Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 43

The morning before they were supposed to leave, Xu Duoduo and Xu Jianguo, with their train tickets and bags, left the house.

As soon as they walked out of the compound gate, Xu Jingping stopped them.

“Hmph!” Xu Jianguo, annoyed, deliberately pretended not to see Xu Jingping as she walked past them. Xu Duoduo didn’t say a word either.

“Are you really leaving just like this, Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law?” Xu Jingping asked gently.

“What more do you want, second sister?” Xu Jianguo yelled at Xu Jingping.

“Little sister, we’ve lost this round. We’ve admitted defeat and haven’t said anything about it! It can’t go on forever, right?” Xu Duoduo grabbed Xu Jianguo and turned to reply.

Xu Jingping smiled and said, “Big Sister-in-law, I’m asking if you’re really just leaving without a word, leaving behind the three kids, and sneaking off quietly?”

Xu Duoduo and Xu Jianguo looked at Xu Jingping in shock.

“Did you think that by changing the train tickets and leaving a day earlier, no one would notice?” Xu Jingping examined the couple.

“What do you want, second sister? Just say it,” Xu Duoduo had to ask. The conditions in the northwest were so poor, how could she bring three young children with her? What if they got sick? How would they go to school, find jobs, or get married?

Was the plan for them to learn how to plant trees with the adults, grow up, marry a local girl, have children, and continue planting trees?

“Well, they’re still my nephews. I do care about them.”

“But all these years, the benefits you’ve gotten from me, the bl00d you’ve sucked from me—what about that?” Xu Jingping asked coldly.

“How much?”

“300 yuan, not a penny less!” Xu Jingping stared at them, “You want to marry using the money I gave you? Aren’t you afraid it’ll break your teeth?” she said, gritting her teeth.

“Who doesn’t do this? They use the daughter’s dowry to marry off the son. Why can’t you do the same?” Xu Jianguo couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“Not with me!” Xu Jingping retorted sharply, not letting him get a word in. “You’re marrying a wife, not me, so why should you spend my money?”

“You!” Xu Jianguo was so angry that he couldn’t speak.

“Well, if it’s too much, just consider it the money you owe me for causing me trouble,” Xu Jingping responded.

Xu Jianguo knew exactly what kind of person Xu Jingping was. She might not give you what she promised, but anything she wanted, no one could stop her from taking.

At this point, Xu Jianguo almost felt sorry for himself. What kind of family was this? His parents weren’t biased, and his siblings didn’t know how to be considerate. Even though his parents always said they loved their grandchildren, when it came down to it, they still wanted to pass the responsibility onto him and his wife. He realized now that he couldn’t rely on anyone.

No matter what, the second and fourth siblings had at least done something right—they had included his wife in the letter. Otherwise, he was sure the next thing he’d face would be Xu Duoduo handing him divorce papers.

Thinking of this, Xu Jianguo even felt a bit of sibling affection.

“Ugh,” Xu Jianguo slapped his head, breaking the strange train of thought.

The couple exchanged a glance and realized they had no choice. As parents, if they had even a little love for their children, they couldn’t just stand by and watch their 4-year-old children go to the northwest to live in the sand with them.

Let them follow their parents and live a life that has no surprises, one that’s easy to predict.

Reluctantly, Xu Duoduo moved behind Xu Jianguo, took the money from her inner coat pocket, counted out 300 yuan, and handed it to Xu Jingping.

Xu Jingping took the money, and her face once again softened into a gentle, friendly expression. “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, have a safe trip!”

“If anything comes up, remember to send a telegram back. Whatever I can help with, I’ll definitely assist!”

When it came to dealing with people, Xu Jingping had never been caught off guard. It was all about whether she chose to do it or not!

“Mm, once we get there, we’ll write letters home. Please take care of things for us while we’re gone, and worry about us more when the time comes!” Xu Duoduo replied calmly and politely.

“Jingping, we really have to hurry.”

Xu Jingping watched the elder couple hurriedly leave. The grievances between her and the eldest were now settled.

—

If Xu Jingping had been calculating the elder couple’s love for their children, Xu mother, on the other hand, used her inherent advantage of status to openly carry out her scheme.

That evening, around 9 p.m., when the elder couple hadn’t come back, Xu mother sensed that something was wrong!

She pushed open their room and saw several bundles lying on the floor. When she opened them, she found it was indeed the children’s clothing.

Xu mother sneered. They thought they could pull off a “slip away unnoticed” trick? She had been expecting them to try something like this. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a document from Xu Jianguo’s leadership and the neighborhood office.

The document read: “Due to Xu Jianguo and his wife going to support the northwest construction, their three children are too young to follow. They will be cared for by Xu Jianguo’s parents. Xu Jianguo will send 20 yuan per month for the children’s maintenance.”

It also had the leader’s signature. It was said that approval had been obtained from the leadership in the northwest, and the money would be sent directly by the accounting department. The remaining money would be given to the elder couple.

The next day, Xu mother and father still had to go to work, so they decided to send their grandsons to the nursery at their workplace.

Xu mother even took out another ledger to record all of the grandchildren’s expenses, intending to show it to the eldest when the time came.

As for the eldest couple, they were too exhausted from the endless yellow sand to even cry. After barely surviving a month, when they went to collect their wages, they discovered Xu mother’s manipulative actions. What was worse, she had set everything up even before they had taken the train.

The couple was furious. If it weren’t for the constant dust blowing into their mouths, they would have cursed their way from the accounting office all the way to their little shack.

Xu Duoduo was also resigned. How had she ended up marrying into this “blessed home”? If she had chosen a different family, she couldn’t have ended up in a worse situation than she was now!

Xu Jianguo also thought that if he’d chosen a different story, with his intelligence and thick skin, he wouldn’t have disappeared so quickly. No matter what, he’d at least have made it through a hundred chapters. But being born into the Xu family, he couldn’t stand out at all!

—

Xu Jianshe traveled by train, clattering all the way to H City. While other educated youth were staying at the guesthouses, he used Xu Jing’an’s address and went straight to find her.