Wen Ziqiu had never called Wen Ziqing "big brother." In her heart, only Wen Ziyun was her brother. As for Wen Ziqing? A pathetic wretch, unloved by his father and unloved by his mother.
Wen Ziling frowned when she heard Wen Ziqiu speak of Wen Ziqing with disdain, but didn't ask any further questions. Wen Ziling wasn't a fool; the fact that Wen Ziqing wasn't Wu Xiuli's biological son wasn't a secret; everyone in the Wen family knew it.
Wen Ziling just didn't expect Wen Ziqiu to treat Wen Ziqing so badly. No wonder her eldest brother had always been with his grandparents. Wen Ziling felt a little sympathetic towards Wen Ziqing.
Although still young, Wen Ziling already had memories of Wen Yiran's time in Qingshan City. She remembered Wen Ziqing as a quiet man with little presence at home. Initially, Wen Ziling was afraid of this gloomy older cousin, but it was Wang Qiuyan who told her that Wen Ziqing's biological mother had died, and her uncle, Wen Yulong, had remarried and had children, so he sent Wen Ziqing to live with his grandparents.
At the time, Wen Ziling felt so sorry for her cousin. His mother had died, and his father didn't want him anymore. Because of this, Wen Ziling even asked Wen Yuxiang if he would still want her if his mother died. This question left Wen Yuxiang and Wang Qiuyan in a state of confusion.
After Wen Yiran was transferred to Kyoto City, Wen Ziling hadn't seen Wen Ziqing since. However, Wen Yuxiang and his wife would sometimes mention Wen Ziqing at home, saying things like Wen Ziqing was engaged, Wen Ziqing went to military school, Wen Ziqing went to the front lines, Wen Ziqing made meritorious service on the battlefield, Wen Ziqing returned after disappearing...
When Wen Yuxiang and his wife spoke of Wen Ziqing, their voices were filled with admiration and pride. Hearing this so often, Wen Ziling became curious about her seemingly unpredictable older cousin. She assumed Wen Ziqiu, like herself, would admire the "brilliant" Wen Ziqing.
Aunt Wang cleared the table of leftovers and brought a pot of strong tea. Since there were so many people, Wen Yiran didn't move. The men, each holding a cup of tea, sat at the table, sipping and chatting.
Feng Xueying knew that the men in the family had something to discuss, so she took her three wives to make room for them and moved them to the side of the coffee table.
"Your father will retire next year, and we old couple won't be able to take care of you anymore!" Feng Xueying sighed and said.
Wen Yiran was already quite old, and next year would be the retirement age for his position. He had promised Feng Xueying that before he retired, he would work hard on behalf of his second son, striving to have Wen Yuxiang and his family transferred from Qingshan City back to Jingcheng. Wen Yuxiang had done well in Qingshan City over the years, so a promotion next year wasn't out of the question.
Feng Xueying knew that Wen Yiran's plan was to pass his connections to the second son, Wen Yuxiang, bypassing the eldest. Of the three sons, Feng Xueying favored the eldest, Wen Yulong, followed by the third, Wen Yulun. The second son, Wen Yuxiang, had never received much attention from Feng Xueying. All three were Feng Xueying's biological children, so she had no opinion on who should be given Wen Yiran's connections.
The problem was that Wen Yulong and his wife had always considered everything in Wen Yiran's possession their own. However, Wen Yulong had been so disappointing over the years. For Wu Xiuli, he hadn't even managed to maintain his connections with his ex-wife, the Cao family, and instead had been messing around. This had led to him being embarrassed. Wen Yiran feared it would be a waste to leave his connections in Wen Yulong's hands. Therefore, taking advantage of today's gathering, Wen Yiran wanted Feng Xueying to speak to Wu Xiuli, to prevent her from causing a commotion and disrupting the family's New Year's celebration.
Sure enough, after hearing what Feng Xueying said, the daughters-in-law had different reactions.
"Dad is old, it would be good for him to retire and take a rest." Zhu Xiaoru said lightly.
Zhu Xiaoru had never been ambitious. As a skilled surgeon at Renhe Hospital, she didn't value Wen Yiran's connections. Honestly, while her own connections weren't as good as Wen Yiran's, they weren't to be underestimated. She had no desire to promote Wen Yulun to a high-ranking official. In her view, a harmonious family was more important than anything else.
"Mom and Dad have given us a lot of help over the years. Yuxiang and I understand that," Wang Qiuyan replied with a smile. She understood the meaning behind Feng Xueying's words, but she was smart enough to know that some things were pointless to fight for. What's yours won't go away, and what's not yours can't be won.
Feng Xueying expressed satisfaction with the performance of her second and third daughters-in-law. As a mother, she didn't want her sons to fight like black-eyed chickens over the things in the old man's hands and damage the harmony between the brothers.
"Dad is going to retire? Really..." Wu Xiuli was a little excited. Wen Yulong said that he was suspended by his superiors for reflection this time. If no one speaks for him and there is no chance for further progress after the New Year, Wen Yulong will leave the army and retire. I didn't expect Wen Yiran to retire at this juncture. Does that mean Yulong can...
Wu Xiuli's mind was calculating rapidly. In her opinion, everything that belonged to Wen Yiran and Feng Xueying would be handed over to their eldest son's family, and only to their eldest son's family.
Several men from the Wen family were sitting at the table, discussing He Jingjing's situation. He Jingjing's uncle, He Boyuan, was a high-ranking official in Qingshan City. After He Jingjing's accident, Wen Yiran called He Boyuan, but He Boyuan never came to Jingyang City to visit He Jingjing, nor did he send anyone over.
Wen Yi then called Wen Yuxiang and asked him to go to He Boyuan's house and ask if he wanted to take He Jingjing back to Qingshan City to take care of her. After all, He Jingjing had no relationship with the Wen family, and with so many relatives around, it was impossible to let Wu Xiuli take care of He Jingjing in the hospital all the time, right?
"Dad, He Boyuan said they can't spare the time for now, and asked us to take care of He Jingjing for a while." Wen Yuxiang was still a little angry when he talked about this. When Wen Yuxiang went to He Boyuan's house, He Boyuan's attitude was okay, but He Boyuan's wife said a lot of harsh words, saying that He Jingjing's accident happened in the Wen family, so naturally the Wen family should take care of her until she recovered, and they couldn't take He Jingjing home. There were so many complaints, and Wen Yuxiang really didn't have the face to repeat them now.
"Well... okay!" Wen Yiran nodded. Without dwelling on this matter, he directly told his sons about his plan to retire next year.
After hearing such shocking news, the three Wen Yulong brothers had different expressions.
Wen Yulong felt a little nervous and he glanced at Wen Yulun.
Before dinner, Wen Yulong saw with his own eyes his younger brother Wen Yulun and his father coming out of the study together. Wen Yulong was very unhappy at that time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
