"Parents give their children twelve points, but the children may not give them even one point in return."
The most tragic thing in the world is being left alone in old age. But for Accountant Zhang, his five sons were his greatest source of pride. He'd often felt sympathy for the elderly, but he never imagined he'd one day find himself in such a situation.
If he didn't have his eldest son, what difference would that make him and Uncle Zhang Wuye? He couldn't understand how he and his wife had worked so hard, risked their lives, and raised five sons in such a turbulent time. Except for the youngest, how could the four older sons forget the life they had lived and the grace of raising them?
Whenever the night was quiet, he was not without sadness. He could only comfort himself by thinking that if he did not care for his parents, he would not know their kindness. In the future, they would understand the difficulties they faced.
When his wife fell ill again, he realized his mistake. He was not the smart man that people said he was, but a confused old man, a poor old man who was despised by his son and daughter-in-law after he lost his job as an accountant.
In the hospital, Accountant Zhang held his wife's hand tightly, watching her mumble "no." He knew what his wife meant, that she didn't want to burden their youngest son, but apart from their youngest son's family, he didn't want to see any more of those unfilial sons.
If you don't have money, you can come and keep me company overnight. But in the past two weeks, my four sons and four daughters-in-law have come, glanced at me, and then found excuses to slip away.
"Would you mind waiting until you're well before returning to the village? We definitely can't leave now. Youngest and Meili have already packed up their house and are waiting for us to come over. Don't worry, I'll keep all the money I earned this year and won't burden Youngest."
When Accountant Zhang heard footsteps outside, he quickly shut up and patted his wife's hand.
The door of the ward was pushed open and a group of people rushed in.
Accountant Zhang stood up quickly when he saw this. He hadn't expected his daughter-in-law's three brothers to come over with the couple to help.
"Let's go. Eldest brother, you hold the quilt, second brother, you carry the bag, and fifth brother, you are strong, so carry your aunt onto the cart. My dear, please help our daughter to check if there is anything left behind. Brother, let's go. We won't come back to this damn place anymore." Father Zhang gave a series of orders as he came in.
"Zhang Laoer, wait a minute, Xiaowu, let your brother-in-law come. Chunming, hurry up." Accountant Zhang saw that Zhang Guoqing had already hugged his wife before his father finished speaking, and shouted hurriedly.
Zhang Guoqing laughed and said, "My brother-in-law is so strong that he won't throw my aunt. Uncle, let's go quickly. What my father said makes sense. We will never come to this damn place again."
Zhang Chunming smiled and shook his head, holding his father, "Listen to Xiaowu, let's go. My mother-in-law came over early to help, and the house is cleaned up."
Father Zhang pulled Accountant Zhang out and did not forget to tell his wife and daughter to leave quickly.
Zhang Guoqing put his mother-in-law's things on the cart at the gate. Seeing that they had all come out, he quickly took the things from his mother's hands.
A group of people pushed the cart, followed by Zhang Dad and Accountant Zhang, and returned to Zhang Meili's house. As soon as they arrived at the gate, they saw Zhang Meili holding a fire tray in front of them, and Zhang Guoqing walked over with his mother-in-law in his arms.
When Accountant Zhang saw this, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat.
Before he could say anything, his eldest grandson Zhang Ziwen ran over to him, took his hand, and said with a smile, "Grandpa, my mom said that you and grandma will stay at home and not go back to the village. You can't leave this time."
The little grandson followed up and whispered, "Yes, from now on, grandpa and grandma will own the family of four."
Zhang Guoqing went into the inner room, put his mother-in-law down, took his two brothers with him, and said goodbye to go to work.
This time, Zhang's father had ordered the three brothers to be present to welcome the in-laws. He felt rather embarrassed—why did it feel like his father was showing off? Thinking of this, Zhang Guoqing shook his head and smiled.
Zhang Laoer was watching his eldest brother Zhang Guofu leave when he happened to catch a glimpse of this scene. He asked curiously, "What's Xiaowu doing? What happened?"
"Second brother, why do you think Dad is becoming more and more childish? Didn't the three of us brothers make Accountant Zhang even more sad when we went over today? This is not like Dad."
"Dad wants Accountant Zhang to think that our family supports my eldest sister in supporting her parents-in-law. He wants them to not think that they can only follow the eldest son if the family splits up. He also wants us three brothers to see clearly that in the future, he and Mom will go to whichever family they fall in love with."
Zhang Guoqing gave him a suspicious look. He felt that what he said was not right.
"Ah... that's a bit of what I meant. Don't disbelieve me. This time, my sister-in-law's behavior scared my parents. She didn't consult the elders about such a big matter right after the family split up. She didn't take my parents seriously. Plus, you weren't home at the time, and I was at work, so there was no one to accompany them, so my parents overestimated it. I mentioned this to my brother, and you can see how cautious my sister-in-law is towards him now. Don't worry, my parents will figure it out after a while."
The death of the rabbit makes the fox mourn—Zhang Guoqing was in a state of mixed emotions, unable to articulate his feelings. No wonder Accountant Zhang's parents were so enthusiastic and busy running around.
Zhang Guoqiang patted his shoulder, hugged him and walked back. After a moment's thought, he said, "Didn't Mom and Dad tell you that my eldest brother's father-in-law came to the village to plead with us a few days ago? I didn't know about it either. It was your second sister-in-law who told me. She said that my eldest sister-in-law was forced by her father to serve tea to apologize to us and cried."
Hearing this, Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
"Afterwards, the old man kept saying that he was incompetent and couldn't control his eldest son, allowing that foolish son to use your name to cause trouble. The old man didn't ask for your help, but kept apologizing to my parents. He said that these things couldn't ruin the relationship between the two families that had lasted for so many years. Your second sister-in-law doesn't know what happened afterwards."
Zhang Guoqing finally said, "Since Dad doesn't want us three brothers to know, then I will pretend that I don't know. Uncle Huang was soft on Mom and Dad at first, but then hard on Mom. He only came out when something happened to his family, but it was still too late.
If he really wanted to, why did he wait until now to find his parents? What about the long-standing relationship between the two families? Isn't it just that his family helps take care of Xizi and his three brothers, who are his own grandchildren? Our family has not treated the Huang family unfairly. We have given them so many wild animals and dried goods over the years. Besides, what kind of relationship do I have with the Huang family? He dares to ride on my head so casually. If I don't teach him a lesson, that idiot Huang Yaoguo will never remember it! This is not the first time. "
What Zhang Guoqing didn't say was that this time, apart from himself, Zhou Jiao wouldn't let anyone go. He would definitely make an example of her, a warning to the others. If he had followed his father-in-law's instructions, would Huang Yaoguo still be able to stay home peacefully? Haha... he would have been in jail long ago. He was, after all, concerned about his eldest brother, Zhang Guofu.
A man of small mind is not a gentleman, and a man without ruthlessness is not a man of integrity—Zhang Guoqing laughed at himself. He still couldn't learn to be cruel. He had been like this in his previous life, and he couldn't learn to be docile in this one.
Thinking of this, Zhang Guoqing quickly quickened his pace. He should mind his own business. What did the Huang family's affairs have to do with him? His priorities were working, studying hard, and enriching himself.
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