“Mom, I’ll take Xin Yu back to our hometown first, so grandma won’t worry about not finding her.”
“Okay, you check if grandma has eaten. If not, call her out for dinner. I’ll prepare one or two more dishes.”
The hometown was not far from the Chen Qiao family.
It only took two or three minutes to walk there, separated by a road.
“Remember to look left and right before crossing the road.”
Chen Qiao repeatedly reminded Chen Xin Yu, almost saying it every time they crossed the road.
“I know, Uncle Chen is so talkative.”
“I’m doing this for your own good.”
Grandma was already calling Xin Yu’s name in the local dialect outside the hometown.
Although grandma had a severe preference for boys over girls, she still quite liked Xin Yu, her only great-granddaughter.
After all, her favorite grandsons were not at home.
Once a great-grandson was born, Xin Yu would quickly fall out of favor.
But Chen Qiao knew that his cousins’ first children were all daughters.
“Big Grandma.”
Chen Xin Yu broke free from Chen Qiao’s hand and threw herself into grandma’s arms.
“……”
“Grandma.”
Chen Qiao’s invitation for grandma to have dinner at his home was naturally declined.
“Uncle Chen………………” Chen Xin Yu turned her head and waved goodbye to Chen Qiao.
She seemed to think of something and then changed her words: “Brother, see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow.”
Although Chen Qiao’s family often invited Chen Xin Yu to have dinner with them and not to be shy, Xin Yu was always afraid of causing trouble and had never come on her own initiative.
It was always Chen Qiao who met her by chance on his way home from school and took her home.
It seems that in the future, I should take Xin Yu home for dinner more often.
Seeing Chen Qiao come home, mom, who was stir-frying, asked, “What did grandma say?”
“She’s not coming out to eat. She has already cooked for herself.”
“I knew it.”
Dad was the youngest, ranking fourth, and also the least favored by grandma.
So when he was young, he worked hard to earn money, buy land, and build his own house.
Chen Qiao heard the clanging of metal and the roar of the engine.
Hearing such a big noise, he knew his dad was back.
Chen Qiao ran outside to greet his dad.
A blue dump truck was parked at the entrance of the house.
Dad, Chen Feng, got out of the car.
He was still very thin at that time, looked strong, had a lot of hair, and not so many white hairs.
It was only after he had been to prison that he became fat.
Mom’s name is Chen Lili.
The two have the same surname, and even the ancestral hall is the same.
They are distantly related, and the Chen surname is the largest in the village, with two ancestral halls.
The two can be considered childhood sweethearts.
Dad was a petty bourgeois at that time, and his family ran a rice noodle factory.
In elementary school, he spent money to have classmates do his homework.
His family had a Flying Pigeon bicycle and a Panda-brand black-and-white TV.
However, with the early death of grandpa, dad was forced to drop out of school after only reaching the third grade of elementary school.
He carried a bamboo basket to pick coal and went to the mountains to cut firewood.
The rice noodle factory also went bankrupt.
It was not until he learned to drive a tractor that he began to turn his life around.
The car was still very new, having been replaced at the beginning of the year.
The car bed had been artificially welded higher to carry more goods in one trip.
But this car didn’t earn much money before it had to be sold at a low price to raise money because of dad’s incident.
After all, it was considered an accident car.
Chen Feng pulled the hose at the entrance to fill the car with water, making it convenient to leave early the next morning.
The water tank of the dump truck was gulping down water.
“Have you eaten?”
Chen Feng asked, with a smell of engine oil on him.
“I ate with sister and Xin Yu. Dad, go eat first. Mom is waiting for you. I’ll go upstairs to collect your clothes and take a bath later.”
The clothes were all hung on the roof of the second floor.
Usually, Chen Qiao was asked to run errands.
Not only did his parents ask him to get clothes, but also his sister.
After all, he was a homebody, always staying upstairs, closest to the roof.
The roof was covered with a tarp, housing various beams and wood left over from when the house was built.
Chen Qiao also laid some rags in the shed to create a secret base.
When he was young and had a quarrel with his parents, he would hide here alone until his sister came to find him.
There were several pots of succulents on the roof, raised by his sister, as well as cacti and prickly pears.
Chen Qiao also collected clothes for the whole family.
When he picked up his sister’s bra, he just sighed that his sister’s bust was still so small, although it didn’t grow much in the future.
Chen Qiao folded and separated everyone’s clothes.
