Hunting Time
On an island thousands of miles away, Grandma Jane was discussing something with her second son whom she trusted the most.
"Do you think this can be accomplished, Boss?"
Grandma Jane still couldn't believe it and hesitated whether to do such a drastic thing.
Uncle Jian, however, was unconcerned and continued to advise his mother, "Mom! If you hesitate when you should make a decision, you'll suffer the consequences. Think about it, our eldest brother has gone so far away, and a year has passed without him sending a single letter home. It's clear that he truly has no regard for our family anymore. If we don't take drastic measures, we'll have no feelings for him at all!"
Seeing Grandma Jian's expression wavering, clearly moved by the persuasion, Second Uncle Jian quickly struck while the iron was hot: "By the way, Mom, don't you miss Big Brother and the others? Big Brother and the others have been by your side since you were little, taking care of you and Dad in all kinds of matters. The rest of us are definitely not as considerate as Big Brother, and there are always bumps and bruises. We are still not as considerate and comfortable as Big Brother and the others, don't you agree? They need to come back sooner rather than later."
After hearing this, Grandma Jane agreed very much.
That's the truth. After years of training, the eldest brother and his family have become obedient and never disobey them. Whether they ask for salary, gifts, or to do various big and small things, Jian Yangping and Su Qinxuan never refuse.
But the eldest son's children had more ulterior motives. Ever since Jian Yangping and his family ran away, the monthly filial piety money had stopped, and the quality of life of Grandma Jian and her husband had plummeted. The other children were not as obedient as the eldest son and his wife, and they did not take whatever they were told.
Whether ordering meat or vegetables, they were all shy and pretended not to hear even after being called for a long time. Sometimes they simply pretended not to hear and refused to bring the food, making it difficult for Grandpa and Grandma Jian to eat or sleep well, and they missed Jian Yangping's family very much.
Of course, I don’t miss their family, but their service. I want to continue living a comfortable life like a superior person!
Grandpa Jian didn't join in the conspiracy with his wife and children. Instead, he waited until the topic was over before sighing leisurely, "I told you not to do things so drastically, but you insisted on doing it. How could you not run away when you've pushed people to their death?"
Grandma Jian spat fiercely, "Bah! You old thing who only knows how to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor, what qualifications do you have to say these things here? Don't you want to eat the things given by the boss and others without using them?"
Grandpa Jian sighed and stopped talking.
Of course, he was not against the exploitation of Jian Yangping's small family by the whole family, but he wanted sustainable development. It was best to take it slow, so that he could drain the eldest family to the greatest extent.
Giving a slap in the face and then giving some sweet treats is the best way. Hasn't Jian Yangping been sucked dry for so many years and still be grateful?
You see, that's the downside of pushing too hard.
Now, if everyone has left, what's the point of development? There's no benefit at all!
I just hope that this time the boss and the others will remember our old friendship and come back obediently. If all else fails, they still have a trump card, don’t they?
Although it was a bit cruel, it was very useful. Otherwise, the boss and his family would not have been so anxious to go north.
Just as the three of them were thinking their own thoughts, a child suddenly ran to the front of their house, panting and shouting, "Grandpa Jian! There's a phone call for your family. It sounds like Uncle Jian is calling to see you. Go answer it!"
"Oh, okay! I'll be right there!" Grandpa Jian leaned on his cane, his face beaming with joy. Speak of the devil, and he'll appear. He said, how could his trump card not work once it was unleashed? The boss and the others are here to beg for mercy!
The two old people and their second son ran to the phone number of the county store like the wind, ecstatic. Uncle Jian was still rational and asked someone to help call his younger sister and younger brother over.
Why can't we all listen to the boss's surrender?
Grandma Jane rushed to the phone, picked it up tremblingly, calmed herself down, and started to accuse him, "Boss, you've become too independent. Tell me, it's been so long, and this is the first call you've made. If I hadn't written or sent you a telegram, would you have stopped contacting us?"
