Chapter 112 One big mistake leads to another
"She came, she did come, but she left quickly. She can't stay in our house long if there's a monster in it," Tang Shaotao said. "Did you call her?"
"No," Tang Shaohua said. Why would he make a phone call? Would he call to make people think he wanted to borrow money?
Tang Shaojie straightened his collar, wondering if Aunt Song was good to Tang Lu.
“Tang Lu is a pilot; she’s most likely a member of the Song family,” Tang Shaojie said. “Does Mom want to give her the things?”
"I don't know, I'm not sure," Tang Shaotao said. "You should go ask her!"
Tang's mother didn't dare approach her three stepsons. Even with just Tang Shaotao as her stepson, things could still go on, let alone with all three together. Tang's mother knew what they were thinking; they were all after what Aunt Song had. Tang's mother wasn't stupid; she had no blood relation to these people, and it was none of her place to say those things.
"How about we listen again?" Tang Shaojie frowned. "Is Mom going to tell us what we did wrong and what she wants us to correct?"
Tang Shaojie adjusted his glasses. Arguing here was pointless; they needed to figure out why their mother had sent the cassette tape. The fact that their mother was still responding meant they still had a chance. If they gave up so easily, they would truly lose everything.
So the Tang family continued playing the tape, even though they could hear the ingratiating tone in the recordings, but there was nothing they could do. After all, Aunt Song had so many things, while they didn't.
When Mr. Tang heard the tape, he was furious and wanted to smash it. How could his son behave like this in front of Aunt Song? But then he thought that Aunt Song was the children's biological mother, and it didn't matter that the children were so subservient to their mother. As long as his sons received benefits, that was more important than anything else.
This reminded Tang's father of his past self. He used to be extremely humble and timid in front of Aunt Song, always obeying her every word. If Aunt Song said go east, he wouldn't dare go west.
Mrs. Tang looked at Mr. Tang. Well, these people are all pretty much the same. Mrs. Tang thought that Aunt Song was deliberately provoking them, and these people weren't even that angry. For what Aunt Song had, these people were really good at enduring it.
Aunt Song didn't see the Tang family listening to the recording, and she didn't know if they would argue. Aunt Song didn't record Tang Lu; she felt it was unnecessary to treat Tang Lu that way. Tang Lu did have some flaws, but overall she was good. Aunt Song could still accept Tang Lu; Tang Lu was much better than the rest of the Tang family.
After having their New Year's Eve dinner, Song Fenglan and the others watched fireworks together.
Cao Fang was still holding the child in the yard. After a while, she put the child in Song Erge's arms. Cao Fang went to check on the roasted mutton and roasted sweet potatoes. She knew that Qin Zihang liked to eat some roasted sweet potatoes and drink some beverages after eating the roasted meat.
Sister-in-law Song had already prepared all the ingredients, and they were all seasoned. The lamb had been roasting for a while to ensure it was cooked through.
Qin Zihang rarely ate barbecue. Song Fenglan and her husband had relatively healthy eating habits, and they only ate barbecue once or twice occasionally. Qin Zihang looked at the fire, then at the sky.
Qin Zihang's cousins also
They were all in the courtyard, all dressed in new clothes, and all looking very happy.
Cao Fang's daughter is still young, and the child also wants to stay close to her older siblings. Cao Fang's daughter is much smaller, and she still walks unsteadily. The clothes Cao Fang dressed the child in were too long, not just the right size. Cao Fang thought that the child could wear the clothes she wore this year next year, mainly because the clothes were long enough to cover her knees, so her thighs wouldn't feel so cold.
The child was wearing bright red clothes and had a small topknot tied in his hair with a red flower on it.
"Guoguo." The little boy didn't pronounce his older brother very clearly, so he called him Guoguo.
"You need to stand further back, not too close," Qin Zihang reminded his sister. "It'll be hot."
"It's hot." The little girl tilted her head, and there was a small red dot in the center of her forehead. This red dot was applied by Song's mother.
"Yes, it's hot, but it'll be ready soon," Qin Zihang said.
Looking at Song Erge's daughter, Song Fenglan had once wondered if Song Erge would end up alone, but unexpectedly, he had gotten married. Marriage is good; men rarely suffer losses in marriage, and Cao Fang is an exceptionally outstanding person. Song Erge hasn't lost out.
