Chapter 399: Brothers Disharmony
After returning to his home in Niuweiling, Gao Mingcheng quickly forgot the unpleasant experience at noon.
When you are strong, many things are not a problem. As early as when he decided to separate the family, Gao Mingcheng did not expect to get warmth or any help from his parents.
During this year, he did what a son should do, and he has a clear conscience.
If his parents were still the same as before and everyone got along with each other peacefully, he would be willing to keep giving them money and gifts to maintain the superficial calm.
But if you still want to suppress and reprimand him openly as before, he won't tolerate it.
Gao Mingcheng told Xuanmei not to think too much and just rest in the house, while he took the two dogs into the mountains.
It is already the end of September, and it is time to harvest many medicinal herbs.
The main reason for coming back this time is to celebrate the festival. He has to rush back to the county early tomorrow morning. But after sending Xuanyuemei and Gao Shufang back to the store, he still has to go back to the village to work.
There are a lot of things to do recently. I have to take care of the medicinal herbs in the mountains, the vegetables in the fields, and the orchard in Xiaofushan.
In the busy schedule, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.
Gao Mingcheng came down the mountain carrying a sack of herbs. He first poured the herbs that needed to be dried on the drying mat and spread them out. Then he washed his face, changed into clean clothes, and said to Xuanyuemei, "Let's go. Let's go to Grandma's house for dinner."
"Hey." Xuanyuemei responded, put down the work in her hands, and went out with him.
The Mid-Autumn Festival gifts had been sent long ago, so this time I didn’t drive the tractor, but walked there empty-handed.
The afternoon in early autumn is no longer as hot as during the day. The cool breeze blowing from the distant mountains brings people a comfortable feeling.
Tired birds return to their nests, and the sound of birds singing can be heard from time to time.
The black tiger and the elf followed happily behind.
Today is a festival, and both dogs can chew the bones to their heart's content.
When he arrived at the old village, he naturally saw many villagers. Everyone looked at Gao Mingcheng with different eyes.
Gao Mingcheng didn't pay much attention to it. When he met the elders in the same room, he nodded and greeted them as usual.
Gao Fanmao was talking to someone under the tung tree beside the pond. When he saw Gao Mingcheng, a trace of resentment flashed across his face.
Although everyone already knew, after Gao Zhuang's publicity, that Gao Mingcheng overturned the table at his parents' house at noon, Gao Mingcheng could not be blamed entirely.
But everyone still has a little resentment towards Gao Mingcheng for smashing the TV.
It’s strange to say, the TV was obviously given by Gao Mingcheng, and he smashed it. But after that, he was the only one who didn’t feel sad, while most people in the village felt sad!
Without TV, there is no source of happiness!
Gao Fanmao couldn't help but say, "Mingcheng, you have such a bad temper. Your dad was just drunk and said a few nonsense words. How could you flip the table? And you even broke the TV! You are so ignorant!"
Gao Fanmao and Gao Yuanjian are cousins, so naturally they spoke well of Gao Yuanjian and treated what Gao Yuanjian said as drunken nonsense, which could cover it up. Otherwise it would be too offensive.
Gao Mingcheng looked at Gao Fanmao calmly. He and his father were indeed blood cousins. Both of them were addicted to alcohol and liked to act crazy when drunk.
Just as he was about to speak, the person next to him said, "Yes, no matter how big the conflict between father and son is, they can't smash the TV!"
"How expensive is a TV set! That's the first TV set in our Gaojia Village!"
"Ming Cheng, when are you going to buy another TV for your parents? I heard that you have a color TV in the city. Why don't you buy a color TV for your parents as well?"
Everyone was talking in a few words. They didn't care about the conflict between Gao Mingcheng and Gao Yuanjian, they only cared about whether Gao Mingcheng would buy another TV.
It would be best to buy a color TV!
Gao Mingcheng was almost laughing at their remarks.
The market price of an imported color TV is about 2,500 yuan, and you can't buy it without some connections. It was also thanks to Fan Licheng that he was able to get a batch of smuggled goods at the lowest price.
But now, he had just had a fight with his father, and these people actually came to ask him when he would buy another color TV for Gao Yuanjian!
This train of thought is amazing!
How despicable must he be, to be treated like that and yet still be given a color TV?
A mocking sneer appeared on Gao Mingcheng's lips. This time, he didn't even want to say anything. He just took Xuanyuemei's hand and left.
No matter how people behind him called out to him or talked about him, he was too lazy to turn around.
The villagers did not explicitly advise him to admit his mistake to Gao Yuanjian, but those words made him even more upset.
Xuanyuemei looked at Gao Mingcheng with heartache, and the two of them tightened their clasped hands, as if giving silent comfort.
Xuanmei's parents passed away early, but in fact she enjoyed the love of her parents.
