Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 333 Xu Dachuan is back
Xu Dachuan rushed into the main room and saw Old Man Xu lying in the coffin. He knelt down and cried out, "Father! How could you leave like this! Your son hasn't even had a chance to be filial to you! My father!"

Wang Ximei pushed through the crowd, staring intently at her youngest son, whom she hadn't seen for many years. "Dachuan?"

"Mother! My father is gone! How could he just leave like this?" Xu Dachuan asked while crying.

Wang Ximei's eyes flickered, and she didn't answer directly. Leaning on her cane, she stepped forward shakily and punched Xu Dachuan twice. "You brat! You ran away with your wife and kids without a word back then, and now you have the nerve to come back! Your father and I don't know what sins we committed in our past lives to have three sons, two of whom are worse than animals!"

Xu Dachuan, who had been living a life of glory and honor for many years, couldn't stand such words and immediately retorted, "Mother, are you even speaking human language? If you hadn't been biased and forced my second brother's family to leave back then, my second brother would definitely be more filial than anyone else!"
"You think we'll be your slaves just because your second brother is gone? I'm not stupid. Why would I stay and let you scheme against me?"

"You bastard, how dare you make fun of me! I'll beat you to death!" Wang Ximei said angrily, raising her cane.

Zhang Guizhi immediately rushed in and grabbed her cane. "My husband didn't make things up, Mom. Everyone in the village knows what you did to us back then. It's no use denying it! It's good that we have our second son. Even if we're not your treasures, you won't treat us like trash. Without him, we're nothing. If we had stayed in the village, we would have been finished long ago!"

Wang Ximei then noticed Zhang Guizhi's attire and nearly fainted from anger. "You two scoundrels! Who told you to dress like a vixen? Our Xu family doesn't have a restless daughter-in-law like you!"

"Restless? Do you think everyone is like you, jumping around and causing trouble everywhere?" Zhang Guizhi rolled her eyes, completely unafraid.

The village elders, seeing that another disturbance was about to break out, quickly came out to stop it.

"Have you said enough! Respect for the deceased is paramount. Is it appropriate for you to cause such a disturbance in the funeral hall?"

Zhang Guizhi shut her mouth in protest.

Under the guidance of the clan elder, Xu Dachuan and his wife lit three incense sticks on Old Xu's head.

Go and help out.

The villagers, seeing the couple like this, showered them with compliments, "Dachuan, have you made a fortune outside all these years?"

"No, no. I just partnered with someone to do a small business and made a little money. It's nothing compared to my second brother!"

Although Xu Dachuan said this, he couldn't hide the smugness in his eyes.

The villagers were incredibly envious.

Xu Dachuan's cousin-in-law, Qiuju, moved a chair next to Zhang Guizhi and tried to get closer to her, asking, "Why didn't you bring your three daughters back?"

Zhang Guizhi glanced at Wang Ximei, who was still fuming, and scoffed, "They're not grandchildren. The old lady doesn't like them. Bringing them back will only make them suffer. It's better not to bring them back!"

"You're dating someone, aren't you?" Qiuju continued to ask.

Zhang Guizhi laughed, "All three of them are married! The eldest's child is already in elementary school!"

Qiu Ju's smile instantly softened. She quickly composed herself and forced a dry laugh, "Why did you get married so early?"

"It's getting late. Girls don't need to go to school anymore; they can get married as soon as they come of age. Isn't that how it's always been?"

Zhang Guizhi acted as if it were perfectly natural.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ximei was furious and chased after him, shouting, "You didn't even inform us that my granddaughter is getting married! Do you even care about us old folks? Xu Dachuan, do you have any conscience?"

Yes! Your father and I do favor your eldest brother, but ask yourself honestly, have we ever mistreated you since you were little? You're the youngest, and you have everything your eldest brother has, but your second brother doesn't!

If he wants to complain, let him complain. What right do you have? You just throw out such a big event as your granddaughter's wedding, and you call us old folks what we are in your eyes? You're unfilial!

Xu Dachuan dared not accept such a heavy accusation. "Mom, people nowadays advocate free love. Arranged marriages are not common in big cities. If the children find their own partners and they like each other, that's all that matters. Why should we tell you? Besides, they all married people from other places. If we told you, would you be able to go?" "From other places? What places?" Wang Ximei's eyes widened, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Xu Dachuan had no choice but to confess honestly, "Two of them married people from the provincial capital, and one married someone from the north."

Wang Ximei was so shocked that she felt dizzy.

The villagers quickly stepped forward to help him up, offering words of comfort and advice.

After making a ruckus all morning, Wang Ximei ignored Xu Dachuan and his wife, while the couple acted as if nothing had happened, dawdling around and chatting with everyone over tea.

They did not offer any thanks upon learning that Xu Dashan was injured and hospitalized.

Wang Fengying saw this and her eyes darkened.

She went into Wang Ximei's room alone to bring her food.

After Wang Ximei sat up, she said expressionlessly, "Mom, Dashan is still in the hospital. Now that Lao San is back, let him preside over the funeral tomorrow. It's a good opportunity for A-Jie to go and take care of his father."

"Did you tell Lao San about this?" Wang Ximei looked up, her brows furrowed slightly, as if she was pondering something.

Wang Fengying glanced at her and shook her head. "I haven't said anything yet. The third brother found out that Dashan was hospitalized, so he brought it up."

Wang Ximei thought for a moment and still shook her head. "The old man is being buried tomorrow. Xu Jian and Xu Kang probably won't be coming back. Those three good-for-nothings have all gotten married and haven't come back. The grandchildren can't be without anyone. A-Jie can't leave."

"Let the third brother take care of the eldest brother today. I'll go tell him."

When Xu Dachuan heard Wang Ximei's request, he felt both confused and ridiculous. "Mother, I've come all this way back without getting any rest, and now you want me to take care of my older brother? This is really biased to an extreme!"

"You're the older brother! How can you not go see him when he's injured?" Wang Ximei used moral blackmail.

Xu Dachuan sat perfectly still, showing no intention of moving at all. "When can't I go see him? I can go after Dad's funeral. You're clearly just trying to humiliate me because you don't like me!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ximei was so angry that she felt dizzy again.

Seeing that Xu Dachuan was unruly and wouldn't listen to reason, Wang Fengying's face turned particularly unpleasant, so she could only temporarily send Wang Ximei back to her room.

He inwardly blamed the old lady for becoming less and less useful as she got older.

Xu Jie returned from the hospital in the evening, looking somewhat unwell.

Concerned about her son's injuries, Wang Ximei hurriedly came out to ask, "How is your father?"

Xu Jie pointed to his chest, "The test results are in; two ribs are broken."

"That damned Xu Dahai! I'll fight him to the death!" Wang Ximei shouted and was about to leave.

Xu Jie quickly stopped her, "Grandma, don't be angry yet, I haven't finished speaking!"

Wang Ximei turned around abruptly and saw Xu Jie with tears in his eyes. She froze instantly. "Why are you crying?"

Xu Jie's tears fell even harder. "The hospital found out my dad has a serious illness and said he needs to go to the city hospital for further examination."