Jian Yangping retorted calmly: "I called you as soon as we arrived, Mom, did you forget?"
Is this true?
Grandma Jane's eyes moved, and even if she remembered, she would forget it!
She yelled, "I can't remember, I can't remember. Let's not talk about the past, just talk about the present. You haven't replied to any of these letters. Are you determined to sever ties with us?"
What the hell is going on? Didn't we agree when we came here to use gentleness to overcome hardness and take things slow? Why did my mother start yelling as soon as she answered the phone?
Uncle Jian was so anxious that he gestured with his hands and feet, wishing he could call his eldest brother himself.
Grandma Jian received her second son's signal and abruptly changed the subject: "Let's not talk about the past. Big brother, what have you been doing in Bao'an this year? Which factory did you work for?"
Jian Yangping laughed: "Bao'an changed its name a long time ago, and is now called Shenzhen." He knew that they didn't care about him, but he didn't know they didn't care to this extent. This also indirectly reflected how low his sense of existence was in that family before.
Grandma Jian: "Okay, okay, Shenzhen, Shenzhen. So what job do you do in Shenzhen now? What factory do you work for? How much do you make a month? The salary in a big place must be higher than in my hometown!"
Jian Yangping was not surprised at all. He thought that this was the only reason they contacted him. He would be surprised if they didn't talk about money!
Jian Yangping: "It's okay, it's that amount." He did not deny the information that he joined the factory. If it were in the past, Jian Yangping would definitely show off to prove his reliability and financial resources to his elderly parents and win their approval.
But now, he just wants to be with his little family, make money steadily, and not waste any glances on irrelevant people.
Uncle Jian couldn't help himself. He stepped forward from the sidelines and asked, "Which number is that?"
Without waiting for Jian Yangping to answer, he hurriedly said, "Brother, let me tell you, everything is going up in price now. Rice, flour, grain, and oil are all much more expensive than before. After all, it's normal for things to get more expensive every year. So it would be unreasonable if your filial piety money didn't increase accordingly this year, right?"
Shenzhen is a good place. Uncle Jian has seen reports in the newspaper that many national policies are leaning towards Shenzhen. From what Brother Li said, his elder brother lives such a comfortable life in Shenzhen, so it should also benefit the family.
Jian Yangping sneered and asked, "Filial tribute money? What filial tribute money?"
Hey, how come the previously honest and simple eldest brother has learned to act crazy and stupid after going to Shenzhen? Uncle Jian was angry: "Don't pretend. You give the money to our parents every year. How long have you forgotten it?"
Uncle Jian's questioning hit Jian Yangping's heart hard. This group of so-called "family members" were all after money!
He chuckled softly, "Really? You reminded me, I used to give you the filial piety money every month. I just forgot about it for a year, and now you're rushing to my door?"
"That won't do, second brother, third brother, and little sister, are you all listening here?"
Jian Jianan's uncle and aunt, who came hurriedly, subconsciously wanted to nod.
Jian Yangping's voice was neither higher nor lower than usual, but the people listening could inexplicably hear a sense of determination in her volume that had never been there before.
"Then listen up, everyone! From now on, I won't pay a single cent of any filial piety money!"
"We what?!"
"What!"
"Brother, why are you like this?"
"Boss, you are such an ungrateful person!"
Jian Yangping repeated his answer: "You heard me right. I said, there won't be any more filial piety money like before, and I can't send all kinds of supplies to your house every day anymore! From now on, everyone should take care of their own little families and don't cause trouble for each other!"
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a bolt of thunder from the blue, and a huge hole exploded in the hearts of everyone on the other end of the phone.
Grandma Jane was extremely angry. "Listen to what you are saying. Your father and I worked so hard to raise you, and this is how you repay us?"
A sharp female voice came from the tea table. It turned out to be the most impatient aunt who spoke: "Brother! Why are you talking to us like this? You are the eldest brother, and this family depends on you alone, right? What you said means that you don't want this family anymore?"
