Chapter 8: Cold Mother and Son

Chapter 8: Cold Mother and Son

Chapter 8: Cold Mother and Son

Li Xiaohai glanced at him and continued to concentrate on winding the shuttle thread. An Nan didn't even look at him.

The eldest son became sensible at an early age. He heard a lot of gossip about him outside and had some opinions about him. He started to ignore him when he was a little older.

Everything was fine when Anan was around, but after she left, the two children blamed him for putting the burden of the family on their mother, causing her to fall seriously ill and die early.

Since then, I have seen that he is no different from other people, so I no longer regard him as my father...

Li Xiaozhou ran up to him, hugged his legs, looked at him and said in a baby voice: "Dad, they said you caught a big fish?"

"Yes, Daddy caught some big fish." Li Changle saw that his eldest son and Anan looked up at him after hearing what he heard. He smiled and picked up the smaller version of the little one with one hand, feeling that his younger son, no matter how old he was, was still considerate.

I wonder if the two brothers who were dissatisfied with him have rushed back home and are crying now?
He carried Li Xiaozhou to Li Xiaohai, put him down, and placed the ginger candy in front of his eldest son. "Ginger candy, keep one packet for your brother, and share the other two packets for your older brother and sister."

Li Xiaohai looked at the candy bag on his lap and pursed his lips. Before he could respond, Li Xiaozhou came forward and picked up the candy bag with a "wow" sound, "Brother, brother, there are so many candies! I want to eat some!"

Zhou Ruonan looked up and glanced at Li Changle, then said to his eldest son, "Xiao Hai, take it back and keep it. Eating too much ginger candy will cause internal heat. Eat two pieces a day with your brother."

"Remember." Li Xiaohai picked up the candy bag and led Li Xiaozhou back. Li Xiaozhou held his hand and said, "Brother, mother said I can only eat two pieces. Can I eat both at once?"

"No, one dollar in the morning and one dollar in the afternoon..."

Li Changle walked up to Zhou Ruonan holding a net bag and saw that she was weaving a machine-woven fishing net called a crab net. The only manual work required was to fix the kiln-fired clay pendants on the fishing net.

He looked at his wife with a dull expression, feeling bitter in his heart. He took a deep breath and squatted in front of her with a shameless face, "Anan, I brought Qingzhan and Pipi Shrimp back."

Then he rubbed his belly with a bitter face, "Okay, Anan, can you make something to eat? I only ate two wheat cakes in the morning and went to fish for seafood. I also carried dozens of kilograms of seafood to the dock. My stomach has been growling with hunger for a long time."

Zhou Ruonan looked up, "Did you really find the big rice fish and the big flower dragon?"

Li Changle didn't answer, but reached out to take the shuttle and ruler from her hands, "Go home, and I'll tell you everything!"

Zhou Ruonan looked at the fish and shrimp in the net bag, worried that the weather was bad and they would not be fresh if left for too long, so she stood up and followed him back.

When they divided up the family property, the one they drew lots for was this one at the edge of the alley, with a small courtyard about seven or eight meters long and more than four meters wide at the door.

The house is about nine meters deep. Before the family split up, it was divided into two rooms, front and back. A thatched house was also built at the back of the house as a kitchen.

When Zhou Ruonan's school is not on vacation, they eat with their parents. When they are on vacation, their parents eat here together.

When they turned into the yard, they saw Xiaozhou squatting there watching Xiaohai playing with a spinning top. When he saw the two men come back, he left his brother and ran to him.

"Dad, ginger candy is so sweet. When you catch a big fish in the future, buy me some."

"Okay!" Li Changle pinched his nose, "It's too hot in the yard, let's go play in the alley."

"Okay!" Li Xiaozhou responded sweetly, and went to pull Li Xiaohai, "Brother, let's go play in the alley."

"You're always nagging!" Li Xiaohai said to him, and then went over with the spinning top.

Zhou Ruonan went into the room, took out a porcelain basin and placed it on the ground, then said to him calmly, "Pour out the fish and mantis shrimps, I'll wash them."

"Anan!" Li Changle reached out and held her hand, took out the remaining money and put it in her hand.

"Dad's hospitalization cost three hundred dollars. I'm still short of one hundred and fifty dollars from the money you and mom gave me... I sold some seafood for 268... Here are the remaining 68, you put it away." "What's wrong with you?" Zhou Ruonan looked at the money in her hand in surprise, not understanding how the man, who used to spend eleven dollars when he had ten dollars in his hand, could change his nature all of a sudden?

Could it be that his father-in-law’s injury stimulated him?

Li Changle thought for a moment, "When I took my father to the hospital today, he fainted on the way... I don't want to be unable to even afford the money for my family's medical treatment in the future."

I don't want you to risk your life to support this family, and I don't want Xiaohai to live his life with resentment.

He said the last sentence to himself in his heart.

Zhou Ruonan raised her head and looked at him deeply, then took the money to the separate room and stared blankly at the money in her hand. She didn't expect that Li Changle would have the time to pay her.

Li Xiaohai came in, looked at the money in her hand, and asked in a low voice like a thief: "Mother, was this the money he gave you?"

Zhou Ruonan groaned, then glared at him again, thinking of the words he had just used. "That's your father, don't let him do that!"

Li Xiaohai snorted, "He doesn't do anything to help you, he just hangs out every day." He implied that Li Changle was not worthy of being a father.

"Boss, he's your father." Zhou Ruonan looked at him and said softly, "He just told me that he knows what he did before was wrong. Let's give him a chance to correct it, okay?"

Li Xiaohai looked at her worriedly, "What if he cheats on you again?"

"Mom feels that he is different this time." Zhou Ruonan looked at her son with pity, angry that Li Changle was not doing his job properly and made such a big child to worry about him.

Li Xiaohai hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Then let's give him a chance to correct his mistakes!"

Zhou Ruonan rubbed his head and said, "Good son!"

"I'll take my brother with me." Li Xiaohai went out happily after being praised.

"Don't go play by the long pond." Zhou Ruonan chased him to the door and warned him. Seeing that he nodded in agreement, she turned around and put the money in the drawer and locked it, preparing to clean the fish.

When he went out, he saw that Li Changle was not there, and the fish and mantis shrimp were still in the porcelain basin, so he went to the kitchen to get a rice washing basket. When he came out, he saw Mrs. Li walking to her door.

"Anan!" Mrs. Li took out the money she had earned from selling eels and mackerel and handed it to her. "Ah Le, I got three dollars for those fish. Take it."

"Thank you for your help, sister-in-law." Zhou Ruonan took the money and put it in her pocket, then picked up the candy on the table and handed it over. "Ale bought this, and there are also a few green breams. I'll get one for you."

"No, I'm too lazy to do it alone." Mrs. Li took the ginger candy and leaned forward to ask in a low voice, "Do you know that Ah Le caught the big rice fish and the big flower dragon?"

"He told me when he got back!"

"Let him give you the money to keep, otherwise he will spend it recklessly."

"He gave me the money when he got home, saying he was giving me a few dozen dollars as pocket money."

"Then you have to keep a close eye on him and don't let him hang out with Wang Mazi and A Rong again." Mrs. Li didn't quite trust Li Changle and thought about asking her parents-in-law when she went to the hospital.

Zhou Ruonan smiled bitterly and did not respond. Mrs. Li looked at her sympathetically, put the backpack at the door, and went back to the second room at the east end.

Zhou Ruonan came out with a porcelain basin and went to the alley to check on the children. Seeing that the two brothers were still playing there, he walked towards the stream.

(End of this chapter)