"What? Didn't you find it?"
The two brothers responded softly, "No..."
Old Mrs. Wu rolled her eyes speechlessly, and was about to speak when, with a 'thump,' Huang Xiaofu burst into the room. He looked up and saw Old Mrs. Wu standing there.
"Mom, give me five yuan quickly."
After Huang Xiaofu finished speaking, he kept glancing outside, as if afraid that someone was getting impatient. Seeing that Old Lady Wu was standing still, he frowned and spoke with anger.
"Mom! What are you standing there for? Give it to me now!"
"I knew I shouldn't have entrusted my salary to you. What kind of person are you? Even a mother wouldn't embezzle her child's money without a conscience!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Xiaoguo and Huang Xiaomin secretly gave him a thumbs up. Good brother, loyal and helpful in drawing the fire. They were just wondering how to get away from it.
With the second child, they've managed to escape unscathed today.
Huang Xiaofu didn't notice that when Old Lady Wu slammed her eyes shut, her face grew increasingly pale, and her little mouth kept babbling on and on.
"Mom! Are you dead?!"
Before he could finish speaking, a whistling sound of wind rushed past his ears. The next second, a hard slap landed on his face. Huang Xiaofu couldn't withstand the force and stumbled back a few steps, his left cheek swelling up at a visible speed.
The others in the room swallowed hard, their eyes filled with terror.
Old Mrs. Wu exhaled a breath of stale air, slightly raised her chin, and said coldly, "What? Am I dead?"
Huang Xiaofu hung his head, his expression unreadable. Old Mrs. Wu didn't care and continued, "I supported your education, and I used my connections to find you a job. And this is how you treat me?"
"Huang Xiaofu, you're really great!"
After saying that, he took out ten yuan from his pocket, threw it to Huang Xiaofu, and said coldly, "This is the ten yuan you gave me. From now on, you don't need to hand over your wages to me. You can do whatever you want."
"I won't interfere with you, and I won't ask you a single question."
Huang Xiaofu pursed his lips and slowly gripped the ten yuan in his hand, causing the atmosphere in the room to freeze for a moment.
Huang Mancang, wearing a scarf, poked his head in and tried to smooth things over, "Oh dear, wife, Xiaofu just slipped up in his haste. He didn't mean to be disrespectful to you. As his mother, please forgive him this time, okay?"
Grandma Wu chuckled as if she'd heard something amusing, "A slip of the tongue? Me, as his mother, forgiving him?"
Huang Mancang nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes." He winked at Huang Xiaofu beside him.
Old Mrs. Wu didn't bother to say another word and simply told Huang Mancang to get out and cook, ignoring Huang Xiaofu who was standing on the ground, and went straight back into the house.
Only after Old Mrs. Wu closed the door did the Huang father and son dare to breathe. Huang Xiaoguo and Huang Xiaomin walked to Huang Xiaofu's side and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, "Xiaofu, I think Mom is really angry..."
After a moment's hesitation, he still didn't dare to provoke her now, and told him to wait until Old Lady Wu calmed down before apologizing.
Huang Mancang agreed, glanced at the sky, and dared not say another word. He hurriedly went out to cook.
Ask Huang Xiaoguo and others to persuade Huang Xiaofu.
Unexpectedly, no sooner had Huang Mancang left than Huang Xiaofu slipped out of the house and headed straight for the door.
Huang Mancang stamped his feet in frustration, sighing as he cooked.
Back in the inner room, Old Mrs. Wu calmly took out a small mirror she had found at the junkyard and examined it, as if she wasn't the one who had been disappointed and heartbroken outside.
It's ridiculous. She's been through everything in her past life. Even if Huang Xiaofu were to physically assault her now, she wouldn't be upset at all, let alone if he just said something unpleasant.
Instead of wasting time being sad, you should study other things.
She glanced at it at the junkyard and thought the mirror looked alright, so she bought it.
The mirror is entirely encased in brass, with the only highlight being the lifelike cloisonné enamel rabbit on the back.
Grandma Wu was delighted to see this and couldn't help but reach out to touch it. Suddenly, she froze, then frowned and carefully touched it.
Suddenly, my finger stung. I looked away and saw a drop of bright red blood near the rabbit's mouth. Had it bitten me?
Upon closer inspection, the blood droplets vanished in the blink of an eye, as if the scene just now was an illusion.
Grandma Wu put down the mirror, and in the dim light, the bronze mirror reflected her tense profile.
After an unknown amount of time, a low sigh was heard from inside the room.
If something like her coming back to life is possible, what else is impossible?
As she got up and put the mirror in the drawer, a faint light flickered as she pushed it back, but Old Mrs. Wu naturally didn't see it.
A weak voice came from outside the crack in the door, "Wife, dinner is ready."
At the dinner table, just as Grandma Wu was about to pick up her bowl, Huang Mancang immediately took it and scooped a full bowl of rice for her, which Grandma Wu accepted naturally.
Just as the others were about to pick up their chopsticks, Old Mrs. Wu's voice rang out from the table, "Eldest son, third son, how's the search going today?"
Huang Xiaoguo and Huang Xiaomin were taken aback, exchanged a bitter smile, and realized they hadn't escaped it after all.
After thinking for a while, Huang Xiaoguo carefully replied, "Today, Lao San and I went out and visited all the major factories, but we couldn't find any information about them hiring."
After speaking for a while, they heard Old Lady Wu's voice. Huang Xiaomin glanced at Huang Xiaoguo, considering whether he should add anything.
Grandma Wu suddenly hummed in agreement, and then said nothing more.
As expected, she would be astonished if they could find it in no time.
The two brothers secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and Huang Xiaoguo tentatively asked, "What about tomorrow?"
Old Mrs. Wu frowned. "Of course we'll continue. Your father is drowning in debt. Do you expect me to support you?"
Huang Xiaoguo successfully kept silent, as did Huang Xiaomin.
Huang Mancang looked at this and that, swallowed the food in his mouth, and said to Old Lady Wu with a smile, "I'll go to the factory tomorrow and ask about it too."
"Don't worry, wife. They're all grown up now. We won't let them sit at home and be supported by us."
"What will it look like if word gets out?"
Grandma Wu gave him a half-smile, but said nothing.
The Huang brothers lowered their heads, speechless, and rolled their eyes. They wondered who had once said that as long as one person in the family could earn money, that was enough.
Who said, "One person works hard so the whole family can enjoy happiness"?
Huang Mancang's pig-like face was frightening at first glance, not to mention the way he was now forcing a smile, which was even more unbearable to look at.
Grandma Wu poked his head with the end of her chopsticks and pushed him back, which really ruined his meal.
I don't know how I got to the machine factory with this head all over my head today.
Seeing how unconcerned he seemed, I might consider targeting his face later.
Huang Mancang felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively sat up straight. His intuition told him that it was not the right time to waste any more words.
Apart from Grandma Wu and five-year-old Huang Xuewen, who ate with great relish, everyone else found the meal unappetizing.
After the meal, Huang Xiaoguo got up to clear the dishes, even Wang Huijun lagged behind. Huang Xiaomin quietly patted Li Jin'e's hand under the table, signaling her to leave.
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