“Uncle Yan has come back. You haven’t sent a letter to our family about this kind of major event.”
Jiang Donglin was Jiang Donglin after all. He soon changed his attitude like a good brother who cared about his stepbrother and softened his tone: “I’m just worried about you. After all, I’ve never heard anything from you these days. Since you’re back now, when will you go to see your mother? She is very anxious these days. If she hears you coming back to college, she’ll be overjoyed.”
He remembered that Yan Chu always had very intricate feelings about that woman, Gao Yaqin. On one side, he complained that the feelings she put on him and his two younger siblings she had given birth to later, far exceeded her concern for him. On the other hand, because she was the only person he depended on, he had an unspeakable appreciation for her. But one thing was affirmative. Every time he carried out Gao Yaqin’s name, Yan Chu would be obedient. If he wanted to stimulate the other side, Gao Yaqin was also the best weapon.
“Even if it isn’t his dad’s fault to come back, he isn’t seeing his mother who originally had painstakingly to raise him. If you put it this way, Donglin, your father was truly losing money. He helped others to raise the other’s son for so many years in vain and didn’t say anything about compensation. If we don’t come to Yenching to find a fellow student today, I’m afraid you are going to hide for a lifetime, right?”
Jiang Donglin was a good brother, so naturally, he stood on his side. Jiang Donglin also was well-known for his generosity and loyalty to his friends. Now, he saw he seemed somewhat dissatisfied with that younger brother who his stepmother bought. Without any hint from him, he would take the initiative to stand up and help him.
“Yan Chu isn’t that kind of person. Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding. Perhaps, he is too busy because it’s the start of a new term. He didn’t have free time to come back home.”
Jiang Donglin was a good older brother. Of course, he had to help his brother to speak up at this time. It could be said that he was helping, but in reality, he was both blaming and satirizing Yan Chu in the dark. It had been two or three months since school started. Was he still busy?
When he spoke, he silently kept paying attention to Yan Chu’s expression. He looked at the opposite party’s expression that did not change in the slightest. The youth took him like air from beginning to end. Jiang Donglin’s good self-restraint shrewdness was somewhat already unable to restrain anymore.
“If I remember correctly, your name was written on the list of the names who went to the countryside to live in a rural community, Jiang Donglin. It was just because you didn’t want to go, so my mother pleaded with me and made the residential district change it with my name without my consent.”
Yan Chu did not understand. The opposite side is this impatient man. How did he push the original self to that extent?
“Don’t tell me that you didn’t know. I heard how you asked that night. Didn’t you rely on her who wanted to have a good reputation at this point and let her sacrifice me, this son whom she didn’t like?”
Yan Chu stopped Jiang Donglin’s rebuttal, just wanted to quickly solve these matters, and returned home. His father and wife were still waiting for him back home to cook. The life of a househusband was overloaded.
“In my past two years in the countryside, she only sent me a cotton jacket, some cloth tickets93cloth ticketsa kind of ticket for China’s urban and rural population to buy cloth or cloth products. China implements unified management of cloth purchase and sales and guarantees that the cloth is supplied according to plan. Implemented in 1953 and food coupons97food couponsthe coupons for food or grain used in a PRC (People’s Republic of China) economic program from 1955-1993 in the first few months. When her poor guilt disappeared, she forgot about me, the son she personally sent to farming in the countryside. The so-called concern in your mouth, sorry, I didn’t feel it at all.”
Yan Chu could not imagine it, could it be that he was not Gao Yaqin’s son? Why was she remarkably loving to the dragon and phoenix twins that were born later, but neglected this son?
“Yan Chu, you misunderstood.”
Jiang Donglin looked at the people on the side, including his own few good brothers, who had strange eyes. He quickly explained: “It was your name that was written on the list of educated youths, how could I possibly decide to let you go to the countryside instead of me?”
“Besides, our parents’ money is earned by their hard work. In the past few years, we’ve eaten less, and we wear less. How can you be resentful to Auntie Gao, who gave birth to you, just because she sent fewer things to you after you went to the countryside later? My family’s life is also difficult. When my brother and sister’s bodies are in the growing period, the expenses at home are very high, so we wronged you. I’m sorry.”