"This child, all she does is play all day long," Cao Fang sighed. "If we don't play with her, she'll say 'Guoguo, Guoguo.' When I tell her she's calling the wrong thing, that it's 'brother,' she still says, 'Guoguo, Guoguo.'"
Cao Fang had no choice but to teach her daughter little by little. It was fine for her young daughter to call her that occasionally. But if the child continued to call her that as she got older, it wouldn't be good.
“Children are all like that. They’ll speak more clearly in time,” Song Fenglan said. “She’s the youngest, so take it slow.”
“Yes, your second brother is older than you, but his child is the youngest,” Cao Fang said.
“That’s because my second brother hadn’t met you before, so he’d rather have nothing than something bad,” Song Fenglan replied.
Looking at the children, Aunt Song thought of her own. She realized the Tang family's genes were too strong; none of the children resembled Qin Zihang or his siblings. The Qin family wasn't much better, but Qin Zihang was quite remarkable.
"Auntie." Song Fenglan poured a drink for her third aunt.
That evening, the three Tang brothers got into a fight. The more they listened to the recording, the more they felt that others were badmouthing them to Aunt Song. The three Tang brothers were all selfish; they all wanted what belonged to Aunt Song, not their brothers. They had subtly hinted to Aunt Song that only they would be dutiful to her.
If the three brothers hadn't heard the recording, they could have pretended not to know anything. But after hearing it, the more they thought about it, the more suspicious it became, so they started arguing, then fighting, leaving the living room a complete mess. Tang Shaojie, who originally lived in the suburbs of the capital, went straight back. Tang Shaohua, who came from the countryside, had nowhere else to go.
Tang Shaojie felt that Tang Shaohua and Tang Shaotao were in cahoots. Since Tang Shaohua didn't live in the city, he needed to find a partner. Tang Shaojie thought that he was the youngest of three brothers, and since the two older brothers didn't know how to give way to their younger brother, they could only take advantage of him.
Tang Shaojie became increasingly agitated and furious.
Tang Shaotao was furious that a perfectly good New Year's Eve had turned into this.
"Dad, look at my third brother, my second brother, look at my third brother," Tang Shaotao said. "I'm the eldest son, I'm the eldest son, you know?"
Tang Shaotao was furious. Who did Tang Shaojie think he was? The youngest of three brothers, Tang Shaojie shouldn't even be thinking about such things. Historically, it's always the eldest son who inherits the most, not the youngest. Tang Shaojie even dared to speak ill of others in front of Aunt Song, which made Tang Shaotao want to stomp on Tang Shaojie's face.
Looking at the mess on the floor, Tang's mother didn't dare to clean it up immediately. Instead, she went to the side first. Tang's mother thought that Aunt Song was really something, so easily getting these people to argue and fight so fiercely.
"Second brother, you'd better not follow the example of third brother," Tang Shaotao said.
“We are all Mom’s children,” Tang Shaohua said. He didn’t want to inherit nothing, but he knew he was unlikely to get the largest share. “I want to go back to the city.”
"Back to the city?" Tang Shaotao looked at Tang Shaohua.
"Yes, I want to go back to the city," Tang Shaohua said. "Can you think of a way?"
“I have no choice, you should ask Dad,” Tang Shaotao said, not wanting Tang Shaohua to stay in the city for too long at this time.
If Tang Shaohua had settled in the capital, and given his experience as a sent-down youth, wouldn't he have been able to talk to Aunt Song more? Wouldn't Aunt Song have been even more fond of him then, and Tang Shaohua have gained more in return?
Tang Shaotao thought Tang Shaohua was really insidious. Not to mention that he had no way to help, even if he did have a way, he wouldn't let Tang Shaohua return to the city.
“Dad.” Tang Shaohua looked at his father.
"Why don't you take the college entrance exam?" Mr. Tang suggested.
The household registration system in the capital was strictly controlled, and many educated youth could not transfer their household registration back. Even after the policy was relaxed slightly, not all educated youth who left the capital could return.
Tang's father had already been removed from his position as deputy factory director, and now he basically does logistical work at the factory, what's commonly known as odd jobs. People like him don't get much respect from others.
