Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"It was wrong of me to not take your mother to the hospital to deliver the baby in order to save money! But is it right for you, as her son, to talk about your father like this?"

Qin Shuangling had always felt guilty about his wife's postpartum health issues. Now, being dragged out and interrogated by his son, he felt as if he had been slapped hard across the face, his cheek burning with pain.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yue Chuan's face darkened further. He stood on tiptoe and roared, "You know you're wrong? You always have a long face, and if anything doesn't go your way, you have to grumble. Is this how you act as a father?"

Yue Chuan's several probing questions left his father speechless. At this moment, Qin Shuangling's expression was extremely complicated, and his eyes clearly showed a hint of disbelief.

What happened to my son? He used to be so quiet you couldn't even fart after being beaten three times, but now he's started talking back! If I don't discipline him, won't I lose all my authority as his father?

Qin Shuangling took a deep breath and raised his hand again, but at that moment, Yue Chuan tilted his head and "sent" his face directly to his father.

"Go ahead and hit me! Haven't you always been saying you'd hit me with a shoehorn? Come on!"

As the old saying goes, like father, like son. Yue Chuan is just like his father, a stubborn and headstrong guy! Today, he's determined to go head-to-head with his dad, adopting a "you lose if you don't hit me" attitude.

Faced with his son's provocation, Qin Shuangling was momentarily at a loss for words. In an instant, the image of Yue Chuan as a child inexplicably flashed through the man's mind. Back then, his son was so well-behaved and so endearing. But what happened later that made his beloved son increasingly unappealing to him?

Looking at his son, who was frowning and sticking his neck out as if asking for a beating, Qin Shuangling suddenly realized the answer: his son's stubbornness was something he had learned from him! However, he wasn't like this in the early years. At least, before his wife gave birth to their second daughter, he, Qin Shuangling, was a model husband and a good father in the village!

To pay for his wife's medical treatment and to raise their two children, Qin Shuangling has suffered immensely over the years. The burden of life has bent his back, and the relentless hard labor day and night has drained this man of his energy. Even so, the little money he earns through his desperate efforts is barely enough to feed his family; he can't afford a single extra penny. Qin Shuangling lives like a frightened bird, constantly on edge. Any unexpected event, even the smallest thing, can drive him to a frenzy.

In this situation, he needed to vent, he needed a scapegoat, and his son happened to play that role.

Approaching the age of fifty, Qin Shuangling seemed to have more reflections and thoughts, and at this moment, he finally realized the problem.

Yes, the child is already so outstanding, why does he always have to make things difficult for his son?

Thinking of this, Qin Shuangling clenched his raised hand into a fist and finally slammed it hard into his chest.

Seeing his father's unusual behavior, Yue Chuan seemed a little confused. Just as he was wondering, Qin Shuangling slowly said, "I don't necessarily want to force you to admit your mistakes. I just think you've been acting a bit recklessly. I'm your father, a human being, not a god. I make mistakes too, and when I make mistakes, I have to stumble. Your father always stumbles, so all these years I haven't been able to give your mother a good life..."

Yue Chuan was taken aback by his father's unusual nagging. He had originally planned to have a head-on confrontation with his father, but the father's sudden softening made him feel like he had punched cotton.

"Dad, you don't need to feel guilty. I didn't mean to blame you. I just felt that Ah Huang died too tragically and wanted to do something for it..."

Before his son could finish speaking, Qin Shuangling's eyes turned cold, and he suddenly asked, "What do you want to do for a dog?"

"It's simple, I want revenge! I won't be satisfied until I find those sheep thieves! I just won't be satisfied!" Yue Chuan replied without hesitation.

"Alright, stop talking about revenge all the time. If you have such thoughts, you might end up in legal trouble later!"

Qin Shuangling wanted to say something more, but Yue Chuan suddenly blurted out, "I'm not afraid of being a labor camp inmate! 'If bad people aren't eliminated, they'll harm good people!'"

Hearing this, Qin Shuangling was visibly taken aback. He realized the seriousness of the situation and knew he couldn't persuade his son on his own. So, he sighed and said softly, "You're all grown up now, and I can't control you anymore. Later, when we get to the ward, I'll have your Aimin talk to you..."

Yue Chuan didn't know if he heard his father's words; he just silently followed behind and walked into the inpatient department.

A few minutes later, the father and son arrived at the ward door and, through the crack in the door, saw Aimin feeding Qin Yunhai porridge on the hospital bed.

Seeing this heartwarming scene, Qin Shuangling glanced at his son with a complex expression, then called out to Qin Yunhai from a distance, "Second Uncle, you're so lucky to have raised such a good son as Aimin!"

Having apparently overheard something in his nephew's tone, Qin Yunhai wiped his mouth and said, "You old man, why are you being so sarcastic? What's wrong? Is Xiao Chuan'er so good to you, that you're treating him like a bad son?"

Qin Shuangling didn't know how to answer, while Aimin first put the lunchbox aside and hurriedly got up to arrange seats for his cousin and Yue Chuan. "Second brother, didn't my dad specifically tell you and eldest brother not to let the younger generation come to see him? He'll be discharged from the hospital in a couple of days."

Qin Shuangling gave an awkward smile and was about to say something when Yue Chuan interjected, "Uncle, my dad was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle everything by yourself, so he specially sent me to come with you to take care of Second Master."

