Chapter 33: A Loving Mother’s Many Failures

Xu Baofeng had basically lost his job—more precisely, he was fired.

Under the dim yellow light, old Xu crouched under the eaves with a serious face, holding a dry tobacco stick between his fingers. The curling blue smoke blurred his deeply wrinkled face.

Xu Ruyan sat slumped on a stool, her eyes swollen and red as she sobbed chokingly, “Such a good job… how did you just lose it like that?”

Xu Baofeng’s character was well known to Xu Ruyan—lazy, greedy, and not very smart. The jobs at the factory now were basically iron rice bowls; factories rarely fired someone unless they made a major mistake.

“What exactly did you do at the factory?” Xu Ruyan stepped forward and kicked Xu Baofeng silently.

Xu Baofeng didn’t seem to realize how serious losing this job was, acting as if it was no big deal.

He glared unhappily at Xu Ruyan and said sarcastically, “What could I have done? The factory… it’s just not doing well.”

“Do you believe that your food factory isn’t doing well?” Xu Ruyan couldn’t help but laugh angrily.

Yandu Food Factory was a state-owned enterprise. It used to produce military canned goods. After reforms, besides making canned meat and fruit, they even opened a cold drink production line—this was Yandu’s first such enterprise.

Back then, her father had paid no shortage of favors and money to buy this factory. If it weren’t for the family of the guy from the boiler room needing to marry off a son, they might not have gotten the factory at all.

Xu Baofeng was clearly playing dead, refusing to answer and instead mocking, “Dad was right. You women have long hair but short sight. You spend your days in the army camp—what do you know? If you don’t understand, don’t babble nonsense.”

After saying this, Xu Baofeng sat down like a lord on a stool and complained to the crying Xu Qi, “Mom, stop crying, you’re driving me crazy. I didn’t even eat lunch today—I’m starving now.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qi stopped crying. Although she was heartbroken that he lost his job, she couldn’t let her beloved son’s health suffer.

“I’ll go cook right now,” Xu Qi said shakily as she stood and walked toward the kitchen.

Seeing her mother’s frail state, Xu Ruyan quietly started lighting matches on the side. She said without much enthusiasm to Xu Ruyan, “Little sister, stop idling and go help Mom in the kitchen.”

Xu Ruyan finished lighting all the matches in her hand, collected the used matchboxes, and got up to go to the kitchen.

The Xu family’s dinner was very simple: a large pot of coarse millet porridge, three steamed corn buns, and a plate of salty radish pickled by old lady Xu herself.

After dinner, old Xu, who had been silent all along, put down his bowl and chopsticks and said to Xu Baofeng, “Tomorrow, you’re coming with me to the food factory.”

Without hesitation, Xu Baofeng refused, “I’m not going.”

“Yes, you have to go,” Xu Qi said as if she had found her backbone. “This factory was bought with our family’s real money, and with our son being so outstanding, they can’t just fire you like that. We have to go to Director Zhao and get a proper explanation.”

Xu Baofeng felt uneasy. He stammered, “Maybe… we should just forget it.”

“Mom, you don’t understand. That boiler room is really no place for a person to work. It’s hot and dusty, noisy all day long. I’ve long wanted to quit. If I lost this job, then so be it.” He looked at Xu Qi with pleading eyes, trying to dissuade them from going to the factory.

Xu Qi hesitated, looking at old Xu. “Old man, what if…”

“You must go,” old Xu said decisively.

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The Xu family was a patriarchal clan; once old Xu made a decision, it was basically final—no room for discussion.

Xu Ruyan watched coldly. Seeing that this idiot still clung to false hope, she urged, “You’d better just tell the truth! Even if you don’t say anything today, when Dad asks at the factory tomorrow, you won’t be able to hide anything. It’s better not to make a fool of yourself.”

Old Xu glared at the aggressively pressing Xu Ruyan, then cast a dark, brooding look at Xu Baofeng.

Xu Baofeng knew this was the prelude to his father’s anger and dared not challenge his authority. He stammered, “The boiler room was just too hot… I… I sometimes went outside to get some fresh air.”

Fresh air! Xu Ruyan’s eyes were full of disdain — he was skipping work.

“Anything else?” Old Xu pressed on.

Though factories varied, old Xu had worked in one all his life and had some insight. What Xu Baofeng said at most warranted a fine and a reprimand, hardly enough to get fired.

“I… sometimes got so hungry that I would take some food from the warehouse to stave off hunger,” Xu Baofeng lowered his head, unable to meet old Xu’s gaze.

This was something he’d done often before without anyone noticing. These past few days had been especially unlucky: first caught wandering off, reprimanded, then in a bad mood, he did the usual of taking some food to feel better—only to be caught red-handed and immediately fired.

Old Xu suddenly stood up with a bang, slapping the wooden table with a heavy thud.

His face flushed red with anger as he swept his gaze around the room, grabbed a broom from the corner, and swung it at Xu Baofeng, who cried out loudly from the pain.

Xu Baofeng hadn’t expected his father to actually strike him and was completely unprepared. He took the full force of the blow. Seeing his father was about to continue, he scrambled away, crying out, “Mom, help me! Dad’s going to beat me to death!”

Xu Qi screamed and rushed over, tightly grabbing old Xu’s arm, tears streaming as she cried, “What are you doing? Things are already like this, what good does hitting him do? Do you want to kill him?”

While they struggled, Xu Baofeng took the chance to snatch the broom away.

Old Xu looked at his son hiding behind his wife. His chest heaved violently as he angrily shouted, “A loving mother raises a terrible son! He’s like this because you spoiled him!”

“Enough! Stop fighting!” Xu Ruyan’s head was about to explode from their crying and yelling. Her voice was sharp, “Are you not embarrassed enough already?”

“Do you want the whole neighborhood to know that the Xu family has a thief? If that happens, I don’t think anyone will dare marry their daughters to Xu Baofeng anymore. The Xu family might as well be finished!”

Her words fell like a bomb, instantly silencing the room. The three who had been yelling suddenly seemed strangled, their faces red and ears hot, unable to say a word.

Old Xu’s eyes were dark and terrifying as he glared at Xu Ruyan after saying “finished,” as if he wanted to devour her alive.

Feeling a chill down her spine from his gaze, Xu Ruyan licked her lips and said dryly, “Now’s the time to think about the future. Without a job, Baofeng will have to go back to the countryside.”

“Mom, I don’t want to go back to the countryside.” Xu Baofeng’s strong body trembled as he instinctively hugged Xu Qi, treating her like a lifeline.

The contrast between the burly Xu Baofeng and the frail Xu Qi was stark—and the scene looked as ridiculous as it was.

Old Xu lit his dry tobacco again, the acrid smoke filling the room as he paced back and forth.

Suddenly, his footsteps stopped and his eyes locked onto Xu Ruyan’s. A calculating gleam flickered within them, as if he was scheming something.