The two children stood at the wall with their heads down, looking at their mother holding a feather duster with fear in their eyes. Huihua looked at her father for help, but her father turned around and left.
“Why do you do something that violates school rules? Whose idea was it?”
“I.”
Shen Hui raised his hand without hesitation. The child felt a little disappointed and a little desperate. It was just a beating; what was the big deal?
Huihua is a well-behaved child who doesn’t lie. This idea was indeed proposed by Shen Hui, so she didn’t know what to say for a moment. Looking at the feather duster in her mother’s hand, she silently used her body to block her brother’s pull. Needless to say, the meaning is that we are in trouble together, and I will take the beating for you.
“Why do you do this?”
Shen Hui was a little stunned. He looked up at her and slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the family education during this period was simple and rough; if they did something wrong, they would be beaten without asking any questions. He didn’t expect her to give them a chance to explain. From the looks of it, as long as the reason was sufficient, it would probably be just a threat.
But he just couldn’t say the reason. The little boy had very strong self-esteem and was as stubborn as a duck. He just wouldn’t say what he should say.
He didn’t say anything. Li Xia felt helpless and turned to look at her daughter. Huihua looked at her mother and explained, “Brother wants to…”
“Don’t tell Huihua.”
Well, he was stubborn and refused to explain, nor did he let his sister explain. Huihua had been with him for such a long time, and she admired her smart brother very much, so she naturally listened to him. As soon as he called her, she immediately shut up.
“Mother,”
The little girl spoke softly, with a hint of pleading. Seeing Shen Haiyang coming in with the teapot, the girl once again cast her eyes on her stepfather. Shen Haiyang looked at his son. The little guy was stubborn and awkward, and he looked like he was determined to stick with it to the end.
Li Xia turned to look at Shen Haiyang, silently asking him what to do. Can you handle this hot potato? Shen Haiyang nodded slightly at her and took the feather duster from her hand.
“No matter what your purpose is, it’s wrong for you to do this. Since you don’t want to explain why, we won’t ask. I’ll punish you two for cleaning up the house, and this matter will be over. Don’t do it again in the future.”
The family has been busy recently, and the front yard has not been cleaned for several days. The two children took the broom, dustpan, and rag and started cleaning without any objection to their father’s decision. Shen Hui raised his hand and pulled Yiyi to work. The little guy was given a broom by his brother, and he looked like who am I, where am I, and what am I doing.
“elder brother,”
“We are brothers in this life and in all eternity. We share the good times and the bad times. We are both punished; do you want to stay out of it?”
He nodded and then quickly shook his head. “I’m with my brother and sister.”
“Then stop talking nonsense and get to work.”
Looking at the three busy figures, Li Xia stood by the bed and held her forehead helplessly. “We usually give them pocket money and snacks all the time. Why do you think they are doing this? And they don’t seem to spend their pocket money very much. Shen Hui has a piggy bank. When I was cleaning, I found that it seemed to be getting heavier day by day.”
“Do they want something special?”
“I’ve already promised to buy them a bicycle for the kids this summer; why would they have to work so hard to buy something like that?” Li Xia sighed and suddenly thought of something. “Could it be that they were influenced by me? Seeing me set up a stall to make money every day, they have no interest in studying, and their minds are only on money.”
Without waiting for Shen Haiyang to speak, she continued, “If this is true, it’s bad. We must correct it in time. If you have had such small thoughts since childhood, you will only be able to do small things when you grow up, and you won’t be able to do big things.”
Shen Haiyang frowned when he heard that the old mother was worried about her children. But he felt that things were not that simple. The family had not been in financial difficulty in the past two years, so the children would not be obsessed with money.
“I’ll talk to Shen Hui in private.”
The three little ones were cleaning up with their butts sticking out. After dinner, Shen Haiyang went into the east wing, and Li Xia went into the west wing. The result of the news surprised her.
“My brother and I heard my second uncle say that our family was after grandpa’s property, saying that dad’s illness was caused by bad intentions, so he wanted to go home to protect his own rights. My brother said he hated his condescending attitude and that we could earn enough money to treat dad’s illness without him and grandpa.”
“So, this isn’t the first time you’ve sold something at school?”
