CHAPTER 44

Fang Zhongcheng missed his son and hoped that Li Xia would go bankrupt soon. She had sold all the goods in her three shops and heard that her father-in-law was facing a huge funding gap. Her little money was not enough to fill such a big hole, and it was just a drop in the bucket waiting to be burned up.

There has been no further movement in the electronics factory until now. What’s the point of this woman insisting on building the factory? Without the core stuff, these are just broken bricks and tiles and are not worth much.

Ever since he saw the boy doing mental arithmetic, he began to pass by Shen’s house whenever he had time. He followed Shen Haiyang on the road and heard his son reciting ancient poems fluently, reciting quatrains and seven-character regulated verses without any stuttering.

My god, how can my son be so smart? What was wrong with him at the beginning? Otherwise, he would still be my son. Fang Zhongcheng, It doesn’t matter. When Li Xia falls, my son will still be Fang Ruyi.

The father and son in front of him didn’t notice him at all. Shen Haiyang had nothing to do during this trip, so he taught the child to recite poems every day. The boy had a really good memory, and he could basically recite it after being taught once or twice. Such a smart child brought infinite joy and a sense of accomplishment to the person who taught him. The family bought a lot of books on purpose, as if they were afraid that one day they would have nothing to teach after they finished teaching.

“Dad, have you been learning foreign languages with Grandpa recently? I heard you guys talking a lot.”

“Yes, I am learning foreign languages from your grandfather. Nowadays, students in junior high school learn English. You should learn it in the future, too.”

“Oh. Why do you want to learn to speak like a foreigner?”

“Because we want to keep pace with the world and become internationalized. To join the international community, language is the primary means of communication.”

“Then why do we all learn English?”

“Because English is an international language, people from all countries learn English, and when we meet, we can communicate in English.”

“Why is English an international language? Can’t Chinese be an international language?”

“Haha, we don’t have the final say on this.”

“Hmph, when I have the final say, I’ll make them all learn Chinese.”

“So you’re learning English now?”

“Yes.”

After dinner in the evening, she discussed the current situation with the old man: “The order for small parts was placed too late, and production may be delayed by three to five days.”

“It doesn’t matter. Everything is ready. It doesn’t matter if it’s a few days late.”

That’s what he said. But until the production line was installed and the TVs were produced and passed the quality inspection, she would always be worried.

She went out of the backyard at night, and she had no mood to watch TV. The moon was bright and clear, and she was alone in the yard looking up at the sky. In the quiet little yard, Huihua came out from behind and reached out to hold her hand.

“Mom, are you in trouble?”

“It’s okay, just a few difficulties.”

“We have midterm exams coming up, and after that, we’ll have summer vacation in two months.”

Because she has always controlled her temper well, her daughter has a much closer relationship with her in this life. Although she knows that she has been in trouble recently, she still dares to talk to her. As she spoke, she took out her piggy bank from the house and put it in her hand.

“The money we three saved is all here; I’ll give it to you.” Seeing that she didn’t say anything, the girl added, “Yiyi and brother Hui both agreed. Yiyi is very stingy with others, but he is willing to give it to mom.”

“Haha,” she said, hugging her daughter in a good mood and kissing her on the forehead. She was too busy recently to ask her, but today she had some free time and started chatting with her.

“No one bullies you at school, right?”

“No, last time a female classmate asked me to borrow colored pencils, but I refused. She quarreled with me and wanted to fight, but my brother grabbed her arm. Haha, mom, my brother is so powerful. He just glared at her, and she ran away in fear.”

“Why don’t you lend colored pencils to your female classmates?” Her daughter has always been very gentle, and she would not be stingy when it came to helping her classmates.

“Because she’s annoying. She doesn’t take good care of the things she borrows from others. She’s borrowed things from me many times, and she cuts off most of the eraser when she returns it to me. She dropped my colored pencil on the ground, and the lead inside was broken. I felt so sad when she was sharpening it, but she said it was no big deal. If it’s no big deal, then she should just buy it herself and stop borrowing from me all the time.”

“Oh I see.”

“yes.”

The little girl kept telling her mother about the trivial things she encountered in life and study. Li Xia found that her daughter was much bolder than in her previous life and dared not refuse. In her previous life, she insisted on not getting married after breaking up with that man. She had basically no opinions from childhood to adulthood. She even took evasive measures when facing her urge to get married.

“Have you run out of colored pencils? Mommy will buy you some tomorrow.”

