Old Deng is reborn in the 1980s, and he starts by severing his father-son relationship!

A corner of the main room.

Chen Deshun rubbed his throbbing head, the buzzing of arguments filling his ears, and several young faces contorted with excitement before him.

The table was slammed shut with a loud "thud".

He pressed his temples, looking momentarily dazed.

Is this the Terrace of Longing for Home? Is this the process that everyone goes through after death?

I've really learned something new!

"Dad! Don't think you can get away with this by not saying anything!"

The eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Rui, stood with her hands on her hips, looking arrogant and haughty.

"What am I trying to fool?" Chen Deshun asked instinctively.

Liu Rui rolled his eyes, cursing inwardly, "Old senile! He's only in his early forties and already has dementia? Looks like from now on, besides asking for money, I'll have to stay away from this old guy, lest he start leeching off our family someday."

"About the matter of further studies after the founding of the nation!"

She described the blueprint with great enthusiasm:

"The leaders at Jian Guo's unit said that once we go, we'll take the certification exam and come back as senior engineers! With a little more effort, we can move into management positions, eventually becoming deputy section chiefs, and possibly even bureau-level officials! Whether our Chen family's ancestral graves will emit smoke depends on this!"

Chen Deshun looked around blankly, then raised his hand and slapped himself.

Snapped!

Burning pain.

It's not a dream.

To onlookers, this slap became a signal of shame and resignation.

The second son, Chen Jianye, immediately became anxious:

"Dad! Cui Cui said the bride price is at least 800 yuan, she won't marry me if it's not 800 yuan! You can't just ignore me!"

The third brother, Chen Jianshe, also squeezed forward:

"Dad, I'm short of capital for my business. Can you give me five hundred yuan first?"

Liu Rui raised an eyebrow and shoved his two brothers-in-law aside: "You two step aside! Your eldest brother is dealing with serious business!"

"Once your eldest brother gets promoted, the Chen family will be completely transformed. At that time, not only will there be girls willing to pay anything for you, but you'll be lining up to choose from them!"

"And third brother, can your little business be as stable as a formal job? Once your eldest brother gets promoted, just ask him to get you a formal job at the factory. That would be better than anything else."

She tried to appease the two by offering empty promises, but the second and third sons weren't buying it at all.

"Sister-in-law, don't give me that!"

The second son sneered, "When you married into the family, all you brought as a dowry were two quilts. My brother is so good to you, why don't you say you'd give him your dowry?"

"If you return the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of metal parts, a watch, a radio, and a betrothal gift) and the dowry money we gave you right now, I'll believe you!"

Liu Rui was speechless, his face turning ashen. The second son, though seemingly honest, was more cunning than anyone else. Knowing he couldn't reason with this stubborn man, he turned to Chen Deshun again, pressing him: "Dad! Jianguo is our family's only hope for a better future! We must prioritize him!"

"Dad! Don't forget, you still have three sons. My third and fourth sons and I aren't married yet!"

The second brother retorted defiantly, "I don't care! If you're going to give the eldest brother money, I'll take it! If you don't have money, then give me the job!"

"Yes! I want to work too!" the third brother shouted.

Chen Deshun suddenly came to his senses.

He was now certain that he was no longer at the Looking-Homeward Platform in the Underworld, nor was it a figment of his imagination before his death; it seemed that he had been... reborn.

He was reborn on the day his boss used the excuse of further education and promotion to swindle money from him.

Looking at her three sons and eldest daughter-in-law arguing heatedly, and then at her youngest daughter sitting blankly in the corner and eating snacks with her head down, she felt a splitting headache.

This is so fucking awful!

What divine law did he break?

Even in death, I couldn't escape these debt collectors!

He remembered that in his past life it was like this: he gave money to his eldest son and a job to his second son, but his eldest daughter-in-law refused to support him in his old age. According to the current social norms, the elderly would have to rely on their eldest son for support in the future, so he had no choice but to borrow money to appease his eldest son and his wife... His other sons were also dissatisfied, and so on, creating a vicious cycle...

"Dad, there's no room for discussion, stop pretending to be dead!"

