Chapter 1586 - 1575: Honest Fool

Chapter 1586: Chapter 1575: Honest Fool

"Words spoken in anger? Is my sister-in-law joking with me? The tone I heard from my sister-in-law that day didn’t sound like words spoken in anger." Ye Qiu looked at them with a cold expression, "Elder brother and sister-in-law, can you stop treating me like a fool? I know well who treats me well and who doesn’t. Back then, when I had no son, when I was sick, you couldn’t care less about me. Now you want to talk to me about familial affection?"

Ye Chun and Wang Hong were visibly embarrassed after hearing this, feeling both flustered and resentful towards Ye Qiu for being so blunt. After all, they were relatives, why make things so ugly? Wouldn’t it be better to make money together?

Old Lady Wang glared at her eldest daughter-in-law, not expecting her to be so ineffective, and even to have said such things to the third son, dragging herself into it and causing the third son to now resent her.

"If I ask you to take care of your elder brother and fourth brother, would you not agree?" Old Lady Wang’s eyes sharply focused on Ye Qiu and Niu Xue Mei.

Ye Xia and Jia Zhihe immediately tensed, fearing the business that was within reach would be split away. After all, Old Lady Wang was different; she was Ye Qiu’s biological mother. No matter how excessive her actions, she was still the mother who gave birth to and raised Ye Qiu.

However, Ye Qiu’s response allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief: "Mother, the business is only so large. Sister and I can completely manage it. Didn’t you always say that elder brother and fourth brother have great prospects? Why interfere in my little business?"

"It’s because they are smarter than you, so having them around will ensure you won’t be at a disadvantage and can help grow the business."

Hearing Old Lady Wang say this, Ye Chun seemed to regain confidence, looking at Ye Qiu with pride and self-assurance.

Ye Qiu still shook his head: "Mother, I don’t need it. We have already split the family. You can say I am unfilial, say I am heartless, but when I was suffering and struggling, I didn’t see elder brother and fourth brother helping me. Now I don’t want to share my profits with them. The heart is made of flesh; I too can feel hurt."

Seeing Old Lady Wang’s face turn grim, he continued, "Mother, you care for elder brother and fourth brother, but when have you ever cared for me? Think about it yourself. Before the family split, who did the most work for that household? Who used to be the most filial to you? When I went out to earn a living, every penny I earned was brought back to you. I know how much I gave you over the years. Although the elder brother’s family and fourth brother used quite a bit, at the time of the split, it was definitely more than that. Were you fair to me?"

Ye Qiu’s eyes turned red: "You are my mother. I thought about you and father growing old and needing to save something for later, so I kept quiet. But being silent doesn’t mean I’m naïve. Of course, I’m your son; I can afford to suffer. But what about my two daughters? Have you ever genuinely cared for them? Yes, they aren’t sons and will get married one day, but they are still my flesh and blood. They never get a share of the good food at home, yet they have to keep working. Mother, don’t you feel regretful?"

Old Lady Wang had never realized that her third son held such resentment towards her, and that he had so much to say one day.

She sternly said, "The world is this way. What wrong have I done? Besides, it was your own idea to support your two nephews in the past."

"That’s right, I did it willingly before, but I thought trading heart for heart would work. In the end, I found I was wrong. None of my sacrifices were appreciated." Ye Qiu let out a miserable smile, "Mother, I regret it, so in the future, I only want to treat Cong Ying and Cong Zi well. What relation do elder brother, fourth brother, Cong Hui, and Cong Huang have with me? They weren’t good to our family before, and now they want to share in my profits after seeing me earn money? The world doesn’t work like this."

"After all, they are your own brothers. The teacher at the academy says Cong Hui is very smart. He is still young. Won’t he thank and repay you, his uncle, after he becomes successful in the future? You can’t just keep thinking about the past. Since you have no son, you must plan for the future."

"Forget it, in the future, I won’t ever think of relying on Cong Hui either. If he achieves success, it’s as if he doesn’t have an uncle like me. I will absolutely not bother him," Ye Qiu replied stubbornly.

"You’re the third son, and you will regret it. You don’t help your own brothers and nephews, but instead think of helping outsiders? How could you be so foolish?"

"Outsiders? My second sister and brother-in-law are not outsiders. Mother, I’m not foolish. I know who truly treats me well and who just wants to exploit me. In the past, I treated elder brother and fourth brother as my own brothers, but they never treated me the same. It’s rare in this world for actual brothers to be less than neighbors."

He let out a heavy sigh: "If, really, if elder brother and fourth brother had ever cared slightly about me in the past or helped me with a little work, I wouldn’t be ignoring them today. If that were the case, I could have given them a share of this business. But they didn’t, and Mother, you shouldn’t plead with me either, because you’ve never said a fair word for me."

He looked at her coldly: "Mother, do you remember how I got sick last time? The doctor said it was due to exhaustion and shock. Why was I weak? Why was I shocked? Before the family split, I ate the worst and did the most work in that household. Every day, when Xue Mei and I woke up just a little late, you would knock on the door and yell. Have you ever done the same, calling elder brother, sister-in-law, and fourth brother to do work?"

"I am also your own son! Why can’t you show me some care? Don’t say it’s because I have no son. Even before marriage, you didn’t treat me any better. If it weren’t for Xue Mei insisting on splitting the family and bringing money for my medical treatment, I might be gone by now. Would you really watch me die? You don’t treat me like a son; rather, you treat me like a slave!"

"And just when I was barely recovering, you had sister-in-law call me to help elder brother with the work. We’ve already split the family. All that land in the past, Xue Mei and I managed it. So why can’t elder brother and sister-in-law handle it? Of course, people’s hearts are biased. I can’t expect you to treat me equally, since I have no son. But likewise, hearts get hurt. I won’t foolishly give as I did before."

Ye Qiu’s string of words left everyone present stunned. Under his statement, Old Lady Wang, Ye Chun, Wang Hong, and Ye Dong seemed nothing short of despicable. They not only appeared lazy, greedy, biased, and selfish, but also showed no remorse. Using the guise of the closest kinship, they committed the most heartless acts, and now they were trying to take the business. Where in the world would such things be permitted?

On the side, Ye Chun felt as if a weight was lifted off her chest. She deeply wanted to ask her mother if she now regretted that the two children she valued the least ended up more promising. Would she not regret it?

She must regret it now; otherwise, she wouldn’t be standing there looking so terribly grim, unable to say a single word in rebuttal. She thought, from today onward, probably only the third son would be left for her side of the family. Her parents, elder brother, and fourth brother would certainly resent her for taking what they believed was supposed to be their money.