Ch 14: The Unfilial Children Trembles in Fear (QT)

Dong Zhihong’s family of three had been cursed by Yun Xi as unfilial, and their child had made outrageous remarks in front of everyone. They became the negative example many families used to educate their children.

Dong Zhizhi had tried to climb up to a better branch, only for Yun Xi to expose her lies and nearly send her to the police station. She had paid back quite a bit of money and run home crying, too ashamed to face anyone.

Dong Zhijie and his wife lost their jobs, lost any chance of transferring to the city, sold their house to repay their debts, and moved into a broken rented room.

Seeing their outcomes, Dong Zhiyong could not help feeling lucky that he was smart and had not gone looking for Yun Xi. Among the siblings, he was the only one whose reputation had not continued to worsen.

No matter what, he felt that life after the family division was better than before.

He no longer had to wait for Yun Xi to divide the food. He no longer had to give eggs to his nephews and nieces. He no longer had to listen to his eldest and second brothers lecture him. The half-room he had been given had been sold for money, and having that money in hand gave him peace of mind. He also had his own room to live in.

Aside from not having enough money to marry a wife yet, he was now one person whose stomach alone needed filling, with no whole family to worry about. His days were very comfortable.

Wasn’t it just that his mother had made it big and he temporarily could not benefit from it?

He was not in a hurry.

The family had only been divided for half a year. Yun Xi was still angry. After a few years, when Yun Xi, an old woman, became lonely, would she really refuse to acknowledge her children?

At that time, he could go over and show filial piety. Maybe he would become Yun Xi’s favorite son, and she would be willing to give him everything.

Dong Zhiyong’s calculations clacked loudly in his mind, but on the surface, he still condemned the others.

“Mom finally managed to live a few good days. Why do you all have to disturb her? Didn’t every one of you want to be your own master before? Now that the family is divided, why can’t any of you manage?”

They were siblings from the same family. Who did not understand whom?

He stepped on them to pretend to be a good person, angering all of them so much that they completely stopped associating with him.

Dong Zhiyong did not care. He only intensified his condemnation of them outside, shaping his own innocent image.

And honestly, this really did make him the one in the Dong family least affected by everything, and the one living the best.

In truth, many people in the village were shocked. They had never imagined that the old woman they had lived beside every day could have such ability. Even workers from the city factories rushed to listen to Yun Xi speak.

Back then, she could talk for a whole day in the fields. Why had they not listened more carefully when Yun Xi spoke?

What shocked everyone most was that Yun Xi truly refused to acknowledge her children and grandchildren. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. She truly had not come back even once. It was said that she earned quite a lot, yet she stubbornly refused to spend a single cent on her grandson.

This exceeded everyone’s imagination.

Just as everyone began wondering whether Yun Xi was a little selfish, a young daughter-in-law in the village had a difficult labor. Her family sent her to the city hospital overnight, but because they rarely went to the city for business, they were extremely panicked.

When they heard the doctor say she needed surgery, a cesarean section, they were terrified and ran to find Yun Xi.

Originally, they were grasping at straws in an emergency. In the middle of the night, they had not held much hope.

Who knew Yun Xi would hurry out, mount her bicycle, and rush to the hospital to help them ask everything clearly?

She made the decision.

“The situation is critical. She must have a cesarean section. With surgery, there’s an eighty percent chance both mother and child will be safe. If you insist on natural delivery, you might lose both of them. What is there still to consider? Decide quickly!”

The woman’s family instantly had someone to rely on.

Compared to the doctor, they trusted Yun Xi’s words more. They immediately signed the paperwork and let the woman enter the operating room.

In the end, the woman gave birth safely.

When the doctor came out, he said it was fortunate they had decided in time. The child’s umbilical cord had been wrapped around the neck and had almost died.

The woman’s family turned pale with lingering fear. They thanked the doctor repeatedly, then grabbed Yun Xi’s hand and thanked her nonstop.

Seeing that they were fine, Yun Xi bought brown sugar and a bag of eggs for the woman before going back to work.

