On the way back, the girl kept looking at Qin Huai as if he were a stranger. When she found out that he was looking at her, she felt a little shy.
Qin Huai asked her, "Were you scared just now?"
The girl shook her head and said, "No, nothing, brother, it's great to have you."
Qin Huai laughed and said, "You are just a child, always talking nonsense."
After the two returned home, Qin Huai asked the maid to cook dinner while he went to look for Old Man Qin. The old man had left yesterday and didn't come today. He must have been still upset. When he reached the door, he saw the old man with a dung basket slung over his shoulder. He had just come back from collecting dung outside. Qin Huai took the dung basket from his shoulder and put it away. Then he said, "Grandpa, are you still angry with me?"
The old man sat down, took out his big pipe with a sad face and said, "You did nothing wrong."
"Grandpa, you saw it too. Xiaomi and Ya'er haven't eaten all day. They only have that little food. If my Second Aunt had let us do whatever we wanted, we wouldn't have anything to eat. It's not that I can't afford to give her anything, it's because we're poor. She brought a bunch of kids with her yesterday. Even one pot wouldn't be enough. If we gave it all to them, we'd starve."
The old man said sullenly, "I know."
"You shouldn't be angry now that you know this, right?" Qin Huai felt like he was coaxing a child.
"You little bastard, I'm your grandpa." When he said this, the old man also laughed, and it seemed that everything was calm.
"The girl is cooking. Grandpa, take your cigarette and we'll go eat."
The old man sat still and said, "I won't go. There's not enough food."
"You said you weren't angry, but I don't think you're angry at all."
"No."
"If you don't come with me today, you're mad at me. If it weren't for you, we three would have starved to death long ago. I know you're mad at me for not listening to you yesterday, but if you really let my Second Aunt do what she wants, not only will we starve, but she'll also remember our kindness and treat us like family."
The old man probably hadn't thought about this question. He puffed on his cigarette and said, "Hey, I'm not angry. We are all family. We can't make a scene and let outsiders laugh at us."
"Grandpa, every family is starving to death, who would care about face? You also said that a bite of food can save a life at a critical moment. Every family regards food as a treasure. In our entire lives, who has ever seen Second Aunt eat a bite of food?"
After hearing this, the old man looked at Qin Huai in a daze and said, "Okay, you have grown up."
Qin Huai said again: "Grandpa, now we have talked it out, right? Can we go now?"
This time the old man didn't refuse. He stood up and said, "Let's go."
The two passed by Wu Huixiang's yard. She just came out and threw the dirty water in her hand at the old man. The old man paused. Wu Huixiang cursed him after throwing the water, saying, "You old thing, you don't know what's good for you."
Qin Huai stopped and said, "Second Aunt, who are you scolding?"
The old man said, "Qin Huai, stop causing trouble and leave."
Qin Huai shook off his hand and said, "No, Qin Dagen, Qin Dagen, my good second uncle, come out here."
Wu Huixiang said, "Alright, you've bullied me to death, you bastard, what do you want to do?"
As they were talking, a man as tall as an iron tower came over. His name was Qin Dagen, the second son of Old Man Qin. He was a hunter and was often not at home because he went out hunting.
"Dad, Qin Huai, what's wrong with you?"
"Your bitch, my grandfather and I just walked here peacefully, and she threw water on him and cursed him. Are you going to do anything about it?"
When Wu Huixiang saw Qin Dagen's eyes, she panicked and said, "I didn't."
"You damn bitch, my father is so old and you still dare to scold him, you are a rebel." Qin Dagen cursed rudely and raised his foot to kick Wu Huixiang.
Wu Huixiang immediately ran back into the house, locked the door, and said, "I didn't do that. You bastard, you trust outsiders but not your own wife. You bastard!"
Qin Dagen said, "Dad, don't be angry. I'll teach her a lesson later."
Old man Qin said, "We are all family, young and old, so don't be crazy." Then he called Qin Huai to go home. After a while, he heard Wu Huixiang's pig-killing-like screams behind them.
Back home, Old Man Qin said worriedly, "Qin Huai, you used to have a good temper, but you seem like a different person lately. Why can't you tolerate anything? 'If you tolerate for a while, things will be peaceful; if you take a step back, the sky will be clear.' What did I teach you before? Why have you forgotten everything?"
Qin Huai thought to himself, "Forget it if you teach me. You've taught all the children in my family to be little sheep that can be bullied. I can't stand anyone's anger. I won't be happy if I have to take revenge all night."
"Grandpa, this is my second aunt's fault. As a younger generation, we must respect the elders."
"I see you're becoming quite reasonable right now."
Walking into the straw shed, Qin Huai lifted the lid of the pot and saw that there was a lot of rice in the pot. The maid even grabbed a handful of flour, mixed it and poured it into the pot. The sticky porridge was ready. He was very satisfied with it, at least it was not all water.
Qin Xiaomi said, "Brother, my sister said that it was you who made us eat so hard that we finished it all in one go. You can't blame us."
Qin Huai touched the girl's head and said with a smile, "That's right."
This is an era of the survival of the fittest. If you are weak, the whole world will bully you. Qin Huai was a small boss in his previous life and could not stand any anger. Perhaps this kind of personality is suitable for this era.
After having a full meal, Qin Huai felt that his legs and feet seemed to be fine. He walked briskly and went back into the city.
The women washing clothes by the pond saw him and started talking again, talking about what happened between Qin Huai and Bai Laoliu in the morning.
Bai Laoliu's mother said angrily, "That cripple was too cruel! I heard from my son Laoliu that the sickle almost scraped his ear as it flew away. If it had really cut off my son's ear, I will never let him off from the Qin family. I will curse him at his doorstep for three days and three nights."
Grandma Gui said, "I don't think Qin Huai is to blame for this. The two girls got up early to cut the grass and brought it to him. He said he didn't want it, so he didn't want it. If Qin Huai had been a little soft, he would have been bullied to death by you, Old Six."
Old Mrs. Bai angrily said, "Why can't you say it nicely? Is there anyone like him? He uses a sickle to hack people. I think people like him should be sent to labor camps."
A young wife said, "Old Lady Bai, your Lao Liu is a tough guy who only responds to threats. What's the point of trying to talk to him nicely? In my opinion, Qin Huai is right. A little cripple with two younger sisters, if he doesn't act tough, he will be bullied to death by people like Bai Lao Liu."
Public opinion in the village was all on Qin Huai's side. It seemed that Bai Laoliu was very unpopular. Old Mrs. Bai was so angry that she left without washing her clothes.
When Qin Huai went to the chemical plant again, the security department immediately became very enthusiastic when they heard his name, and even gave Qin Huai a plastic bucket half filled with medicine.
The security department also asked him to go to the gate to drink a glass of water, saying that it was the order of Director Yu, but they were not very enthusiastic. Qin Huai walked over and saw the half bag of caustic soda inside, and he couldn't take his eyes off it.
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