Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

The two brothers chatted for a while and agreed to go to the railway station on the morning of the fifth day of the first lunar month and take the 11 o'clock train to Beijing. Xu Jianshou went back happily.

Xu Jianshe kept the sweet potatoes in his arms and took them home for his wife to eat. The food at Old Xu's house was not as good as Xu Huizhen's. Apart from cornmeal cakes and cornmeal porridge, there were sweet potatoes.

On the afternoon of the second day of the Chinese New Year, Xu Jianshe said to his father, "Dad, I will go to Hu Yingzi's house to pay New Year's greetings tomorrow, and then go directly back to the capital from her house."

Xu Wannian said, "Go call your wife over. Your mother and I have something to tell you."

Xu Jianshe thought to himself, what was coming had finally come, and his father must be looking for them for no good reason.

Sure enough, Xu Wannian spoke up: "Tell me, how much do you two earn per month now?"

Xu Jianshe told the truth: "I make 27.5 yuan a month."

Hu Yingzi blinked her eyes and lied, saying, "I just started working. I'm still an apprentice and I make 18.5 yuan a month."

Xu Wannian: "Our family has not yet split up. You two should send back the rest of your salary except for your daily expenses, and let your mother save it for you."

Hu Yingzi said, "That won't do. Dad, Mom, my job was bought for me by my parents, and the money was borrowed. Every month, apart from my living expenses, I have to pay off the debt with my salary."

Xu Jianshe was well prepared and said, "Dad, although I'm married, the company's housing supply is tight and I haven't been allocated a house. I'm renting a house and have to pay rent every month. Also, you didn't give me money for my marriage, and I borrowed a lot of money, which I need to pay back slowly. We will have children in the future, and we need to save some money to raise them, so I can only give you five yuan a month."

Xu Wannian suppressed his anger and said with a frown: "You earn so much money a month, but you only give me and your mother five dollars. How dare you say that!"

Hu Yingzi said, "Dad, you don't know that it's not easy to live in Beijing. The city is not like our countryside. Everything costs money, food, clothes, daily necessities, water, electricity, coal briquettes, even pickled vegetables. We just got married and our family is very poor. There are so many things we need to buy. After a few years when we are well-off, I will give you more money for your retirement."

Crying poor is a must.

Old Lady Xu scolded, "Shut up. We are talking to our son. Do you have the right to speak? As a daughter-in-law, you have no manners at all."

Hu Yingzi was not to be outdone: "Since I have no say, don't worry about my salary in the future. I was not born by you, so you can't rely on me for retirement."

Old Lady Xu was choked and speechless again, feeling secretly resentful that this daughter-in-law was not easy to control.

Hu Yingzi was secretly happy in her heart, I will not fight a battle without preparation, I have already thought of the excuses and am waiting to confront you.

Xu Jianshe quickly comforted her, "Yingzi, Yingzi, take your time to talk. Mom, mom, calm down too. Let's discuss this."

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Xu Jianshe asked, "Dad, how much money does my brother pay home every month?"

Xu Wannian was stunned. He didn't expect his youngest son to ask this. He was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to answer.

Old Lady Xu stammered, "Your brother doesn't make as much money as you do. Can you compare with him?"

Xu Jianshe: "I am very surprised. From childhood to adulthood, when there is delicious food, you said that my brother is weak and should give it to him. When working, I am obviously younger than him, but I also have to give him. Work quotas should be given to my brother first. I am not a child anymore, I know what is good and what is bad. After I went to Beijing, you never cared whether I was suffering or tired outside, whether I had cotton clothes to wear, and whether I could eat enough. When we met, there was nothing else to talk about, just money. I just want to ask, am I your biological child? I don’t look like my father or mother. Am I picked up by you?"

Xu Wannian was so angry that he banged the table with his pipe and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? You are all my biological children. Your eldest brother is the eldest grandson of the eldest son, so naturally I have to focus on training him."

Xu Jianshe sneered: "What era is this? The eldest son and grandson are still important? Does our Xu family have a throne to inherit? They are so self-righteous in being partial, it's really outrageous."

Xu Wannian was furious at his son's words and threw the pipe in his hand towards Xu Jianshe. Xu Jianshe had been paying attention and leaned back, so he missed.

Xu Wannian said angrily, "I am your father, you just listen to what I say, but now you are doing this, I say one thing to you and you say two things back. Are you making a scene?"

Xu Jianshe remained silent. When Xu Wannian calmed down, he said calmly, "My brother pays money home because his wife and children are at home. As for me, I don't need you to support my wife and children. You are in the countryside, and the food is distributed by the production team, and the vegetables are grown in your own plots. What do you want so much money for? Are you going to keep it for my brother?"

Xu Wannian: "Your mother is in poor health and often takes medicine. Doesn't she need money?"

Xu Jianshe: "How about this, keep the money my mom spent on medicine and the receipts from the hospital, split it in half, and my brother and I will each get half. In addition, I will give you 5 yuan a month for your retirement. If my brother also gives you 5 yuan, the two of you will have yuan a month. In our village, which elderly can get the same treatment as you?"

Xu Wannian: "We haven't split up yet, so it's not your turn to be the head of the family. All the money you earn should be handed over to the family. I am the head of the family!"

Xu Jianshe: "In that case, you should give me the money for my wedding first. I don't want more, just calculate it according to the expenses of my brother's wedding. The betrothal gift, the money for buying furniture, the money for buying bedding, the money for the wedding banquet, and the money for me to settle down in Beijing. Just give me 100 yuan for everything else."

Old Lady Xu: "How much money did you give to the family this year? Why do you ask for so much? How can the family have so much money? The harvest was not good this year, and the money was used to buy food. Otherwise, you wouldn't even be able to eat a meal like this when you come back."

In fact, if they were loving parents, Xu Jianshe could have given more money, after all, they were all family. However, Xu Huizhen told them about her dream, and Xu Jianshe believed it without a doubt. Many things had been confirmed, and the parents' partiality was also a fact.

Especially what Xu Huizhen said about the tragic death of their eldest son, which deeply touched Xu Jianshe. He didn't want to give a penny more to this black-hearted couple. After being bullied by them for so many years, who would want to continue to be the scapegoat?

His parents raised him, and he should never forget their kindness, but he should only provide for their old age. He absolutely could not give more, and the extra money he gave would benefit Xu Jianshe in the future.

At the same time, if there was a chance, he would also like to find out indirectly whether he was Xu's biological son.

But with his current ability, even if he asked the villagers, no one would tell him the truth. Xu Wannian was the clan leader, who would risk offending the clan leader? Moreover, such things related to one's life experience would not be disclosed by ordinary people.

The simple rural people all follow the principle of not alienating the relatives who are distant from them.