Ch 22: The Unfilial Children Trembles in Fear (QT)

Many people in Yun Xi’s hometown city began to envy the villagers of Yangliu Village.

Yun Xi had truly provided too many opportunities for them. Now she had even signed contracts with many work units. As long as students from her school passed the graduation assessment, they could go directly to those units and start working. It was almost the same treatment as university graduates being assigned jobs.

Children from the village could study at Yun Xi’s school or work for her. As long as they were willing to work hard and improve themselves, they could build a good future.

Even those without strong abilities, if they were diligent and careful, could work for her in logistics, cleaning, security, or similar jobs. To the villagers, those were all excellent paths forward.

After working hard for a few years, they could save money to buy homes and become urban residents, putting down roots in the city. Whether in the city or in the capital, their future children would enjoy much better educational and medical resources. In one stroke, they could change the fate of their once-poor families.

In Yun Xi’s hometown, her name had already become synonymous with “opportunity.”

Yun Xi also paid to have a road built for Yangliu Village, making travel to the city much more convenient. Naturally, the village developed even better and had already become the wealthiest village under the city’s jurisdiction.

If another place had developed rapidly, the Dong family might not have felt much.

But Yangliu Village was developing rapidly right before their eyes, and that left a bitter taste in their hearts.

The environment around them improved year by year, and the effect on them was too great.

They should have been happy that the village was becoming better.

But when they saw more than half the village’s young people working for Yun Xi, constantly sending money home, allowing their elderly parents to build brick houses, listen to radios, and even watch television, they felt miserable.

Almost every household had a bicycle now. The Village Chief even rode a motorcycle when he went out.

The Dong family felt the changing times more vividly than anyone else.

The era was improving and developing rapidly. Everyone else had boarded that favorable wind and become wealthier. Only they remained where they were.

The more they compared, the more painful it became.

And the person who had brought all of this to everyone was their own mother, the ignorant shrew they had once despised.

This influence would continue for a very, very long time.

Meanwhile, Yun Xi gradually stopped hearing news about them.

After all, the distance was truly too great now, and the gap between them was even greater.

The villagers all felt that those people were stains in Yun Xi’s life. Naturally, no one mentioned them to her.

Gradually, they and Yun Xi truly became as if they were people separated into two different worlds.

Yun Xi seized the opportunities of the era.

By providing large numbers of practical talents to society, she took deep root in this period and developed quickly and well.

More importantly, by staying true to her original intentions and never lowering her standards, she made the school’s reputation grow brighter and stronger.

Years later, her students had gone all across the country.

Quite a few became business owners and lived well.

A few especially outstanding ones even became nationally famous. Whenever they were mentioned, they said they were deeply grateful that Yun Xi had given them such a good opportunity, allowing them to learn skills and shine in society.

In this unexpected way, Yun Xi achieved the classic ideal of having students all over the world.

Her accomplishments were extraordinary, and even the education system recognized her highly.

When Yun Xi turned seventy, she finally prepared to step back.

Xiao Zhang’s research achievements were also very impressive, and he had started his own company.

An authoritative magazine specially invited mother and son to do an interview together.

Throughout the entire interview, it was clear that Xiao Zhang took very good care of Yun Xi.

The host smiled and said,

“Principal Li is truly blessed. President Zhang is so filial.”

Yun Xi smiled and nodded.

“Yes. This godson has been by my side for more than twenty years. He’s sensible and filial, and he has always been so thoughtful.”

Xiao Zhang, sitting beside her, said,

“The fact that such an outstanding person is my mother means I’m the blessed one.”

The host quickly said,

“That’s absolutely right. Principal Li is truly outstanding. You’ve been my role model since childhood. You’re especially remarkable.

“I heard that Principal Li is preparing to retire. Are you planning to enjoy your later years in peace? Will President Zhang take over your school and commercial affairs?”

Yun Xi laughed.

“Him? He has a huge pile of his own matters. How would he have time to manage mine?

He has his own career plans. The mobile phones launched by his company all have excellent performance. If he wants to make them even better, he’ll need to invest much more energy. He can’t also handle the school.

Fortunately, over the years, many of the students I’ve taught and the children I’ve sponsored have become very capable. Managing my affairs won’t be a problem for them.”

The host looked somewhat surprised.

“That’s different from the usual pattern of passing things down to descendants. I imagine many people will be as surprised as I am. I didn’t expect Principal Li to pass the school and businesses you founded by hand to… students or other people. Sorry, may I ask about this?”