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, the third brother worried that he was biased towards his eldest and second eldest brothers, so he shouted without thinking.

This shout woke Chen Deshun from his reverie. His gaze fell on the third brother, his eyes widened, and he slapped him across the face.

Snapped!

The crisp sound of the slap instantly silenced the entire room.

"Who are you calling dead, you little brat! If you dare curse me again, I'll slap you to death!"

Chen Deshun slapped his hand away. In his previous life, these hands were used to wash clothes and cook for his children. They should have been used to beat his unfilial son and wake him up.

Before anyone else could react, he pointed at the eldest and second eldest brothers and started yelling, "And you two good-for-nothings! Are you blind or crippled? All you do is reach out to me for money!"

"Second brother, you can marry a wife if you want, or stay a bachelor for life. If you dare to mess with my job again, I'll break your legs!"

Chen Deshun works at a wireless electronics factory. Workers are assessed according to their skills, from level one to level eight. Chen Deshun is honest, capable, and has outstanding skills. He is now a level seven worker. He is well-liked in the factory, and the workshop director intends to appoint him as a team leader. His future looks bright.

During this period, the dual-cassette recorders produced by the factory were popular all over the country. Workers often worked in three shifts, and the factory was doing very well. Chen Deshun's basic salary, bonuses, and various subsidies added up to more than 100 yuan, which was a high income level in 1980. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to support such a large family on his own.

The third son covered his face, the blow from the big slap had left him with psychological trauma, and he couldn't recover for a long time. Even now, he still couldn't believe that his father had actually slapped him.

The eldest son and his wife, along with the second son, were all completely bewildered.

Has this old man, whom they've always had completely under their thumb, taken the wrong medicine today?

The fourth son and the youngest daughter were equally incredulous, unable to believe that their father would actually hit the third son and also scold the second and eldest sons and their spouses. Didn't he usually love his three sons the most?

Chen Deshun sneered.

He poured his heart and soul into them in his past life, wishing he could squeeze every drop of blood out of them, but what did he get in return?

Having been given a second chance at life, he has now come to a complete realization: some children are born to repay kindness, while others are born to seek revenge, like the ungrateful bunch he raised.

Anyway, no one can ever get a single penny out of him in this lifetime.

As for retirement, well, as long as you have money, why worry about not having a place to spend your old age?

"Dad, are you crazy? How dare you hit me?"

The third brother covered his rapidly swollen cheek, feeling both resentful and angry.

Chen Deshun looked at him expressionlessly. If it were before, he would have been heartbroken to see his beloved youngest son being beaten, and might even have rushed to apologize.

But seeing the third son like this now, I feel disappointed and a little uncomfortable.

But the thought of my later years quickly dispelled any discomfort I felt.

"It's only natural for a father to discipline his son. If you can't even handle one slap, how are you going to survive the rest of your life? If you feel this family can't tolerate you, then get out now! Go wherever you want."

The third son's finger was trembling as he pointed at Chen Deshun. What did his father mean by that? Did he mean he was going to beat him again?

Seeing the third brother's discomfiture, Liu Rui burst out laughing.

The second brother's shoulders were trembling; he was clearly trying to suppress a laugh.

The third brother's face turned a deep purplish-red. His gaze swept over his older brother and sister-in-law, who were watching the spectacle, and then fell on his younger sister and fourth brother in the corner. He felt as if they were all laughing at him, and he felt utterly humiliated, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

"Fine! You said that!"

He pointed at Chen Deshun and threatened him, "If you dare give them either money or a job, I'll disown you as your son! And don't expect me to take care of you in your old age!"

After saying that, he slammed the door shut and left.

He had only taken two steps when he hesitated, turned around and plopped back down on the chair by the door, his neck stiff, clearly wanting to see how Chen Deshun would handle the situation.

Chen Deshun glanced calmly at his third brother, whose face was full of resentment, and slowly said, "Chen Jianshe, with your limited knowledge, you dare to challenge me? Let me tell you, no matter who I give the money to or the job to, every single one of you will have to support me in my old age!"