She is the youngest daughter in the family and her father's favorite daughter. Her living conditions were so poor when she was a child that she was always picky and wanted to eat good food.
Often the only egg in the house would be given to her.
Because she lost her mother when she was very young, her father loved her even more and was afraid that she would not survive, so he often saved his own food rations for her to eat.
It was not until her father died and her eldest and third sisters married off that she suffered for a few years, living with her second sister and her brother who married into her family.
Those years were extremely hard, as the entire village would suppress them. Many of Mei's aggressive tempers were also developed during that time.
It was not until she married Gao Mingcheng that her living standard rose sharply.
She raised her head slightly and looked at Gao Mingcheng, and said firmly: "Mingcheng, I will always stand by your side."
Gao Mingcheng looked down at her and they smiled at each other.
"Yes, I know."
When I arrived outside my grandmother's yard, I could smell the rich aroma of meat.
He Xiuman took Xiao Yuanyuan to play in the yard. Xiao Yuanyuan was crawling on the mat on the ground with toys such as rattles and whistles at hand. He Xiuman was picking beans nearby.
When she saw Gao Mingcheng and Xuanyuemei coming, she greeted them with a smile and then continued to work with her head down.
This year's soybeans are ripe. They were harvested not long ago. After being dried, shelled and dusted, the soybeans need to be selected and the bad beans need to be picked out, otherwise the good beans will also be ruined.
These soybeans can be used to extract soybean oil or to make tofu.
In the past, most people in Gaojia Village consumed soybean oil, so almost everyone planted beans. Later, more and more people planted rapeseed, and more people consumed rapeseed oil.
However, Gao Mingcheng's family did not plant soybeans this year.
When I first reclaimed the wasteland last year, I did plant a crop of beans because beans can fertilize the soil.
I don’t have much time to take care of it this year, so I mainly grow edible vegetables and fruits to save myself the trouble of buying them outside.
As for eating oil, his family mainly eats tea oil and lard. This year, after going to Zhangshu to sell medicine, they have to go into the mountains to pick tea seeds.
"Yuanyuan, uncle let you hug me!" Gao Mingcheng liked little Yuanyuan very much and picked her up from the mat.
"Look, how cute!" Gao Mingcheng held Xiao Yuanyuan and showed her to many beauties.
"Brother Mingcheng and sister-in-law are here. Please sit down first. The food will be ready soon." Gao Zhuang heard Gao Mingcheng's voice and walked out of the kitchen.
Tonight, it was grandma who was cooking, and he helped with washing, cutting vegetables and lighting the fire.
Although the grandmother is old, she is still in good health. She thinks Gao Mingcheng loves the dishes she cooks the most, so when He Xiuman asked her to cook, she took the initiative to do it.
The dishes tonight are also very rich, including stewed chicken soup, stir-fried rabbit meat, braised pork, fried eel and some seasonal vegetables.
Because Mr. and Mrs. Gao Mingcheng came over for dinner in the evening, they had a simple meal at noon.
Tonight is their family’s Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner.
At noon, Luo Xiaohua gave one chicken leg to his eldest grandson and one to Grandma Gao.
And at night, the many beauties of pregnancy finally got a share of the spoils.
The grandmother was very fair. She gave one to her and also gave one to her granddaughter-in-law.
There was no wine on the table. Everyone was eating and talking at the same time, and the atmosphere was warm.
In contrast, the atmosphere in Gao Yuanjian's home was not very pleasant.
Xi Nainai's house is just behind Gao Yuanjian's house, and the two houses are not far apart. Although Gao Mingcheng has never passed by here, he can vaguely hear voices from over there while he is at home.
Gao Yuanjian had a gloomy face and smoked silently, with the smoke covering half of his body.
"Stop smoking and eat!" Luo Xiaohua said, and brought the dish in his hand to the table.
The plates and bowls used to serve the dishes were all newly bought. At noon, Gao Mingcheng overturned the table. The table was fine, but the cups, bowls and plates on the table were all broken.
While cleaning up, Luo Xiaohua cried and cursed in pain. Later, Gao Mingwan said that he was going to the cooperative to buy some tableware.
In five days, it will be his wedding day. Although he will have to borrow tables and dishes from the neighbors, it won’t hurt to prepare some at home.
So Gao Mingwan went to buy a basket of tableware, including rice bowls, soup bowls, cups and plates.
As for chopsticks, basically no one here buys them, they all make them themselves by cutting bamboo.
Seeing that Gao Yuan didn't move, Luo Xiaohua winked at his eldest son.
Gao Mingpeng stepped forward and said, "Dad, let's eat first."
Gao Yuanjian got angry and said in a very aggressive tone: "What are you eating? I'm not hungry!"