Grandma Jian was so angry that she trembled: "He must not take our family seriously, otherwise why wouldn't he come back to visit during the New Year and other holidays?"
Jian Yangping sneered, "Filial piety money? Shouldn't every child contribute to show their gratitude to their parents? Why have I been the only one contributing for so many years? We are all children of our parents, so we all have a share. If we want to contribute, then we should contribute together!"
Grandma Jian wanted to refute it, but was stopped by Grandpa Jian. That's right, if you continue to receive money every month, won't it be the same as before? Then as more people come, the amount of money will go up. There's no need to stop it. There's no need.
The younger brother who had been silent the whole time spoke up: "You calculated it so clearly, big brother, do you think you won't care about your parents if they get sick?"
Jian Yangping said clearly, "Didn't I take care of my parents when they were sick before? Now that I'm away for a while, it's okay for you to take care of them, right?"
His voice was soft, but it carried immense weight. It was the voice of a man who had awakened. "For so many years, I've been supporting this family alone. I can't do it alone. I didn't realize this until today. Either split the alimony equally, or don't ask me to join you!"
Second Uncle Jian was extremely anxious. Why were today's events so unexpected? What kind of education did Jian Yangping receive in the past year to make him so stubborn and not care about family affection at all? The tricks that worked in the past no longer worked?
He had no choice but to resort to his ultimate move: "Brother, have you forgotten how you were forced to go north? If you have forgotten, I don't mind helping you remember!"
On Jian Yangping's side, besides himself, Su Qinxuan, Jian Jianan and Jian Jiabei were all listening in. The two children immediately became nervous when they heard what was said.
Yes, why did their family of four suddenly flee to Shenzhen from their hometown where they had lived for decades? This has always been an unknown mystery to the two children. Will the answer be revealed today?
Who would have thought that Jian Yangping was not threatened at all, and as if he had been prepared, he calmly asked back, "So, was that really done by you?"
Jian Jianan closed his mouth and looked up, waiting for the person on the other end of the phone to give an answer.
It’s almost time, it’s almost time, the secret of why their family was forced to move north is about to come to light.
My aunt lost her patience and immediately retorted, "What is it? What is it? How can we know if you don't tell us what it is?"
Su Qinxuan finally said the first sentence: "You know best what's going on. Didn't you just threaten us with this matter?"
My aunt yelled sharply, "Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law! I knew you were listening. Please persuade my brother to come home quickly. Even if you don't go home, you still have to respect your parents! You can't just want rights without obligations!"
Su Qinxuan didn't want to waste any more words with her and returned the receiver to Jian Yangping, "You go and talk to them." Her husband had suffered greatly for so many years, living under the shadow of his brothers and sisters and elderly parents. It was time for him to come forward and put an end to it himself.
Jian Yangping took over and said, "Second brother, what did you just say about concealing the evidence of my previous crimes and reporting it to my current leader if I were unfilial?"
He didn't want Second Uncle Jian to answer, so he continued to talk to himself: "Are you going to report me for being a lackey of capitalism in my hometown a year ago, engaging in some speculation and reselling?"
A running dog of capitalism?
Speculation?
Jian Jianan was stunned, and many things flashed through his mind in an instant.
During the Chinese New Year last year, when their family was still in Hainan Island, their parents were already worried about their two children's schooling. At that time, the policy of vigorously developing the economy had just come out, and everyone was eager to try. Jian Yangping and Su Qinxuan thought about doing some small business to earn some tuition for their two children.
The past few years were special and the education system was completely paralyzed. Now it is slowly recovering and it is time for the two children to go to school.
Yes, in fact, setting up a stall at the train station was not the first time they had run a small business as an individual.
Everything was fine at the beginning. Both adults had jobs and could only use the time they got home from get off work to build some reputation. But not long after, the soap factory came to talk to Jian Yangping.
"Xiao Jian, have you and your lover been busy doing anything indecent these days? I'm telling you, you'd better go back and clean it up quickly!"