“Yeah. My brother bought a lot of pencils and erasers wholesale before, but he sold them at the school gate after class.”
The child is devoted to the family and the father; what else can the parents say? The child should know that the family’s living standard is not short of money, and living with the old man is a blood relative that cannot be refused. And the old man is currently a very kind old man, making people happy to live with him. Is Shen Hui too sensitive? He cares so much about what Shen Yaozong says.
“Mother,” , Huahua called her timidly, and she reached out and hugged her daughter. This child was too soft. In her previous life, apart from hiding away and resolutely not getting married, everything else she did was consider herself a mother. Looking into her eyes, she felt distressed. Even if she lost her temper, the child still called her on time to give her money.
“You like this father very much and are afraid of losing him?”
Huihua nodded obediently. “I know we have a house and a household registration now, and mom can earn money to support us. We also know that Mom is very capable and can support this family. We just want to do something for Dad. Mom, a home feels like a home only when there is dad.”
After hearing the last sentence, Li Xia immediately broke down and hugged her daughter to comfort her gently. Who wouldn’t want such a young child to have both parents and a harmonious family? Especially since Shen Haiyang was very good to them and he was a good-tempered person, the children naturally liked him. They were not happy with Shen Yaozong saying that about him.
“Mom will take care of the money-making. You are still young, so the most important thing is to study hard.”
“Yes. But mom, my brother’s doing this doesn’t affect his studies at all. He ranked first in the grade in the midterm exam, scoring 100 points in both exams. The teacher thought my brother was amazing, so she gave him second-grade math homework, and he actually knew how to do multiplication. I don’t even know when he learned the multiplication formulas. The teacher asked him if he wanted to skip a grade, and he shook his head and refused.”
The little girl’s eyes lit up when she mentioned her brother. During her studies, her admiration for the top student was so obvious. Not only did she admire Shen Hui, but she also admired Yiyi. Her brother was several years younger than her, but he could calculate faster than her.
“Go watch TV. I’ll discuss this with your father.”
The little girl was ready to leave happily, but when she reached the door, she turned back and whispered, “Mom, don’t tell him I said that.”
“Okay.”
After being questioned, the two kids went to the backyard to watch TV, and Li Xia and her husband returned to the main room. Judging from Shen Haiyang’s appearance, he should have talked to Shen Hui and knew why his son did this.
“I’ve told him not to break school rules in the future. This kid… looks quite gentle; why is he so worried?”
“This child is very sensitive and cares too much about the attitudes and words of others. But our conditions are good now, and when the child becomes more and more confident, he will not care so much about others.” Li Xia smiled and made him a cup of milk powder.
“To be honest, I’m a little jealous of you. The three children are so close to you. Yiyi said that he doesn’t want to change his father, and Huihua said that a home feels like a home only when there is a father.”
Speaking of this, Shen Haiyang also smiled, his face full of relief. Needless to say, his own flesh and blood are in his heart, and the two of them have become very close to him after spending some time together. Outsiders who don’t know them would never think that they are stepchildren. His efforts have been rewarded, which makes him more determined to live a good life.
“One of my classmates went abroad this year, and I asked him to help me find out about the progress in treating heart disease abroad. If it can be treated, we will go abroad.”
Li Xia nodded. “Don’t worry about the money. At worst, we can sell all those shops. With the development of business, the value of shops will double.”
“Father,”
Shen Haiyang started but didn’t continue, and Li Xia didn’t ask. She took a natural approach to this kind of relationship. After thinking it over again, she felt more open-minded, not particularly entangled or complaining, but she also wouldn’t urge him to fix the rift. They were all people of this age, and they had their own standards for everything. Emotional matters had to come naturally.
They are also thinking of other ways to get money and connections for treatment and are not completely dependent on him. They don’t feel inferior to others for asking for help, and the relationship between them is more natural.
“Shen Yaozong’s intention is to stop him from investing in the mainland, but I think he seems to have a plan in mind. I heard that he has already discussed the location of the factory with the Investment Promotion Office. I don’t know what the final outcome will be.”
She seemed to be talking to herself, and without waiting for his answer, she continued, “No matter what they do, we should renovate our shop as soon as it is completed in the fall. We can’t delay the peak season before the New Year.”
