Pei Hongqi's home was not far from Pei Songbai's home, but Pei Hongqi did not let Pei Songbai go home. Instead, he took him back to his own home first.
As soon as he entered, he sighed at Pei Songbai: "It seems you really don't know anything."
The more he acted like this, the more afraid Pei Songbai became.
"Uncle, is my mother alright? What exactly happened? Why don't I go back and check on her first, and then I'll tell you when I get back?"
Pei Hongqi glared at him: "If I tell you to sit, then sit properly. Do you think your uncle is so insensible? Your mother isn't home right now."
He knew Pei Songbai was anxious, so he stopped hiding anything and recounted everything that had happened to the Pei family since his family left.
Pei Songbai left with his wife. It was initially agreed that the Pei family would only separate Pei Songbai, while the others would remain together.
When he left, it was agreed that Pei Songbai would send back twenty yuan every month, which would be sent directly to Pei's mother, making it easier for her to manage the family.
How can money in someone else's hands be the same as money in your own? It can be said that from the moment Pei Songbai and his family of four left, the three Pei brothers and their wives were thinking about how to squeeze money out of their mother.
Pei's mother still remembered what her eldest son and daughter-in-law had said: that they should keep the money in their own hands, and that she would not give money to others without a proper reason.
If things continue like this, the Pei brothers might have some complaints, but nothing serious will happen. After all, the money is in their mother's hands, and they won't go too far for the sake of money.
The problem was that Pei's mother fell and became unable to move around easily.
The family was already poor, and Pei's mother had to withdraw money to see a doctor.
Pei Songbai's mother kept all the money he sent in a savings account. She had just lost several sons, each one more filial than the last, and Pei's mother had never been wary of her sons. Without much thought, she gave the savings account to her sons to withdraw the money.
Pei Hongqi paused here and sighed, "I only know this because my house is close by. My sister is so naive."
Once the passbook was in the hands of his second son, Pei Cuishan, he never intended to take it out again.
The third son, Pei Cuichuan, and the fourth son, Pei Cuibai, did not object. Taking advantage of the fact that their mother was still in bed, the three of them divided the family property.
Pei Songbai clenched his fists tightly, wishing he could rush home immediately and give his heartless younger brothers a good beating.
"That's not all. They've all separated their families, and no one cares about your mother anymore. They've driven her to live in that little thatched hut at the end of the village."
We've tried to persuade them, but these guys are like they've eaten the gall of a bear and the gall of a leopard; nothing anyone says will work.
They said the barefoot doctor examined Pei Meizi and said she had cancer and couldn't be saved, and told me to leave her alone.
In village affairs, as long as the village chief intervenes, no one will disrespect him.
The Pei family members acted like madmen. When the village chief spoke to them, they would agree politely on the surface, but then they would go back to doing whatever they wanted, which infuriated everyone.
Why hasn't anyone called me?
Pei Songbai had calmed down by now. Since he was back anyway, he would handle the rest.
He was serving in the army and couldn't help with anything too big, but he did provide a few military service slots for the village, and he had a pretty good relationship with the village chief.
According to Pei Hongqi, his mother had been sick for at least a week, and he hadn't received any calls from the village during that time.
“Your family members all say that you tacitly approved of it. When we asked your mother, she just kept crying and didn’t say whether you were willing or not. I guess… the village chief was afraid that you would be blinded by greed like those others, so he didn’t dare to call you.”
If Pei Songbai didn't want to care about his mother either, making this call would mean completely offending Pei Songbai.
The village chief is always someone who can weigh the pros and cons, so he would never do something that would be thankless.
Pei Songbai closed his eyes, suppressing all his thoughts: "Uncle Hongqi, I know what to do. Thank you. I'll go see my mother now."
The village couldn't just stand by and watch Pei's mother sleep in a thatched hut. So they contacted Pei Songbai's younger sister. At that moment, Pei's mother was in the next village, not at their house.
After leaving Uncle Hongqi's house, Pei Songbai, with a dark face, headed out of the village.
Pei's mother had four sons, and when she fell ill, she asked her youngest daughter to take care of her. He didn't know what others would say, but he couldn't put his sister in a difficult position.
Xia Wenhua grabbed Pei Songbai: "Songbai, are you going to bring your mother back?"
Pei Songbai was completely out of his mind at this moment. Ever since he heard about the outrageous things the three Pei brothers had done, he had been unable to suppress his anger.
His first priority was to bring his mother back. Once he got her back, he was determined to beat those heartless bastards to a pulp.
"We've already made such a mess of things. Even if we bring Mom back now, we'll still have to leave eventually. What's the point of bringing her back?"
Not to mention Pei Songbai was angry, even Xia Wenhua, who didn't spend much time with Pei's mother, was furious when she heard what Uncle Hongqi said.
She was a bit distant from Pei's mother after all, and although she was angry, Xia Wenhua still had the brainpower to think about the issues that followed.
Society is different now than it will be decades later. There is less population mobility now, and most people have lived here for generations, so gossip spreads more widely.
Not just in one village, but in the surrounding villages, if there's anything interesting, every household can talk about it.
Pei's mother has always been a very proud person. Now that she's been brought back, she definitely won't have the face to continue living in the village.
As for having her live with her daughter indefinitely, that's out of the question; it's simply impossible.
Let alone whether Pei Cuihong is willing or not, Pei's mother would probably rather fend for herself than have her daughter support her.
Having a son but still having to follow in the footsteps of a daughter will definitely lead to people gossiping behind your back.
Even decades later, people still criticize mothers for following their daughters' lead; it goes without saying now.
More important than going to pick up Pei's mother is what to do next.
Pei Songbai was pulled back to reality by Xia Wenhua. He moved his lips, clearly having already made up his mind, but ultimately didn't say a word.
Xia Wenhua didn't let Pei Songbai rush to express his opinion. Instead, she planned to let Uncle Hongqi take care of the two children first.
After leaving the child at Uncle Hongqi's house, she dragged Pei Songbai directly to the Pei family's house.
It's already dark, and everyone must be home by now, making it the perfect time to cause trouble.
She only asked Pei Songbai to calm down when they first came out. As they were about to reach the Pei family's door, Xia Wenhua twisted her wrist.
"We'll talk about other things later. We can't let anyone else have Mother's things. Let's pack everything up in a bit."
Pei Songbai, unaware of Xia Wenhua's meaning, glanced at her furtively and mumbled a soft "hmm."
Xia Wenhua curled her lips into a smile, her eyes shining in the darkness.
“Songbai, Mother suffered so much injustice. It's one thing that we weren't here before, but now that we are, we absolutely cannot let Mother suffer in vain. We have to teach them a lesson later, don't you think?”
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