"No." Ma Dali refused without thinking, saying: "Your homework is not good enough, studying hard is the most important thing for you to do right now."
Ma Li was very disappointed and whispered, "Brother, I just don't want you to be too stressed... You have been working hard to support the family all these years. I couldn't help at all, and I feel really guilty."
"What are you feeling guilty about?" Ma Dali said in a deep voice, "We are brothers, and we should take care of each other. If you really want me to reduce the burden, then study hard and get into college."
Ma Li nodded gently: "I know."
Ma Dali continued: "After the resumption of the college entrance examination, a lot of preferential policies came into being. I can study in Chongqing University now, thanks to these policies. You are also one of the lucky ones who can return to the city in time to take the college entrance examination this year. You must seize the opportunity. There are only a few months left. You must get your grades up and get into a good university, so that my parents and I will not waste our efforts. Men have ambitions, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make money in the future. You must be clear in your mind about what to do now and which thing is more important, and don't always think about it!"
"Brother, I understand." Ma Li said obediently: "I will definitely learn it."
Ma Dali finally felt relieved and whispered, "Don't go to the new house. If you have anything to send, just let Sanyue and Sifang send it. You should avoid suspicion in the melon field. Go to school every morning and study until the evening before going home. Do your homework at night and ask Sanyue if you don't understand. Go to bed around nine o'clock to make sure you have enough energy to study during the day, understand?"
"...I know." Ma Li lowered his head and whispered, "Brother, Jia Feng has been persuading me not to study anymore and she also hopes that I can work in a factory. However, I didn't agree to her."
Ma Dali said solemnly: "You have your own ideals to pursue, you shouldn't stop here."
The woman wished that her brother could work and earn money to support them and her daughter, so that she could keep him by her side and not let him fly too far or too high, otherwise she would not be able to keep him by her side in the future.
He had already guessed what she was thinking!
"That's right. If you work now, you have no skills and no qualifications, so you can only earn money by doing physical labor. On our construction site, young people and old people are paid about the same, but we generally don't dare to keep those who are too old to work. In other words, you will get the same amount of money as you earn now. When you are older, you will still have no work to do. How will you live then? It's fine if your children are filial, but what if they are not? Who will you rely on then?"
That woman is not a simple-minded person. She does not care about her brother's future, but only wants him to make money to support them.
Regardless of whether she was selfish or not, after all, if a person does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. But she always wanted her brother to marry her so that she and her child could have a long-term guarantee, which Ma Dali firmly opposed.
The younger brother should take care of the girls, but he should not sacrifice his own lifelong happiness. Seeing his younger brother being caught in the middle, feeling miserable every day, he couldn't help but feel distressed!
Ma Li was silent for a moment, and whispered: "I... of course I want to study."
Ma Dali said in a deep voice: "There are still preferential policies now. As long as the students who return to the city can take the college entrance examination, if you are a few years later, you may not have this opportunity. In fact, if you don't seize the opportunity, you can only do hard labor in the future. Studying gives you the opportunity to make money with a pen, a higher social status, a broader world to develop, and it can also make you secure for life. Do you understand?"
"I...I know." Ma Li.
Ma Dali sighed, his voice sounding quite helpless.
"You used to be so high-spirited and full of vigor, but after going to the countryside... you suffered a great misfortune, and when you came back you became depressed and had no confidence. Do you know how sad you felt, brother?"
Ma Li's eyes turned red and he was choked with sobs and couldn't speak.
Ma Dali whispered: "Don't think too much, go back to class and fight for your future life. The situation at home is much worse than before, you can see it. Since I met Lingling and Xiaohua, I have been getting better and better. You don't have to worry about the family's finances, I can definitely support the family while going to school."
"Yeah." Ma Li nodded.
Ma Dali said softly, "As for the widowed sister-in-law, I will ask Sanyue to bring her food. As long as there is rice at home, she will never be deprived of food. We have meat to eat, and so will the girls. You can continue to study, and we will help you take care of the girls."
