The next morning, Xuemei and Liu's mother took Qingya and the other two up the mountain to pick mushrooms. By the time they returned around 11:00, Xuemei and her friends had gathered over 30 kilograms of mushrooms. After lunch, Liu's mother left for work in the village. Seeing it was only a little after midnight, Xuemei decided to take Qingya and the other two to another mountain to pick mushrooms for another three hours before returning to the purchasing station.
When they reached the mountain, Xuemei and the other three separated, and when the time was almost up, they gathered at the place where they had just separated.
After more than two hours, Xuemei saw that the time was almost up, so she found a secluded place and put all the mushrooms in the space. She put some hairs and leaves under the backpack, then put the small ones layer by layer into the backpack, and put the large ones into the vegetable basket in her hand.
Not long after the division, she heard the sound of shoes rubbing against leaves behind her. Xuemei looked behind her and saw a handsome and dazzling face.
"Han Zhiqing, you also came to the mountain to pick mushrooms. You came alone." Xuemei asked.
"Comrade Xuemei, I went up the mountain with Mingwu and Zhou Bing, but now I may have lost contact with them. I seem to have walked to another mountain." Han Chen said embarrassedly.
"It's okay. Why don't you go back to the village with the four of us siblings? My brother and sister will be here soon."
Han Chen nodded, then found a place not too far from Xuemei and sat down.
Then the two of them fell silent. Just as Han Chen was about to find a topic to talk about, Ruirui ran over.
"Sister, Li Quanmin is going to jump off the cliff, and third brother and Zhou Zhiqing are holding him back?" Ruirui said in a panic.
"Don't worry, take me to see it." After saying that, Xuemei handed the backpack to Ruirui, carried the basket herself, and followed Ruirui. Han Chen hurriedly caught up with Xuemei and the others with the backpack on his back.
Ruirui brought Xuemei to the edge of a cliff and saw Zhou Bing and Mingwu holding Li Quanmin on each side. Li Quanmin was still struggling. Feifei and Qingya didn't know what to do.
"Sister, you are here. Come and persuade Brother Quanmin, he is about to jump from here." Mingwu shouted.
"Li Quanmin, you just want to die so badly that you don't even consider your parents at all." Xuemei said angrily. She despised people who didn't cherish their lives the most.
"Liu Xuemei, what do you know? I just wanted to avoid being a burden to my parents. I am in this condition now and I have to be supported by my parents for the rest of my life. My parents even had a quarrel with my eldest brother's family because of me." Li Quanmin said dejectedly.
Xuemei didn't reply immediately. Instead, she walked to the edge of the cliff to check its height. Then she said to Li Quanmin, "If you want to die so badly, you've chosen a bad place. At this height, the most likely outcome is that you'll lose another leg or arm if you jump."
When Qingya and the others heard this, they looked at Xuemei in surprise. Qingya pulled Xuemei's hand. Xuemei ignored them and continued, "If your legs were crippled by then, you'd have to stay in bed every day, and even your parents would have to take care of your excrement and urine. Then your parents would have to support you for the rest of your life, and they would have to worry about whether there would be anyone to take care of you after they die."
Or if you're lucky and die instantly after jumping, you'll surely be relieved, and you'll even think you're doing it for the best of your family. Your parents will have to endure the pain of losing their loved one, and you don't know if they'll be able to handle it. Will they get sick? If they do, there might be no one to take care of them. Who caused your parents to have a grudge against your sister-in-law?
By the way, your brother and sister-in-law will definitely not have an easy life. If you die, your parents will definitely resent your brother and sister-in-law. It will be unreasonable for your brother and sister-in-law not to separate.
Your nephews and nieces will be motherless by then, and they will surely resent your parents and you. Then, when your parents grow old, there will be no one to take care of them, and they will starve to death or die of illness."
"No, my brother is still alive. My sister-in-law will listen to my brother and treat my parents well. They will treat my parents well." Li Quanmin argued.
"Li Quanmin, my eldest sister is right. When I came back yesterday and went to the threshing ground to play, I heard from the villagers that the meal cooked by your parents two days ago was instigated by your sister-in-law to be taken back and eaten by your two nephews. It has only been a few days since you separated, and your sister-in-law dared to do this." Qing Ya also advised.
"But later my three nephews and nieces sent the food back." Li Quanmin defended himself guiltily.
"Brother Quanmin, you're the only one who believes what you said. Your house is right behind mine. I know the whole story.
It was your eldest nephew who found out that he was cheated by your sister-in-law. The next day, he took some food from the house with his two younger brothers and sisters and secretly gave it to your father. When he got home, he was discovered by your sister-in-law. Your sister-in-law dragged your eldest nephew to your parents' door, beating and scolding him, saying that he was a naughty boy at such a young age, learning to steal things and even stealing things into the house. It is really hard to guard against a thief in the house.
You should have heard it in the house as well. Your brother heard it but didn't come out to stop it. Your sister-in-law deliberately told it to your parents and you.
"If my grandmother, my mother, and the other aunts hadn't come to your house and told your sister-in-law about it, she would have definitely taken the grain back. Oh, and the villagers also said that if your nephews and nieces were taken away by your brother and sister-in-law, they would definitely become as selfish and ruthless as they are." Mingwu also understood Xuemei's intention and continued.
"But if I disappear, they will be fine as before." Li Quanmin said to comfort himself.
Mingwu was furious when he heard this and said, "Li Quanmin, you're a complete fool. This morning, Accountant Li and my uncle were going to the commune for a meeting. Why did Accountant Li take my uncle's car to the commune? It's because your good brother and sister-in-law locked the bicycle in their room after using it last time. They only own one-third of it, yet they're doing all these little tricks. In my opinion, your brother and sister-in-law are birds of a feather. It will take a while for your parents to be able to rely on them in the future."
Li Quanmin now had nothing to refute and could only shed tears silently. It was unclear whether he was crying for himself or for Accountant Li and his wife.
Xuemei saw that Li Quanmin's heart was beginning to waver, so she continued, "As the saying goes, a broken mirror cannot be mended. Your parents and your brother and sister-in-law are like a shattered mirror right now. It's hard to say if they can even be glued back together, let alone repaired. Your parents have made such a determined effort to do this for you. It can be said that they can only rely on you from now on."
You can't just die for your own good and let your parents live in self-blame, guilt, and pain for the rest of their lives. Your current act of seeking death is actually an attempt to evade your responsibilities. You're a coward, not a man at all. In fact, you're just as selfish as your brother and sister-in-law. Neither of you wants to support your parents. It seems Accountant Li and Aunt He are destined to be left alone in their old age.
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