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Zhang Lan and Wang Zhenhe woke up early. While the children were still fast asleep, they took the key from Mingcheng’s pocket and scooped out 20 catties of grain from the cabinet, delivering it next door. Others had done the same, but they all wore gloomy expressions. Wang Mei, however, disregarded their mood. As far as she was concerned, everything would be fine as long as she had grain. She wouldn’t let the attitudes of others affect her life. After picking up the grain sent by her second brother’s family, she felt that something was amiss.
“Second Brother, don’t leave yet. Is there really 50 catties here? I doubt it’s even 40 catties,” Wang Mei voiced her suspicion, convinced that her sense of touch was correct.
The elderly lady and others stood by, observing the situation. Wang Zhenjiang understood what was happening but tried to remain composed. “This was all scooped by your second sister-in-law. I’m not entirely sure. Isn’t there 50 catties? There should be,” he replied.
Wang Mei fetched a scale from inside the house and proudly gestured to Wang Zhenjiang. “Second Brother, we have a scale here. Why don’t we weigh it to find out?”
The elderly man, wearing a stern expression, demanded, “Second, you better go back and bring the shortfall here.”
Wang Zhenjiang stood defiantly in the courtyard. “Dad, I really did bring 50 catties. Why don’t you believe me? Don’t listen to Wang Mei’s nonsense.”
Knowing his son’s nature, the elderly man grabbed a stick and was about to reprimand his second son, but Wang Zhenjiang quickly dodged, and the eldest brother hurried forward to hold him back. “Dad, don’t be angry. Second Brother, go back and bring what’s lacking. Dad won’t be satisfied until he sees it on you. Hurry up.”
Realizing he couldn’t avoid the situation, Wang Zhenjiang reluctantly went home to fetch the shortfall. When he returned, his face bore the marks of the scuffle, but he had brought the grain.
As Wang Zhenjiang set down the grain, he sternly added, “Wang Mei, I’m warning you today. Don’t come to us when you’re out of grain. I can’t stand having a sister like you, lazy and greedy.”
After uttering these words, Wang Zhenjiang left without looking back. Wang Zhenhai and Wang Zhenhe exchanged glances. Although no one said anything, it was no wonder that their younger sister had evoked such a response from their second brother.
Wang Deshan, looking at his daughter’s heedless behavior, became furious. How could he have raised such a creature? “Wang Mei, I’ll tell you this: if you continue to be so lazy and indulgent, don’t bother coming to our Wang family’s doorstep in the future. I’ll pretend I never had a daughter like you. Remember that!” With these words, he dropped the stick and left with an air of indignation.
Wang Mei, having lost face in front of her father and brothers, turned her robust body and began complaining to her elderly mother. “Mom, look at what Dad said. Will he even let me come back in the future?”
The elderly lady knew that the old man was truly angry, and no one dared say anything. However, she also knew that her daughter’s behavior was problematic.
“Wang Mei, I’m not scolding you, but look at yourself. If someone with ill intentions takes advantage of you, you’ll end up parading through the streets. Do you know the charges? Laziness and undermining socialist production. You wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences. You might even end up in jail. When you get home, work hard and earn your share. You’re not a child anymore; you should be aware of your responsibilities.”
Although the elderly lady felt sorry for her daughter, she knew that if Wang Mei didn’t change, she might end up alienating her brothers.
Wang Zhenhai and his brother looked at Wang Mei’s unyielding attitude and knew that speaking to her was futile. It was best to keep their distance from someone like her.
“Younger brother, let’s go. We should get back and prepare for work. Today’s work was quite tiring, and we need to eat well to have the energy,” Wang Zhenhai said.
The brothers left together. Wang Mei wanted her younger brother to help her carry things back home, but seeing that no one paid her any attention, she muttered to herself, “What kind of people are they? How can I carry all this grain back? A kind person should just help me through to the end.”
However, upon looking at her younger brother standing beside her, Wang Mei perked up and said with a smile, “Zhenguo, why don’t you help your sister carry these things back? It’ll also give you a day’s rest. Didn’t you hear that we’ll be doing strenuous work today? Your small frame needs a day’s rest after all that physical labor. You can take a day off and run an errand for your sister.”
Wang Mei shamelessly tried to involve her younger brother in her schemes, but Wang Zhenguo refused to comply. He turned to their elderly mother and began to act coquettish, “Mom, how can she, with such a strong body, still ask me to work for her? Even if I were lying at home, it would be better than running errands for your family all day.”
Faced with continuous setbacks, Wang Mei became frustrated and, grabbing a nearby broom, started to strike at her younger brother. “You ungrateful brat! I raised you when you were little, and now you’ve forgotten all the kindness I showed you. I’ll teach you a lesson, you heartless child!”
Wang Zhenguo couldn’t just stand there and let her hit him. He quickly ran outside. “Mom, please do something about your daughter. At this rate, she won’t even be allowed to enter our home.”
The elderly lady glared at her younger son and then turned to her eldest daughter. “Mei, the grain weighs only about 200 catties. You can push it back by yourself. If that’s not possible, bring the children next time to help out.”
The elderly lady didn’t want her youngest son to exert himself. After all, he was still a child. Besides, when she looked at her daughter, who complained about such work despite her sturdy physique, she wondered if anyone could be lazier than her.
Seeing that her mother wasn’t supporting her, Wang Mei had to pack her things and push the cart back home. Fortunately, the Wang family had a small cart; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to manage. She gritted her teeth, loaded the cart, and left her mother’s home. This time, the elderly lady didn’t come out to see her off.
Taking away 100 catties of grain from her family, although the elderly lady didn’t say anything, she felt the pain in her heart. If this weren’t her own daughter, she wouldn’t have cared about her at all.
When the four children of the Wang Zhenhe’s family woke up, their parents had already left for work, leaving hot food in the pot.
After quickly washing up, the siblings hastily ate breakfast. “Brother, are we going up the mountain today?” Wang Xuan wasn’t sure what Mingcheng had planned. After all, they hadn’t returned the borrowed car from the previous day.
“Of course, if we can find something to eat, we should go. It’s not every day that we can find something valuable to exchange for money and as provisions. Today, we should also return the car to the owner,” Mingcheng replied.
They hurried to prepare their tools, knowing they needed to visit the He family. They were hosted generously the day before and felt that reciprocating kindness was important. As adults, they felt the need to return the favor, especially considering the kindness of uncle and Aunt He.
“Sister, should we take over the basket of chestnuts to Uncle He. He as a token of gratitude for hosting us and helping us yesterday?” Wang Qian suggested.
“You’re right. We almost forgot about that. What a great idea, sis,” Mingcheng chimed in, realizing the oversight.
The siblings poured the basket of chestnuts into a cloth bag for easier transport. Due to the mountainous terrain, the basket took up a lot of space in the car, so they opted for cloth bags, planning to return the borrowed car the next day if they needed more space.