"What are you glaring at me for?! The law clearly states in black and white that supporting the elderly is a legal obligation, not something you can evade by banging on the table and throwing a tantrum."

"I advise you to read more books and study the law instead of spending all your time loitering on the streets, making a fool of yourself like a scoundrel!"

He would never say something like, "I have arms and legs, I don't need you to support me."

They raised their children with great difficulty, so why should they just stop supporting them?

He might as well get a dog; at least it can guard the house.

The third brother's face flushed red and then darkened, like a defeated rooster. He said defiantly, "You gave all the benefits to the eldest brother. If you need anything in the future, go to him. Why are you still coming to me?!"

Chen Jianguo coughed lightly, adopting the posture of the eldest son: "Third brother, we're all family, why be so particular? Now that I've made it big, do you think I've forgotten my own brothers?"

Liu Rui chimed in, his tone laced with a condescending sense of superiority: "That's right! Third brother, you don't even have a proper job right now. Once your eldest brother becomes successful, he'll arrange a permanent job for you. Wouldn't that be better than you messing around like this? We'll even find you a factory worker wife so you can live a good life from now on."

Chen Jianye, the second brother standing next to him, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Liu Rui's eyebrows shot up, and she glared at him with displeasure: "Second brother! What are you laughing at? Can't you have some manners! Show some respect to me and your older brother."

Chen Jianye pointed to his nose and chuckled, "I have no manners? I just can't stand you two putting on a show and fooling everyone else."

"That's something you can only fool Dad with."

He abruptly changed the subject, pointing the finger directly at Chen Jianguo: "Brother, what promise did you make to your family when you went to university? You said you'd help support the family with your earnings, but what happened?"

"You got married right after graduation, and demanded a house after marriage. You've worked for two years and haven't sent a single penny home. Our whole family still lives in the staff housing at Dad's workplace. And what about you? You shamelessly come back every now and then to freeload and ask for money. Even the beggars on the street aren't as shrewd as you!"

Upon hearing this, the third brother's mind immediately clicked, and he quickly changed his tune: "That's right! Sister-in-law, you and your brother both work, your combined monthly salary must be over a hundred yuan, right? Why do you always ask the family for money whenever you need something? Where does all your money go?"

Since things have already turned ugly, and the old man isn't going to give him the money, then we absolutely can't let the eldest and second eldest sons get away with it!

If we're going to give it to someone, we'll split it equally; otherwise, nobody gets anything!

Liu Rui was attacked from both sides by his two younger brothers-in-law, and he was so angry that his face turned white.

"What do you two bumpkins know! Jianguo is an intellectual! He does mental work! Do you even know what mental work is?"

"Using your brain is so hard work—buying study materials, taking supplements, dealing with social obligations—all of that costs money! Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you!"

The second son scoffed, "Oh, right, right, we're country bumpkins, we don't understand social etiquette. You guys only know how to socialize with outsiders, why don't you ever socialize with Dad?"

"Dad is so old, have you ever taken him out to eat even once? When Mom was alive, did you ever show her any filial piety for even a single day? When Mom passed away, where were you, as the eldest son?"

"Tsk tsk tsk... What's that old saying again? 'The most righteous are often the lowly butchers, the most ungrateful are often the scholars!'"

These words were like slaps to Chen Jianguo's face.

His face turned from red to green, and then from green to white.

At home, Chen Jianguo was always the center of attention, and he had never suffered such humiliation before.

He was called a heartless and unfaithful person by his younger brother!

He subconsciously looked at Chen Deshun.

In the past, his father would have jumped in to smooth things over, or even scolded his second and third sons to uphold his authority as the eldest son.

But today, the old man just sat there quietly, even watching the brothers fight like dogs with great interest, without showing any intention of intervening.

No, he had to do something; he couldn't let the old man watch the show any longer!

"Dad, say something!"

Chen Deshun noticed the pleading look in his eldest son's eyes and sneered inwardly.

Help him? On what grounds?

In their past life, the whole family put up a great deal of support for him, only to be abandoned at his bedside and told, "Life and death are up to fate."

And which of his siblings benefited from his fame?