"Brother... I'm sorry." Ma Li choked up: "I'm a burden to you..."
Ma Dali said sullenly, "What are you talking about! A family is talking about whether you are a burden or not! Her husband saved you, and it is our duty to take care of their daughter. But you don't have to sacrifice your marriage and future, understand? If you give up the college entrance examination this time, you will lose a lot in your life, and I will be completely disappointed in you!"
"I won't give up!" Ma Li suddenly said loudly: "I also want to study! I dream of getting into the university and major that I like!"
"That's right." Ma Dali finally smiled: "This is my old brother! This is the Ma Li in my mind!"
…
In the evening, Chen Xingling looked at two large piles of river sand and dozens of bags of cement and couldn't help feeling worried.
"How are we going to keep watch tonight? The workers won't be here until tomorrow morning. Even if we build a small house or two for Dali to live in, it will take until the day after tomorrow or the day after tomorrow before we can move in."
Chen Jixing couldn't help but suggest: "I'll stay and watch tonight and sleep on the tractor."
"Okay." Chen Wuxing: "Then I'll borrow a bicycle from my younger sister, and I'll ride the bicycles with my older brother to work tomorrow."
"Lingling! Fourth brother and fifth brother!" Ma Dali came pushing a bicycle.
Everyone turned their heads and saw two benches lying across his cart and a few long wooden boards on his shoulders, and they hurried forward to help.
Ma Dali smiled and explained, "I'll bring the wooden bed back and start the night watch tonight. Most people don't want river sand, but cement is different. A bag of it is worth a lot of money."
Chen Xingling couldn't help but sigh: "Although there is a mosquito net, what if it rains? Forget it, let's leave the tractor behind so that you can have a place to stay."
"How can it rain?" Ma Dali waved his hand nonchalantly, "The rainy season won't start for at least half a month. It's okay, I'll watch over it tonight. When tomorrow comes, we'll discuss whether to build a temporary shed or a small house."
Chen Jixing said quickly: "Let's build two rooms over there. The place is so big anyway, we can build as many as we can, and it can also be used to store some sundries."
"I agree too." Chen Wuxing echoed: "Just like the 'Gaoshan Garden', the owner also said not to tear it down, it can be used as a dormitory for workers and to store sundries."
Ma Dali did not make the decision, but looked at Chen Xingling for questioning.
Chen Xingling thought about it carefully and answered, "Build two rooms. One room will be used as a temporary residence for the eldest guest. Add a table to serve as a work table and also to hold drinking water and bowls. The other room will be used as two bathrooms, both of which will be larger. As for the cooking area, build a shed outside the office to provide temporary shelter from the wind and rain."
"Why?" Chen Jixing asked suspiciously, "Two toilets? There must be a toilet in our house, right? Are we going to go outside to relieve ourselves? What if it rains or blows?"
Chen Xingling shook his head: "This is a building with a factory and residential functions. It cannot be designed with the same considerations as an ordinary house. Master Mo will bring the drawings tomorrow, and we will discuss it in detail then, but the outside must be arranged like this. In the future, there will be many workers walking around in the factory, so arrange for them to use the toilet outside. This will not affect your and Fourth Sister-in-law's private lives. It is better to separate your life and work to protect your and Fourth Sister-in-law's private space."
"Right, right, right!" Chen Jixing immediately raised his thumbs up: "You are really thoughtful! Your fourth sister-in-law and I are very particular about hygiene, so it is indeed better to keep them a little apart."
"Okay." Chen Xingling made a decision: "Let's get the office and bathroom ready in the next few days."
"Tuo!"
…
After Chen Xingling finished his work, he rode his bike home.
I thought I would be home in the evening, but it was already dark when I got there. I didn't know if Gu Yi and his wife would come over for dinner, or if they could come over to look at houses after dinner.
Unexpectedly, Gu Yi and Zhao Xiaoxing were already waiting at the door, and they waved excitedly when they saw her.
"Sister-in-law! We bought the house!"
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