“No , I still have a box that I haven’t touched yet, so you don’t have to buy it for me. I just don’t like her wasting things. Yes, she only wastes other people’s things, but she is so distressed about her own things that she doesn’t buy many of them and just waits to borrow them from others.”

“Well, if you don’t like it, don’t play with her.”

“Mom, don’t you think I’m stingy?”

“That’s not being stingy. If you want to share your things with others, then do so. If you don’t want to, that’s your right.”

“Oh, Mom is so nice.”

My daughter is a caring little girl, and she shares her thoughts with her mother the most. It’s great that her child is healthy, happy, lively, and independent. She can take care of herself, so even if she doesn’t want to get married, I don’t have to worry about her too much in the future.

A few days later, the school had two days off after the midterm exam. Li Xia went out to do some work early in the morning, and the children were playing near the door of their home. At noon, Fang Zhongcheng and his wife came over. The man was holding a toy car in his hand, and he happily showed it to everyone.

“This is a toy dad bought for you. It’s the latest model of car. This thing is only available overseas; you will definitely be the only one among all the kids.”

What little boy doesn’t like toys? He was immediately attracted by it. Fang Zhongcheng put the car in his hand, and he took it and stroked it carefully.

“You like it, don’t you? If you like it, Dad will buy you another one next time. Why don’t you come with Dad? Dad will take you to eat something delicious.”

“Take it .”

Without hesitation, the car was put in his hands. The little guy turned hostile. He remembered that his mother didn’t like him asking for Fang Zhongcheng’s things. And he wanted to take him away, but he didn’t want to follow him. With such an unreliable father, he could stay wherever he wanted.

“My mom will buy it for me; I don’t want yours.”

“Yiyi , I’m your father.”

“My father threw me out to get married.”

“You little brat,” Fang Zhongcheng was angry that his son spoke so sharply and didn’t give him any face at all.

“You are already so old, and you don’t understand anything? You just listen to what your mother says, and you treat Shen Haiyang as your real father all day long? Let me tell you, you are my blood, the son of Fang Zhongcheng.”

“It’s you who don’t want me anymore.” Yiyi shouted, “And don’t talk about my mom all the time. My mom is the best mom—a thousand times better than you. My dad is also better than you. Don’t talk about them.”

Li Xia parked the car, but before she opened the door, she heard her son’s loud roar. The little guy’s face turned red because of the loud roar, and he looked at Fang Zhongcheng with his spines erected like a little animal. He was protecting his mother, not allowing him to say bad things about her, and even gave up his favorite car, choosing to protect his mother over his own interests.

She got out of the car and squatted in front of her son, and the little guy dived into her arms. He said nothing, but his gesture was full of attachment. Fang Zhongcheng was so angry that he spoke without thinking out of embarrassment.

“No matter what, we are father and son. Blood is thicker than water. How can you sow discord between us? As a mother…”

“Do I need to sow discord between you two?” Li Xia would not tolerate him. Before he could finish, she said, “You bastard, you gave birth to a child but didn’t raise it. You just wanted to remarry and shove your child into my hands without caring about anything. You still have the nerve to say that I was the one who sowed discord between you and your son? You are such an irresponsible person. You don’t have money to buy a mirror. Why don’t you take a piss and look at it?”

“I,”

Fang Zhongcheng is not good at speaking. Every time Li Xia confronts him, he trembles all over; blood rushes to his head, but he can’t speak. That’s because he does things irrationally. He has nothing to say if he wants to quibble, and he can’t open his mouth if he wants to deny it.

“Li Xia, stop throwing tantrums like a child. You can’t protect yourself now, and you’re about to lose money. Let’s take Yiyi away, and we’ll take good care of her. Yiyi is a smart child.”

“I’m not following you.”

Yiyi poked his head out of his mother’s arms and yelled at Murong Danling fiercely. Shen Hui, who was standing by, raised his mouth with a sneer. His mother’s words were like a basin of cold water pouring over him from head to toe, making his heart feel like it was freezing.

Shen Haiyang reached out and held his son’s hand. Shen Hui looked back at his father, his eyes gradually warming up. His smile became warmer, and he obediently went over and held Yi Yi’s hand.

This time, the five members of the family were on the same front, and Murong Danling had a smug smile on her face. In the eyes of others, the family was united, and the reconstituted family was more harmonious than the original one, which was enviable. But in her eyes, it became the last stubbornness of the Shen family, which was hit hard, and the Shen family was about to be in trouble.