Afterward, the family naturally wanted to thank Yun Xi. They went to the city government and brought Yun Xi a large basket of pickled cabbage, salted duck eggs, homemade soybean paste, and a large piece of cloth.

After returning to the village, they also praised Yun Xi endlessly.

Selfish?

They were not even close to Yun Xi, yet Yun Xi had been willing to climb out of bed in the middle of the night to help them. This showed what a good person Yun Xi was.

If the Dong family had treated Yun Xi even slightly better, could Yun Xi have been so heartless toward them?

According to everyone’s understanding, tiny household matters like finding jobs and secretly cooking extra meals could not possibly have angered Yun Xi to this extent. The Dong family must have done something extremely excessive in private that had not been exposed. Yun Xi was leaving them some dignity.

Everyone had their own guesses.

Without anyone realizing it, the Dong family became isolated in the village.

No one was willing to associate with them.

Even the educated youths who had bought their rooms secretly cursed their bad luck, feeling disgusted about living right next to them. They made the fence even higher, afraid of being connected to them in any way.

This angered the Dong family terribly.

Soon, New Year arrived.

In Yun Xi’s original world, she did not celebrate New Year. This was her first time doing so, and she found it novel. She often went with coworkers to buy New Year goods.

When her coworkers bought peanuts, sunflower seeds, prawns, and candy, she bought them too.

When her coworkers bought Spring Festival couplets and blessing characters, she also pasted them on her dormitory door.

When her coworkers bought new clothes, she also changed into festive-colored clothing.

She herself felt that the bustle was quite interesting and smiled every day.

But during the special holiday of New Year, her coworkers still felt she was too lonely.

Who spent New Year alone?

Several coworkers close to her invited Yun Xi to their homes for New Year. Even the mayor said,

“Sister Li, come to my house for New Year. My mother has been thinking about you. If she knew you were spending it alone in the dormitory, she would definitely criticize me.”

Yun Xi waved her hand and smiled.

“No, no. I already planned to eat hot pot in the dormitory on New Year’s Eve. Properly enjoying a peaceful New Year for once is a special experience too, isn’t it?

I truly enjoy it. Don’t worry.”

Seeing that she did not seem to be pretending, the mayor did not persuade her further.

There were several days off for New Year, and more than half the dormitory emptied out. Even those who returned to sleep in the dormitory at night went out visiting relatives during the day. The unit was rarely so quiet.

Yun Xi had gotten herself a bamboo rocking chair in the dormitory. She sat in the rocking chair, swaying slowly, listening to programs on the radio. From time to time, she could hear the sound of firecrackers outside.

There was quiet within the noise, and it was very pleasant.

Close to midnight, someone came to knock on the door.

“Sister Li, are you there? It’s Xiao Zhang.”

Yun Xi opened the door and saw Xiao Zhang covered in snow. She quickly let him inside.

“Xiao Zhang? Why are you here? Hurry and warm yourself by the heater. Why is your face so red from the cold?”

Xiao Zhang set the large pile of things he was carrying to the side and forced a smile.

“Sister Li, I’m also spending New Year alone. Can the two of us stay up for New Year together? These are New Year goods for you.”

After Yun Xi asked a few questions, she learned that Xiao Zhang had fallen out with his family.

He had never been favored at home. It was only by relying on his own intelligence and boldness that he had learned to drive, obtained a job, and done well at it. Only then had his family valued him a bit, but that was only so he would hand over his wages.

Usually, Xiao Zhang lived in the unit dormitory and rarely went home, so there were few conflicts.

This time, when he went back for New Year and the whole large family was together, his family began thinking of ways to ask him for money.

His nephew needed books and new clothes. His younger brother was meeting potential marriage partners. His younger sister needed help finding work. His parents had aching backs and waists and needed supplements.

Their attitude made it seem as if they wanted to empty his pockets completely and then force him to give up his job before they would stop.

Xiao Zhang had not wanted to start a fight during New Year, so he smiled and said that he still had not built a house or married a wife, so in the new year, he had to prioritize himself first.

