Fang Jianguo paid no attention to his son's words. Instead, he sighed while holding his phone. "Oh, Meihua, look at this college student whose father is ill. He has to work part-time to pay for his studies and take care of the family. It's not easy."
Chen Meihua stretched her neck to look closer, and tears welled up in her eyes for a moment: "He's so pitiful, should we donate some money to him?"
Fang Jianguo pondered: "We need to donate more, otherwise it won't be enough to solve the urgent problem."
The bill in Fang Xiao's hand was crumpled by him, and Fang Jianguo finally noticed him: "Why are you still standing there? Go do your homework. I promised your uncle Lin that you would tutor his daughter later."
Not only do they do it themselves, they also require their children to learn from them all the time.
But only the youngest Fang Yue admired them, because she heard from classmates and teachers that her parents were Taiwanese, which made her very happy.
Fang Xiao didn't pay the tuition, so the teacher questioned him. He simply said his family was currently short of money. When he came out, he heard the teacher grumble quietly, "How can you still do this with your financial situation? You can't even take care of yourself! It's bizarre."
Fang Xiao's face was burning.
He returned home and wanted to ask his parents for money again, but heard their quarrels.
"...Have you transferred the two thousand yuan?" It was my mother's voice.
"I forwarded it. I just received a thank you message from the other party. They said it was so timely." Dad's voice was full of satisfaction. "You know, this child has had a hard time. We can say we did something good."
"Yes," Mom sighed, "It's Xiaoxiao's tuition... How about I talk to the teacher tomorrow and give it a few days?"
"Well, go ahead and tell them. They're your own children, and the teacher will understand. We're the ones who help others, and it's okay for us to help the children later. They understand."
"They understand me," Fang Jianguo and Chen Meihua often say, as if because they are "their own children," they should naturally understand their parents' "great love" and give way to their parents' "good deeds."
Fang Yang's situation wasn't much worse. The school needed to order new uniforms, and after much persuasion, his parents reluctantly agreed. But the money wasn't there until he saw his mother happily carrying a large bag of newly bought clothes, saying they were for a new, impoverished tenant in the neighborhood. The bag contained several women's coats, looking even more generous than he'd imagined his mother would be when buying clothes for him.
He wanted to ask about the money for his school uniform, but his mother's gaze, which read, "How can you be so ignorant? Others need it more than we do," made him swallow his words back. In the end, he could only sit in a corner in silence, wearing his washed-out old uniform and watching his classmates in brand new clothes.
One day, the youngest, Fang Yue, came home looking aggrieved. She said there was a beautiful cartoon schoolbag on the table, and she wanted it too. Chen Meihua hugged her and said gently, "Dear Yueyue, Mommy knows you want it. But look at that little kid we saw on the news last time. She didn't even have a schoolbag and had to carry her books in a plastic bag. How pitiful! Let's save the money we'd have spent on a schoolbag and buy her a new one, okay? You're a good child, you'll appreciate it, right?"
Fang Yue seemed to understand, but she felt aggrieved. She couldn't understand why the stranger's backpack was more important than her own. She also wanted the reward of being called a "good child" by her mother, not being constantly told to "understand" and "compromise." But looking at her mother's expectant eyes, she seemed to understand something.
The tragedy happened on a cold night.
Long-term malnutrition and anxiety made the child's health very poor. On the night when his fever dropped, he shivered under the old thin quilt and developed a high fever the next day.
Chen Meihua took him to a small clinic at the door for treatment. The doctor at the clinic said it might be pneumonia and he should be sent to the hospital immediately, but Chen Meihua hesitated.
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