Upon hearing this, Aimin chuckled. "Xiao Chuan'er, you're getting better and better at talking now that you're in high school. I've taught you for three years, after all, so I can still tell the difference between truth and lies. Tell me, what happened?"

Aimin was incredibly intelligent and immediately saw through Yuechuan's lie. He knew that the father and son had been arguing recently, and something must have happened, otherwise they wouldn't have appeared at the same time.

Qin Shuangling glared at Yue Chuan, then turned to Aimin and said, "It's nothing, it's just that Xiao Chuan found a piece of waterproof cloth in the big yellow dog's mouth, and the kid insists that it was torn from the sheep thief..."

Qin Shuangling told his second uncle and cousin everything his son had done. At first, Aimin and Qin Yunhai reacted with the same shock as Qin Xiaomei. But after a moment's thought, they agreed with Yue Chuan's analysis to a large extent. After all, the father and son knew Ah Huang's temperament; it was a clever dog that wouldn't hurt a single hair when catching rabbits. How could it have let the sheep thief succeed so easily?

"Xiao Chuan, although I know your intentions were good, I still have to criticize you a bit. What you did was indeed a bit reckless. Ah Huang is gone, and we are just as sad as you are. However, this matter involves highly toxic cyanide. How could you be so careless?" Ai Min earnestly comforted him, then changed the subject, saying, "However, your reasoning is quite logical. At the time, the police officers handling the case focused their attention on Geda and the sheepfold, and their inspection of Ah Huang was probably somewhat overlooked. The fact that you found suspected evidence shows that you observed and thought carefully, which I find commendable!"

Aimin spoke slowly and deliberately, yet he always hit the nail on the head. This way of speaking, which started by criticizing and then praising, was obviously more acceptable to Yue Chuan. It has to be said that Aimin understood his son better than Qin Shuangling, his father.

"I knew you and Sister Xiaomei would agree with my ideas. It's just that my dad always thinks that whatever I do is wrong."

Yue Chuan pouted and started complaining about his father, while Ai Min acted as a mediator between the father and son.

The most embarrassed person was Qin Shuangling. He had originally wanted Aimin to give his son a "political lesson," but now he suddenly realized that he was the one being lectured. He had come to visit his second uncle, but somehow it seemed like he was asking Aimin to mediate the father-son relationship. Thinking of this, Qin Shuangling scratched his head and stopped talking.

"Uncle, I asked Sister Xiaomei to hand that piece of cloth over to the police station. If they can catch the culprit who poisoned Ah Huang, we can make up for some of our losses!" With a powerful backer, Yue Chuan was no longer afraid of his father pursuing his "crime" of possessing poisonous substances. He revealed all his hidden plans and intentions, showing a cunning that was unusual for someone his age.

Everyone wants the murderer brought to justice, but who has actually taken action? From this perspective, Yue Chuan is quite commendable. He can go to such lengths for Ah Huang, so wouldn't he be even more willing to do anything for other family members?

While everyone else was still deep in thought, Yue Chuan frowned, stared at Ai Min, and said, "Uncle, you put so much effort into Kikuta, and it was about to bloom, but those people ruined it. You have no grudge against them, so why did those bastards do that? I'm so angry!"

Since the incident, the family members have been discussing the issue of the lumps and the flock of sheep. Yue Chuan is the only one who has mentioned the destruction of Kikuta so far. This kid really has a mutual respect with his uncle!

"I was also very surprised by this. I was only thinking about how to cultivate chrysanthemums well before, and I never thought that it would affect other people's interests. Sigh, it's easy to solve technical problems, but it's really difficult to solve human problems!" Aimin said with a sigh. It was clear that he did not regard Yue Chuan as a junior, otherwise, he would not have said such heartfelt words.

"Uncle, what are you going to do next? Are you going to continue messing with Kikuta?" Yue Chuan asked eagerly.

"We have to do it!" Aimin said confidently. "We still have the technical reserves from before. I believe that if we do it again, we'll avoid a lot of detours. Besides, giving up easily isn't the style of the Qin family!"

"Uncle! I support you. If you don't get involved, it will just let those bad guys have their way. Chairman Mao said, 'Either the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind!'"

In front of Aimin, Yuechuan's thinking was extremely agile, and his tone of voice was completely different from his usual demeanor. The two were both teacher and friend, and they completely understood and supported each other's ideas. This was probably the basis of their empathy.

Qin Yunhai was exhausted and fell asleep early. With three younger relatives watching over him, he slept very soundly.

Yuechuan and Aimin chatted back and forth, as if the uncle and nephew had endless things to say. From the lost sheep incident to the destruction of Kikuta, from the investigation process to the identification of suspects, all these topics involving family interests were within the scope of their discussion.

Of course, Aimin's words were somewhat targeted, as he was worried that his nephew might have other extreme behaviors. Therefore, the whole conversation was more like a psychological counseling session. After careful guidance and correction, Yue Chuan finally did not fall into the vicious cycle of seeking revenge through violence.

Qin Shuangling didn't interrupt, nor could he get a word in edgewise. He listened silently, looking thoughtful. When would he be able to communicate openly with his son like Aimin? Judging from the current situation, that day was still a long way off…