In his early years, Tang's father wanted to arrange for Tang Shaohua to work in another factory, but he arranged for Tang Shaojie instead. Furthermore, Tang's father sent Tang Shaohua to the countryside as an educated youth to show people that the Tang family was hardworking and different from the Song family.
These people always have all sorts of reasons to send their children to the countryside as educated youth, putting on a sanctimonious facade.
"Take the college entrance exam?" Tang Shaohua raised his voice. "If I can pass the college entrance exam, I'll come back after taking it!"
Tang Shaohua had taken the college entrance exam before, but his scores were too low, and he failed. He didn't even get into a junior college. What could he do?
"Dad, can't you think of a solution?" Tang Shaohua said.
“We can’t do anything about it,” Mr. Tang said. “If you can’t take the college entrance exam, go to your mother. The Song family is very powerful; they have plenty of money and houses. They can make you come back.”
Mr. Tang passed the buck to Aunt Song, expecting her to handle these matters. He had done this even before his divorce; he believed Aunt Song was quite capable, so she should do more.
It was late at night, so Aunt Song didn't go back. She used to go back on New Year's Eve. Aunt Song said that one shouldn't stay at one's parents' home on New Year's Day. Seeing that Song Fenglan was at the Song family home, she added that staying at one's parents' home on New Year's Day was just an old custom, and one shouldn't pay attention to those feudal superstitions.
Aunt Song and the others watched the Spring Festival Gala. After watching the Gala, their New Year's Eve vigil ended, and they went to rest.
Song Fenglan and her family of three walked along the road, heading home together.
"It's snowing," Qin Zihang said.
Song Fenglan looked up at the sky and saw that it was indeed snowing. She was still wearing gloves and tried to take them off, but Qin Yizhou stopped her.
"It's too cold," Qin Yizhou said. "You've seen snow before."
"I've seen it, I've seen it." Song Fenglan didn't take off her gloves; she used them to catch the snow.
Snowflakes come in all sorts of shapes; they are not all the same shape.
When she was in the southern part of the city, Song Fenglan rarely saw snow, but after coming to the capital, she saw snow often.
“Mom.” Qin Zihang walked to Song Fenglan’s side.
"Are you cold?" Song Fenglan asked.
"I'm not cold," Qin Zihang said. "I'm just sleepy. I'll go back first."
Qin Zihang thought it best to let his parents walk slowly while he walked quickly.
"Be careful, it's so cold, there might be ice on the ground," Song Fenglan said.
"Okay, I'll be careful," Qin Zihang said.
Watching Qin Zihang jog away, Song Fenglan shook her head. She reached out and poked Qin Yizhou's arm. "Zihang ran off again."
"It's alright, it's flat ground. Even if you fall, you won't be seriously injured," Qin Yizhou said.
"Aren't you afraid he'll hurt his face?" Song Fenglan asked.
“Boys aren’t afraid of hurting their faces,” Qin Yizhou said.
“A boy’s face is still very important,” Song Fenglan said. “It’s impossible for it not to matter.”
"Fortunately, the boy has a few injuries on his face, but a little scar won't matter," Qin Yizhou said. "It's alright."
In the south of the city, Fatty Sister returned to her room with Zhang Chenghai. She roasted sweet potatoes for her two sons. Fatty Sister remembered how Song Fenglan used to make roasted meat and sweet potatoes on New Year's Eve, and Qin Zihang would always say: "Mom, sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes are sweet."
Sister-in-law Pang thought that Qin Zihang didn't drink sweet potato porridge often or eat sweet potato rice regularly, which is why he found sweet potatoes delicious.
"Xiao Hu's grades are in the top five in the class this time," said Aunt Pang.
"You've said it so many times." Zhang Chenghai had heard his wife say it more than once; she had said it again and again.
"I'm just so happy," said the plump woman. "Xiao Hu's grades weren't this good before. Having a tutor really makes a difference. At school, one teacher has to teach so many students, and some kids just can't keep up. Having a dedicated tutor for one-on-one or one-on-two tutoring is really helpful."
"Okay. You should drink less in the future, so we can save more money. When Xiaohu goes to high school, we'll need to hire a tutor for him. The college entrance exam is extremely important."
