Le's father wasn't surprised at all. "What else could they possibly be hiding? I told you long ago to stop the girls from always thinking about their eldest brother. They're all married now, yet they're still supporting him. If they really have any spare money, they should use it to support their old man."
Le's father felt very frustrated. He was their father, so why did he only know how to subsidize that heartless eldest son? If he was going to give anything, it should be to himself. He really couldn't understand it.
"Alright, alright, what's the point of saying all this now? So you mean I'm just going to abandon them?" Mother Le hesitated again at this point. If something were to happen to the child that the eldest son's family had finally conceived because no one was taking care of him, wouldn't she be a sinner to the Le family?
As soon as he saw his wife's expression, Mr. Le knew what she was thinking. "I, a proper Mr. Le, am not worried, so why are you worried? We're not ignoring her. She's still in the early stages of pregnancy, so let her take care of herself first. You can lend a hand when she's more pregnant."
But you must remember one thing: don't let your eldest son and his wife swindle away all the family money. This is our retirement savings. If you give it all to them, you'll be in for a world of trouble!
"It's not that serious, is it? The boss was thinking about renovating the house a while ago, so he actually asked me for help, but I haven't agreed yet."
"You absolutely mustn't give it to him. Think about how much money the boss has taken from you. Has he ever paid it back?"
"They haven't paid it back, but it's because they've been going around looking for doctors to see a doctor for the sake of having a child, and they don't earn much money doing that." Le's mother subconsciously made excuses for her son.
"Come on, just say they're lazy, why give them this excuse?" Mr. Le didn't mince words and directly exposed his wife's attempt to cover up her lie.
"If you're worried about being too soft-hearted, then put all the family's money with me. The eldest son knows he won't get a single penny from me, so for the sake of our comfortable retirement, you should let me manage the money!"
For so many years, Le's mother has been in charge of the family's money, and Le's father could only secretly hide some money. But now that little bit of money is gone, and he has given it all to Yuanyuan. It can be considered as the last bit of help he, as her maternal grandfather, can give her.
"No way. Look around this village, which family doesn't have a woman in charge of the money? Don't even think about it." When it comes to the matter of financial control, Mother Le wasn't going to give in so easily.
Mr. Yue pursed his lips; he knew it wouldn't be that easy, but he changed his approach and continued to ask:
"What if you give all our money to the eldest brother because you're feeling sorry for him? I'm getting old now, and I can't do much farm work anymore. My back starts aching after just a short time. If I run out of money, who can I rely on? I can't just go to a few girls' houses to beg for money, can I?"
“No way,” Mrs. Le refused outright. She didn’t have the face to do that. But looking at her husband’s weathered face, she couldn’t help but waver. She hesitated and said, “How about I let you manage a third of the money? In case, I mean, in case I’m confused and give all the money to the eldest son, then you’ll still have some left, and we’ll have a backup plan.”
Le's mother didn't realize that she was now following her husband's line of thinking, which was to believe that their eldest son, Le Hai, was an ingrate and unreliable person, and she was now starting to be wary of him.
Although Mr. Le was very dissatisfied with the result, he knew when to stop while he was ahead, so he smiled and nodded, "Alright, then give me the money now, but you can't tell anyone that I have money here, I'm afraid someone will have their eyes on it." As for who this "someone" was, they both knew in their hearts.
...
While Le's parents were discussing how to guard against their son, Le Hai and his wife had already set their sights on their younger sisters. Their eldest and second youngest sisters lived nearby and were within walking distance, so they weren't in a hurry. However, their youngest sister was married far away, requiring several days to travel by train, so they decided to call her first.
As soon as his younger sister, Le Rong, came through the phone, his older brother couldn't wait to scold her, "Little sister, why are you so slow? I've been waiting for ages! Phone calls are expensive!"
Sister-in-law Le, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but speak up: "Stop talking nonsense and get to the point. Phone calls are expensive."
"Yes, yes, little sister, your big brother is calling today to tell you that your sister-in-law is pregnant, and you're going to have a nephew."
Le Rong curled her lip and smiled sarcastically, "Big brother must be confused. I knew it all along. Otherwise, why would you have driven Yuanyuan away? It's only because you have your own child that you can't stand Yuanyuan anymore."
Brother Le was displeased upon hearing this. "Little sister, what are you saying? Do you think we wanted to drive her away? It's just that Yuanyuan is unlucky and clashes with your own nephew. What can I do?"
“Yuanyuan is very lucky, brother, watch your words.” Le Rong was not a good-tempered person either. She got angry as soon as she heard her brother say that his daughter was unlucky. She muttered to herself, “You are the one who is unlucky. Your son is unlucky too.”
"Hey, you think you're all grown up now, huh? You dare to talk back to me..." Before Brother Le could finish speaking, he felt his arm being twisted. Looking up, he saw his wife with her mouth open, pointing to her stomach, indicating that he should get to the point.
"Alright, alright, I won't hold it against you. Now your sister-in-law is pregnant too. She's the first in our Le family, practically the eldest grandson. She'll be the one to shoulder the family's burdens from now on. As her aunt, shouldn't you show your support?"
Le Hai wondered whether he should ask his younger sister for money or something. They were far apart, so maybe he should ask for money. He could give her money so they could buy it themselves, and that way his younger sister wouldn't be able to give him too little.
Le Rong was truly enraged. How could they have the nerve to say such things? They had just kicked her daughter out, and now they were asking her for money? How could they even have the guts to say that?
So she couldn't help but ask in return, "Brother, I'm about to give birth and I haven't seen you do anything for your little nephew. Why don't you buy him something first?"
“No way,” Le Hai refused outright. “The baby in your belly isn’t surnamed Le; it’s someone from another family. What does it have to do with me? I’m not going to waste my money.”
"Then what my sister-in-law is carrying has nothing to do with me either." Le Rong retorted angrily, instinctively. Why should she buy things for them while her own son gets nothing? She was not convinced.
“How can it not be related? Aren’t you surnamed Le? Your nephew’s surname is also Le, so the connection is huge.” Le Hai’s reasoning was quite convincing.
Le Rong: "..." She shouldn't have answered that call; she deserved it.
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