NOVPUBChapter 209 -209: Father and Son Argument. (Five updates)
Chapter 209 -209: Father and Son Argument. (Five updates)
Wang Yan followed behind Liu Baoguo, heading home with his head down.
He felt as if there was a lump in his heart, unable to rise or fall.
“Shitou, are you interested in Bai Yue?” Liu Baoguo’s words made Wang Yan freeze on the spot, unable to move.
Wang Yan’s face turned red, “Uncle Village Chief, what are you talking about? I just see Bai Yue struggling as a widow with children, and I want to help her!”
“It’s best if you’re not interested. If you really are harboring such thoughts, I advise you to drop them. It’s not that Bai Yue isn’t good; she’s a fine girl, but she’s had misfortune in the people she’s met—stuck with such a rotten man. She’s just started to feel a bit comfortable these days. You see, there’s never peace either inside or outside her home.
If you fancy Bai Yue, then you indeed have good taste. But you should be well aware of what your father is scheming. He wants to find you a young maiden and doesn’t think highly of Bai Yue. So, you’d better not complicate things for Bai Yue by stirring troubles in her life.” Liu Baoguo, being an old man, could see through these things clearly. Though his words were solemn and serious, they were absolutely reasonable.
Wang Yan was startled, “My father… my father…” He couldn’t finish his words. Yes, just like his father’s mind, always thinking about finding him a maiden, otherwise there wouldn’t have been this matchmaking event today.
“Think about it yourself when you get back. Bai Yue has suffered enough. If you’re not capable of protecting her, then don’t trouble her any further.” Liu Baoguo walked away with his hands behind his back.
Wang Yan stood still, lost in thought for a long while, and finally headed home.
As soon as he entered the house, Wang Old Man and the Old Lady were joyfully chatting in the courtyard.
Upon seeing their eldest son entering, they hurriedly called him over.
“Shitou, how did you find this girl today?” Wang Old Man was quite satisfied with this maiden; she was also well-mannered. Apart from being a bit of a lightweight, she was indeed a suitable bride candidate.
Besides, his wife had mentioned that the girl had wide hips, a sign that she would likely bear many sons in the future.
Wang Yan blurted out without even raising his head, “I’m not interested.”
“How can you not be interested?” Wang Old Man was puzzled. The matchmakers in the area had suggested quite a few candidates; although some were certainly mismatched, some were indeed nice, yet his son just wasn’t interested.
“I’m not interested means I’m not interested. Am I the one getting married or are you?” Wang Yan snapped.
Wang Old Man got angry, grabbing the pipe in his hand and striking Wang Yan with it, “Have you become too proud, boy? I’m your father, how do you speak to me like that?”
Wang Yan ducked to one side, holding his head, and didn’t make a sound anymore.
“You’re not interested in this one, and not in that one either; then what on earth could possibly interest you? You’re over 40, and if you don’t marry and have sons, who will support you in your old age?” Wang Old Man was really anxious.
“I… anyway, I’m not interested in this one.” Wang Yan dared not mention Bai Yue, afraid of causing her trouble. He knew his own father too well, more troublesome than any villager when stirred.
Wang Lao Tou felt overwhelmed, “I’m telling you this girl is not bad. Isn’t marriage about living life together? Do you still want to pick a fairy to bring home? Don’t you see a fairy wouldn’t spare a look for a burly guy like you?”
The elderly lady also interjected, “Yeah, Shitou, you’re not getting any younger, you can’t keep being so picky. It’s just because our family is well-off, able to provide a decent dowry, that these young ladies aren’t minding. If you keep being picky and it’s not suitable, wait a few more years, then you can only marry those young widows or women who are divorced and on their second marriages.” Now the whole family was worried about Wang Yan’s marriage.
“A second marriage? What’s wrong with a second marriage? Are they not human?” Wang Yan tentatively threw out the comment.
Wang Lao Tou, pointing his tobacco pipe at Wang Yan, scolded, “I tell you, bunny, as long as I live, you’re not going to marry a divorced woman. There’s never been a widow or a second marriage in our Wang Family ancestors. If you want to do something outrageous, you’ll have to wait till I’m dead. Otherwise, if you’re capable, go make your own living and marry whoever you want—I won’t interfere.”
Wang Yan was stirred, “Dad, do you think I can’t make it on my own? I have hands and feet; I won’t starve anywhere.”
“Fine, fine, then hurry up and go make it on your own. I want to see what kind of success you can have without me, your dad. You also don’t take a good look at yourself, nearly forty and all you know is how to raise and slaughter pigs. I’m telling you, without your dad, you really can’t make it.” Wang Lao Tou was so angry he was shaking.
“Dad, you said it, if what you said is true, I’ll make it on my own right away,” Wang Yan half-joked.
“Fine, Shitou, if you want to make it on your own, I’ll fulfill your wish today. I’m telling you, you can make it on your own, but you can’t use the pig raising and slaughtering skills that our Wang family has passed down from generation to generation.”
Wang Lao Tou was serious. Today, his son had really driven him mad.
Wang Yan was just about to say, if making it on my own is what it takes, then so be it.
But the old lady panicked and slapped Wang Yan on the back, “Shitou, what are you and your father doing? Now the father and son are taking things seriously, picking at each other’s words like this. What kind of talk is this? This isn’t even a real problem yet and you two are already making a scene. Won’t people laugh at us if this goes out?”
Wang Yan was helpless. He knew this as well, just saying it casually, truly making it on his own wasn’t so easy.
“Mom, I was just spouting off steam,” and he could only back down.
Wang Lao Tou, still fuming, sat on the chair, “I’m not just spouting steam. Among your three brothers, you’re the only one left unmarried. Though you’re older now, but we have talent, our family has money. Our ancestors up to now have never married a widow, much less a second marriage. If you really have this thought in mind, then I, your father, would feel I’ve betrayed our ancestors. If that’s really the case, then you might as well be on your own.”
Even if you chase widows or second marriages, if you don’t have money, power, a house, or land, see who would marry you.
The old lady was annoyed, “His father, what is wrong with you? The son said it’s nothing, why can’t you let it go? Do you really want to force him out to make it on his own?” She didn’t care what Wang Lao Tou said—her son was her concern.
Wang Lao Tou glanced at his wife and thought to himself, this old woman doesn’t understand anything, she just yaps, not knowing that this is for our son’s good.
He calmly said to Wang Yan, “Shitou, your dad knows what kind of person you are. You’ve always been stubborn. If there’s really someone you fancy, you wouldn’t care whether she’s a widow or divorced. The fact that you brought this up today proves you’ve thought about it. I want to make this clear to you.
Our Wang family has never done this before, and we cannot start now. You’re all grown up; if you really insist, I can’t stop you. But if you really do it, then I have to tell you, you’re not allowed to use our Wang family’s pig raising and slaughtering skills anymore. If you’re capable, support yourself and the person you want on your own,” he, of course, knew that without raising and slaughtering pigs, Wang Yan was good for nothing.
What else can you do in this village? What else can you make a living from, unless you go to the city to work?
