"Brother, it's not that Mom doesn't love you, she just thinks I'm too young, that's why she's taking me with her."
You're all alone here; Mom's salary isn't enough to support two people. Don't hate Mom; she can't do anything about it.
He was only 8 years old, someone he had watched grow up from infancy, yet now he seemed so unfamiliar to him that he couldn't believe it.
Chen Junliang swallowed hard; his dry throat felt like it was about to burst into flames.
"Did Mom tell you that?"
Standing in front of him, Chen Junsheng lowered his head, not daring to look at him, and picked at his fingers. "...That's what I heard Mom say to Grandma."
Grandma tried to persuade Mom in this way, but Mom hesitated. She thought she still had some money that she could use to take both children with her.
Chen Junsheng was afraid that if his brother went there too, their mother's money wouldn't be enough to support both of them.
He doesn't want his parents to divorce, but if they do, he will definitely go with his mother.
That means my older brother has to stay here alone. Grandma is right, he's all grown up now, and he'll be able to work in a few months.
Staying here is better for everyone.
He hoped that after he said that, his brother would stay on his own initiative.
But what he didn't know was that this was Chen Junliang's original plan, and Guan Lian even told him everything.
After they left, Chen Junliang stayed alone in that house and sometimes doubted himself, wondering which of the two was telling the truth. Perhaps his mother was just making up a lie to keep him there, but he didn't want to believe it.
His mother's phone call made him realize that she loved him and hadn't abandoned him intentionally.
He originally thought his younger brother was just being a little cunning, afraid of leaving him with their father. Although he felt a bit unfamiliar with him, Chen Junliang thought that after all, he was the younger brother he had raised since childhood, and perhaps things would get better after a while.
However, the two brothers still couldn't go back to the way they used to be, where they could talk about anything.
After her mother went to work, the two of them stayed under the same roof but didn't talk much.
To keep up with the schedule, Chen Junliang spent all his time studying, except for taking walks every day. Chen Junsheng, on the other hand, felt that his brother had already seen through him.
"Brother, I apologize. Mom didn't mean it that way. I misunderstood. Please forgive me?"
Chen Junsheng was panicked. He just wanted to know their address and didn't want to do anything. His brother had misunderstood him, perhaps because of what had happened before. He thought he should just apologize to his brother.
After all, his brother would always forgive him whenever he apologized in the past.
Chen Junliang didn't speak, but simply glanced at him from head to toe several times before asking, "What did you do wrong? Why are you apologizing?"
"I didn't..."
"Since you didn't do anything wrong, why are you apologizing?"
He didn't think he had done anything wrong at all. Chen Junliang only felt that his younger brother had become very unfamiliar since half a year ago, and now he was even more unfamiliar.
That was someone who had followed him around since he was a toddler, and he saw right through his little schemes. After giving him a warning, he figured Chen Junliang wouldn't dare to do anything. Chen Junliang then turned back to reading.
Chen Junsheng bit his lip, glanced at his brother, and then ran out the door.
————
Guan Lian's mother wrote back to her, telling her that everything was fine and that she should live a good life.
The ex-mother-in-law and ex-husband did come to their house and cause a scene, but the couple insisted that they knew nothing about it and questioned why they couldn't even keep an eye on their child.
They didn't believe it and even tried to smash things in their house. Guan Lian's mother finally vented her anger that she had been holding in for so many years, and the two of them had a fierce fight.
Of course, they didn't tell their daughter any of this; they only said that the couple had gone to live in the countryside.
Guan Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Life in the factory was repetitive and peaceful, with raw materials arriving at fixed times and being shipped out at fixed times.
Even the sales at the department store have stabilized. The quality of the first batch of goods has made a name for itself, and people from other cities have even come to order fabrics from them.
December arrived, the snow grew heavier and the weather grew colder. Yanghe Village organized several winter hunting teams, and Uncle Liu and Liu Jianqiu also returned to participate.
Song Qing and the others gathered around Aunt Tian's house to warm themselves by the fire, and An An took out a handful of melon seeds from her pocket.
"Where did it come from?"
"Given to me by Brother Xiao Liang."
They met in the village today. Chen Junliang also came to the village for a stroll. No one expected that he would become good friends with Liu Jiandong. Now that Aunt Tian doesn't want him to take An'an up the mountain, he took Chen Junliang with him.
However, the village is currently engaged in winter hunting, and no one else can go up the mountain these days, so the two of them have disappeared.
An'an originally liked this older brother very much, until she found out that her uncle and brother had become good friends and they would go out to play together, but without her.
I don't know how long she pouted and sulked.
"It's been almost 5 days, we should be going down the mountain today."
Aunt Tian was a little worried, as her husband and eldest son were both in the production team, and she was afraid that something might happen to them on the mountain.
Winter hunting not only requires guarding against wild animals in the mountains, but also the risk of falling into old traps due to the heavy snowfall, and even accidental discharge of weapons.
"Tian Cuihua, the winter hunting team is back! Hurry up and get to the brigade!"
Everyone in the room immediately stood up, put on their clothes, scarves, and hats, and headed to the brigade headquarters. In such cold weather, every household came out to greet them.
This is a great event for the village. Every year during the winter hunt, they can get a lot of meat. Whether they eat it themselves or sell it for money, it's a great thing.
Song Qing followed Aunt Tian to the brigade headquarters, where a number of people gradually gathered around.
"How come the harvest is so good this year?"
"Those few roe deer, my goodness, they're so fat!"
Wild boars, roe deer, and other smaller animals like rabbits were piled up to one side, forming a small mountain, but no one really paid them any attention.
Everyone marveled at the mountain of prey, while the village's heroes sat by the fire, sipping hot wine.
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