"Please, please." How could Zhang Chenghai refuse?
“Xiao Wen… his grades are so bad. I don’t know if we had hired a tutor for him before, would his grades have improved?” Aunt Pang said. “Will Xiao Wen say that we only care about his younger brother and not him? We’re not rich, are we? Xiao Hu is only benefiting from Zi Hang’s success. If Zi Hang were the same age as Xiao Wen, Xiao Wen would probably be the one benefiting.”
Neither Fatty nor Zhang Chenghai have hired a tutor for Zhang Xiaohu yet, so it's fair to say that Zhang Xiaohu has benefited entirely from Qin Zihang's influence. Zhang Xiaohu studied with Qin Zihang in elementary school, and during the summer vacation between his first and second years of junior high, he went to the capital to study with Qin Zihang again.
“If Xiaohu’s grades are stable, we won’t have to worry too much,” said Sister-in-law Pang. “After his high school entrance exam, we can relax a little. Many people don’t even think about going to high school; they just want to go to a vocational school. But Fenglan doesn’t think that way. She says that if you can go to high school, go to high school, and if you go to high school, try to get into a junior college. That’s better than going to a vocational school. Fenglan is educated, and I’m not very educated, so listening to her is definitely the right thing to do.”
"That's right." Zhang Chenghai had heard plenty of praise for Song Fenglan from Fatty Sister-in-law. Even though Song Fenglan had returned to the capital, Fatty Sister-in-law hadn't forgotten her.
“Having a good neighbor is great,” said the plump woman. “If it weren’t for Fenglan… maybe Xiaohu wouldn’t be where he is now, and even Xiaowen might not be doing as well as he is now. Look at the Fang family next door, Fang Xudong let his mother live here. Today, they had their New Year’s Eve dinner together, and it ended badly.”
Hearing the noise from next door, Fatty Sister-in-law realized that Gao Xiuxiu and Fang's mother were arguing again.
Fang's mother caused Gao Xiuxiu's body to become like that, and Gao Xiuxiu is still furious. Fang Xudong is thinking that it would be good for them to get together on New Year's Eve so they can have a New Year's Eve dinner together, since they haven't been together at other times.
Even a simple New Year's Eve dinner was too much for Gao Xiuxiu to bear.
"Yani and the others had a very happy New Year's Eve dinner. Her current sister-in-law is very capable," said the plump woman. "Since there are so many of them, they had their New Year's Eve dinner at Niu Cuihua's house. Well, after all, Fan Yani is the Guo family's adopted daughter, not their biological daughter, so it's better for her to have her New Year's Eve dinner at the Guo family's place. Fan Yani's whole family went over, along with Guo Furong."
The plump woman admired the Guo family; they were all so tolerant of Guo Furong. Everyone says children are innocent, but Guo Furong is, after all, a child of the Li family. The Guo family treats Guo Furong well; it's uncertain how she will treat them in the future.
"Niu Cuihua and her husband are really something, they've even bought a house," said the plump woman. "They've even brought their parents to live with them, that's quite a feat."
"Hmm," Zhang Chenghai said, "You want to compete with them?"
“I don’t compare myself to them,” said the plump woman. “My cooking skills aren’t that good, and I’m not good at baking either. If I were, I would have done it long ago. Xiao Hu always says that my cooking is not good, and that if I opened a restaurant, I would only lose money. Many people think that Niu Cuihua and her husband can run such a good restaurant, so they want to open one too, but their food is not as good as theirs, and they don’t have as many customers. It’s not like the state-run restaurants of the past, where you can make a living no matter what. Now it all depends on yourself.”
“It’s good to have self-awareness, so we don’t lose money,” Zhang Chenghai said. “Speaking of which, we can just eat the food you cook ourselves, and occasionally treat people to a meal, but we don’t need to open a restaurant.”
Zhang Chenghai was really worried that Fatty Sister would lose money opening her shop. Opening a shop requires skills; it's impossible to do it without any skills.
The main reason Niu Cuihua and her husband were a good couple was because Niu Cuihua was a good cook. She was responsible for all the seasonings, fillings, and stir-fries. Her husband mainly did jobs that didn't require any skills.