Yun Xi waved it off.

“It’s fine.

“Actually, everyone knows I have biological children. Four of them. When I left home, I already had grandsons and granddaughters too.

“People are used to the idea that descendants should inherit, right? Because of blood ties.

But when I had nothing, I clearly realized that whether people can get along well has nothing to do with blood.

The facts proved that later, Xiao Zhang and I became as close as mother and son.

Just now, you asked whether I would let Xiao Zhang inherit, precisely because although he isn’t my biological child, he is the godson I acknowledged. In name, he is still my child.

As for the students who have stayed by my side for so many years, and the children I sponsored, in truth they are only missing that one thing, the title in name. Isn’t that right?

So if we only look at the essence, they are the same as Xiao Zhang. They all get along with me very, very well.

I don’t have an obsession that everything must be passed down to blood descendants.

“So who receives what mainly depends on whether they have the ability. If you think of it this way, doesn’t it become understandable?”

The host nodded.

“I understand now. I only feel that your awareness is exceptionally high. You’re no longer limited by worldly customs. No wonder you’ve been such a role model all these years.

“May I ask how you developed this kind of awareness?”

Yun Xi thought for a moment.

“Probably by learning to see things clearly.

A human life is like a season of grass and trees. To live freely, to live brilliantly, and when one has the spare strength, to nourish others as much as possible, that is the best state.

That is also what I’ve always tried to do.”

The host said,

“Indeed. Your own career has been extremely successful. You have provided society with countless talents and many jobs, and your salaries and benefits have always been excellent.

At the same time, your charitable work has also been outstanding. Over the years, the number of orphans you’ve sponsored is already too high to count. The charitable foundation you founded has also helped countless women and children who were lost and uncertain.

Your life truly is a brilliant one.

I know that the children you’ve sponsored all affectionately call you ‘Mother Li’ and say they are all your children.

Then I’d like to ask, now that you plan to retire and enjoy your later years, will there come a day when you acknowledge your four biological children again? Do you regret being separated from them for decades without contact or interaction?”

Without even thinking, Yun Xi said firmly,

“I will not acknowledge them, and I have no regrets.

Back when I worried over them, they didn’t like it. They wanted independence and autonomy.

So as a parent, one must know when to let go. Everyone living their own life is very good.

Back then, I was the person most looked down on in that family. Yet I was still able to rely on myself to study, work, and start a business.

I believe they can do the same.

We are all adults. Everyone must be responsible for their own life.

When I left, I also left them houses, and the village later allocated them land. No matter what, they could survive. So there is nothing to regret.”

The host truly admired her.

Every time Yun Xi faced such questions, she answered so directly.

In truth, a small number of people said she was heartless and that they had never seen a mother like her.

But Yun Xi never paid attention to those voices. Her stance had always been firm. She would not acknowledge them, and she did not regret it.

The host smiled and asked,

“Principal Li is already seventy years old, but you look as though you’re only in your forties. Everyone is curious about how you maintain yourself.

“It seems all your aging happened while you were still in the village. In all the years afterward, you seem to have been frozen in time, always this young.”

Yun Xi replied,

“I suppose it’s about nourishing oneself.

Like raising flowers and plants, you nourish yourself from the inside out. Care for the body and mind, and nourish the spirit.

What should be abandoned, abandon.

Run in the field you are good at.

When you enjoy every day, naturally, you won’t age easily.”

The host asked, “Finally, Principal Li, is there anything you would like to say to the people who admire you?”

Yun Xi replied:

“I want to tell everyone this: being doubted, being knocked down, being abandoned, none of that matters. The world is very large. Treasure yourself, and there will always be a path you can walk.

And keep up with the times. Just because there was no opportunity before doesn’t mean there isn’t one now. And just because there isn’t one now doesn’t mean there won’t be one in the future.

The cost of trial and error in life is very high.”

After the interview was edited, it was broadcast on television nationwide.

The villagers were thrilled to hear Yun Xi was appearing on TV. They all gathered at the village chief’s house to watch. The chief simply carried the television into the courtyard so everyone could watch together.

After some hesitation, the four Dong siblings went too, standing at the very back of the crowd.

At this point, they were the only members of the Dong family still farming in the village. Their children had long since grown up and moved to the cities. Their lives were ordinary, and none of them had brought their parents to live with them. Sometimes they did not even return for the New Year.

