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Wen Sheng's Father simply refused to sign the papers, and no one knew why.
Gao Ming stepped outside, looking troubled as he spoke to Wen Sheng, “Brother, this is tough! I’ve managed to sort things out on my end, but your father won’t cooperate! You need to talk to him at home. I’ll go back with Wang Lijuan and see if there’s another way!”
Wen Sheng's Mother, Wen Sheng, and Wen Xin accompanied them outside. Many people stood on the street, watching Gao Ming and Wang Lijuan as they walked away. Wen Sheng wore a helpless expression. Wen Xin stood beside him, looking up at her brother.
After seeing Gao Ming and Wang Lijuan off, they returned home. Wen Xin held onto Wen Sheng's hand tightly. She was scared, her palms sweaty, her face pale, blinking rapidly as she looked at him, tugging at his clothes as they walked.
Once they were home, Uncle A Jin and Xiang Shu were sitting inside. Wen Hao sat on their left while Wen Sheng's Father occupied the right. Wen Sheng's Grandmother sat on a stool, tapping her cane against the floor repeatedly. When she saw Wen Sheng and the others return, Xiang Shu acted like a host, saying, “Wen Sheng, come here! Sister-in-law, you too! Let’s discuss this!”
Wen Sheng and his mother pulled up a stool and sat down to talk about the issue of getting a vehicle on credit with Wen Sheng's Father. Wen Sheng's Mother looked at him pleadingly, “Hao’s dad, please agree! Look at our family; we can’t go on like this!”
Wen Sheng's Grandmother chimed in with frustration towards Wen Sheng's Father, “Why can’t you just step up and help the child get a vehicle? What’s the harm in that? The child will be fine; it’s worth it! He can earn it back in a year working!”
Wen Sheng's Father insisted, “Do you really think he will go out? If he can’t even step outside now, having a vehicle won’t change that. If I agree to this, where will my pride go? How can I face others? Agreeing would mean I’m afraid of him; how could I hold my head high after that?”
Wen Sheng's Grandmother interrupted angrily, “Is your pride more important than the child? In the past, you would hit him just to save face! You only care about appearances and not about your own child. You can borrow money for gambling but won’t lend a dime for your child’s vehicle? If they’re willing to extend credit to us, why can’t you just agree? Besides, there are three years left! If he works for three years, he can definitely earn enough for a vehicle!” Exhausted from her outburst, Wen Sheng's Grandmother sat down to catch her breath.
Wen Sheng's Father appeared very troubled as he replied, “I will not take this step; my pride is at stake!”
Wen Sheng remained silent but thought to himself: It’s like fighting with Wen Hao; he never shows concern for us. You’re just protecting your already nonexistent pride while the whole family suffers. His refusal to sign was influenced by Aunt’s words.
Wen Sheng recalled an argument between Aunt and Second Aunt that had taken place in their home regarding Wen Hao wanting a motorcycle. They had come over to celebrate Grandma’s birthday when Wen Hao suggested that their father ask Aunt and Second Aunt for money to buy one. As soon as he brought it up without waiting for their father to respond, Aunt snapped angrily, “If it were any other matter, maybe we could discuss it. But not this! Look at my children; none of them would dare ask me for a motorcycle!”
“Why don’t we pitch in together? Your family can contribute some; we can gather some from the brothers and buy him one!” Second Aunt suggested as she discussed with Aunt.
Aunt’s face turned red with anger: “I won’t buy it! If we give in to Wen Hao now, where will our family’s pride be? What if he wants an airplane next?”
Of course, Wen Hao had no intention of flying. Second Aunt seemed a bit anxious: "Sister! I'm just discussing this with you. Why are you getting upset with me?" It appeared that Second Aunt was quite afraid of Aunt.
Then Aunt turned to Wen Sheng's Father: "My brother, can't you keep him in check? You are the head of the family. If this continues, how will the younger generation respect us?" She then complained to Second Aunt, "You just indulge him! I can't believe you!"
Second Aunt seemed equally anxious: "I can't help it! I don't mind if he hits our brother! We can't always be around him; is this really a solution?" With that, Second Aunt began to cry.
However, Aunt insisted that Wen Hao's father should not buy him a motorcycle, speaking in a firm tone: "Let me see him try to hit our brother! I won't let my two sons be beaten to death by him!"
