Chapter 113: Fair and Square?

This kind of talk was something Li Fenlan and Li Taohong had heard all their lives. Even though the two sisters had been more hardworking and gifted in school, they were forced to drop out before even finishing middle school and go work in the fields—just to support Li Dayong, who had no interest in studying.

But in the end, he didn’t even make it into high school. He loafed around the village for a few years, then used the bride price from his two sisters’ marriages to get himself a wife and have a kid. It wasn’t until recently, when township enterprises started hiring, that he got a job doing odd tasks—only then did his life finally stabilize.

When Li Xiuqin said things like that, it was obvious she didn’t want Xiaoshuang to keep studying. To her, letting a girl go to school up to grade nine was already generous—after all, once she married, she’d be “working for someone else’s family.” Better to save the money for her eldest grandson. If he made it into college, that would really bring honor to the family!

Xiaoshuang was holding the last two candied hawthorn sticks in her hand—one already had a bite taken out of it. Ever since she was little, she always had to give way to her brother when it came to food, always eating his leftovers. But right now, she didn’t feel like eating the hawthorn at all.

Still, she didn’t dare throw it away—what if it made Grandpa angry? One flick of that tree branch he held and it would come down hard.

Yingzi knew what her daughter was thinking. But as a rural woman with no skills beyond farming, what could she do? She had tried to argue for Xiaoshuang to stay in school, but in the end, the furthest they’d allow was through junior high.

She twisted her fingers around the edge of her clothes and forced a smile, gently taking the candied hawthorn from Xiaoshuang’s hand. “We’re about to eat, I’ll hold it for you.”

Li Gengen sat in the middle of the table, flanked by Li Dayong and Li Dagang. Uncle Zhao Baoliang sat quietly at the far end, mostly silent. Li Dayong had no interest in chatting with him either.

Li Xiuqin picked out some glass noodles from the chicken dish and tossed in a few symbolic pieces of chicken neck into Xiaoshuang’s bowl. “You greedy little thing, Grandma’s giving you some meat, so don’t go saying I play favorites again!”

Auntie Li Taohong silently picked up her stool and went to the kitchen. Li Fenlan also stood up but was stopped by Xie Yunshu.

Li Xiuqin’s eyes darted quickly—this granddaughter clearly had more backbone than before. She figured it must be because marrying a doctor gave her more confidence, even at home. Still, there was business to take care of today. No need to stir up trouble at this moment—who knew if this crazy girl would flip the table again?

She still remembered back when Xie Yunshu was a teenager—she once flipped the entire kitchen table and broke a whole set of dishes because Dagang and Mingcheng got into a fight and Grandpa slapped Mingcheng. She’d been heartbroken about those dishes for years!

Now that Xie Yunshu had married a capable man, wouldn’t she flip the table even faster?

“Alright, alright, you sisters sit down and eat. Yunshu, you too. I’ve got something to discuss with all of you,” Li Xiuqin said, calling Li Fenlan and Li Taohong back to the table. Then she brought out a basket of corn flatbreads and placed them in front of Mingcheng.

She spoke kindly, like a doting grandmother: “Mingcheng is so tall now. Your mom says you’re great at studying, always getting top marks. In a few months, I bet you’ll get into college!”

Xie Mingcheng didn’t show much expression but still nodded and replied briefly, “It’s going okay.”

Only then did the family start eating. Two chicken drumsticks lay untouched in the basin, clearly reserved for Li Dagang. Everyone knew the old folks favored their eldest grandson the most.

But as soon as Li Dagang picked up one drumstick, Xie Yunshu swiftly grabbed the other and placed it in Xie Mingcheng’s bowl, smiling brightly. “On the way here, I was saying Grandpa’s not biased anymore—see? He left two drumsticks, one for each of you. You both need to grow, so one each—perfectly fair.”

Li Gengen’s face turned green with anger. What kind of chicken doesn’t have two legs? His wife had just said both drumsticks were for their eldest grandson. That grandson from another family—why should he benefit from the Li family’s chicken?

Li Xiuqin jabbed her elbow and said quickly, “Eat, just eat! Yunshu, you too. You’re still so skinny—gotta put on some weight. Life with the Lu family treating you okay? I heard rich folks eat meat every day, not like us country folks who barely get a taste all year. Your grandpa only killed this chicken because you all came to visit!”

Li Fenlan and Li Taohong lowered their heads, eating the dry corn cakes. They didn’t even dare take another bite of the noodles, let alone the meat. They had never been allowed to eat meat in this house—after all, they weren’t born with the right equipment to carry on the family name. Their children wouldn’t even have the Li surname.

But Xie Yunshu didn’t hold back. She picked up more chicken and placed a piece each into Li Fenlan and Li Taohong’s bowls, smiling: “Mom, Auntie, eat up! Didn’t you hear what Grandma said? She made this dish just for us. If we don’t eat it, Grandpa might get mad!”

Li Gengen couldn’t hold it in anymore. In this house, he made the decisions. Just because this brat married well, she thought she was someone important now?

He slammed his bowl down, his cloudy eyes glaring at Li Fenlan and Li Xiuqin. “I’ll say it straight. Dagang is starting senior year after New Year’s. That school in town isn’t good enough, and it’s messing with my grandson’s college chances. Dayong and I talked it over—we’re sending him to the city’s top high school. The transfer fee is 100 yuan. You two sisters need to come up with the money.”

One hundred yuan! That meant each sister had to fork over fifty. That was more than a whole month’s wage for a factory worker!

Li Taohong bit her lip and glanced at Zhao Baoliang, mustering her courage to speak up: “Dad, Fangfang’s school fees cost money too…”

“A girl like Fangfang needs school for what? What a waste!” Li Gengen said bluntly, pointing toward the kitchen as if it were obvious. “Xiaoshuang’s only going to middle school, then she’ll go to the fields. Girls are born to be someone else’s anyway—why can’t you understand?”

Li Xiuqin chimed in: “When Dagang gets into college and our family prospers, no one will dare bully you in your husband’s home! Your dad and I are doing this for your own good!”

But to Li Taohong, all her suffering came from her own parents.

She was as timid as Li Fenlan. Forced into marriage, she was lucky that her husband and in-laws treated her well. She could endure being bullied by her own family—but her daughter was her bottom line.

“Mom, if Fangfang has the ability to get into college, I’ll support her for life! She doesn’t carry the Li name, but she’s a Zhao. If Baoliang says she can go, then she’ll go!” It was probably the most defiant thing she had ever said, though she trembled as she spoke.

Zhao Baoliang hunched over, resting a hand on her shoulder. His honest, downturned face stayed humble, but his voice was firm: “Fangfang is my daughter. I’ll pay.”