He doesn't sit at the table, and the younger ones in the family can't sit at the table either.
Gao Mingpeng advised, "Dad, this is all my fault. I didn't expect the second son to be so stingy that he wouldn't even help me. I also didn't expect him to have such a bad temper that he actually smashed the house. Dad, don't be angry. At worst, we won't ask him for anything in the future. He's rich now, so great that he doesn't recognize his parents and brothers anymore."
Gao Yuanjian was already furious when he heard his grandmother's voice, and now after hearing Gao Mingpeng's words, he became even angrier.
So he raised this son in vain?
Gao Mingwan frowned and looked at his elder brother with dissatisfaction. This was not persuasion at all, it was clearly adding fuel to the fire.
It was clearly the eldest brother's fault for what happened at noon, but he pretended nothing happened. After dinner, he disappeared, and when he appeared again, he brought his family to have dinner.
"Brother, you can't say that..." Just as Gao Mingwan was about to speak, Gao Mingpeng angrily retorted: "You have benefited from him, so of course you stand on his side! Am I wrong? I just wanted him to say a word for me, just a word! He refused, so Dad is angry!"
"He has the ability and helped you. Why can't he help me? Wouldn't I be his elder brother?" Gao Mingpeng's voice became louder and louder, revealing his dissatisfaction.
"I became an accountant and even invited him to dinner. At that time, he didn't say that he didn't want the job, nor did he say that it would be difficult to collect the money! Wasn't he just waiting to see me make a fool of myself?"
Gao Mingpeng became angrier and angrier as he spoke. He had wanted to say these words at noon, but unfortunately Gao Mingcheng was too decisive. He overturned the table and smashed things as soon as they disagreed, then left.
He didn't even get the chance to speak.
In the afternoon, he wanted to go to Niuweiling to find Gao Mingcheng and have a good talk with him, but was persuaded by his wife. He was afraid that Gao Mingcheng would take action and he would suffer a great loss.
In terms of fighting power, even if the whole family attacked together, they would not be a match for the second child alone.
Gao Mingpeng was very angry, but Gao Mingwan's thoughts were not diverted. He said rationally: "Brother, what do you want the second brother to say? You have already become the accountant and happily invited people to dinner, but the second brother said that he didn't want this accountant. Do you feel comfortable?"
"As for collecting the money, that's your job. You said your second brother didn't help you, but did you help him when he went out to buy goods? Did you help him when his clothing store was robbed last time? Not to mention the things outside, even the things in the village, did you help him with his rice and vegetable fields?"
Gao Mingpeng's face flushed, but he had been used to being domineering since he was a child, and he had always been very prestigious in front of his younger brothers. Naturally, he would not be defeated like this, and he quickly found a reason.
He pointed at Gao Mingwan and Gao Mingli and said, "You two have gone to the city to live a good life, leaving behind a lot of fields and land in the village. Those fields and land were cultivated by my father and me! The rice and vegetables you eat here are all grown by me!"
Gao Yuanjian's family has four sons and one daughter, so they were allocated more fields and reclaimed land. It was fine when the sons were all at home, but with the separation of Gao Mingcheng, Gao Mingwan and Gao Mingli also went to the county, and these fields and land in the village could only be managed by Gao Yuanjian and Gao Mingpeng.
So when Gao Mingpeng said this, he was very confident, as if he was saying, "I gave you food and drink."
Gao Mingwancai didn't want to spoil him, and said directly: "I went to the city and didn't take care of the farm work, but didn't I give money to my parents? Didn't I buy things for the family? When you got married, the family spent thousands of yuan, and later bought you a house to live in. What about my marriage? I took the betrothal money myself, and I bought those miscellaneous things myself. The house in the county was bought by myself, and I didn't spend a penny from the family! My parents paid for the wedding banquet, but the gift money also belonged to my parents!"
Gao Mingwan also straightened his back. He felt that if the farm work was converted into money, then the money he gave to his family would be more than enough.
When the two brothers quarreled, Gao Mingli dared not say a word.
Although he also worked in the county, his parents did not take his money because of his low salary. They just let him save it for his own dowry.
In addition, before living in his second brother's house, he would go to the village to get rice, vegetables and firewood to use in the county.
So, when his elder brother was speaking, he had no confidence to argue.
But he couldn't stand on the side of his eldest brother. After all, he was now living and eating at his second brother's house. Although he had to pay for food, if he used that little money to buy food outside, he wouldn't be able to eat as good meals as at home!
Gao Mingpeng and Gao Mingwan were unwilling to give in to each other, and they even brought up old trivial matters, and the two of them were arguing fiercely.
Gao Yuan was so angry that his veins were popping out. He picked up a chair and threw it to the ground with a loud bang.
"Shut up, everyone!"
(End of this chapter)
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