Jiang Donglin was opportunely good at arguing. His face was righteous, and his speech was pretty convincing. The people on the side could not help but a little swayed.
Those years, many of the young people in the city sent to the countryside in this world. Especially the students present, they had gone there to support agriculture as the chosen one from several siblings in their family.
If their family conditions were okay, they would occasionally send something in the past. If their family had inferior circumstances, let alone support, when the food was scarce in those years, their family still wanted them to get some food from the countryside and send it back home.
Thinking about it in this way, what Jiang Donglin said seemed reasonable. It was already good that the Jiang family had raised Yan Chu for many years. Yan Chu should not bore grudges to the Jiang family and his biological mother because they were provided fewer things.
“Jiang Cheng didn’t tell you?”
Yan Chu did not seem to hear other people’s whispering, his eyes narrowed and asked while looking at the Jiang Donglin.
“What? My father is your stepfather, Yan Chu. Even if you didn’t want to call him Father, you should call him Uncle Jiang, alright?”
Jiang Donglin had a sincere look, and his heart was delighted. As expected, Yan Chu was an angry fool who had no brain. He did wish he could have been more cooperative. It would be the most major demerit to remember if he could ruin his reputation.
“It seems that Jiang Cheng really hasn’t told you, besides, where does he have the nerve to say it?”
Yan Chu smiled: “Before my dad left, he gave my mom a whole box of gold bars. Even according to the exchange rate of that year, it can be exchanged to more than 100,000. At that time, I was only seven years old. My dad left those things for my mom, merely wanting her to bring me up well. That large sum of money, let alone me who is still a child at that time, even for an ordinary small family, is enough to eat and drink for a lifetime.”
Ten years ago, the word ‘10,000 yuan savings’ had not appeared yet. A family that could have 10,000 deposits, which was already very prosperous.
“Do you remember what kind of house you used to live in? Let me remind you, do you remember the three-bedroom small bungalow in Xikou? That’s your Jiang family’s old house. After my mother and your father got married, your whole family moved to the courtyard house in Qilin Road, with you occupying the most spacious main room, while I lived in the side room on the other side. From that day on, there was meat in every meal at home, and you began to have a lot of new toys, carrying new school bags, and wearing new clothes. Jiang Donglin, do you think you changed all this?”
Yan Chu stepped closer to Jiang Donglin. Clearly, his face was still very calm and self-sufficient, but he felt unprecedented pressure. He could not believe that such pressure he felt was from his stepbrother, whom he had always despised.
“My biological mother, I used to respect her, but her affection for me is less than one-tenth of you, this step-son. The house you live in, the clothes you wear, the delicious food you enjoy, Jiang Donglin, go ask your father, whether or not all of this should have belonged to me.”
Yan Chu’s imposing manner was threatening. Jiang Donglin was scared and took a few steps back until he hit a young man standing behind him and could not retreat.
“My dad doesn’t care, because he is lenient, and no matter what your family has done, at least I didn’t die of cold and fever just because of money when I was young. I don’t care. That’s because I still remember that Gao Yaqin was my mother. Although this mother disappeared when I was seven years old.”
A cool breeze blew over, and it just so happened that sand had entered his eye.
Yan Chu blinked, he could not help rubbing his eyes with his hand.
“This is the end of the matter. I don’t want to say anything more. I only ask that everyone minded their own business, and lived in peace with each other.”
Yan Chu’s eyes were reddish, especially his left eye because of the sand, and faintly watery. In the eyes of others, this was a restrained man, even if he was hurt badly, he was still strong and unwilling to cry in front of everyone.
They did not know why, compared with those who sold their tragedy, contrarily with his very calm appearance, it made everyone present could not help but feel bad for him.
Actually, they still looked at his face. Anyway, the young girls on the side were distressed. They listened to the words that Yan Chu just said, then looked at him and endured the expression of not crying (foggy). They wished to stand in for him and asked about those heartless family members, especially his biological mother.
Jiang Donglin choked a mouthful of old blood in his throat. How did this come about? He had never heard about this from his father. But watching Yan Chu’s expression, he instinctively knew this was true. Could it be that the child by a previous marriage in his heart that ate and drank at their home, actually the biggest financial backer in their family?
He was unwilling to believe that fact.
