled his hair, her voice very soft.
Jiang Wanzhou quickly came out carrying a cloth bag and handed it to Jiang Tiezhu: "Second Brother, let's go."
Jiang Tiezhu shrank his neck, not daring to look at Jiang Renzhou, and only responded meekly.
Jiang's mother still tried to struggle, but Jiang Renzhou didn't give her another chance. He half-supported and half-dragged her out of the courtyard, his steps quick and steady, not giving her another chance to sit on the ground and throw a tantrum.
When they reached the alley entrance, Jiang Renzhou let go of her hand, took out a wad of cash from his pocket, and stuffed it into his mother's hand.
"This is for your travel expenses and living expenses after you get back. If Tiezhu is willing to find work, I can ask my uncle to inquire back in our hometown. If you still want to rely on others, don't come looking for me again."
"Who wants your money?" Jiang's mother threw the money on the ground. "Jiang Renzhou, don't think this is the end of it, I..."
"How did you know I'm the Ren family's son?" Jiang Renzhou suddenly asked, staring directly at her. "I didn't tell you, and Wanzhou didn't tell you either. How did you know?"
Jiang's mother paused, her eyes darting away as she tried to look away: "I heard it from someone else!"
"Who?" Jiang Renzhou pressed, his tone unyielding. "Not many people on the island know about this. You just came from your hometown, how could you have heard about it from others?"
Jiang's mother panicked at the question and reached out to pull Jiang Tiezhu: "Tiezhu, tell me, should we listen to..."
Jiang Tiezhu felt uneasy under his gaze, and blurted out, "It was Su Zhiqing who called! She said that my brother is the Ren family's biological son, and she asked my mother to come to the island to find him and use the Ren family's connections to arrange a job for me..."
"Su Xiaomei?" Jiang Renzhou frowned even more, finally resolving the doubts in his mind.
No wonder Jiang's mother arrived at such a convenient time and knew so much; it turned out that Su Xiaomei was instigating things behind the scenes.
Seeing that she had let something slip, Jiang's mother decided to throw caution to the wind: "So what if it's her? She's doing it for our own good! The Ren family should have helped you and your brother! But you're so stubborn!"
“She’s not doing this for our own good; she’s doing it for herself.” Jiang Renzhou said coldly. “Don’t contact Su Xiaomei again. Don’t believe her.”
He stopped arguing with Jiang's mother, bent down to pick up the money from the ground, and stuffed it back into Jiang Tiezhu's hands: "Take this and send your mother back to her hometown. When you get back, find a good job and don't always think about relying on others."
He then looked at Jiang's mother and said, "Mom, I will not shortchange you on the money you are owed, but I will never use the Ren family's connections. If you try to cause trouble again, I will not let you into this courtyard again next time."
"If you don't want me to leave and don't want me to be happy, I can retire from the army."
After saying that, Jiang Renzhou turned around and contacted a tricycle to go to the dock.
He wanted to personally escort the person to the ship to prevent Jiang's mother from causing trouble on the island again.
The tricycle arrived quickly. Jiang's mother wanted to dawdle, but Jiang Renzhou didn't give her the chance. He put the cloth bag on the tricycle, helped Jiang's mother up, and said to Jiang Tiezhu.
"Keep an eye on your mother and don't let her run around again."
As the car started moving, Jiang's mother was still yelling through the car window, "Jiang Renzhou! You'll regret this! You ungrateful wretch!"
Jiang Renzhou stood by the roadside, watching the tricycle drive away, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his heart.
When he got home, Shen Xinglian was painting with Mingyuan. Seeing him return, she quickly went to greet him: "Did you see him off?"
"Yes, he's on the ship." Jiang Renzhou reached out and patted Mingyuan's head. Seeing that the fear in the child's eyes had lessened, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Mom heard it from Su Xiaomei."
Jiang Wanzhou bit her lip: "Su Xiaomei is too wicked! I even comforted her that night."
Jiang Renzhou nodded, sat down next to Shen Xinglian, and took her hand. "No matter who causes trouble in the future, I will not let you suffer. I have to protect this family."
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Shen Xinglian felt reassured and gently squeezed his hand back: "We'll protect him together."
Mingyuan held up the airplane he had drawn and handed it to Jiang Renzhou: "Dad, look! The airplane I drew."
Jiang Renzhou took the painting and nodded with a smile.
Hearing a familiar shout coming from outside the courtyard gate, Jiang Wanzhou suddenly looked up and ran out.
Zhou Qingyu returned carrying a tool bag, his blue shirt cuffs stained with machine oil. Upon seeing her, his eyes immediately lit up with a smile: "Waiting for me?"
Jiang Wanzhou didn't say anything, but got up and walked over quickly. Before Zhou Qingyu could put down his bag, she reached out and hugged his waist.
With her face pressed against his warm chest, she could hear his steady heartbeat, which calmed her anxiety somewhat.
Zhou Qingyu was taken aback for a moment, then reached out and gently patted her back, her voice softening: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Wanzhou's voice was muffled as she snuggled against him.
She looked up, her eyes slightly red, and said, "Qingyu, let's get married, as soon as possible."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com