66.066 Kneeling
"How many times have you given your grandmother peaches?" Ning Jin asked as Ping An entered.
Ping An raised his eyelids and looked at his father in shock. He hadn't told anyone about this, so how did his father know?
"Are you mute? Speak up," Ning Jin growled at him.
Ping An shuddered in fright and whispered, "Twice."
"When was the first time you gave it to me?" Ning Jin suspected that the time he saw it was the second time.
“When I first started my vacation,” Ping An swallowed and confessed honestly, “I brought peaches to Xiao Yuan and Er Ya, but my grandma ran into me and took them all. She said she hadn’t tasted peaches in years, except when my mom was pregnant. Then a few days ago, I went to the orchard with my mom and brought some peaches with me. I ran into her on the way and gave them to her.” He spoke softer and softer.
"Did you go to her place and get it for her? Or did you run into her on your way back and get it for her? Tell the truth, don't lie." Ning Jin stared intently at him.
"I... I wanted to go find her, but I ran into her first." Ping An closed his eyes, not daring to look at his father. Before the day before yesterday, he only felt that it was a little wrong to secretly send peaches to his grandmother behind his mother's back, but he didn't think he had made a big mistake, because his grandmother said she was pitiful, and he could afford to give them to her.
"Oh my, my son is so filial?" Ning Jin suddenly laughed, walked over, bent down, lifted Ping An's chin, and looked him up and down repeatedly, saying, "I've raised my son for ten years, and I've never seen you hide anything good for me to eat when I come back, even when I'm feeding you. I never realized you could be so filial, tsk."
“I should have left you with your grandma when your mother died, only visiting you once a year and not providing you with food or clothing. Now, isn’t it me you’re the one being filial to?” he asked Ping An. Only then did he realize that Ping An’s personality was truly problematic. He was indeed soft-hearted and filial, but he didn’t use his kindness in a truly meaningful way, and he was also somewhat unable to distinguish right from wrong.
“Speak up! I raised you with good food and drink. Even when we were at our poorest, I made sure you ate cornbread every day and had an egg every two days. Now that I'm driving around and my meals are irregular, you have meat, eggs, and fruit at home. Have you ever thought about me?”
"I don't know. If I had known, I would have saved some food for you." Ping An reached out to hold his father's hand, but was shaken off and then grabbed it again. He said while crying, "You didn't tell me. I didn't know. You always bring things when you come back. I thought you were eating well outside."
“Your grandmother never comes to see you. She sews all your cousins’ clothes and shoes, but you don’t get a single thread. Do you think she’s good to you? That she deserves your filial piety?” Ning Jin squeezed his hand and whispered as he was about to lower his eyes again, “Look me in the eye when you speak.”
Ping An shook her head, biting her lip as she stammered, "But she's my grandmother."
"You mean you'll treat anyone related to you, like your uncle, his son, or his daughter, well, they're family. But Xiaoyuan and Xiaoyuan's mother aren't related to you, they don't share the same blood, so you'll cut off all contact with them? Or you'll hold a grudge against them if you argue with them, even if your grandmother hits or scolds you, or even falsely accuses you at the police station, just because she's your grandmother?"
“No, Xiao Yuan is my brother, and Xiao Yuan’s mom is my mom too. I don’t hold grudges even when we argue. I don’t associate with my grandma anymore, I ignore her.” Ping An saw the disappointment on his father’s face and quickly answered. He thought his grandma was good to him, but not as good as her grandsons. Xiao Yuan’s grandma was the same; she was good to Xiao Yuan, but even better to Xiao Yuan’s cousin. That’s why he gave his grandma peaches.
Looking at the snotty-nosed child who was already taller than his waist, Ning Jin realized that his child's inability to distinguish right from wrong was also related to himself. He had a cold relationship with Ping An's maternal grandparents and also had a strained relationship with his own parents, but because he didn't like to nag and would process his anger on his own, Ping An couldn't judge right from wrong. In fact, when he was afraid that Ping An would cling to him and didn't want to stay at his grandparents' house, he had even spoken well of them in front of Ping An. So, he would always think that his grandparents were good, and his maternal grandmother was good too?
"Remember what you said. If I find out you're still associating with your grandmother, who would love to send you to jail, I won't forgive you."