Many people in the residential compound have witnessed Niu Cuihua's prowess; that restaurant can't function without her.
"Do you even need to tell me that?" the plump woman said.
That evening, Guo's parents were very happy. They had their New Year's Eve dinner at Niu Cuihua and her husband's place, not at Fan Yani's place, and stayed at Niu Cuihua and her husband's house. They didn't have to go back to Fan Yani's place after dinner.
Since Fan Yani was an adopted daughter, Mr. Guo felt embarrassed to continue living with her. He preferred to live in the Guo family's house, as that made him feel like it was his own home, not someone else's.
Early in the morning, Tang Shaohua went to Aunt Song's house, only to find that Aunt Song was not home; she had gone to the Song family home for the New Year.
Tang Shaohua wants to stay in the city, not just himself, but also his wife and children. If it really can't be that simple, it's fine for him to stay in the city alone.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Tang Shaohua couldn't go to the Song family, so he insisted on waiting until the second day of the Lunar New Year to go to the Song family.
Aunt Song was invited by her mother to stay until the five-day Lunar New Year holiday, but she didn't expect Tang Shaohua to come over.
“Don’t let him in,” said Aunt Song. “The Tang family members are all good at keeping quiet.”
"Do you want to go out and take a look?" Song's mother asked.
“Him? Do you think I don’t understand him? He wants to go back to the city; he’s said it before,” Aunt Song said. “If I let him go back to the city, he’ll turn around and kick me while I’m down. He talks about how hard life is in the countryside, but does he think I didn’t live on a farm in the countryside? My life was even worse. Have I ever tried to play the victim with them?”
"If you don't want to see me, then don't," said Song's mother.
Aunt Song did not go out, and Tang Shaohua ran into Song's father.
"Uncle." Tang Shaohua thought of his mother's uncle, wondering if his uncle could help him.
"What's the matter?" Song's father went out for a while and returned home, only to unexpectedly run into Tang Shaohua at the door.
"Uncle, could you please help me get back to the city?" Tang Shaohua asked.
"There's nothing we can do," said Mr. Song. "You'll have to figure it out yourself. The current policies are very strict. Let your father think of a solution for you."
Mr. Song did not soften his heart. When the Song family was in trouble, the Tang family did not try to help them. Why should the Song family try to help them at this time?
“Uncle, my father had no choice, that’s why I came to you,” Tang Shaohua said. “If I were alone in the countryside, it wouldn’t be so bad, but my child…”
"That's your child," Mr. Song said coldly, "a child from the Tang family!"
Why should Tang's father ask others to find a solution when he himself isn't trying? He was a former deputy factory director; he couldn't possibly be completely without any ideas. There are so many other members of the Tang family; why should Tang Shaohua come to the Song family?
Is it because the Song family is rich that one or two of these people can come to the Song family?
Asking the Song family for help?
Song's father ignored Tang Shaohua and went back home.
Looking at the tightly closed door, Tang Shaohua knew that if Song's father didn't budge, it would be useless for him to talk to the rest of the Song family. The other members of the Song family must already deeply resent the Tang family. Tang Shaohua could only return home dejectedly.
The Song family never imagined that Tang Shaohua would consider divorcing his wife and marrying another woman in order to return to the city. Tang Shaohua was determined to seize any opportunity to return to the city.
Two months later, the Song family learned of Tang Shaohua's actions. They didn't know exactly what Tang Shaohua had told his first wife. He had divorced her, married a woman from the capital, and used that marriage as a pretext to return to the city. The woman had even helped Tang Shaohua find a job.
When Aunt Song found out, she wasn't surprised at all; this was just the Tang family.
Perhaps Tang Shaohua hadn't considered abandoning his wife and children before because he hadn't had the opportunity. Once the opportunity arose, Tang Shaohua would abandon those people and think about returning to the city.
When Qin Li'an was about to graduate from junior high school, he and some thugs beat up a man, who was seriously injured but survived.
This infuriated Brother Qin and the others. How could Qin Li'an do such a thing?
The Qin family paid them a sum of money and asked them not to call the police or let Qin Li'an go to jail. Qin Li'an just felt that his family would still save him, so he didn't take it to heart. It was just hitting someone, nothing serious.
