Chapter 241: Paying a Visit (Part 2)

Chapter 241: Chapter 241: Paying a Visit (Part 2)

"Mom, we know we were wrong. Please, talk to Eldest Brother and ask him to give us one more chance. We’ll definitely change this time." The two brothers, Zhang Weihong and Zhang Weimin, threw themselves before Wen Xiu, crying like children. "We still have to support our families. How are we supposed to live without our jobs?"

"Yes, Mom. Even if you won’t do it for our sakes, I’m begging you, do it for your poor little grandson’s sake. Tianci has been plagued by illnesses, big and small, ever since he was born. Without Wei Min’s income, how are we supposed to live? Isn’t this a death sentence for Tianci? Please talk to Eldest Brother. Tell him they’ll definitely change. Just give them one more chance, let him and Second Brother go back to work at the fish farm." Guo Xiuying sobbed quietly, holding her child. As she cried, her arms couldn’t help but tighten around him. The child, clearly uncomfortable, started to whimper and cry as well...

"Two chances weren’t enough? Or do you think that as long as you don’t get caught, as long as no one calls you out, your dirty deeds don’t count? You still have the nerve to ask your eldest brother to take you back? If he did that, then shouldn’t the deputy manager who conspired with you also get to go back to work? If that’s the case, then couldn’t anyone just steal and sell fish from now on?" Wen Xiu angrily questioned her two sons.

"But... but we’re your own sons! And... and the fish farm doesn’t... doesn’t just belong to Eldest Brother..." Zhang Weihong stammered, trying to argue his case.

"Second Brother is right. You, Dad, and Little Sister also have a share in that fish farm. As long as you’re willing to let us go back, on what grounds could Eldest Brother refuse?" Zhang Weimin added righteously, after Guo Xiuying pinched the soft flesh of his waist from behind.

Guo Xiuying quickly nodded in agreement. "Mom, you have no idea how important Wei Min’s income is to us, to Tianci."

"Oh, that’s enough out of you." Wen Xiu looked with pity at the little grandson in Guo Xiuying’s arms. He was already two, an age where a normal child would have long since been walking on his own and speaking quite well, but he remained as frail as a one-year-old. Not only could he not walk and had to be carried by adults, he couldn’t even manage to form single-syllable sounds.

’The boy was born a bit weak, it’s true, but with proper care, he could have been just like any normal child. Unfortunately, he was born into the wrong family. This third son’s wife trusts the words of a fortune-teller to the point of obsession. Whenever the child gets sick, she refuses to take him to a proper doctor for treatment. Instead, she listens to the fortune-teller and feeds him all sorts of high-priced junk—paper talismans and ash-laced water made from who-knows-what.’

’It wasn’t just when the child was sick. Back when her third son was making monthly wages, his wife became even more outrageous. Even when the boy wasn’t sick, she would often go to the fortune-teller for things like "blessings." Who would turn down easy money? That fortune-teller is completely unreliable. To make even more money, he resorts to harmful tricks. He’d give her a few black-looking pills, dare to claim they would strengthen the child’s body, and even instruct her to feed them to the boy for three days straight, with no other food allowed...’

’It would be a miracle if the child could get better with this kind of thing happening every so often. But the third son’s wife is completely willing, and she won’t listen to anyone. Say a few more words, and she’ll accuse you of trying to harm her son.’

Thinking of this, Wen Xiu sneered. "The way I see it, if you ran out of money and made a few less trips to that so-called Demi Immortal, my grandson might actually have a chance to live as healthily as any other normal child."

"Mom, Xu Banxian has real skills! He’s not in it for the money at all. He never says how much it costs; what I give, I give voluntarily. Don’t I give more money just so Tianci can get better?" Guo Xiuying cried pitifully. "If it weren’t for Xu Banxian, there wouldn’t even be a Tianci..."

"Stop, stop, stop. Having Tianci was my son’s achievement. It has nothing to do with that Xu Banxian. Or are you trying to say this child isn’t from our Zhang family at all? That his surname should be Xu?" Wen Xiu was utterly disappointed in her third daughter-in-law and spoke with unabashed sarcasm. Her words made Zhang Weimin’s face flush red as suspicion rose in his heart. He glared angrily at Guo Xiuying, then stared intently at Zhang Tianci’s face.

Guo Xiuying was startled. Seeing her husband’s reaction, her face instantly turned pale. If Wen Xiu had said something like this back in the early years, before the Zhang family became prosperous, she would have dared to lunge forward and slap her. So what if she hit her mother-in-law? She’d seen plenty of that sort of thing and didn’t think it was anything shameful.

But now, even if you gave her a hundred times the nerve, she wouldn’t dare lay a hand on Wen Xiu, not even if her mother-in-law spat in her face. It was one thing that the woman now had money and power, but the main reason was that she had an eldest son who was also powerful, filial, and ruthless backing her up. Guo Xiuying had no doubt that if she dared to make a move today, her own relatives, who depended on the Zhang family to get by, would show up tomorrow and tear her limb from limb.

No matter how furious she was inside, Guo Xiuying could only sob and look at Wen Xiu. "Mom, aren’t your words just driving me to my death? Of course Tianci is Wei Min’s son. What I meant was, Xu Banxian helped our family pray to the heavens for him."

Wen Xiu had regretted her words the moment they left her mouth. They were spoken purely out of anger, without thinking. Now, Guo Xiuying’s crying was getting on her nerves. She waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, stop your crying. If I really didn’t believe you, I would have thrown you out long ago." Then she looked at her third son’s reaction, which made her even more irritated. "And you, stop being so easily swayed all the time, believing whatever anyone tells you. Learn to have a mind of your own. If you can’t stand on your own two feet, even if I gave you a mountain of gold, your wife would just use it all to fill that Xu Banxian’s bottomless pit. You believe that?"

After speaking, her eyes swept over her two sons, one by one. She spoke very earnestly and seriously, "Your eldest brother is the leader we all chose together. Any decision he makes, anything he says, your father, your little sister, and I will not—and cannot—overturn."

"..." Zhang Weihong, Zhang Weimin, Fang Juxian, and Guo Xiuying looked at each other, speechless.

"Mom, what did you mean just now when you said Eldest Brother already gave us two chances?" Seeing that the third branch’s attempt to use the little grandson as a banner had ended in defeat, Fang Juxian realized it was up to her. Her eyes darted around twice, and an idea immediately formed. She cried out in feigned shock, "You don’t mean... the business with selling the fish... was actually a trap set for us by Eldest Brother?"

"Is that true? Eldest Brother... he actually set a trap to frame us?" Zhang Weihong, Zhang Weimin, and Guo Xiuying all looked up, exchanged shocked glances, and then exclaimed in unison to Wen Xiu.

"Frame you? Did he force you to steal and sell the wild fish? Was once not enough that you had to do it again and again? Second daughter-in-law, did you check your conscience before you said that? Or has your conscience been eaten by a dog, so you don’t feel any guilt?"