Chapter 114: The Burden of Filial Piety in the Father’s Generation

What was Li Wengang to him, anyway? Why should the Zhao family have to support Li family’s grandson?

This Li Shenggen clearly had no grounds to stand on. Too prideful to speak directly to his disabled son-in-law, he turned to pressure Li Taohong instead:
“That’s your biological nephew. You’d better think clearly about this. If you won’t help your mother’s side, don’t come crawling back after you suffer injustice!”

He issued a blunt order:
“Everyone, fifty yuan. No one gets out of it!”

Xie Yunshu stayed quiet. She knew this old man surely had more to say; otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting so “courteous.”

Sure enough, Li Xiuqin grinned as she picked up a piece of chicken and dropped it into Xie Mingcheng’s bowl:
“Mingcheng, you’re the older brother, you should help your younger brother, right? Just look at your grandma’s side of the family—it’s like they’re all dead, no one acknowledges you anymore. From now on, your only real family is your maternal side. You and Wengang are like real brothers now—you have to look out for each other!”

Xie Mingcheng didn’t even lift his head:
“My sister and I are the only real family.”

Li Xiuqin’s smile faltered. She glanced at Li Fenlan and scolded:
“You can’t even raise your child right!”

Li Fenlan pressed her lips together and said nothing. Her son wasn’t wrong. The Xie family had indeed severed ties with the three of them. But in the future, once she passed away, Yunshu and Mingcheng would be each other’s closest blood relations.

Looking out for each other meant the siblings should rely on one another—not be used by others.

Li Shenggen lifted his eyelids and lit another dry tobacco pipe:
“You’re the elder sister. It’s only right that you treat your younger brother well. No.1 High School is close to your place—let Wengang move in with you. He and Mingcheng can be companions. Mingcheng is good at studying—he can tutor Wengang in the evenings. You just focus on taking care of the kids. Once they’re both in college, you’ll have something to be proud of.”

Li Dayong gnawed on chicken and chimed in:
“Big sis, that settles it. After the Lantern Festival, I’ll bring Wengang over. He loves meat, so watch what you cook. He’s family—don’t be stingy.”

“This isn’t appropriate.”
Li Fenlan’s face paled, and she lost her appetite. She glanced at her equally uncomfortable younger sister.
“Mingcheng’s going to college next year—everything costs money. I don’t have much to spare.”

“Fifty yuan, and you’ve got all these excuses?”

Li Dayong flared up. He set down his bowl and stopped eating:
“Big sis, don’t think I don’t know. When your husband died, the factory compensated you at least several hundred yuan, right? The Xie family only took a hundred—you kept the rest. Now you say you don’t have money? And you, second sis—you’ve only got one daughter. How much can she cost? Sooner or later, she’ll marry and fetch a bride price. Who are you saving all that money for?”

Zhao Baoliang clenched his teeth. As a man, he couldn’t even sit up straight, let alone stand and argue with Li Dayong. When Old Xie was alive, they could at least put up some resistance. Now, he couldn’t even lift his head.

In this broken body of his, he’d given Taohong a daughter, but couldn’t even provide her a son.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Li Dayong glanced at Li Wengang, who was still busy stuffing his face:
“All you know is eat! Hurry up and thank your cousin Mingcheng. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask him. He’s your older brother—he has to help tutor you into college!”

Xie Mingcheng was on the cusp of taking the college entrance exam—his one and only shot at a better life. His mother and sister had pinned all their hopes on him. With pressure this high, he didn’t even dare pause for a moment.

How could he possibly spare time to tutor Li Wengang?

Besides, Wengang had no academic potential. He spent his days eating or wandering the village. Having him live with the Xie family would only be a distraction for Mingcheng’s studies.

Li Shenggen finished his pipe and made his decision:
“That’s it, then. After the fifteenth, Wengang will move into your eldest aunt’s home. As for the money—just give what you can for now. When Wengang gets into college, you aunties will have to contribute more. That’s your duty!”

The tobacco was spent, and so was Xie Yunshu’s patience. She set down her empty bowl and spoke flatly:
“Grandpa, if Mingcheng gets into college, how much will uncle contribute?”

Li Dayong’s face darkened:
“What money? Don’t pretend you don’t have any! You’re the sister—you should be the one paying! Go ask your husband’s family!”

Who decided that being a sister meant being a servant to your brother for life?

Xie Yunshu arched her brow, her eyes mocking:
“Oh really, uncle? So your son’s tuition should come from my mom and my aunt? Did his parents die, or did his grandparents vanish?”

“Yunshu…”

Li Fenlan and Li Taohong quickly tried to hush her, fear written all over their faces as they looked toward Li Shenggen. Words like these from a junior’s mouth could be considered outright rebellion.

Li Shenggen trembled with rage, lips quivering, jabbing his finger at Xie Yunshu:
“Wretched girl! Get out! Get out of my house! Raised by a woman without a spine—how dare you talk back at the dinner table! Don’t think marrying a doctor means you can act all high and mighty. You have no right to speak in this house!”

Xie Yunshu coolly lifted her gaze, her tone icy:
“This isn’t my house. My home is in the tube-shaped dormitory at the packaging factory.”

Li Fenlan quietly tugged at Yunshu’s sleeve:
“Yunshu, let it go…”

“And this is the daughter you raised!”
Li Shenggen turned his fury on Li Fenlan. He stood up from the bench and grabbed a bamboo pole by his side, ready to swing it at her:
“I raised you all these years, and fifty yuan is too much? You won’t even help your brother? I’ll beat you to death today!”

But Xie Yunshu was quicker. She grabbed the bamboo pole mid-swing, yanked it out of his hands, and flung it aside with a deadly calm:
“Touch my mother with even a finger—and try me!”

Behind her, Xie Mingcheng also stood up, shielding his mother and sister. His face still youthful, now bore a fierce determination. Li Shenggen staggered back two steps, his voice shaking:
“Good, good—so now you’re all rebelling, even daring to raise your hand against your own grandfather!”

Xie Yunshu’s pitch-black eyes were devoid of warmth:
“Kind fathers, filial sons—you think you deserve to be called our grandfather?”

Back when she was young and powerless, she couldn’t protect her mother. Every visit here meant her mom and aunt had to bring gifts and endure scolding. If they dared talk back, the old man would beat them.

They’d grown up under those beatings. The ethics of the older generation and the heavy word filial piety left them no room for resistance.

A few years ago, when the packaging factory refused to let Li Dayong take over her mother’s position, Li Shenggen beat Li Fenlan so badly her face swelled. She tied a rope to hang herself at her parents’ home—that was the only reason she managed to keep that job for Yunshu.

That was probably her one act of rebellion in her entire life.

After that, she avoided going home for years. Last year, Li Dayong showed up with a few yuan and a sob story about their aging parents still caring for their daughter.

To not be “unfilial” was a death sentence to her reputation. People would gossip, insult her and her children.

She was born into the Li family and could never escape—but her daughter and son didn’t have to keep being sacrifices for the Li men.