Chapter 21: Li Mancang with Many Concerns

Li Xingguo felt a bit embarrassed and cleared his throat twice.

“Grandpa, Grandma, the cost of going abroad is quite high right now, and I really can’t manage it on my own, which is why I invited you both over.”

The old man’s eyes flashed with a glimmer of realization.

“Both your grandma and I are no longer able to work; we still have to rely on your dad and your uncle to support us!”

“Grandpa, that’s not what I meant. I’m not asking you for money; I just want you to talk to my parents and see if they can help me think of a solution!” Li Xingguo hurriedly explained.

“How much does it cost to go abroad?” the old lady asked curiously.

“The expenses for going abroad, including air tickets and visas, are at least ten thousand!”

“Ten thousand?” The old lady’s voice became sharp.

The old man also looked at his grandson in disbelief.

“Are you trying to take your dad’s life?” the old man blurted out.

The eldest son had recently changed jobs due to famine, and just a few days ago, he had switched positions.

Although the eldest son worked in the city, just look at how he was dressed and how thin he was! Wasn’t it all because he was supporting this grandson to go to university and get married?

In his fifties, the famine still had a long way to go!

How could the grandson open his mouth and ask for ten thousand! Did he even know how much that was? Selling the eldest son and his wife wouldn’t even be worth ten thousand!

The old man suddenly felt that his grandson had become a stranger!

Is this the kind of thing a firstborn should say?

Even when their eldest son was struggling, he had never complained to them!

To avoid worrying them, he always reported good news and never bad!

What was wrong with this grandson?

Listening to his grandfather’s questioning, Li Xingguo’s face turned red and pale. “Grandpa, as long as we get through these few months, just think, our family could have a deputy department-level position!”

“You are at a deputy department level! Your dad is probably in the ground!” The old man knocked his pipe on the table with a loud bang!

The grandson might have talent, but that didn’t mean he should let his son risk his life! No matter how close the grandson was, it was still about his son’s well-being!

Without a son, which grandson would still remember their old bones?

“Grandpa, it’s not as serious as you say! My parents have jobs; if they sell their jobs, my eldest sister still has her pension, and borrowing a little from relatives would be enough!” Li Xingguo had calculated everyone into his plan!

Hearing this, the old man felt a wave of anger rise in his chest. They had worked hard their whole lives to send their son to the city for work, and this grandson was actually asking his dad and mom to sell their jobs for himself.

Was he the only child in the family? He was the eldest! There were still two younger brothers and a sister!

The old man was so angry he could hardly breathe.

The old lady’s face turned pale; she had never seen such a calculating child.

What kind of child was this? This was a wolf cub!

Just then, Li Mancang walked into the room.

Li Mancang looked disheveled, making the old couple feel even more heartbroken.

“Eldest, what have you been doing? Why are you so dirty?” the old lady pulled her son close, worried.

“Mom, it’s nothing. I unloaded some goods at the cargo station after work! I haven’t come to see you for two days, so I got off work early today,” Li Mancang’s words made the old couple feel sad, contrasting sharply with the earlier heartless remarks from the grandson.

“One job is tiring enough; why are you unloading goods too? Can your body handle it?” The old lady touched her son’s thin face, feeling heartbroken.

“I have no choice, Mom! The third brother isn’t married yet, and the fourth brother still needs to go to university; there are many expenses. After work, I still have to wash dishes at a restaurant.”

Li Xingguo, the eldest son, couldn’t listen any longer.

“Dad, my mom just took a thousand yuan from me a few days ago; our family isn’t that short on money!”

Li Mancang wasn’t angry; he smiled bitterly and said, “Eldest, the thousand yuan your mom took from you was to pay off debts! Since you started university, our family has been borrowing money to support you!

You graduated and could have helped the family, but after you graduated, you haven’t given a single cent to the family. Now you’re getting married, and Wang Yue wants eighty thousand for the bride price, plus thirty thousand for the legs, a radio, a bicycle, and a watch… none of these can be missing.

Can you calculate how much money your wedding has cost the family? All this money is borrowed. If it weren’t for Wang Yue scolding your mom a few days ago and taking her entire salary back to her family, your mom would have been really angry and insisted on getting the bride price. She took a thousand from you just to barely pay off the debts! The third brother is getting married soon, and your younger sister is taking the university entrance exam next year. Do you think our family isn’t short on money?”

Li Mancang was on the verge of tears as he spoke! If it weren’t for his daughter-in-law taking money from the eldest, he would still be burdened by debts!

The old lady and the old man were furious, thinking, what kind of ingrate is this!

“Li Xingguo, how dare your wife scold your mom? And now she takes her salary back to her family?” The old lady extracted two important pieces of information from her eldest son’s words, staring at him in disbelief.

Li Xingguo didn’t expect his honest father, Li Mancang, to air the family’s dirty laundry like this.

“Grandma, that’s all a misunderstanding!”

“Misunderstanding? Your wife didn’t scold your mom? Or did your wife not take her salary back to her family? And what about you not giving a single cent to the family after you started working, just watching your dad work day and night?”

No matter how eloquently Li Xingguo spoke, he couldn’t refute these points.

“Grandma, from now on, half of my salary will go to the family!” Li Xingguo thought of this and tried to make up for it.

“Isn’t that what you should do as the eldest?”

Li Xingguo was most annoyed when people used his status as the eldest son to say that he should do this or that!

It’s not like he wanted to be the eldest; why should it be an obligation? He studied hard and got into university; wasn’t it the family’s responsibility to support him? Wasn’t it the parents’ duty?

Why should he be blamed for not giving money to the family, as if he had committed some heinous crime!

He went to university and worked to improve his own life; he didn’t want to bear the burden of his original family!

Li Mancang saw his eldest son’s face change and guessed he was blaming the two of them in his heart!

Today’s goal had been achieved; he didn’t care what the eldest son thought as long as the old man and old lady felt sorry for their son and didn’t help the eldest stir up trouble in the family!

“Mom and Dad, you just stay here with the eldest. It’s rare for the grandson to show filial piety; you should indulge him. I have an early shift tomorrow, so I’ll head out now and come visit you when I have time!”

“Alright, you hurry and go rest! You look exhausted! We’re doing fine here, so don’t worry,” the old lady hurriedly pushed her son to leave.

“Go rest well; when we come over, you can just come back. Don’t fuss about!” The old man said to the eldest son with a stern face.

“Okay, Mom and Dad, I’m heading out first!”

Li Mancang left the house in high spirits.

Li Xingguo rubbed his forehead, not expecting his honest father to have so many schemes.

Seeing the attitude of the old couple, it was clear they wouldn’t help him pressure his parents for money!

The old man and old lady were old, but they weren’t foolish; they could tell if what was being said made sense.

To go abroad, his parents would have to sell their jobs, his sister would have to take out her husband’s money, and they’d have to borrow from relatives everywhere; was this something a person could even think of?

How could it be that if he didn’t go abroad, his university education would be in vain? Couldn’t he rely on his own efforts to gradually climb up? After just two years of work, he was already aiming too high for a deputy department-level position!

The old man shook his head. He hoped his descendants would be successful, but he wasn’t senile! Even if you were a child of an official, it was impossible to become a mayor after only two years of work. Even if you studied abroad for a few years, it was still impossible!

Every high-ranking official had to work in the local area for many years, gaining a deep understanding of people’s livelihood, and having strong abilities before they could become a parent official!