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Chapter 687: Chapter 677: What’s the Real Reason?
The meal was eaten in extraordinary silence.
Shen Yunfang, the daughter-in-law, didn’t pour the bowl of water, so Li Hongjun, the son, snatched up the task.
The old man Li’s face darkened a bit when he drank the water, probably considering it an open challenge from his second son, but Li Hongjun and his wife acted as if they hadn’t noticed.
During the meal, a few naughty kids from the Wang Dan family came over to mooch some food, but when they saw that there was only a pot of cabbage and potatoes and not a speck of meat on the table, they scooted off immediately.
After lunch, Shen Yunfang washed the dishes in the kitchen while Li Hongjun saw off Liu Jianjun. When Shen Yunfang came out of the kitchen, Li Hongjun said directly, "Go into that room and get the kids to sleep."
Shen Yunfang realized that Li Hongjun wanted to have a good talk with the two people in that room, so she didn’t say much, just told him to keep it short and to take a nap if he had time. After seeing him nod, she took the two children who had been playing outside into the house to nap.
Li Hongjun went straight into old Li’s room, where the father and daughter were lying at opposite ends of the bed, with Niuniu sitting in the middle, fiddling with several stones.
Old man Li looked up at the sound and saw it was his second son. He asked, "Why aren’t you taking a nap at noon? What brings you here?"
"I have something to discuss with you," said Li Hongjun as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.
Seeing his son sitting down, old man Li knew that he intended to talk right then. Actually, he had an idea of what his son wanted to discuss, so he could only sit up slowly and face his son.
"Dad, didn’t we agree before that you would live with my elder brother and his wife? Why did you go and bother the Sun Family again?"
The old man Li didn’t say anything, looking down. He couldn’t exactly admit that his eldest daughter-in-law refused to wash his clothes—where would his face be then?
"I’m not used to living at someone else’s home."
When Li Hongjun heard his father say so, his brows furrowed, "You’re just separated by a wall from your elder brother’s place. You can just stay at your own home. Besides, if you’re not comfortable at your elder brother’s place, how can you be comfortable at your elder sister’s?" Shen Yunfang hadn’t mentioned to him what Wang Dan had said, so Li Hongjun was unaware of the backstory.
"Second brother, it’s not like that at all. Dad feels too embarrassed to speak up. You have no idea how awful your sister-in-law can be. She wouldn’t wash clothes for Dad and even badmouthed him. Dad’s an elder, and he should not have to take that kind of treatment from her, which is why, in a fit of anger, he went to live with your elder sister," said Li Xianghe as she quickly got up to speak, seeing her father missing the main point.
"The eldest sister-in-law wouldn’t wash clothes for Dad?" Li Hongjun felt that this reason was a bit off. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"That’s right, second brother, you don’t know the kind of person your eldest sister-in-law is. She’s a complete shrew. Back when our mother was still with us, the eldest sister-in-law was overbearing. Our parents couldn’t even dream of getting a single grain of rice from her, and now that only our dad is left, she’s become even more hateful. She serves cabbage and potatoes for every meal, probably afraid that Dad will eat a bit more meat. Their own family is growing tall and strong, and I bet they sneak off and cook their own meals separately. In my opinion, the money you give to your eldest sister-in-law is completely wasted. How much of it actually goes into Dad’s stomach? She’s funneling it to her own brats," said Li Xianghe, nearly spitting as she spoke.
Li Hongjun looked toward his own father; what others said didn’t matter, he needed to hear what his father had to say.
Old Li hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he told the truth, "It’s not as bad as your sister says. Your elder sister-in-law’s cooking might not taste that great, but it’s enough to fill you up. We get to eat meat once every few days."
Li Xianghe did not expect that at such a critical moment, her dad would undermine her, "Ah, dad, why are you going soft now? Why can’t you just tell the truth? When I visited, when has the elder sister-in-law ever given me a warm welcome or let me eat my fill?"
Li Hongjun understood: the in-laws simply didn’t care for this younger sister-in-law, and not allowing her to eat her fill was targeted at her. Yet Li Xianghe just went ahead and pinned the blame on Old Li.
"Big brother, let me tell you, don’t listen to our dad. He’s getting senile and can’t even tell who’s good and who’s bad. You’ve seen it yourself, our dad really doesn’t get enough to eat at big brother’s place, and he suffers without complaining. If things go on like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if the elder sister-in-law grinds him down to death. If you ask me, since you, second brother, are offering money, there’s no need to insist on going to the elder sister-in-law’s place for meals." Li Xianghe’s eyes darted around frantically.
"Oh, what do you suggest then?"
Hearing her second brother ask, Li Xianghe quickly replied, "Anyway, I don’t have much else going on, so just give the money to me, and I can stay home and cook for dad. As his own daughter, how could I not care for him more attentively than the elder sister-in-law, an outsider? Don’t you agree, dad? Isn’t that right?" Li Xianghe even threw in a question at Old Li at the end, very confident that between a daughter-in-law and his own daughter, dad would choose her.
Li Hongjun knew what she meant right from the start, but the ultimate decision as to whom Old Li wanted to live with had to be made by Old Li himself. Of course, if their dad truly preferred Li Xianghe’s company, he wouldn’t have anything to say about it.
"Dad, what do you say?"
Old Li took out his tobacco pipe, and as he filled it with tobacco, he pondered deeply.
"Dad, come on, speak up," urged Li Xianghe, getting increasingly impatient by his side.
Old Li was weighing up the situation in his mind. Although he sometimes preferred peace and did not meddle too much, he was not foolish, nor had he become senile. The elder daughter-in-law was not attentive enough in caring for him, and his younger daughter was not a better choice either. He knew that if his second son truly gave his younger daughter the money, he might not eat as well as he did at the elder son’s place, which he could gauge just by looking at his little granddaughter.
Among the persistent coaxing from Li Xianghe, Old Li finally spoke up.
"Xianghe, you’ve stayed quite a while with me at your elder brother’s and elder sister’s places, haven’t you? Isn’t it time you went back to the Sun Family’s home for a bit? After all, you’re married now, and it’s not proper to always stay at your parents’ house, which might lead to gossip."
Li Xianghe was stunned; her dad wasn’t agreeing with her suggestion, but was trying to send her away instead.
"Dad, are you getting senile? If I leave, who will take care of you? Are you waiting for my elder sister-in-law? Don’t dream on, she can’t wait for you to never visit. As for my elder sister and her husband, don’t you understand their attitude? Right now, aside from me, who else can you rely on?" Li Xianghe argued resentfully.
"Shut your mouth," Li Hongjun said, annoyed, looking at her. There was no need to shout like that. His wife and child were sleeping in the next room. What if her loud voice woke them up?
"Second brother, why won’t you let me speak? Given dad’s current situation, who else can he rely on if not me? Do you think you can take dad to live with you? Would your wife agree?" At this point, even if Li Xianghe was scared of her second brother, she had to speak her mind. She had calculated everything perfectly. There was no one better than her to take care of their dad.
Old Li also looked hopefully at his second son. If possible, he did indeed want to live with the second son. Among all the daughters-in-law, the second daughter-in-law had the gentlest nature.