"Hey, don't be so quick to deny it. I'm telling you this out of kindness. Originally, this matter wasn't my responsibility, but I overheard it while chatting with someone else and thought I'd let you know, so I'm kindly reminding you."
"You probably don't even know who you've offended! You've already been reported to the higher-ups, and you're just waiting to be arrested and made an example of!"
Jian Yangping felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss. He then discussed with Su Qinxuan and decided to resign and sell his house, leaving his hometown where he had lived for decades and come to Shenzhen, a place with more economic development.
This is how the whole story begins.
Dad's words finally solved the biggest mystery in Jian Jianan's heart, but immediately, overwhelming anger rose in her heart.
Even though the family went through untold hardships and finally achieved a good result, being reported for being connected with capitalism was a very dangerous thing at that time last year outside of Shenzhen, a pioneering place!
If the old factory manager had not reminded them, the whole family might have been caught red-handed and then used as a target and severely beaten.
Dismissal is a foregone conclusion, and even imprisonment is a possibility.
People are evil! The person who reported it deserves to die!
From what my father said, could it be that the person who reported it is among these uncles and aunts, or grandparents?
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Jian Yangping smiled bitterly, "After I heard the news, I thought hard and still felt it was impossible. This matter has only been going on for a few days, and I haven't told anyone except those close to me. Xiaoqin would definitely not betray me. After thinking about it, I think there is only one candidate, and that's you."
His voice was bitter. No matter how much he wanted to cut off all ties, he couldn't completely sever ties with her. He was still sad. "You guys, do you hate me so much that you want to report me and end my life?"
"You know exactly how much you've wronged me. If you still consider me your elder brother, then don't contact me anymore. If you have anything urgent, you can ask someone to write to you. You have connections anyway. I didn't reveal a single word, but you still found me, didn't you?"
There was still silence on the other end of the phone. Jian Yangping had no time to think about what kind of mental journey those people were going through. He just wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible and cut off all ties with them.
But someone wasn't happy about it. When Jian Yangping was about to hang up, his second brother spoke up, "Brother...Brother, it was my younger sister who was ignorant and said something nonsense. Somehow, someone with ulterior motives got to know about it and reported it to the higher-ups, which almost caused a disaster. But don't worry, brother, don't worry. We've already criticized her! She also promised us that she would never do such a thing again!"
Was it my aunt who did it?
Jian Jianan was puzzled, but why should she do that?
In a flash, Su Qinxuan went over everything that had happened during that period in his mind, and immediately figured out the reasons why the young lady from the Jian family did this.
She snatched the receiver from her husband's hand. "It's you! It's you! It's you! I knew it! You're still mad at us for refusing to lend your husband money during the Spring Festival. Before you left, you saw everything Yang Ping and I had prepared, and that's why you started to have evil thoughts, right?"
She just knew that without any reason and interests involved, who would care about such a trivial matter as whether you do business or not!
Aunt Jian Nan's guilty voice came from the other end of the phone, "What...what happened? What happened? I wasn't the only one who reported it. My second brother and younger brothers were all involved!"
Her words were like thunder from a clear sky!
This is not the work of one person, it is actually a siege of one's own family by an entire family!
But why?
Why would you do this?
In the first half of my life, I always treated you as my family, worked diligently for our big family, and never slacked off. But you were able to do such a thing behind my back. It seems that you have never regarded me as a family member!
Jian Yangping was really heartbroken. His waist suddenly bent down, as if he had aged five or six years for no reason.
Su Qinxuan couldn't believe it. "You three siblings are holding a grudge against Yang Ping and me for announcing before the Spring Festival that we would no longer provide you with money and supplies because we needed to save up for the two children's schooling. That's why you're doing this!"
After sucking the blood of a whole family for so many years, and now having children, they have to consider them. No matter how foolishly filial the two adults were, they finally realized it and gradually decided to wake up.
But awakening does not happen overnight. There is a process involved, but they did not expect that this process would not be allowed from the beginning.
Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping felt lucky for the hundredth time. Fortunately, they had made a decisive decision to leave their hometown and start anew in a new place. If they had continued to stay there, they would have been eaten to the bone!
This group of people have formed a habit. If they can't take advantage, they will suffer a great loss. They will not give up the blood-sucking bag in vain.
Jian Yangping figured it all out, and his heart felt more relaxed and clear than ever before. "I've figured it out. It's not because I'm bad, but because you're such bad people. It's because I'm so good that I can tolerate you treating me, my wife, and my children like this for so many years."
"I've let it go now. I advise you to let it go quickly, too. Otherwise... hehe."
An old and angry voice sounded: "What else are you going to do?"
Jian Yangping immediately recognized his father's voice: "Dad, you're here! You can't sit still anymore and finally speak up!"
"I know what you want to do. Aren't you trying to use my business as a threat to me like you did a year ago? Threatening me to go home, take the money I've worked so hard for this year, and continue to work hard and do whatever you say like before."
"I'm telling you right now, it's impossible!"
Jian Yangping's tone was firm, and everyone could hear his determination.
"Brother, you're not afraid anymore. Aren't you afraid that we'll write a letter to your current boss, expose the situation, and get you fired?"
When Jian Jianan heard this, he sneered in his heart.
A group of frogs in the well, who feel comfortable staying in the well, think that everyone is the same as them, watching what they say, thinking what they think, and fearing what they fear.
In Shenzhen today, there are not many self-employed people everywhere, but at least there are a few on every street. Moreover, their restaurants have even been reported in newspapers. After staying in this thriving environment for a long time, how could they be scared because of an experience of setting up a stall a year ago?
"Really? I'm not afraid!" Jian Yangping's answer was clear and powerful. Not only was he not afraid, he also took the initiative to attack: "I say, you are the ones who should be afraid!"
He pointed at them one by one. "Second brother, are you going to be promoted to the next level this year? Tell me, if I write a letter to report you for taking the exam under someone else's name many years ago, will you still be able to move up?"
"Little sister, I heard that your husband and his extramarital affair are going on very passionately. I wouldn't mind having someone go to the school where you work and spread the word, and let someone else be the referee of your family affairs."
"And you, little brother, you're going to college next year, right? So, if your teacher knew you were ghostwriting your exams, would he still let you stay in school?"
The three people on the other end of the phone were stunned. They were surprised at Jian Yangping's fighting ability, and also surprised that he knew all about their dirty deeds so clearly!
Jian Yangping didn't want to argue any further, so he finally said something harsh: "That's it! I'm not afraid of your threats, but I suggest you think carefully about whether you're afraid of what I say. It's best to just stop associating with me in the future!"
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"Hello!"
Uncle Jian was left standing there with the phone in his hand, not knowing what to do.
Grandpa Jian didn't believe it, so he snatched the microphone and kept saying "Hello, hello, hello" for a long time without giving up.
"Boss! Boss--" He shouted heart-wrenchingly, but no one answered, only the hissing sound of electricity.
Uncle Jian suddenly thought of something and walked out with a start, "Mom and Dad, I have something to go back for. I'll talk about this when I get back!"
Before I knew it, we had been chatting for such a long time. If I had to pay for it all myself, how much would it cost? It would cost at least dozens of dollars.
Seeing the second brother taking the lead, the younger brother and aunt immediately realized this and said goodbye.
"I'm leaving now. I have something to do at home."
"I'm leaving too. I'll come back to see you, Mom and Dad, during the holidays!"
Grandpa Jane and Grandma Jane were left in the store, holding the phone receiver and crying without tears.
"Hey! Come back! If you don't, who's going to pay for the phone bill?"
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
"Unfilial descendants! You are all a bunch of unfilial things!"
Some people may be like this by nature. They will ignore those who are good to them, but will try to curry favor with those who are not good to them.
Perhaps, we will only cherish something when we lose it.
I don’t know what will happen to them now that they have lost the opportunity to continue sucking blood from Jian Jianan’s family of four?
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