Qin Li'an successfully obtained his junior high school graduation certificate. At this time, Tian Keshu decided to cut off her weekly allowance of three yuan. Qin Li'an was not about to accept this; he said that Tian Keshu should give him that allowance.
"If you don't give me the money, I'll burn your house down." Qin Li'an stood at the door of the Weng family's house with a torch in his hand.
Tian Keshu's eyes were red; she never expected Qin Li'an to do this.
“I even borrowed money to give you pocket money before,” Tian Keshu said, “just a little…”
"Not a single penny less," Qin Li'an said. "You're my own mother; you're supposed to support me."
Qin Li'an wanted to cause such a scene at the Qin family home, but his elder brother said that if Qin Li'an did, he shouldn't stay in the capital; they would send him to the Northwest, to some very, very far place. Qin Li'an didn't have a letter of introduction and couldn't be moved around freely.
Brother Qin has already lost a lot of money for Qin Li'an, and Qin Li'an still wants more money? No way. Knowing the Qin family's attitude, Qin Li'an has no choice but to hold on to Tian Keshu even tighter.
"Two yuan, two yuan a week, is that alright?" Tian Keshu said, "You can find another job and earn some money, you..."
"Will you find me a job?" Qin Li'an asked.
“Tell your dad and grandpa to find you a job,” Tian Keshu said. “If that doesn’t work, go to your uncle and ask him to find you a job. They can’t just watch you be unemployed and without a salary. Will they support you? Or do you want to continue your studies?”
No, let's not do that!
Tian Keshu didn't want to endure this any longer. For the past few months, she had to give Qin Li'an three yuan every week. Tian Keshu didn't have a stable job; she just did odd jobs to earn money, and she struggled to scrape together that amount, often having to borrow money from others. Tian Keshu didn't want to endure this for several more years. Her son had already graduated from junior high school, and that was enough.
"I'm going to study, and you'll pay me?" Qin Li'an asked.
"We're out of money," Tian Keshu said.
“I’m telling you, it’s three yuan a week, no less,” Qin Li’an said.
“Arson is a crime punishable by imprisonment,” Tian Keshu said.
"Wouldn't you be happy if I went to jail?" Qin Li'an said. "Then I won't come looking for you, you don't need to give me money, you..."
“No, what mother wants her son to go to jail? There’s no such thing,” Tian Keshu said. “Mom just doesn’t want you to make mistakes. If Mom had more money, she would definitely give you some; she would never say she wouldn’t give it to you.”
"Then give it to me!" Qin Li'an threw the torch aside.
Tian Keshu hurriedly tried to put out the torches, fearing the house would really catch fire. But Qin Li'an wouldn't let her go to put out the fire, so Tian Keshu had no choice but to give Qin Li'an three yuan.
"We need to prepare early for next week's event," Qin Li'an said.
“Okay…” Tian Keshu said. She gave Qin Li’an the money and then put out the fire.
That evening, Weng Guoqiang learned of Qin Li'an's actions and was furious. This was his house, not Tian Keshu's. If it weren't for the fact that Tian Keshu could still do housework, Weng Guoqiang would have divorced her immediately.
"Is he useless? He graduated from junior high school, can't he go to work?" Weng Guoqiang said. "Does he just have to take money from you?"
“I never expected him to turn out like this,” Tian Keshu said.
"You didn't expect that? He's your son, you didn't expect that?" Weng Guoqiang didn't believe it. "You spoil him, you go and earn money for him, and you expect him to take care of you in your old age. Don't even think about my son taking care of you in your old age!"
Weng Guoqiang never intended for his son to support Tian Keshu in her old age; he just said it outright now.
Weng Guoqiang and Tian Keshu had a big argument. In the end, Weng Guoqiang told Tian Keshu to figure out a way herself, and that she could not take money from the Weng family to give to Qin Li'an.
When news of Qin Li'an's affair spread, even Song Fenglan sighed upon hearing it.
"He's only graduated from junior high school, and something like that has already happened. What will happen in the future?" Qin Yizhou told Song Fenglan about Qin Li'an's situation while she was watching TV in the living room.
