She really wanted to grab a feather blanket and give him a good beating. But every time she raised it, she would painfully pull it back. The boy was already a grown man in his early twenties, and she was afraid of hurting his pride by hitting him. Furthermore, every time she raised the feather blanket, Wencai would tilt his neck back, as if he was ready to be hit, which made her even more reluctant to do it.
"Pig? You gave birth to the pig too! Aren't you just scolding yourself?"
“You…you…”
The old lady was furious. If she couldn't beat her son, then beating her own man should be okay, right?
The old woman rushed to her husband, clutching a feather blanket, and slapped him on the back of his hand. The radio in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.
Her husband touched the burning back of his hand, squatted down to pick up his treasure, and complained, "What are you crazy about? Don't break my radio."
"I just wanted to listen. Look at what your son has become, and you, as a father, don't do anything about it. They say it's the father's fault if he doesn't raise his child well. Don't you feel any guilt at all?"
Her husband picked up the radio from the ground, checked it over and over to see if it was broken, and said slowly, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. You and I are both half-buried in the earth. It's time to live for ourselves! Don't worry about that. If you want Wencai to change his ways, don't give him money all the time. When he grows up, he has to learn to support himself and make ends meet. Only then will he understand that life is not easy and work hard to become a better person."
He checked the radio and found that it was fine. He walked into the yard while listening to the radio, leaving the old lady alone in the house sulking.
But after thinking about it carefully, the old man was right. The old aunt decided that from today on, she would no longer give Wencai money.
"Wencai, did you hear what your father said?"
The old lady stood where she was and asked loudly to Wencai who was not far away.
"Mom, don't listen to my dad's nonsense. We're a family, so why should we be divided into you and me? If we have money, of course we all share it."
Wencai grabbed an apple from the coffee table, wiped it on his body, took a bite, and then, probably because it wasn't to his liking, quickly spat it out. He threw the apple back into the fruit bowl and took another banana, peeling it while replying to his mother.
"Listen up, either go out and find me a proper job, or bring me a wife. Otherwise, from today on, you have to pay me your living expenses. If you don't pay, don't even think about eating."
Wencai didn't care about what the old lady said and continued to eat the banana in his hand.
The old lady saw this and was worried. She snatched the half banana from his hand and took it away along with the fruit plate on the coffee table. "These were also bought with money. If you want to eat them, bring money."
"Mom, my dear mother, am I your biological child? You are so cruel to abuse me like this."
Wencai saw that the old lady was serious and started to cry out in disgrace. But the old lady was completely vindictive and ignored him completely. She rushed into her room and slammed the door shut.
Wencai didn't take this seriously at all and continued to watch TV intently.
Soon Shumei came back from shopping. Wencai glanced at her with disdain when he saw her enter the house and asked coldly, "Hey! What are you having for dinner today?"
Wencai had looked down on Shumei from the day she entered his home, believing her to be nothing more than a peasant girl working for a fee, a servant in every sense of the word. As the master, he naturally didn't need to be polite to her. Although Shumei looked several years older than him, he never treated her kindly, let alone a proper "sister" or other respectful term. He would only call her "hey, hey."
"Corn and pork ribs soup, stir-fried cabbage with chili peppers, stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts, and your favorite, stir-fried pork intestines."
Shumei smiled and introduced today's menu to Wencai. Their family was one of the richest in town, so the lunch was a standard meal of three dishes and one soup.
Wencai listened without saying anything and continued watching TV.
Shumei put the vegetables she bought in the kitchen, then washed the dirty clothes of her aunt and uncle, and changed Xiao Shitou's diaper.
While washing clothes in the yard, she happened to meet Sister Liu who was also washing clothes. When she saw Shumei coming over with clothes, she greeted Shumei with a smile.
"Shumei, are you doing laundry?"
"Yes! Sister Liu, do you wash clothes too?"
"Mm! Today's vegetables are really fresh. You have good taste. From now on, I'll leave the grocery shopping to you. Do you mind?"
"It's okay, it's just a matter of convenience! Buying one is the same as buying two, so why should I mind?"
…
The two chatted while washing clothes.
Suddenly, Wencai threw a pile of dirty clothes in front of Shumei. He turned his head and said a little embarrassedly, "Wash mine too."
Shumei turned around and thought about agreeing. After hearing this, Wencai didn't even say thank you and walked into the house without looking back.
"Didn't I hear that her sister-in-law came back and said that you were the nanny she hired and that you were only responsible for taking care of the two old people and the young one. Why did she ask you to wash his clothes too?" Sister Liu asked Shumei in a low voice after seeing Wencai enter the house.
"It's okay. They are a family after all. How can we distinguish them so clearly? I'm just a nanny. My employer hired me to do the work. As long as it's their family's business, I have no reason to refuse."
Shumei picked up the clothes that Wencai threw on the stone platform and put them into the basin, while speaking to Sister Liu with a relaxed look on her face.
"I see! You're just too easy to talk to."
Shumei didn't say anything else and continued to wash the clothes in her hands.
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