"Yes, yes, I won't associate with her anymore." Ping An nodded eagerly.
"When you were at the police station, your grandma said that you told her you only eat rice and flour at home? Did you say that?" the man asked another question.
Seeing Ping An nod, he continued, "Why did you say that? To show off? Or do you tell everyone you meet, what you eat at home to your classmates, your neighbors, and anyone who asks?"
"My grandma asked me if my mom had abused me or not fed me. I told her I ate rice and noodles, and that my mom hadn't abused me. I haven't told anyone else." Ping An knew this much; he had to keep the good food at home a secret from outside. His mom had told him this, and he hadn't told his grandma that he often ate meat.
“Fine, I’ve gone too far this time. Ping’an, you need to have your own ideas. Don’t just listen to what others say. Have you seen how good Xiao Yuan’s grandparents are to him? If you compare that, can you not see the problem with your grandmother’s words of pitying your miserable life? Then why do you still give her things? Why do you still expect her to be filial?” Ning Jin was getting angrier and angrier. He couldn’t understand why Ping’an seemed oblivious to such an obvious thing.
Ping An didn't say anything. He wanted to be with his grandparents, so even though his grandmother didn't come to see him or give him anything to eat, he still affectionately called her "Grandma" when he saw her. He figured if his grandmother didn't come to see him, he wouldn't go to see her either, so he wouldn't lose out.
Ning Jin noticed that Ping An was lost in thought and suddenly asked him, "Did you bring up Xiao Dan's stepmother's pregnancy at home on purpose?"
"ah?"
Ning Jin repeated himself and asked again, "You came back to test your mother and me on purpose. After Xiao Dan was bullied, you brought it up several times a day. Are you thinking of preventing your mother and me from having any more children?"
No, it's not.
"Look me in the eye. Your gaze isn't wandering. I'll ask you one more time, don't lie, yes or no?"
Ping An bit the tender meat in his mouth, not daring to reveal his thoughts. Moreover, his mother was sitting outside, so he dared not admit it. He blinked, forcing himself to stare into his father's eyes, still denying it: "I didn't."
"Ah!" Ping An fell to the ground. The burning pain in his palms and the dull pain in his knees reminded him that his father had kicked him to the ground.
"You can lie now? Ping An, you're really getting more and more impressive." Ning Jin withdrew his hand before he turned around and questioned, "When you heard that Xiao Dan's stepmother had a child, your first reaction was whether your stepmother would get pregnant, so you went home and talked to her about it. When you didn't get a definite answer, you kept bringing it up. Later, you even brought it up in front of me. Neither your mother nor I had ever said definitively that we didn't want children, but you concluded that she would get pregnant and have another child."
Ning Jin lightly kicked him and asked, "Am I right?"
Ping An blushed and didn't dare to make a sound.
"Say something."
"Could you please close the door?" he pleaded, his hands trembling and his eyes filled with tears. He didn't want his stepmother to have a bad impression of him.
"You've already lied and schemed, and now you're starting to care about your reputation?" Despite saying that, he still went over and closed the door after being stared at by Ping An.
The wooden door blocked the view from the outside, and Ping An felt as if he had a fig leaf to cover his shame. He stopped holding his breath and lying, and quietly admitted that he had done it on purpose.
"Have I mistreated you, or has your stepmother treated you worse than before? Why do you start to doubt my feelings for you just because you've heard about other people's stories? Why do you think that?"
"I'm just scared."
"Afraid? Just because you're afraid, you're deliberately making a scene to prevent us from having any more children? Compared to things that haven't even happened yet, your own father is standing right in front of you, and you don't mention or ask anything. If you had just asked directly, 'Dad, Xiaodan's stepmother is pregnant, will you and Mom have another child?' or 'Dad, if you have another child, will you not like me? If I don't like it, can you not have any more children?', none of this would have happened today. Ping An, your previous behavior was extremely disgraceful, sneaky, and annoying. If you weren't my own son, I wouldn't even look at a kid like you, and I wouldn't even say a word to you."
This is the last thing Ping An wants to hear. He doesn't want any more younger siblings because he's afraid his father will prefer them and look down on him. Without other children to compare him to, he is his father's favorite son.