“They all spoil him,” Qin Yizhou said. “If you ask me, this time, he should go to jail. He’s already involved with spies, and that’s how his life will be. Let him go to jail and learn a lesson. Dad and my older brother don’t want to, they’re afraid of losing face.”
The Qin family didn't ask Qin Yizhou for help; they could handle this themselves.
Qin Yizhou shook his head upon hearing this, "What a great opportunity, yet they want to let things slide and prevent those people from calling the police."
"If we suppress this now, there won't be any problems later?" Song Fenglan said. "What exactly are they thinking?"
"What happens in the future is for the future. They only care about the present. As long as nothing major happens right now, there's no problem," Qin Yizhou said.
"Is he about to start working?" Song Fenglan asked.
"Given his condition, how many organizations would want him?" Qin Yizhou said. "None of the state-owned organizations would want him."
“That’s true,” Song Fenglan said. “He has so many problems on his plate, who would want him to work for them? If it were me, I wouldn’t want someone like that working for me either.”
Song Fenglan prefers hardworking and reliable people to troublemakers. Some people like to overthink things; they can imagine things that didn't happen, which is a classic case of paranoia.
The Qin family naturally still intended for Qin Li'an to go out and find a job, but Qin Li'an's grades were poor, and having only a junior high school diploma wasn't very useful. Qin's father had no choice but to swallow his pride and ask around. He thought that if Qin Li'an had a job, perhaps he would behave much better and wouldn't be as idle as before, and wouldn't hang out with those hooligans.
Qin Li'an simply didn't want to work properly. His father asked someone to arrange a job for him, but after a few days, Qin Li'an complained about having to work night shifts and refused to go.
Qin's father was furious. He swallowed his pride and found a job for Qin Li'an, but Qin Li'an refused to take it.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" Qin's father yelled at Qin Li'an in the living room. "Don't you know you're lucky to even have a job? And you still won't do it?"
“I have to work the night shift, it’s too tiring,” Qin Li’an said. “They know I’m your grandson, and they even…”
"So what if you're my grandson?" Qin's father didn't understand. Did Qin Li'an think that just because he had connections, he didn't have to do those things?
"They at least take good care of me, how could they make me work the night shift?" Qin Li'an said.
"..." Qin's father said coldly. The job he found for Qin Li'an was quite good, but Qin Li'an didn't appreciate it at all. "Go find a job yourself. I'm not going to find one for you."
"Grandpa, give me the money!" Qin Li'an said.
"What do you want me to do with the money?" Qin's father asked.
"You all say I can't find a job, so I'll start my own business!" Qin Lian said. "Can't I just be my own boss?"
"You think you're so great? You want to start a business?" Qin's father was unwilling to give him money.
Not only was Qin's father unwilling to give money, but Qin's elder brother was also unwilling to give money.
When his elder brother Qin returned, Qin Li'an said, "You can divide the property among me in advance, and I will use my own money to start a business."
Brother Qin still disagreed, saying that he was in his prime and would never give his property to Qin Li'an.
Aunt Song went to film a short sitcom, a few minutes long, with her old friends, their children and grandchildren. When they weren't working, they would go to Aunt Song's place to discuss the script and film together.
Then, those sitcoms, which lasted only a few minutes per episode, were even broadcast on television.
At first, Aunt Song didn't broadcast it on TV; instead, she broadcast it in the neighborhood.
Then, the TV station discovered it. The local TV station thought the sitcom was good, so they had Aunt Song sign a contract to broadcast it on their station.
Aunt Song was overjoyed and filmed even more enthusiastically, while the crew became more particular about the quality. They couldn't just film anything and put it on TV; that would be incredibly embarrassing. They needed both elderly and young people; it couldn't just be elderly people, because that wouldn't look good.
Song Fenglan was stunned when she saw her third aunt on TV.
"Mom, Mom, that's my great-aunt." Qin Zihang noticed.
"It really is true..." Song Fenglan exclaimed in surprise.
“Auntie,” Qin Zihang said.
“Your great-aunt is an educated person,” Song Fenglan said. So what if she’s old? She can still have her own career.
This reminded Song Fenglan of an older actress in her past life who starred in a short drama. The drama aired during the summer vacation and became a dark horse. Later, the drama was broadcast on a satellite TV channel, where it achieved a top-three rating in its time slot, which was truly remarkable.
