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

Wang Ximei's eyes gradually became vacant.

A moment later, a piercing wail came from Old Xu's courtyard, startling all the villagers.

Xu Dachuan and his wife ran out of the room, pressing him with questions.

Wang Fengying also appeared shortly afterward.

Wang Ximei looked around, her face filled with helplessness and despair, "Mountains! My mountains!"

The village chief thought something had happened to Xu Dashan and turned pale with fright. "What happened? A-Jie, what's wrong with your dad? He was fine when we took him to the hospital yesterday!"

Xu Jie pursed his lips and forcefully wiped away his tears. "The hospital diagnosed my dad with a serious illness, in its late stage, and they want us to go to the city for treatment."

With a "bang," Wang Fengying collapsed to the ground and couldn't get up.

Everyone tried pinching her philtrum and shouting, and after a flurry of activity, they finally managed to get Wang Fengying to open her eyes.

Upon waking, Wang Fengying struggled to go to the hospital to see Xu Dashan.

The village chief never expected that the problems in Old Xu's family would snowball, with one mishap after another occurring.

Whether it's Xu Jie's infertility, Old Man Xu's death, or Xu Dashan's newly diagnosed illness, any one of these events could shake a family to its core. Now that they've all come together, frankly, even he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Helpless, the village chief could only call Xu Dahai late at night.

Xu Dahai had originally planned to come to the funeral the next day, but he rushed over after receiving a call from the village chief.

Wang Ximei saw this and, crying, was about to go forward and hit him.

The old women couldn't stand it anymore and angrily rebuked, "Have you made enough of a scene? Are you going to drive away your capable son after all this?"

"Exactly, I have no idea what you're thinking!"

After being scolded, Wang Ximei cried even harder.

Xu Dachuan pulled Xu Dahai aside to talk, "Second brother, the hospital found out that our eldest brother has a serious illness, and it's in its late stage. The hospital can't handle it, and they said he has to be sent to the city. You're the one who got him into the hospital, you can't just ignore it!"

Xu Dahai raised his fist, "Pah! He deserved to be beaten up. He should be thanking me. If I hadn't sent him to the hospital, would he have been able to find out what was wrong with him? He wouldn't even know how he died!"

"You heartless debt collector, you ingrate!" Wang Ximei cursed incessantly.

Xu Jie and Wang Fengying also looked very unpleasant.

The courtyard was in an uproar, and the village chief had to step in to take charge. "Dahai, here's the situation. Your older brother needs someone to be with him, but your father's funeral is tomorrow, and A-Jie can't leave. However, he's not in a position to manage things. How about you take care of the funeral arrangements tomorrow?"

At this point, Xu Dahai had no intention of arguing with them anymore, so he nodded, which was considered an agreement.

The village chief breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Dahai was somewhat frustrated. He called Xu Jian and Xu Kang to explain the situation, and also notified Lin Yi and Chen Wenjun.

The next morning, a large number of wreaths were delivered to the Xu family's courtyard, and a professional funeral team and a chef from the countryside who specializes in preparing large banquets also arrived.

There were performances of playing wind and string instruments, singing, dancing, and opera, all starting from the beginning.

Inside the tents set up nearby, there were more than twenty round tables, and the chef's spoon never stopped.

All sorts of delicacies were served, making it even more grand than a wedding.

Villagers flocked to see what was happening, and many distant relatives also came. The funeral suddenly became dignified.

At least it broadened the horizons of the villagers of Xujia Village. Everyone praised Xu Dahai for being filial, handling matters properly and thoughtfully, and being generous.

After this incident, Xu Dahai's reputation as a filial son spread, and Wang Ximei could no longer deny it no matter how much she tried to discredit him.

Wang Ximei watched coldly, her feelings quite complicated.

Logically, she should feel proud if her own father's funeral was well-organized, but since it was her least favorite son who did it, the feeling was different.

The old man clearly dotes on his eldest son the most. If the eldest son hadn't been hospitalized, Xu Dahai wouldn't have had the chance to pretend to be a filial son. Now, Xu Dahai gets all the benefits, and the eldest son's family has become invisible, with no one caring about them.

Another thing is that I feel bad about spending all this money. The eldest son's family needs money right now. Wouldn't it be better if Xu Dahai used the money from the funeral to treat the eldest son's family? What a spendthrift!
The more Wang Ximei thought about it, the angrier she became. She decided to ignore it and turned to go inside and close the door.

In the afternoon, the funeral procession returned from the crematorium, finished the final procedures, and everyone was finally able to sit down for a feast, eating meat and drinking wine to their hearts' content.

The banquet didn't end until it was almost dark.

With dedicated staff to handle the aftermath and villagers to help, Xu Dahai didn't need to do anything at all. He just needed to send his relatives off one by one.

After the last group of people left, Xu Dahai said nothing and prepared to go back.

Xu Dachuan quickly stepped forward to stop them, "Second Brother, now that Father's funeral arrangements are settled, can we sit down and discuss Eldest Brother's matter?"

"What's it to me!" Xu Dahai gave Xu Dachuan a cold shoulder.

Xu Dachuan muttered, "Second brother, even if bones are broken, the tendons are still connected! No matter what, he's still our eldest brother. He's in this state, you can't just say nothing, right?"

"What do you mean?" Xu Dahai angrily pointed at Xu Dachuan. "Do you know how many despicable things that family has done? If you don't know, go and find out! Heaven is watching what people do, everything has its cause and effect, get out of here!"

Xu Dahai pushed Xu Dachuan away and strode forward, his back view so resolute.

Xu Dachuan was caught in a dilemma.

Zhang Guizhi came out dragging her suitcase. "Dachuan, we should go back too. It'll be hard to get a taxi if we go too late."

Before Xu Dachuan could say anything, Wang Ximei's sorrowful cries came from inside the room.

Zhang Guizhi's face fell.

Xu Dachuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and go over. "Mom, why are you crying again?"

Wang Ximei looked up at Xu Dachuan through teary eyes, "Third brother! Your father is dead, your eldest brother and your eldest nephew are sick, the second brother doesn't recognize me anymore, and what about you? You don't care whether I live or die, do you?"

Xu Dachuan's expression changed, and he quickly shook his head, "Mom, you'll always be my mother, how could I not care about you! But I really can't help with my brother's matter, so please don't make things difficult for me."

Wang Ximei glanced at Zhang Guizhi, whose face was full of displeasure, and suddenly felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. She opened her mouth, but ultimately held back and didn't say anything. Instead, she asked, "How can you control me?"

Zhang Guizhi pinched Xu Dachuan's waist hard.

Xu Dachuan winced in pain, his face contorted. "Mom, how about I give you a monthly allowance? I'm developing my career in the provincial capital now, so I can't stay in our hometown. If you want to come with me, you'll have to come to the provincial capital with me."

Wang Ximei's eyes lit up, and she continued to ask, "Where will I stay in the provincial capital? How big is your house?"

Zhang Guizhi answered first, "Mom, we live with our eldest daughter's family, how much room do we have?"

Wang Ximei's face immediately darkened. "You found a live-in son-in-law for your eldest daughter? Those live-in sons-in-law are all freeloaders, what good people could they be? I told you before that you should treat your eldest nephew well, that he would take care of you in your old age and see you off in your death, but you didn't listen. In the future, all your things will benefit outsiders!" (End of this chapter)