Wang Huijuan spent her time helping her son cook and care for his children, but he constantly criticized her and treated her more like a nanny than a mother. She was terrified that no one would support her in old age, so she swallowed her resentment and stayed, hoping to become close to her grandchildren so they might care for her someday.

As a result, Dong Zhihong remained alone in the village.

After all these years, none of the four siblings retained the spirited confidence they once had before the family split apart. Their backs had begun to stoop, their bodies bent with age and hardship.

They stared at Yun Xi on the television screen.

Confused.

Dazed.

This was their mother?

Others voiced the same doubts.

“Is that really Sister Li? She’s several years older than me. How does she look younger than my daughter-in-law?”

“Look how elegant she moves. Like… like one of those wealthy young ladies from old rich families. She looks so refined. Is that really Sister Li?”

“Sister Li’s life really turned out well. She takes such good care of herself. She’s so beautiful. If she came back to the village, I wouldn’t dare recognize her.”

“Look! She has all those assets, and she isn’t leaving them to her biological children or even her godson. She’s passing them on to outsiders!”

Someone noticed the Dong siblings and immediately looked displeased, shifting farther away.

“I’ll never understand it. They had such a wonderful mother and didn’t cherish her. They drove her away. I still don’t know what exactly happened back then that made Sister Li cut ties so completely. Now look. Everything’s benefiting other people.”

“Well, there’s no helping it. Look at the four of them. They’re not capable of managing all that anyway. Give it to them and they’d probably ruin it. Better to let capable people handle it. At least our descendants can keep attending those schools.”

“That’s true. Whatever Sister Li decides, I support it.”

“Remember how they used to say Sister Li shouldn’t expect them to support her in old age? Hahaha! Now look how many people are fighting to call her Mom and fighting for the chance to take care of her.”

The Dong siblings stood there as if their clothes had been stripped away.

Embarrassment burned through them.

Their backs bent even lower.

During the interview, several photographs from Yun Xi’s younger years were shown.

Not truly young, just from the years after she turned forty-five.

There was one of her standing in front of Tiananmen, with the red flags and the portrait of the great leader behind her.

Another at the Nine-Dragon Wall in the Forbidden City.

Another with her arm around a tiger.

Another standing proudly in front of an airplane.

The Dong siblings stared without blinking.

Through those photographs, they seemed to glimpse the vibrant life Yun Xi had lived.

And at the time those photos were taken, she had only been gone from them a few years.

They had never had much money.

Rarely left the village.

Had never flown on an airplane.

Had never even seen one up close.

Yet Yun Xi had been flying decades ago.

So the Great Wall really was that magnificent.

People always said, “He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true hero.”

They had never even been to the capital.

Perhaps they never would.

If they had simply treated Yun Xi well and fulfilled their duties as children, would they have lived such lives decades earlier?

The thought alone made their hearts ache.

The interview also spent considerable time talking about Xiao Zhang.

He had founded a company that produced computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, and many other products.

The prices were not cheap, but everyone said they were excellent.

No one in the village owned one. They still used old, inexpensive phones.

Yun Xi was extraordinary.

Who would have guessed that the godson she had adopted would become just as extraordinary?

People constantly praised them, saying they truly deserved to be called mother and son.

The praise only deepened the Dong siblings’ inferiority.

When some people in the crowd began openly mocking them for failing at everything they tried, they could no longer bear it.

One by one, they fled home.

Facing their empty houses, sorrow washed over them.

Dong Zhihong thought about his son.

As the eldest son who had produced the eldest grandson, he had always considered himself the head of the family. He believed Yun Xi should listen to him.

He had looked down on her.

Yet he was not worthy of even a single strand of her hair.

After growing up, his son developed a favorite phrase:

“What do you two know?”

He constantly used it against his parents.

He showed them little respect, believing that because he had studied in the city and seen more of the world, they knew nothing.

Dong Zhihong felt humiliated.

But every time he tried to lecture his son, the boy would throw Yun Xi’s story back in his face.

Hadn’t he treated Yun Xi exactly the same way?

Why couldn’t he endure it now that it was happening to him?

His son deeply resented him for offending Yun Xi and causing her to reject all her descendants, cutting off the family’s path to prosperity.

Eventually, his son devoted himself to pleasing a young woman and her family, practically becoming their live-in son-in-law.

When they needed childcare, they summoned Wang Huijuan to help.

They never even mentioned Dong Zhihong.

They did not want to see him.

