Chapter 397 Is Study More Important Than Family?
When they arrived at Zhuang's house, Zhuang's mother was standing at the door. Before Zhuang Hualin even entered, she waved to Zhuang Hualin to put his things down:
"Hua Lin, put the things down quickly, just put them there."
Zhuang Hualin suppressed his anger and placed his things at the door. Without even entering, he stood at the door and said:
"I'm sorry, Mom, this is my only condition. I only have these cheap things to give you. If you want to throw them away, wait until I'm gone."
Before Mrs. Zhuang could say anything, Zhuang Chaoying came out from the inner room, carrying a suitcase in her hand, and said:
"The birch forest is here."
"Hey, big brother." Zhuang Hualin leaned into the house and responded, "What's wrong? Did I come at the wrong time?"
She remembered that she spoke to Zhuang Chaoying on the phone as soon as she arrived yesterday and told him that she would come over today, but it was obvious that they were about to go out.
"No, I'm just waiting for you." Zhuang's mother said unhappily.
"What are you doing?" Zhuang Hualin took a step back vigilantly.
She glanced at what Zhuang Chaoying was holding, and continued:
"I only have money for the return ticket. I don't have money to buy gifts, and I don't want to visit any relatives. Mom, look at me, dressed like this. Aren't you embarrassed to go out with you? If relatives ask, your son-in-law is a laborer and I work in a small clinic. Neither of us can help save face, so I won't go."
Yesterday Huang Ling gave her two simple but beautiful long-sleeved dresses. They are thick in texture and can be worn in autumn. With thick socks, they can also be worn under a coat in winter. They are very suitable for her.
But she chose a set of shirt and pants that were washed so badly that the color could not be seen and went to the dealer.
"We are not going to visit relatives. We just thought that since you come back so rarely, we would go together to see the beauties. You don't need to prepare anything. I have prepared everything. Anything that exceeds the regulations cannot be brought in." Zhuang Chaoying answered as he walked to the door.
After all, he is her biological brother, and Zhuang Hualin has not visited him in these years. Since her elder brother has made arrangements, she agreed.
"Pengfei..." Zhuang's mother called out.
Zhuang Hualin hurriedly said, "Pengfei, don't you have something else to do? Go ahead. Your grandmother, uncle, and I will go see your uncle."
"Zhuang Hualin, you are trying to make trouble for me so early in the morning, right? I said that we should let Pengfei go with us, not let him stay to take care of grandpa." Zhuang's mother was very angry at her daughter's attitude.
"Mom! Pengfei won't go." Zhuang Hualin immediately objected.
"Ganmei is his uncle, go and see what's going on." Zhuang's mother was unhappy.
"Mom, the child doesn't have time to go. He came here with me because he was worried about me. He took half a day off and has to go to class soon." Zhuang Hualin would not back down at all in front of Pengfei.
"That's his uncle!"
"It's the uncle who won't even let him sleep at the dinner table. It's the uncle whose eyes pop out when he eats his food."
"Birch forest! A family..."
Zhuang Hualin didn't let his mother finish her words and interrupted her, "Besides, what kind of place is that? You insist on sending him there. It's a prison, not a park. Others hide their access to prisoners, but you're eager to announce it to the world. Do you think it's an honor to have a prisoner in your family?"
Zhuang's mother almost died of anger.
"Pengfei, are you taking tutoring classes?" Zhuang Chaoying changed the subject.
"Yes, uncle." Pengfei answered obediently.
"Then go quickly! It's the third year of high school, so we have to seize the opportunity." Zhuang Chaoying nodded.
"Okay." Pengfei agreed readily.
Mother Zhuang gasped and said angrily:
"Study, study, study every day. What's wrong with missing one day? Will you go from first to last? Is studying more important than family? I think this is just a lazy excuse. Didn't your uncle study while doing housework at that time..."
"Mom, this is the most important thing for Pengfei right now. It's much more important than any family member, more important than me as his mother, not to mention other people." Zhuang Hualin didn't tolerate her and kept arguing with her.
"Mom, I'm going to class now. Grandma and uncle, you should leave soon, otherwise you'll arrive too late and it will be a wasted trip. Be careful on the road." Pengfei shook his head slightly at his mother, and then made a summary.
When Zhuang's mother heard the words "can't see", she wanted to run away. She urged: "Go, go!"
Zhuang Chaoying nodded and called out at the door: "Uncle Zhao, we are going out. Please come and help us."
Uncle Zhao stuck his head out and replied, "Okay, I'll be right over, don't worry!"
After hearing Uncle Zhao's response, the three of them set off.
The three of them chatted idly along the way in the car.
Zhuang's mother said to Zhuang Hualin, "Thanks to Uncle Zhao, we can go out."
"Well, it's pretty good!" Zhuang Hualin responded casually.
"We pay every month, otherwise why do you think they would help us for no reason?" Zhuang's mother said again.
Zhuang Hualin smiled and said, "I'm waiting here!"
She still answered nonchalantly: "It's fine!"
Seeing that she was unmoved, Zhuang's mother continued, "This money is given by your eldest brother, and he has a heavy burden..."
"What burden? He doesn't need to support his sister-in-law, Tunan, or Xiaoting. We'll take care of Pengfei ourselves. He'll use his salary alone. Oh, and I'll ask Uncle Zhao for help. What else is there? I don't think I'll have to support both of you, right?"
Zhuang Hualin left no room for the two and hit the nail on the head.
"We are all family! What's the point of supporting us or not? The money we save is all yours," said Zhuang's mother with a frown.
"It's all the Third Brother's, we understand. I know whether you say it or not. I don't know if the 'you' you mentioned includes my brother, but it definitely doesn't include me. But I estimate that it has nothing to do with him.
But it doesn't matter! Isn't it great that my brother is willing to pay? I don't want to, and I don't have any money. I still have to save money for Pengfei to get married.
My eldest brother is not in a hurry! His son and daughter are taken care of by their mother! Sister Ling is rich, right? When the son and daughter get married, she can give them a five-yuan red envelope, or buy them a wedding quilt, which doesn’t cost much.
"Hua Lin! Stop being so sarcastic! I can afford to invite Uncle Zhao, it's none of your business." Zhuang Chaoying knew that every word his sister said was right, but he just felt very uncomfortable.
"Look, Mom, my brother said he can take care of it. Don't think about my money anymore. I really don't have any. My husband and I have to live frugally and use our teeth to scrape out this little money to visit Pengfei. It's not easy for us. I don't need you to think about me and help me, but don't squeeze me anymore, okay!"
The reason why Zhuang Hualin was so tough and retorted every word was because she knew her mother too well. Even if the road was blocked by her, she would still pick up a brick and leave it for the third child, let alone try to be soft.
At the same time, she also felt that her brother deserved it. After so many years, he still had the same old idea that filial piety was the most important thing. Even if he felt it was wrong, even if he could not get any sympathy and love from them, he still had to be filial.
Anyway, after chatting for a while, we had nothing to talk about.
Zhuang Hualin finally saved his wallet, and the three of them went to the prison to see Zhuang Ganmei smoothly.
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