As a result, after drinking a bit of alcohol, his elder brother and younger brother pointed at his nose and cursed him for being selfish. They said the family was entirely supported by them, that the parents were entirely cared for by them, while he lived freely outside without contributing anything. Now he was whining over giving just a little money.

His parents just watched with unhappy expressions, as though he truly had done something wrong.

Xiao Zhang’s heart chilled completely.

How much money had he given the family year after year, month after month?

And this was how they treated him?

Did they really think he had no temper?

So he directly flipped the table.

The commotion lasted until the neighbors came over to break up the fight and learned all the ugly matters in his family. Only then did it stop.

He also declared that from then on, he would not bring a single cent home and would never return. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Carrying the New Year goods he had bought, he returned to the unit.

From far away, he saw the light on in Yun Xi’s room. Feeling that the two of them shared the same misfortune, he came over to ask whether she wanted to stay up for New Year together.

After saying this, Xiao Zhang felt that he had been a little abrupt and said awkwardly,

“Sister Li, did you want to spend New Year alone? Then I’ll go back to my room. I…”

Yun Xi smiled.

“Sit down and relax. With our relationship, why are you saying such distant things?

Come, eat spicy hot pot, and have some wine.

In the new year, we both have to make our lives prosperous, lively, and flourishing!”

Xiao Zhang let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He raised his cup and clinked it with Yun Xi’s, sincerely saying,

“In the new year, I wish Sister Li good health and constant smiles.”

At that exact moment, someone outside set off firecrackers.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

On this New Year’s Eve, they felt the warmth of the holiday, and the distance between them invisibly grew closer again.

The next day, when Sister Qin and the others learned about this, they sighed.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the two of you were mother and son?

Those ingrates of yours simply aren’t worthy of such a good mother like you. And Xiao Zhang’s unreliable family isn’t worthy of such a good child like him either.”

During New Year, everyone had little to do. While visiting and gossiping, many people brought this matter up, talking about the relationship between parents and children.

Many people truly wished Yun Xi and Xiao Zhang belonged to their own families.

How comfortable would it be to have an elder who earned her own money and handled matters so openly?

How proud would it be to have a son who was smart, hardworking, and had such a bright future?

Why did their families not know how to cherish them?

At least Xiao Zhang’s family still ran to the unit several times looking for him, though they were beaten back by Xiao Zhang.

But why did Yun Xi’s children and grandchildren not even know to come wish her a happy New Year?

Were a bunch of juniors still waiting for their elder to lower her head and come wish them New Year greetings?

Normally, no matter what conflicts people had, they still paid attention to harmony during New Year.

No one had expected Yun Xi’s children and grandchildren not to show up at all.

Everyone felt even more that they were no good.

In truth, the Dong family really was waiting for Yun Xi to lower her head.

In the past, Yun Xi had valued New Year the most.

Every year during New Year, she directed them in circles, cleaning the house until the windows were bright and everything was spotless. They pasted Spring Festival couplets and set off firecrackers, and she would say that New Year had to be spent together as a reunited family.

They all felt certain Yun Xi would return home for New Year.

The family could take the offered way out, and they would reconcile.

Who knew that after waiting and waiting, it was already the third day of the New Year and there was still no sign of her?

Now they could not sit still.

After discussing it, they decided to go to the city together to bring Yun Xi home.

After all, their reason was proper: they were picking her up for New Year.

Even if Yun Xi disagreed, she could not possibly curse them during New Year.

When they reached the city government, the few workers who had not gone visiting relatives gathered around to watch the excitement.

“How novel. You finally remembered to come find Sister Li for New Year? Isn’t it a little late?”

Dong Zhihong braced himself and said,

“We were afraid my mother would be angry during New Year, so we deliberately came two days later.”

When Yun Xi was called out by her coworkers, she happened to hear this.

With a smile that was not quite a smile, she asked,

“So it looks like you all came to pick me up only after preparing properly. What did you prepare? What New Year goods did you buy to show filial respect to me? Why are you… empty-handed?”

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