Ever since Ren Dahai and Chen Qiuyu first married, Ren Lao Niang had always disliked Chen Qiuyu. Ren Dahai was completely unaware of her own peculiar ways, and even less aware that her dislike for Chen Qiuyu was simply a matter of Ren Dahai's own decision to marry Chen Qiuyu at the age of 26, freeing him from her control. In Ren Lao Niang's opinion, it would have been best for Ren Dahai to wait until he was 35 to marry, so he could contribute more to their family and earn more money.
Ren Dahai didn't know that Ren Lao Niang's hostility towards Chen Qiuyu was caused by him. He always thought that Ren Lao Niang and Chen Qiuyu were born with "incompatible auras".
Perhaps because he lost his parents at a young age, Chen Qiuyu has always treated his parents-in-law as his own parents. Over the years, whenever Ren Lao Niang called, no matter if she asked Chen Qiuyu for money or something, as long as Chen Qiuyu could give it, he would satisfy her request.
Ren Dahai wasn't blind to Chen Qiuyu's grievances. However, Ren Dahai needed a family that was superficially harmonious. After all, they were his parents who gave birth to him and raised him, and after all, his brothers shared the same blood. He had already "disobeyed" his parents once because of his marriage to Chen Qiuyu, and Chen Qiuyu's willingness to compromise gave Ren Dahai a lot of peace of mind.
In Ren Dahai's heart, the best outcome is for the family to live in harmony and love each other.
Because of this, Ren Zhongyuan didn't take anything seriously when Chen Qiuyu and Ren Dahai mentioned to him a few days ago that Old Lady Ren had asked him to "become a monk." He thought Chen Qiuyu must have misheard. Ren Zhongyuan was Old Lady Ren's eldest grandson. What old person would let their grandson give up his future to become a monk?
A day ago, Ren Lao Niang came to Kyoto City.
This time, Mother Ren did not come with Father Ren, but with Ren Dahai’s younger sister Ren Xiaohua.
As soon as Ren Lao Niang and Ren Xiao Hua got off the train, they started complaining to Ren Dahai, who had taken half a day off to pick them up. Ren Lao Niang said that last year there was too much rain, the harvest was poor, and the whole family couldn't even get enough to eat.
Ren Dahai kept a sullen face and said nothing. Ever since Ren Dahai got married, although he didn't send all his allowance back home, he still contributed a lot to the pensions of his mother and father every month. Those few dozen dollars were more than enough to cover the living expenses of the two old people. Moreover, his mother would call from time to time to ask for money and things. In the past, his younger siblings were young, so as the eldest brother, he must have helped them a little. But now they have each started their own families, and it is impossible for him, as the eldest brother, to take care of them all their lives, right? His son Xiaoyuan is about to go to college, so he should make some better clothes for him. Over the years, the child and his mother have lived a frugal life and don't even have many clothes.
"Dahai! You are the eldest brother, you can't ignore your younger brothers and sisters-in-law! We are a family, we all have the same surname, only if brothers work together, our family life will get better and better..." Ren's mother brainwashed him again.
Unfortunately, Old Lady Ren had said these words so many times, and Ren Dahai had heard them countless times from his teens to his forties. The first time he heard them, Ren Dahai felt a surge of emotion, feeling that as the eldest brother, he truly had the responsibility to care for his younger siblings. But so many years had passed, and his once-young siblings had each started their own families and grown up with their own children. It was simply unacceptable for them to continue to rely on him all day, wasn't it?
As Ren Lao Niang spoke, she noticed the changes in Ren Dahai's expression. Seeing that Ren Dahai was no longer as easy to fool as he had been in previous years, Ren Lao Niang couldn't help but feel resentful. She hated Ren Dahai for not listening to her and hated Chen Qiuyu for being so stingy with his money every time.
In Ren's mother's mind, her son was hers, and her daughter-in-law belonged to someone else. No matter how bad her son was, it was all because of his wife's instigation. The reason her son and her had drifted apart was because of the "pillow talk" of his daughter-in-law, Chen Qiuyu. Otherwise, why would Ren Dahai, the eldest brother who cared for his younger siblings, become so unmanageable after marriage? Before his marriage, Ren Dahai would have already accepted her words and pledged to help the family.
Ren's mother only resented her daughter-in-law, and she didn't think about the fact that if Chen Qiuyu was not filial, and Ren Dahai had to support his wife and children with only his salary, how could he have so much money to send back to his hometown?
"Brother! Dad was sick a few days ago and missed you very much. He asked you to bring the children home and stay for a few days." Seeing that Ren Lao Niang and Ren Dahai's faces had turned dark, Ren Xiaohua quickly mentioned the matter of Ren Lao Di's illness as planned when they came.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ren went to Ning'an Temple to burn incense. The weather was so cold that he caught a cold on the way home and coughed for several days. Although Ren's cold had long since healed, that didn't stop Ren Xiaohua from using his father's illness as an excuse.
Before Ren Xiaohua and Ren Lao Niang came, they had agreed that if they brought up family matters, Ren Dahai would take on everything, and they would tell him the truth and ask Ren Zhongyuan to become a monk. If Ren Dahai didn't respond well to them, they would use the excuse of Ren Lao Di's illness to trick Ren Zhongyuan back.
"I can't take a leave during this period." Sure enough, Ren Dahai's answer was exactly what Ren Xiaohua expected.
Ren Dahai was indeed very busy, especially right after the Chinese New Year. Some of the soldiers in the guard regiment were transferred for special training, and a group of people had to be selected from below to fill in. All of this had to be arranged by Ren Dahai personally.
Ren Xiaohua gnashed her teeth in anger. She was desperate to have a son, but after failing to secure the first incense stick on New Year's Day, she pinned her hopes on the "second path" her mother had suggested. She was desperate for Ren Zhongyuan to become a monk at Ning'an Temple, hoping to change the fortunes of the Ren family and herself.
"Brother, our dad has been the best to you since you were little. You wouldn't just watch him get sick and not care, would you? If you're busy, you can ask Xiaoyuan to go back in your place!" As expected, Ren Xiaohua's skill in lying with open eyes was inherited from Ren Lao Niang. Of all her children, Ren Lao Niang treated Ren Xiaohua the best, and Ren Lao Dad had always been her loyal follower. Whatever Ren Lao Niang liked, Ren Lao Dad liked, and it was Ren Xiaohua who was the most pampered.
"Xiaoyuan has to go to school, so he can't spare the time. He's taking the college entrance exam soon." Ren Zhongyuan didn't know what his sister was thinking, but he still remembered that this semester, the most critical one for him, was the college entrance exam. How could he ask for leave? Or should he ask Qiuyu to come home? Ren Dahai thought.
"Hmph! Now that you've grown up and become independent, you don't care about the life and death of us old people anymore?" When Mrs. Ren saw that Ren Dahai didn't take the bait, she was so angry that her heart, liver, spleen and lungs ached, and she started to say hurtful words.
"Mom, that's not what I meant." Ren Dahai was thinking about the possibility of asking Chen Qiuyu to take a leave to go home, and he felt a little depressed when his mother said that.
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