NOVPUB
Chapter 533: Chapter 223: One Less is One Less
"Mom, how did it go? How much money did my eldest sister give you?" Li Hongqi had been waiting at home, not even going to the hospital or to work, and upon hearing some noise at the entrance, he hurriedly got off the kang to see. Seeing it was indeed his mother returning, he quickly asked.
"Money? What money? Let me tell you, those two are no good, nothing but beasts! When I got there, there was no talking sense with them. Liu Jianjun even tried to hit me with a shovel, just after I mentioned borrowing some money for your wife’s hospitalization. They kicked me out! Liu Jianjun is worthless, and he told me even if he had the money, he wouldn’t lend it to me." Qiu Shuping was fuming with anger. All the way home, she had been pondering how to tell her son. She hadn’t managed to take care of the matter her son had entrusted her with, and in her mind, all the blame rested on her eldest daughter and son-in-law—it had nothing to do with her.
Upon hearing the first few words from his mother, Li Hongqi’s expression turned sour. He too realized his mother hadn’t brought back any money and felt deep resentment, both towards his mother and his eldest sister’s family. His opinion of his mother was that she was more likely to spoil things than achieve them, but sometimes, she had to be the one to charge ahead—there was no other way. 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓅𝓊𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
"Did they really say that?" Li Hongqi couldn’t quite believe what his mother was saying. His impression of his brother-in-law was that of a big fool who had never spoken so assertively at home.
Though skeptical, the news of returning empty-handed kindled a flicker of hatred in his heart; they were all looking down on him. Just borrowing a sum of money was too much to ask. Just wait, wait until the day he made it big—he would make them all kneel and beg him.
"Exactly, would I lie to you? I told you that asking your eldest sister wouldn’t work out," Qiu Shuping breathed a sigh of relief. She had never wanted to ask her eldest daughter for money in the first place—it would’ve been like slapping her own face. Even though she had been there once and had already been slapped in the face, she was afraid her son wouldn’t give up and would make her go again. She couldn’t imagine how many more slaps she would have to endure.
"Did my brother-in-law say he didn’t have the money or just that he wouldn’t lend it to us?" Li Hongqi asked, drilling down into the details, mulling it over in his mind.
"Liu Jianjun said he didn’t have the money and that even if he did, he still wouldn’t lend it," Qiu Shuping replied truthfully.
"My eldest sister’s family definitely has money," Li Hongqi stated confidently. "They went to my second brother’s place for the New Year’s and helped him with work. Second brother wouldn’t shortchange them; he definitely gave them money." He still had a very good understanding of his second brother’s character—he was always generous.
"That’s not necessarily true. I heard your second brother has been away on an assignment for over a year, hasn’t been home, and it’s just your second sister-in-law there. She can’t compare to your second brother. Even if she does give money to your eldest sister, how much can it be?" Qiu Shuping expressed her doubts. "Besides, Jiajia got sick last year and your eldest sister’s family had to borrow quite a bit of money. Even if they earn some, they need to pay back their debts first, so they won’t have much left over."
Li Hongqi thought his mother had a point—his second sister-in-law was not generous (after all, she had only given him fifty yuan when he went to university and didn’t give a penny for his wedding; he found her to be stingy), and he didn’t feel very close to his wife’s family. Even if she gave money to his eldest sister, it wouldn’t be much. However, he had also come to a realization: no one could be as wealthy as his second sister-in-law—wasn’t there talk about her starting a business in the Capital? Although he looked down on his university-educated second sister-in-law for demeaning herself to be a petty merchant, he knew that those petty merchants could make good money. It’s far better to focus his efforts and squeeze a significant amount out of his second brother and sister-in-law than nickeling and diming others.
"Mom, it’s not about the money anymore. It’s the attitude of my eldest sister and brother-in-law that counts. They’re holding a grudge against you and our family. I see that our family ties will have to be broken from now on." Li Hongqi had made up his mind and started to stoke the fire again.
To be honest, he was not pleased with having so many poor relatives. They were of no help and always seemed to be waiting for a chance to take a bite out of him. It would be strange if he wasn’t upset. So, he was trying to find ways to shake off as many of them as he could.
"Let them be cut off, then. I have a son; do I expect those Liu offspring to provide for my old age?" Qiu Shuping felt relieved to hear that her son no longer needed her to ask for the money. Her energy spiked and she was ready to lash out at her least favorite daughter and son-in-law who had slighted her. "Those Lius are so poor they’re falling apart. They dare to show off in front of me. I’d like to see how long they can keep that up. Hmph, let them think of stepping into our Li family’s doorstep again—there’s no chance. Listen well, if they come by, you throw them out every single time."
Li Hongqi was quite satisfied in his heart. After comforting his mother for a bit, he hurried her along to prepare some food. It was almost noon and he needed to take lunch to his wife in the hospital.
Qiu Shuping obediently got to work, not saying anything else. With very little at home, she knew she had to whip up something decent or her mother-in-law would scold her to death at the hospital. With no choice left, Qiu Shuping commanded her youngest son to quickly catch and kill one of the old hens in the backyard.
Li Hongqi was also craving meat, so he happily took on the task.
Wiping the neck, bleeding the chicken, plucking the feathers—all went like clockwork as mother and son worked together perfectly. After they’d prepared the chicken, Qiu Shuping couldn’t bear to cook it all at once. She chopped up half the chicken, placed it in a basin, poured a little water in, and told her son to put it outside to freeze. From the other half, she sliced off some meaty pieces and set them aside to stir fry later, putting the rest, bones and all, into a pot to make soup.
They busied themselves until after two in the afternoon, and only then was the meal ready.
"Son, eat something quickly; once you’re at the hospital, with all the rushing around, you won’t get another chance," Qiu Shuping, ever the caring mother, picked the chicken pieces out of the stir fry and put half into her younger son’s bowl. "Eat up, you’ve been working so hard lately, you need to replenish. You can’t just live on vegetables given your size."
"Mom, don’t just fuss over me; you should eat too," said Li Hongqi, always considerate. He quickly returned some of the meat from his bowl to his mother’s, and of course, there had to be some for Dad too.
Old Li watched the tender mother-son exchange with a smile, taking a satisfied sip of his wine.
"You, old man, dining on so much meat when you have no illness or affliction—it doesn’t even digest well. Enough with the passing food around; just eat," Qiu Shuping wasn’t in such a good mood and promptly transferred the meat from her husband’s bowl back into her son’s, urging him to eat quickly.
Li Hongqi looked from one to the other, seemingly unsure of what to do but eventually just tucked his head down and ate quickly.
Even though his bowl was without meat, old Li didn’t care, and continued to enjoy his meal with salty vegetables and wine.
Li Hongqi had been eating for a while and quickly shoveled the rice from his bowl into his mouth, then wiped his mouth and said, "Mom, keep eating, I’ll go pack food for Xiaolan."
"No need, I’ve already packed it. Just take the lunch box," replied Qiu Shuping, who had eaten only a few bites of her meal.
"Ah, alright then, you take your time eating, I’ll go get the cart and wait for you in the yard." Li Hongqi said as he pushed his bowl and chopsticks aside, took the meal from the hall, and then went to the yard to fetch the cart.
How could Qiu Shuping let her son wait for her in the yard while she ate? She hastily took a couple of bites and put down her rice bowl.
"Mom, have you eaten enough? If not, you can still have another bowl, it’s fine," said Li Hongqi considerately.
"No need, no need, I’ve had enough. Let’s hurry on; otherwise, your mother-in-law will talk us to death," said Qiu Shuping as she picked up the lunch box and sat on the back seat, letting her son peddle her to the hospital to deliver the meal to his wife.