Sure enough, soon after, Wen Sheng's two cousins came over with the intention of beating up Wen Hao. But they were chased away by Wen Sheng's Grandmother.
Wen Sheng was lost in thought. Xiang Shu patted Wen Sheng on the shoulder: "Wen Sheng! Wen Sheng! What are you thinking about? Speak up!"
Only then did Wen Sheng snap back to reality and plead with his father: "Oh, how about you just agree, Dad? If Wen Hao gets better, won't everything else be fine too?"
Wen Hao's father glared at Wen Sheng: "Good, so you're siding with him. You don't care about me; do you want your father to die?"
Wen Sheng retorted angrily: "I'm not siding with him; how can I be on his side? I'm helping you beat up Wen Hao!" He deliberately moved his arm wrapped in plaster and added, "Dad, look at this family! Grandma is so old and hasn't had a peaceful night's sleep; Mom is always worried; Wen Xin is scared out of her wits; and what about you? Is this even a family anymore?"
Wen Sheng's Father was furious and shouted: "You’re learning to talk back to me now; I've raised you for nothing."
Wen Sheng fell silent, while Wen Xin anxiously tugged at his shirt: "Brother! Don't say anymore; Dad will hit you." Her voice was soft, but Wen Sheng's father still heard it. He shot her a glare that made Wen Xin quickly hide behind Wen Sheng.
At that moment, Ah Xiang Uncle complained to Wen Sheng's Father: "Brother, why don't you just sign the papers? It's only a few thousand yuan. You still have three years left. If it really comes down to it, you can borrow some from Big Sister or Second Sister; your brothers and Jin Ge can pitch in too. What are you afraid of?"
"Well," Wen Sheng's Father hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say, stammering: "I can't sign; I'm afraid of getting into debt!"
No matter how they reasoned with him, it was all in vain; he remained stubborn as ever.
Xiang Shu had no choice but to turn back and persuade Wen Hao, "Wen Hao, can you please just stop for a moment? Look at what the house has turned into!"
Wen Hao kept his head down, not saying a word, his face flushed as he stared at the ground.
Just then, Guo An came to call his father back home. Unbeknownst to them, it was already quite late, and at that moment, Xue Li also came to call her father home.
Uncle A Jin had just stood up and hadn’t walked away yet. Han Gui from the village came looking for Wen Hao with a smile, "Wen Hao, let’s go play cards! We’re short one player, and it’s just you we need. Hurry up!" He even deliberately raised his hand, "Wen Hao, your watch is pretty nice! Looks good on you, ha ha!"
Wen Sheng felt a surge of emotions upon seeing that watch. Wen Xin's expression changed several times as she stared at it, looking like she was about to cry.
At that moment, Wen Hao pleaded with Han Gui, "Han Gui, can you give that watch back to me? It belongs to Wen Xin; I want to return it to her."
Before Wen Hao could finish speaking, Han Gui interrupted rudely, "Sure thing, brother! Fifty bucks! Just give me the money and I’ll hand it over right away. You can give it to whoever you want; it has nothing to do with me!"
Wen Hao was a bit angry and retorted, "Han Gui, don’t be so shameless. Didn’t I give you thirty bucks for it before? How come now it's gone up? Are you even a friend?"
"Friend?" Han Gui sneered. "There’s no interest here; don’t try to play games with me. Fifty bucks—take it or leave it. I’d like to wear a few more myself!"
Wen Hao was furious and cursed, "Han Gui, you bastard! Don’t go too far!"
"Wen Hao! Let me tell you something: you can act tough at home with your dad all you want! But if you try that with me, I’ll beat you to a pulp!" Han Gui threatened as he moved closer to attack Wen Hao.
Wen Hao was so frightened that he fell silent. Xiang Shu grabbed Han Gui and laughed, "You think I’m air or something? Hand over the watch right now! I’ll give you thirty bucks; whether you like it or not, you have to give it back!"
Xiang Shu took out thirty bucks from his pocket and handed it to Han Gui.
"Alright! Alright! Uncle! I’m scared of you; money doesn’t matter now. Since you’re here, I have to give you some face. You can keep the money!" With that, he took off the watch from his wrist and handed it over to Xiang Shu.
Xiang Shu smiled slightly and said, "Han Gui, you're not stupid! If I take the money from you, I’ll beat you up!"