Song Fenglan felt that Aunt Song San had a lot of energy now and could continue filming.
When the Tang family saw Aunt Song on television, they were a little stunned. They hadn't expected that Aunt Song, at her age, could still act in a TV series. The Tang family knew that Aunt Song had equipment, but they hadn't realized she was so capable.
"How much did this cost?" Aunt Tang muttered to herself while watching TV.
"Spend money?" Mrs. Tang looked at Mrs. Tang.
“Filming always costs money, especially for several people,” said Sister-in-law Tang. “Also, if the TV station broadcasts it, won’t they get paid? So, will they make a profit or a loss?”
Regardless of the reason, Sister-in-law Tang felt she had been cheated.
If Aunt Song doesn't make money, then the money she loses will be the money that will have to be given to the Tang brothers in the future. If Aunt Song does make money, then that money should belong to the Tang brothers. If possible, Sister-in-law Tang would prefer that Aunt Song makes money, then she wouldn't feel so bad, and she could even think about getting more money in the future.
If Sister-in-law Tang thought this way, one can only imagine what the Tang brothers thought.
Aunt Song ignored the Tang brothers, so the Tang brothers still had to find a way to make a good impression.
Time flew by, and it was time for Qin Zihang to take the high school entrance exam. He successfully gained admission to the high school where Song Fenglan worked. In fact, Qin Zihang had good grades and could have been directly admitted to university, but he still chose to take the exam. He felt that the high school entrance exam was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and he wanted to experience it.
Qin Li'an was arrested when Qin Zihang received his college admission notice.
It turns out that Qin Li'an had forced himself on a young girl, and the Qin family was trying to cover it up with money. However, the girl's parents objected, and instead wanted Qin Li'an to marry her—yes, marry her. But because neither Qin Li'an nor the girl was old enough, and the Qin family didn't approve of the girl, they refused. Qin Li'an also refused; he wanted his father and grandfather to resolve the matter.
Brother Qin was truly at his wit's end, so he came to Qin Yizhou, hoping Qin Yizhou could help him solve the problem.
"How can I help you? By using my power to intimidate people?" Qin Yizhou thought his brother had gone mad. He couldn't possibly do such a thing. "You should have expected this to happen the first time you tried to intimidate people with money."
"Li'an is still young," Brother Qin said.
“He’s not young anymore, he’s already sixteen,” Qin Yizhou said. “He has to be responsible for his own actions.”
“If he goes to jail, his life will be ruined,” Brother Qin said. “That girl is a minor.”
The key issue is that the girl is a minor. If she were an adult, things would be much easier to handle. Because she is a minor, even if her parents agree to a settlement, Qin Li'an will still be sentenced.
This isn't something only Qin Li'an knows; other people know too, including the police station. This is a criminal case, not an ordinary one.
Brother Qin still thought that Qin Yizhou must have connections since he was in the army.
"The girl's parents want Li'an to marry her, but Li'an disagrees. Mom is trying to persuade him," Brother Qin said. "But... the girl is underage..."
“In the past, that would have meant execution!” Qin Yizhou said. “He should be grateful that the policy has changed and that girl is still willing to be with him. Otherwise, would he still be standing there alive? We can't control him, we can't control him, you can control him yourselves. Don't try to take advantage of him.”
My connections, my connections are useless!
“Yizhou, he is your nephew,” Brother Qin said.
"What you're saying is all the same old thing in different guises; you're all using family ties as an excuse," Qin Yizhou said. "Brother, this is a society governed by law. He's forced himself on an innocent girl now, and he'll do other bad things in the future. Don't think you'll be watching him. If you really could, would things have come to this?"
“We didn’t want this either,” Brother Qin said. “We didn’t expect things to escalate to the police station, let alone that the nature of this matter would change.”
"You were just trying to fool people from the start." Qin Yizhou knew what his older brother was up to after a little thought: appease the girl and prevent her from suing Qin Li'an. Then, after a few years, when the girl had no evidence and was willing to date Qin Li'an again, it would be easier to pursue the matter later. "Qin Li'an should pay the price for his actions! One wrong step leads to another. Don't continue down this wrong path!"
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