Song Tianfang was initially embarrassed when her daughter mentioned Song Jiao, but when she saw Song Xia, a junior, criticizing her, her anger flared up again.
“What’s wrong with what Xiaohui said? You don’t have parents, so you should be more frugal. Xiaohui can afford nice clothes because she has my dad to support her. If you run out of money, who will you turn to?”
"We won't contact you, no matter who else we ask." Song Xia directly told her to leave. "Second Aunt, although you are one of the few relatives we have in this world, we cannot allow you to use education as an excuse to harm us. We have never received any favors from you, so please go back. You are not welcome in our home."
"You're kicking me out?" Seemingly surprised by her audacity, Song Tianfang retorted sharply, "I'm your second aunt!"
"Enough!" Song Tianhui, who had been listening to their argument, snapped, especially frowning at Song Tianfang. "Did you speak like an adult just now? Sun Hui is immature, and so are you?"
"Even you're criticizing me? I'm doing this for their own good!"
"Don't use the excuse of 'it's for our own good' to hurt us. We don't want that kind of 'goodness'," Song Jiao retorted, crying. "You look down on us and won't help us. Otherwise, you wouldn't have said those things to Sun Hui and given me clothes I can't even wear. Aunt, we're not beggars! We don't want your trash!"
Song Tianfang seemed to feel humiliated and angrily pointed at them, saying, "Fine, you're all so tough. Even if you kneel down and beg me, I won't be soft-hearted anymore."
"When have you ever been kind to us? Second Aunt, don't offer charity that doesn't exist; it's meaningless."
Seeing that he couldn't win the argument, Song Tianfang said to Song Tianhui, "You've seen how sharp-tongued they are. From now on, I won't interfere in any of their affairs."
"Hopefully so, and it would be best if Sun Hui didn't say anything out of line at school."
"Alright." Song Tianhui frowned and looked at Song Xia. "Your second aunt's intentions were good; she just didn't want you to waste money."
Song Xia walked to the drawer: "Uncle, this is our account book for the past two months. It records how much we spend every day. We only went to buy clothes this time because it's almost Chinese New Year and our current clothes don't fit. We didn't buy any expensive brand-name items."
Song Tianhui took it and looked through it, then looked at the three of them with surprise.
Song Xia said sincerely, "We plan every penny, so it's really not that we're spending money recklessly. It's just that we had no clothes to wear, so we bought something a little nicer because Xiao Jiao heard too much gossip at school. The whole outfit cost about six hundred yuan. Uncle, this isn't considered extravagant spending, is it?"
Song Tianhui sighed, "I didn't expect you to write in such detail."
Song Xia lowered her head: "Since no one is helping us, we have to plan it out ourselves."
Song Tianhui's throat tightened, feeling as if his wife was choking him, but he ultimately didn't say anything about having him in the future.
“Apologize to Xiaxia and the others.” Song Tianhui looked at Song Tianfang sternly. “You made a scene in public without regard for the occasion, and even taught Sun Hui to say things she shouldn’t have. You were wrong to do that.”
"Make me apologize?" Song Tianfang pointed at herself incredulously. "I'm their elder."
"As an elder, you should act like one. Have you done that?"
Song Tianfang was furious: "Fine, I'll see how they live in the future. Anyway, I'm never going to care again."
"Second Aunt, you said that before," Song Xia said coolly from the side. "So far, the biggest trouble we've encountered is the one you created for us today."
"Sharp-tongued, Xiaohui, let's go." Song Tianfang didn't apologize, but slammed the door and left.
Song Xia didn't think there was anything wrong with her resistance. She didn't need to be polite to elders who only put on airs, because no matter how much respect she showed, they wouldn't take her seriously.
Song Tianhui sighed deeply and said dryly, "Xiaxia, your second aunt didn't mean any harm."
"They just look down on us, so they subconsciously think the worst of us." Song Xia looked at him with clear eyes. "Uncle, I'm not a child anymore. I understand everything."
Song Tianhui's tone grew increasingly somber: "Thank you for taking care of Xiaojiao and Xiaojun."
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Now that I’m their guardian, I have this responsibility. Uncle and Aunt, thank you for coming to visit us and showing us your care when you heard the commotion. We understand your feelings and don’t think badly of us like my second aunt did. Please rest assured, we will definitely live well and make good plans.”
Song Tianhui and his wife Chen Na both felt a little guilty. They said they were showing concern, but they hadn't done anything. Chen Na, in particular, felt guilty for hindering her husband, since they were his nephew and niece. But she couldn't do anything about it; her own family was also struggling. Song Xia and his family still had 400,000 yuan, while they hadn't even paid off their mortgage and were already living a very frugal life.
"Since you already know what's going on, your uncle won't say anything more. Just stay home and be careful. Your uncle will come to see you again next time."
"Okay, Uncle and Aunt, take care."
Song Tianhui and Chen Na walked back slowly. Chen Na sighed and said, "We came in too much of a hurry this time. I'll make some dumplings when we get back, and you can bring them over tomorrow. Song Xia is in her final year of high school, and she has to cook every morning and evening. Time is too tight. Making some dumplings for them will make it easier for them to cook in the morning."
Upon hearing this, Song Tianhui grinned widely and said, "Thank you, my wife."
"Why thank me? You're their uncle. It's only natural that you help them, but I've been stopping you."
“I know you’re thinking about our family too. Xiaohao will get married in the future, and your parents are not young anymore. We have a lot of pressure on us.”
"If we had money, we wouldn't be so helpless now." Chen Na forced a smile. "The cured meat and sausages at home are ready too. Take some with you tomorrow."
"We also need to send some to my parents-in-law, and our family's small amount..."
"They're just eating whatever tastes good at home. I just looked at their accounts, and they even kept track of the cost of a single yuan for a vegetable. They haven't prepared any New Year's goods."
Song Tianhui rubbed his hands together: "I'll ask Lao Li tomorrow if I can still take on some odd jobs before the New Year."
Chen Na didn't stop her. Although the weather was very cold now, the closer it got to the New Year, the more money her family needed. What could she do? Recently, there was less and less work at the factory, and overtime pay was cut by more than half. Moreover, it was uncertain whether the factory could continue operating next year.
Actually, the older brother-in-law used to be more capable than the couple. He raised three children well on his own. It's just a pity that fate was blind and caused him to lose his life, leaving behind three helpless children. Fortunately, Song Xia is quite sensible.
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