"I...I..." Ping An tried to explain. He'd forgotten why he hadn't asked directly back then. It seemed he didn't want his stepmother to get pregnant again, but he knew he couldn't say it, and besides, she wasn't pregnant. He was afraid that if he brought it up, she would get pregnant too. Then many people asked him if he wanted a sister or a brother, and he didn't dare say he didn't want either, making it even harder to bring it up. When Xiao Dan was being bullied by his stepmother, he seemed to have a reason to cause trouble, but he didn't want to ruin his impression on her, so he wanted to get his father's attention and have him tell his stepmother, "We're not having any more children." He didn't want to say it himself; he was afraid that if he did, his stepmother would hate him and stop liking him.
"If someone says that there's no real affection between non-blood brothers, or if you see stepbrothers fighting, will you start to be wary of Xiao Yuan? Or if you see a stepmother favoring her own son, or the family's money not being divided equally, will you be wary of Xiao Yuan's mother? If you two get married, and I build houses for both you and Xiao Yuan, will you think that Xiao Yuan isn't my biological son, so why should he get the same house as you?"
Ping An thought of what Liu Quan had said and did not immediately refute him.
"You actually have that idea?" Ning Jin clenched his fist. He had only said it as nonsense, but he didn't expect it to actually come true.
"No, I didn't listen to anyone else."
But Ning Jin couldn't take it anymore. He picked him up and kicked him twice in the butt. He was still not satisfied, but when he heard him cry, he couldn't bear to hit him anymore. He spun around twice, pointed at his head and said, "Kneel down! I actually gave birth to an ungrateful wretch! You have no heart!"
The old saying, "When buying a pig, look at its pen," is crude but true. Ning Jin looked at Ping An again and thought about it more and more, and felt that he looked just like his grandmother.
"Hey, talk it out, don't hit him randomly." Su Yu heard a man yelling and Ping An crying inside the house, and he was even kneeling down. She knocked on the door to remind Ning Jin not to lose his temper and hurt the child.
"Don't worry about it. He needs to be taught a lesson. If you don't discipline him, you'll just be raising an enemy."
Ning Jin searched the room for a while, and finally took off his shoes and hit Ping An's hand with the soles of his shoes. He hit him hard, and Ping An pulled his hand away, but his father pulled him back and continued to hit him.
"How could you grow up like this? Selfish and heartless. Xiao Yuan's mother treats you better than any mother in the alley would treat her own son. Every time Xiao Yuan's maternal grandparents and three aunts come over, they give Xiao Yuan some of their food as well as you. Don't you feel bad having these thoughts?"
"Stop hitting me, I didn't, I didn't listen to anyone, Mom, I didn't." Ping An knelt down and shouted outside, "Liu Quan told me that there was a man in their village who married a woman with a child. When the old man got old, he was kicked out of the house, and his stepson took over the house. Later, the old man died of illness and was buried by the villagers. I heard him say that but I didn't believe it. I didn't doubt you."
"Officer, this is the house. They're beating the child. The child is about to die." Du Xiaojuan's voice suddenly came from outside the door late at night.
Su Yu opened the door and let people in. Du Xiaojuan saw that the dog was tied up and rushed in first, excitedly saying, "They disregard national policies and want to have a child secretly, and they won't let the child tell anyone. They must be fighting over this. It's true that if you have a stepmother, you'll have a stepfather."
Du Xiaojuan wanted to put her hands on her hips and burst into laughter; she had finally caught Su Yu by the nose.
The young policeman who entered the house with him had a bad feeling as soon as they walked into the alley. Sure enough, it was this family again. He had almost lost count of how many times they had been to this house.
"What's going on? This woman says you're abusing children." If it weren't dark and the Women's Federation hadn't closed for the day, she would have dragged them over too.
“The child did something wrong, so we just disciplined him.” Ning Jin came out, while Ping An was still kneeling inside. “Oh, and also, we’re following national policy and don’t plan to have any more children,” he said.
Du Xiaojuan was dumbfounded. She went inside and looked at Ping An under the light. Apart from crying miserably, there wasn't a single handprint on his body. She could only leave awkwardly.
The matter of hitting the child was thus stopped.
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