To this day, he still had never met his grandson.

He did not know if he ever would.

Dong Zhijie’s daughter had long since disappeared with Wang Xuefen.

He heard that Wang Xuefen remarried and moved to the provincial capital.

Her new husband owned a restaurant.

Business was average. Some years were good, some years were bad.

Still, it was better than life with him.

Neither mother nor daughter had ever returned.

Neither had contacted him.

For all practical purposes, they no longer acknowledged him.

Dong Zhiyong continued living alone with his crippled leg.

At the time of the family division, he had been in the best position among the siblings.

Who could have guessed that one disastrous marriage would ruin him?

Seeing his brothers’ children bring them nothing but misery, he never remarried.

He remained a lifelong bachelor, drifting through life.

Dong Zhizhi’s reputation and personality became infamous throughout the surrounding villages.

No suitable man wanted her.

The good prospects looked down on her.

The poor prospects she looked down on.

So she raised her daughter alone.

When the girl grew up, she resented her mother.

“It’s your fault,” she said.

“If you hadn’t hidden Dad’s admission letter, I wouldn’t have grown up without a father.”

She also blamed her for mistreating Yun Xi.

“In fact,” she said, “those orphans Grandma sponsored live better lives than we do.”

Those words cut deeply.

Dong Zhizhi tried explaining her hardships.

Her daughter only replied:

“Don’t all women live like this? You actually had it pretty good. Why are you never satisfied?”

Soon afterward, her daughter left for southern China to work.

Sometimes she would call when she was in a good mood.

Sometimes an entire year passed without any contact.

Behind closed doors, Dong Zhizhi cursed her countless times as an ungrateful child.

Only then did she finally understand how much she herself had hurt Yun Xi.

The four siblings had all been trapped by their past failures.

They stopped moving forward.

They lost heart.

In truth, their thinking had become frozen in that earlier era.

So they remained in the village, farming and raising chickens.

Yet without the original owner’s efforts on their behalf, this was probably the life they would have lived from the start.

Yun Xi had merely returned their own lives to them.

Why, then, could they not bear it?

The interview was watched by countless people.

In the public imagination, Yun Xi had become a legendary woman.

A positive symbol.

An extraordinary role model.

She also provided an example for countless women trapped in households, repeating the same chores day after day.

She awakened their hidden desires and dreams.

Gradually, more women stepped beyond the boundaries of the home and began creating meaningful lives of their own.

That alone gave her story tremendous significance.

Her fame only grew.

The Dong siblings believed this would be the final blow.

After all, Yun Xi was already seventy.

Surely she did not have many years left.

As for the interview airing nationwide, there was nothing they could do about that.

They could only pretend not to see it and hope people would stop talking once the excitement faded.

But they never imagined what happened next.

Yun Xi’s life was adapted into a television drama.

At a time when there were not many television series to begin with, a show based on a true story, filled with dramatic twists and emotional highs and lows, immediately attracted enormous audiences.

The villagers of Yangliu Village never missed an episode.

After every broadcast, they passionately debated which scenes were accurate and which had been dramatized.

Some people might have missed the interview.

Almost nobody missed the television series.

Even those who did not watch heard others discussing it.

As a result, Yun Xi became even more famous.

And so did the four Dong siblings.

The difference was that Yun Xi inspired admiration and respect.

The Dong siblings inspired disgust.

The series did not air only once.

It returned every winter vacation and every summer vacation.

Even if other cities stopped broadcasting it, Yun Xi’s hometown continued showing it.

Parents even used it to teach their children.

“You kids need to be sensible and filial. Don’t turn into those four ungrateful Dong siblings. They had such a wonderful mother and still ruined everything.”

No matter how hard they tried, the Dong siblings could not escape.

They lived forever beneath the shadow of that television drama.

They became synonymous with ingratitude.

After retiring, Yun Xi spent her time traveling.

The nation developed rapidly.

Transportation became convenient.

Cities flourished.

Tourist sites were beautifully maintained.

She saw countless magnificent landscapes.

She visited many countries.

She learned several languages.

Eventually, the original owner’s memories could no longer help her, because Yun Xi had lived far longer than the original owner ever had.

Only when her body finally began to fail did she decide it was time to leave.

Of course, her will had been reviewed repeatedly.

Not a single cent would go to her biological descendants.

Her mission in this world had been completed perfectly.

As she closed her eyes, she found herself wondering with anticipation what her next mission would be.

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