The biggest and richest of the Shen family went bankrupt, and Li Xia wanted to save the situation without knowing how to do it. She sold the shop and built an empty factory. Even if she sold the factory in the future, how much money would she get? It would not be easy for her to buy back the shop. Without the shop, she would have to sell goods to make money, and small business is not as easy to do as before.

After thinking about it, the couple came to the conclusion that the Shen family was doomed. Fang Zhongcheng wanted a son, and Murong Danling followed him for the sake of family stability. Yiyi , this child is indeed smart, so he can raise him if he wants, because she can’t give birth to one herself. As for Shen Hui, it’s her son who has to be raised or not.

“Raising a child is expensive. We will continue the mental arithmetic and piano lessons you signed up for, Yi Yi. This way, you can save some money and not be too strapped for cash.”

Li Xia sneered and looked at her. “What kind of dream are you having? Do you want me to slap you to wake you up? It’s just raising three children. We are not so strapped for cash.”

Without waiting for the couple to respond, she continued, “Go quickly; don’t make yourself uncomfortable outside my house. You didn’t want the child in the first place, so don’t think about it now. I still say that he is not a kitten or a puppy that you can throw around as you please. You just heard that the child doesn’t want to follow you at all. So, go quickly; take the main road.”

“Li Xia, you’ve sold your shop and borrowed money everywhere. If you can’t find any so-called investments, you should sell the factory next. Don’t be so stubborn. If you can’t raise a child, don’t try to be stubborn. You will harm the child. Let Yiyi follow us, and I will continue to enroll him in classes.”

“I don’t care,” Yiyi shouted at Fang Zhongcheng, reaching out to hold his mother’s hand. “I’ll just follow my mother, as long as there’s food to eat. No, if there’s no food to eat, I’ll go beg for food, but I’ll just follow my mother.”

At this moment, Li Xia’s eyes were moist. Her son thought she had not solved the problem, but he did not abandon her as a mother at this time. In her previous life, Fang Zhongcheng got money to support her, built a new house for her to improve her living environment, and stopped her from sending him tuition and living expenses. In this life, he yelled at Fang Zhongcheng fiercely to support her as a mother.

“Where did you hear that I should sell the factory after selling the shop?” After asking, seeing that Murong Danling was a little confused, she continued without waiting for her to answer: “Get out quickly. Whether I succeed or fail, these three will only follow the two of us. The children have nothing to do with you, so don’t think about it anymore.”

“Li Xia, you are really good at pretending. Don’t regret it when you are poor.”

“It has nothing to do with you two. Now, immediately, leave here, and don’t embarrass yourself and make the child uncomfortable.”

After saying that, she did not wait for the other party to answer but stood up and opened the house door. The two adults led the three children home. They closed the house door and let the people outside talk about it, but they did not listen to it and did not get annoyed. They were too lazy to waste their words with two selfish and confused people.

Mom and Dad are the ones who have the confidence. The three children quickly calmed down their embarrassment when they got home. Li Xia and Shen Haiyang went into the house to clean up and prepare to wash clothes. The three children complained about the couple in Shen Hui’s room.

“Hmph, they still want to support me and take care of me in their old age? That’s wishful thinking. I don’t want it. They want to bribe me with just a car? Am I so easy to bribe?” Yiyi raised his head proudly.

“Come on, stop being so ungrateful. She’s my biological mother, and she didn’t want me, but she wants you. You’re so popular now.”

It seems that Shen Hui is bothered by this. He really can’t understand how a biological mother can be like this. Li Xia treats the two children as if they were her life and is also responsible for her stepson, caring about all his problems. On the contrary, his biological mother treats him like an enemy and beats him. Later, she simply treats him as nothing and doesn’t want him to be her biological son.

“Then you are better than me, brother Hui.” He only has eyes for Yiyi , as if I am not his child. Forget it; we have a father and a mother; why miss them? Who knows what is in their heads; maybe it is different from normal people.”

“But I heard Uncle Han say last time that people like us who are blood relatives will have to provide for their care in the future when we grow up.”

“What no!?”

“Realyy?”

The three children couldn’t accept it and couldn’t imagine what logic this was. When parents abandon their children, do they still have to provide for them when they grow up? That would be so frustrating.

“How about we go and ask them for money? Mom is short on money right now. We’ll have to provide for their retirement in the future anyway, so why not ask for more money now? At least it will lighten the burden on Mom and Dad.”