When Li Xiangqin reached the emotional peak of her speech, she stood up, placed her hands on her hips in a teapot shape, and pointed at her Eldest Child.
"You went far away for university, leaving your wife and child for Old Mother to look after. Laundry, cooking, taking care of the child—which one of those doesn't cost money?
If you feel you're suffering a loss, Old Mother will happily calculate an account for you!
Your child's food, clothing, and necessities are all paid for by us old folks. Your wife earns a salary, but she also eats and lives here. Have you asked her if she ever gave me a single penny, or if she ever changed a diaper?
When you graduated and were assigned a Job, assigned housing, we furnished an entire set of furniture for you—did that cost nothing? Plus your marriage Betrothal gifts, all those miscellaneous things added up to your family of four draining our entire family fortune.
I spend the money, I take care of the children, you all live comfortably, and then you turn around and deny the debt. Have you read all those books only to have them end up in a dog's belly?
You are just selfish and ungrateful. I would have been better off raising two pigs, fattening them up, and sending them to the Slaughterhouse; not only could we eat the meat, but we'd also see a return on the investment."
Listening to Mom spew forth while calculating the debt, almost poking him in the forehead with her finger, he felt guilty, and his Complexion darkened, but for a moment, he truly couldn't refute her.
He was among the first batch of university students after the resumption of the Gaokao, and from the moment he received his acceptance letter, he was destined to stand taller than others.
Wherever he went, weren't people respectful and greeting him with smiles?
As the Eldest Son, through his own efforts, he had changed the family's standing. Parents had always been proud of him, and whenever he spoke, Parents had never refused.
He had always thought that after Dad passed away, he would be the Pillar of the family, and this family would rely on him to hold it up from then on.
But Mom had become like someone possessed; her entire demeanor had changed, becoming shrewish and unreasonable, making communication impossible.
Now, she was even pointing at his nose and scolding him in front of his Brothers.
If this matter got out, he wouldn't have the face to go out.
Once Li Xiangqin started speaking, the more she argued, the smoother it became. Seeing the Eldest Child silenced by her tirade, she turned and pointed at the Second Brother next to him.
"And you, you useless brat, you've never let anyone rest easy from childhood until now. When you were little, you were mischievous and broke someone's head, forcing the family to pay compensation. When you got a little older, you started hanging out with bad company.
To clean up your messes, the family paid out money and grain again and again. Life used to be so hard; we never knew where the next meal was coming from. Your Dad and I tightened our belts and saved every penny, only for you to lose it all in a flash.
You wouldn't do the good Job you were assigned; you insisted on going to the Countryside with others, causing trouble there until a Fellow Villager reported you to the Public Security Bureau.
To bail you out, we used up our entire family savings and it still wasn't enough, so we had to secretly sell blood and rack up massive debt. You are the most troublesome person in the entire family.
After that came your marriage. Our Zhang Family spared no expense on the Betrothal gifts and banquet; those who knew realized the Zhang Family was marrying a wife, but those who didn't would think we were marrying off a son.
Since you got married, you became the Wang Family's Son-in-law who lives with the wife's family, and we barely see your shadow all year long. But whenever you do come back, the walls seem to get thinner—either you're asking for things or you're ransacking the place.
You good-for-nothing, troublesome bastard, you've only taken and never given back since you were small. The money wasted on you alone is easily eight or nine hundred, if not a thousand.
What right do you have to argue with me? Pay back the money spent on you first, then you'll have the qualification to speak."
Li Xiangqin grew angrier as she spoke; just scolding wasn't enough to vent her frustration. She took two steps forward, raised her hand, and slapped the Second Brother twice across the face.
The Second Brother stood there, his eyes glazed over as he listened to his Mom calculate the debt. Before he could react, his cheeks were struck twice more, stinging fiercely, leaving him completely stunned.
What did he come here for today?
Seeing his dazed appearance, Li Xiangqin turned toward the Third Brother and his wife.
"And you two! One is a Sickly person, and the other is a glutton. Old Mother begged and borrowed to pay for your wedding. We didn't get a single benefit, and then your wife shoved me and cracked my head open.
Because I accommodated you, Old Mother became the biggest sucker, the weakest Mother-in-law in the entire Family Courtyard.
You damn fool, your eyes are stuck on your butt; you can't see your mother's grievances. But if your wife gets red eyes, you act like the sky is falling, jumping up and down.
From your wedding to getting your Job arranged, it totaled just over a thousand. Count it on your fingers for Old Mother: how many Bicycles can that money buy?
In my life, I owe my Parents, I owe Old Man. If I had known you wolves would turn out like this, I would have let him Rest earlier, so he wouldn't have lost his life.
But we old folks absolutely do not owe you wolf cubs.
The moment I started treating the Fourth Child a little better, your Eyeballs turned red. You rushed around to send secret messages, ganging up to cause trouble for me. Being heartless and ungrateful is your specialty."
After scolding, Li Xiangqin took a deep breath, jumped up, and delivered two more slaps to the Third Brother.
Day in and day out, mouth open eating, growing tall and strong, yet incapable of doing anything decent.
"My biggest regret in this life is giving birth to you unfilial Ungrateful wretches. I exhausted myself for nothing, and you just leech off me."
Li Xiangqin roared at each of them in turn, then turned and walked back to sit down on the Chair, catching her breath. She picked up a glass of water from the table and drank it down to moisten her throat.
"If you still think Old Mother spent too little on you, then count it carefully on your fingers. If you truly want fairness, spit out what you overate and over-took. Old Mother will respect you as a real man."
The Second Brother and Third Brother covered their faces. From anger to shame, they drooped their heads, fell Silent for a moment, then abruptly looked up and turned to look at the Eldest Child.
Their eyes pleaded: Say something!
Zhang Jianguo felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at by the two of them. He regretted it deeply; he shouldn't have waded into this mess.
It was all the Third Brother's fault, being so loud and impatient.
Li Xiangqin observed the subtle dynamics Between the three of them, her gaze landing on the Eldest Child. With the speed of a lightning strike, she rushed over and delivered two more slaps.
Zhang Jianguo's eyes were nearly knocked askew. He covered his face and stared at Li Xiangqin in anger.
"Mom, why are you suddenly hitting me?"
"You are the Eldest Child of this family. You enjoyed your parents' love, so you must set a good example for your younger Brothers. But what have you done? Did you take less or occupy less?
When the superior acts improperly, the subordinates follow suit. Your Brothers are selfish and disloyal; you bear half the responsibility.
You all keep shouting that Old Mother is Partial. I've already hit the Second and Third Brothers; you can't just stand there watching, can you?"
Zhang Jianguo: "..."
Was his mother crazy? If things continued developing this way, this family wouldn't be livable.
"Mom, the Third Brother did tell us today that you suddenly bought a Bicycle, and we were worried you had been Stimulated, so we came to check on you.
The Fourth Child is my biological sister; I have no objection to you buying things for her. But isn't your temper a bit too strong? Before anything much happened, you caused this scene, making us a laughingstock for no reason."
Hearing the tone of the Eldest Child, the Second Brother rubbed his cheek and nodded in agreement, feeling the same way.