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Chapter 150: Chapter 150 Big Brother, Why Aren’t You Crying?
Tong Yao couldn’t help but burst into laughter as she watched the feigned seriousness on the sibling’s faces.
They quickly finished their meal. Si Xiaohui wanted to go back early to rest, but Si Boyi, who hadn’t seen his big brother for a long time, wanted to chat with him. Si Chen didn’t seem keen on leaving.
Helplessly, Si Xiaohui had to linger around, until around eight in the evening when Si Chen finally returned from the hospital. The sight of Si Chen filled Si Boyi with joy, making him giggle like a newlywed bride.
"Big brother, mom asked me to bring you some pickles and bean paste. Sis-in-law said she’d make some pickle dumplings for you when she has time."
"Hmm." Si Chen’s reaction was quite bland compared to Si Boyi’s. "How’s mom’s health lately?" He asked indifferently.
"She’s fine," Si Boyi replied with a chuckle, scratching his head. "She weeds the garden in the morning and in the evening she makes tiger head shoes at home. Making these shoes can be a bit tricky. She’s worried she might delay the kid from wearing them if she starts stitching them later."
Many of the elder generation these days like to stitch tiger head shoes for their children. They’re considered symbolic and a good omen. Some superstitious folks even believe they ward off evil spirits. They prepare these things ahead of time, even before the baby is born.
Of course, there were some prickly elders who refused to prepare such things. By mentioning this, Si Boyi was subtly telling Tong Yao that, despite being in the city, Lin Fengying still cared for them.
Tong Yao was sipping water when she heard this. She choked in surprise and continued to cough until she finally managed to catch her breath.
Si Chen turned to look at her. When he saw her face turning red from the coughing, he gently pat her on the back and then handed her a tissue to wipe the corners of her mouth.
Tong Yao couldn’t help but silently complain: she hadn’t even kissed Si Chen yet. The idea of her being pregnant was laughable.
That said, she didn’t plan on having a baby just yet. She was only twenty, and she was just starting to plan her career. It wasn’t a great time to have a child. She would need to talk this over with Si Chen later. Maybe they could wait one or two years before having a child.
It would be best to wait until Si Chen got to Kyoto, so she wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle of traveling back and forth with the baby by train.
"I thought sis-in-law was pregnant last time. I almost called to share the good news, but it turned out to be a false alarm," Si Xiaohui said without thinking, then giggling at the sight of Tong Yao’s flat stomach. "It’s probably not far off, though. Those married women in our village get pregnant within a couple of months of getting married. You two have been married over a month now. You probably will have good news this month."
Seeing the conversation veering off topic, Si Chen quickly interjected, "It’s getting late. Yaoyao needs to go to bed. I’ll take you two home."
Tong Yao was so moved she almost wanted to burst into tears. Just after getting married, they were already talking about having kids. She was afraid Lin Fengying would start pressuring them, even though she was kind to her, unlike those manipulative mothers-in-law. Still, it’s hard to change the old-fashioned thinking of the elder generation.
The older generation insisted that marriage meant having kids right away.
Tong Yao was sure, if she told Lin Fengying that she wanted to focus on her career and didn’t want a child yet, Lin Fengying would undoubtedly offer to take care of the child.
While it was kind of her mother-in-law to offer to help, Tong Yao, who had been an orphan in her previous life, was desperate for family affection. She didn’t want her child to grow up without a parent by their side.
In the future, when she had a child, she’d want to keep them by her side, watch them grow.
"Sis-in-law, you should get some rest. We’ll go first." Si Boyi wasn’t planning on Si Chen taking them home, but realizing that his brothers hadn’t seen each other for a while, he decided not to refuse and bade Tong Yao goodbye before leaving.
Si Boyi hadn’t noticed that since he came to the city and saw Tong Yao again, his thoughts had been different. His mind kept involuntarily returning to the image of Zhang Lijuan. He even dreamed about her the night before.
The three siblings left the compound and walked together on the dark road. At first, none of them said a word until Si Xiaohui suddenly inhaled and her voice cracked—
"Big brother, second brother, it’s been ages since the three of us walked down this road at night. I remember the last time we did this, we were young. It was just before New Year’s. Our family had no food left. Mom didn’t eat, secretly drinking only the water used for cleaning pots. When we found out, she was too weak to even get out of bed. We fumbled in the dark to our uncle’s house to borrow some food, but his wife chased us away. In the end, grandma secretly gave us a few kilos of sweet potato flour. But alas, grandma passed away too soon. She isn’t here to see our better days."
Remembering the tragic past, Si Xiaohui felt a heart-wrenching pain, like she’d been punched in the gut. After their father’s death, their family had struggled for a couple of years, and her big brother even had to drop out of school for half a year. It wasn’t until Tong Yaohui unexpectedly showed up that they had the resources to send big brother back to school and finally overcome their difficulties.
However, Si Xiaohui felt no gratitude for the Tong family. Their family’s hardship was indirectly caused by them. Tong Yaohui treated them well because he felt guilty. It was his duty to do so.
If Tong Yaohui had been the one to die that year, Tong Yao wouldn’t have such a good life. If their father was still alive, they wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
These words, though, were ones Si Xiaohui dared not utter. Her big brother didn’t like it when she brought up the past.
Plus, Tong Yao was indeed good to her now. Bringing up old grievances wouldn’t change anything. She might as well keep them to herself.
"Ever since that year, I stopped considering him our uncle. Our future prosperity will have nothing to do with him." Remembering the past, Si Boyi’s eyes filled with tears he refused to shed. His pupils were red, and his clenched fists trembled at his side.
They wouldn’t have gone to their uncle for help that year if they hadn’t been desperate. The insulting words spat out by their aunt still echoed in his mind.
Their uncle was the epitome of a class-obsessed snob. Once their family fell into hardship, he avoided them like the plague. However, when big brother earned an official college admission, they couldn’t wait to recognize him as kin. The three of them stood together and didn’t let those shameless relatives step past the entrance of the village.
"The past is the past. We should look forward now," Si Chen said, gazing into the dark night. The innocent face of Tong Yao emerged in his mind, followed by her swollen features. He couldn’t help but smile.
"Big brother, why aren’t you crying?" Si Xiaohui had been on the verge of tears, but her despondency evaporated when she heard her stoic big brother’s comment. She wondered why he was so calm when their second brother was almost crying out of righteous indignation.
Si Chen raised an eyebrow and then glanced at her. "Why cry?" his voice remained composed.
Si Xiaohui, "Don’t you want to cry when you think about our hardships in the past?" their second brother was nearly in tears.
Si Chen replied calmly, "No need to mention it all the time, either verbally or on our faces. Remembering is enough."
Hearing this, Si Boyi’s face reddened in embarrassment. Compared to his big brother, he was quite impulsive. Si Chen was right. Some things shouldn’t be mentioned all the time. It was enough that they remembered.