"How could I dare to ask you for money, Uncle? I just can't stand Wen Hao! He's always causing trouble at home, yelling at everyone. He even fights with Wen Sheng and Wen Xin, and I'm looking for a chance to deal with him, but it's not easy! I heard from Grandma that this watch was something he snatched from Wen Xin, and he even got into a fight with Wen Sheng over it! What a piece of work!"
Xiang Shu laughed, "Get lost! Hurry up and get out of here. Don't come looking for Wen Hao to play cards anymore!"
Han Gui turned back with a grin, "Alright! If he comes looking for us, we won't have any way to help him, ha ha ha..."
With that, Han Gui left with a laugh. In truth, Han Gui wasn't any better; he was just another one of those so-called friends who had bonded with Wen Hao over drinks. It was he and his group of friends who encouraged Wen Hao to stir up trouble at home. They watched as Wen Hao fought in the house.
"Come on, Wen Hao," Uncle A Jin said, pulling him along. "Let's go home. You can sleep with your brother Guo An. Don't stay here; let Wen Sheng and your grandma get some rest!"
Uncle A Jin led Wen Hao away while Xiang Shu handed the watch to Wen Xin and left as well. Wen Xin took the watch and put it away with Er Ge for safekeeping.
After Wen Hao left, the family chatted for a bit before everyone went to bed.
The next day, the sun had already risen high in the sky. Grandma got up early to clean the yard; Mom had already prepared breakfast; Wen Sheng's father returned from work to eat; and Wen Hao came back from Guo An's house after breakfast, heading out to hang out with his friends. Wen Sheng also got up and sat by Wen Xin's bed reading. Seeing her sleeping so soundly, he couldn't bring himself to wake her. He stayed by her side while she slept peacefully, drooling a little. He took out a clean tissue to wipe her mouth and couldn't help but smile at her. It was Saturday, so Wen Xin didn't have classes. Mom tried several times to wake her for breakfast, but Wen Sheng stopped her, saying, "Let her sleep a bit longer! She hasn't had such a good sleep in ages! Just save us some food; I'll eat with Wen Xin later!"
It wasn't until around ten that Wen Xin finally woke up, rubbing her eyes as she saw Wen Sheng. "Brother, what time is it? I need to get up and do some work!" Hearing this made Wen Sheng feel a pang of sadness.
"Wen Xin, you don't have to do any work today; just stay here and chat with me!" he said gently.
"Brother, can you hand me the clothes on the chair?" Wen Xin asked playfully. Wen Sheng nearly laughed out loud! The chair was right next to her bed; she could easily reach it herself. But he walked over anyway, picked up her worn clothes from the chair, and handed them to her with a smile. "Hurry up and put them on; I'm waiting outside for you so we can eat!"
As soon as Wen Sheng stepped outside, Wang Lijuan and Gao Ming arrived on their motorcycles. As soon as they entered, Gao Ming grabbed Wen Sheng's arm. "Wen Sheng, how did the discussion go yesterday?"
Wen Sheng shook his head and smiled helplessly. Wang Lijuan smiled brightly at him. "Wen Sheng! How about we take you to the market? You need a break from being cooped up at home. Let’s take Wen Xin along too!"
Just then, Wen Xin came out fully dressed and heard they were going to the market; she felt very happy. She first looked at Mom, then at Grandma, and finally at Wen Sheng. She took his hand and lowered her head without saying a word.
Wen Sheng said, "Alright then! Let's take Wen Xin to the market! It's about time we bought her some new clothes!"
He turned to Mom and said, "Mom! Can you give me ten yuan? I'm taking Wen Xin to the market!"
Wen Sheng's Mother entered the house and handed twenty dollars to Wen Sheng, saying, "Buy some clothes for Wen Xin and get her some tasty food. Also, bring back something for your grandmother. Keep an eye on Wen Xin; don’t let her run around. Let her eat first; she hasn’t had her meal yet!"
Wang Lijuan smiled as she took Wen Xin's hand. "Aunt, let’s take Wen Xin to the market to eat!"
"Is that really okay?" Wen Sheng's Mother seemed hesitant.
"It won’t cost much, ha ha," Wang Lijuan replied nonchalantly.
"Come back early!" Grandma reminded them as they were about to leave.
"Okay!" Wen Sheng agreed.
With that, Gao Ming took Wen Sheng with him while Wang Lijuan led Wen Xin, who tightly wrapped her arms around Wang Lijuan's waist. They quickly disappeared from sight.
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