The Zhao family was overjoyed. They firmly believed that the old man hadn't given up on them; he was just all bark and no bite. They saw all those valuable gifts, and since he personally delivered them, they were sure they'd find good jobs.
Back when we were in the South, everyone was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment when they mentioned that they were the old man's juniors.
The Zhao family's children had very limited memories of their father. They had relied on their mother since childhood, and apart from the fact that the family was always well-fed, they didn't have many deep memories of him.
After the establishment of New Xiahua, the old man continued to travel around for more than ten years. When he returned home, he was a majestic and imposing leader.
At that time, the old lady was already terminally ill, and the two of them only managed to see each other one last time.
The old lady entrusted her entire family to the old man before passing away with a smile.
Therefore, Zhao's children felt that it was their grandfather's responsibility.
The old man joined the army without a word. He gave birth to them but didn't raise them. It's time to make it up to them. Otherwise, the old man will definitely be afraid that when he gets old, he will not have any children or grandchildren to serve him.
However, they followed the old man to the military family compound. But on the very first day, the old man made arrangements with everyone there, telling his family members that they did not want any preferential treatment and that they should find jobs entirely on their own.
This sentence became the command of the other family members in the compound. All the benefits were gone from the Zhao family, and the resentment was driving them crazy.
Although the Zhao family hadn't had the old man's protection before, they were still spoiled rich kids who never had to worry about food or drink. They never imagined that following their father would mean living a miserable life.
So the old man just displayed it for show, but couldn't actually use it?
So what others perceive as envy, jealousy, and hatred can only be truly understood through personal experience. The younger generation of the Zhao family doesn't even have an easier time than an average dual-income family.
At least their parents help them find jobs and handle all the arrangements. These are things that the younger generation in the Zhao family never gets to enjoy.
The children went to the countryside, joined the army to toughen up, went to school, and found jobs on their own. They could bribe their way out, but they couldn't use the old man's name, or he'd get rid of them in a heartbeat.
Over the years, the Zhao family has spent all the money they squeezed from the old lady, and now they are truly living off their wages.
The men of the Zhao family, having received a systematic education from a young age, possessed some skills, but that was all. When others mentioned them, they would say, "The Zhao family children are promising; they made their own way at a young age without relying on their family at all."
To say they've made a name for themselves is an exaggeration; at most, it's just the Zhao family boasting and spreading rumors. As for the Zhao family, they look better on the surface now.
With a large family, we can't just sit around and do nothing; the women also need to find work.
Seeing that the old man had finally stopped being stubborn, everyone was filled with anticipation, thinking that the old man was getting old and knew how to please the younger generation.
Meanwhile, since the old man moved in, visitors have been coming to his house in an endless stream. Even though he turned down most of the gifts, the house still managed to fill a storage room.
Only he had the key to the storage room door, and no one else was allowed to touch it. Occasionally, when he was in a good mood, he would take out some pastries and sweets that were about to expire and give them to the children to eat.
But he couldn't possibly use all of these things, so a few days ago he asked someone to look up information and find his old friends in Kyoto, preparing to visit them one by one.
"Yu Bao'er, are you free today?" As soon as he stepped out the door, he met Ke Meiyu, who was taking the children to school, and the old man waved and asked from afar.
Ko Mei-yu laughed and said, "No, although I hold multiple jobs, I prefer to make good use of my time. So, I work three days a week and rest four days a week!"
"Perfect timing, shall I accompany the old man to visit some neighbors?"
There were many gifts. The old man asked the nanny to borrow the canteen's tricycle for buying groceries, and then covered it with a burlap sack. No one knew that under such a shabby thing, there were actually high-end products!
Ke Meiyu chuckled and said, "Grandpa, do you think anyone would refuse what you're saying? Any place you can visit is definitely not an ordinary family."
“You’re wrong,” the old man chuckled and beckoned to her, mysteriously lifting a corner of the burlap sack to reveal the high-end goods inside. He said proudly, “We’ve been here for two months, and the gifts people have given us are piled up all over the house. This is no exaggeration; there’s not even room to step.”
"I'm not a greedy person, but I really can't refuse these gifts. Many of them are from people I lent money to in the past, who later became successful and came to give me gifts when they heard about it, repaying the principal and interest."
"I am wholeheartedly loyal to the organization, but I'm not stupid. Why should I not take what I've risked my life for? Besides, they don't lack these things now. As the saying goes, 'A little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment.' I don't want to be a sucker!"
Ke Meiyu smiled and nodded, "That's true, we can help in an emergency, but not in a long-term solution."
"I'm going to help the poor now," the old man said in a low voice without trying to hide anything from her. "These things are just going to go bad anyway. Rather than letting those lazy bums at home sit around doing nothing, I'd rather give them to those who need them."
Ke Meiyu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Then you can't send these things. Some families are struggling to make ends meet, and you're sending them high-end goods?"
"Huh?" The old man scratched his head. "But this is all I have."
"Come on, follow me," Ke Meiyu led the way, leading people to a small shop with a sign at the door that read "Buy High-End Gifts".
"Grandpa Zhao, these things of yours are priceless. Many people want to give them as gifts to relatives, but they can't buy them. So this shop specializes in recycling what you can't use and reselling them."
"This shop offers fair prices, paying about 90% of the purchase price, which is much more affordable than paying 50% or 60%, or even 20% or 30%, elsewhere."
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