Dad was complaining to mom about the unfair treatment he received at the construction site today, such as when it was his turn to carry soil, the excavator loaded his truck bed with soil as much as possible.
For those vehicles with connections, the truck beds were not even full, and it was very easy.
At the construction site, there were both per-trip payments and daily packages.
Usually, carrying various building materials was paid per trip.
Many people also liked to buy on credit, and the drivers had to advance the money for the materials first.
Dad had to build good relationships with the bosses of the brick and cement factories to be able to buy on credit and earn more.
At the end of the year, everyone was busy collecting debts from each other.
Chen Qiao hesitantly said, “Dad, I have something to ask you.”
Chen Qiao rarely asked his dad for pocket money on his own initiative.
It was always given to him by his dad.
After all, if he ran out of money, he could also ask his sister for it first.
For school fees, Chen Qiao sometimes found it hard to speak up and would tell his sister first, and then let his sister talk to his parents.
It was very rare for him to ask for something on his own.
Now, as an adult soul, it was even more awkward for him to act coquettish with his parents.
“What is it? Did you run out of pocket money?”
Chen Feng asked in surprise.
“No, have a sister with mom for me.”
“Why bring this up again?”
Chen Lili frowned and asked.
“Many of my classmates’ families are preparing to have a sister.”
This was true, not something Chen Qiao made up.
“Are you going to compare even this?”
“Parents are allowed to compare me and my sister with other classmates, but I’m not allowed to compare my parents with other parents?”
Chen Qiao retorted.
“Those people have only one son or daughter at home. Now that the children have grown up and the policy has been slightly relaxed, and they have money, so they just pay the fine.”
Chen Lili explained.
“I just want the house to be more lively. Think about it, if my sister goes to the city to attend high school, mom goes to work, and dad goes to drive, I’ll be the only one at home, which is so boring. While I’m still at home, I can help you take care of a younger sister. When I also go to high school, there will only be the two of you at home, and it will be very lonely. It would be nice to have a younger sister to keep you company.”
“Isn’t there still Xin Yu? Once you really have a younger sister, you will find her annoying and noisy. You won’t be at home all day and still say you want to help take care of her.”
Chen Lili glanced at Chen Qiao.
“Xin Yu is different. She can’t really accompany you like a daughter. Uncle and aunt on the second side will definitely have objections.”
Chen Feng snorted discontentedly.
He didn’t approve of the behavior of his second uncle and aunt, but as a younger brother, he couldn’t blame them.
He couldn’t make them change either.
Interfering in their affairs would only cause trouble.
Since they had already separated, they should live their own lives.
It was just a pity for that little girl, Xin Yu, to be in such a family.
“It’s different if mom and dad have your own child. As long as you promise to give me a younger sister, I will be the top student in my class next time, okay?”
Chen Qiao made a solemn promise.
“Let’s talk about it after you really become the top student in the class. And the child born may not necessarily be a girl.”
“It’s a deal. Don’t deceive me. Then I’m going to study.”
Chen Qiao naturally didn’t think it would be so easy to persuade his parents.
He just wanted to plant a seed in their minds.
His parents were in their prime.
What if something unexpected happened?
He could then ask his sister to help persuade their parents together.
His sister’s words would be much more effective than his.
Apart from the selfish desire for a younger sister, Chen Qiao couldn’t think of any other way to let his mother slow down.
It was unlikely for her to change jobs.
She would only go for positions that were busier and paid more.
Even if Chen Qiao had made a lot of money through the information gap brought by his rebirth, his mother would probably still work until retirement to earn money for herself and his father, without causing trouble for their children.
Moreover, it wasn’t said that only one younger sister could be born.
Having two was also possible.
In this way, his mother would be tied up with the younger sister.
Of course, Chen Qiao didn’t go upstairs to study obediently.
Instead, he went out to the black internet cafe.
It was time to start planning how to make some money.
Many problems, after all, boiled down to money.
It was a poverty issue.
Even if his father couldn’t avoid that staged car accident, as long as enough compensation was paid, his mother wouldn’t be overworked, and his father wouldn’t change his personality drastically.
Of course, Chen Qiao would still try his best to prevent this tragedy from happening.
It wasn’t that he had a sudden burst of kindness or a savior complex.
He didn’t think he had the ability to save everyone.
It would be too arrogant.
He wasn’t Superman.
He was just a small commoner who wanted to live a normal life.
Mainly, he felt that this matter was inauspicious and involved a loss of life.
After this accident, the whole family seemed to be haunted by bad luck, with misfortunes following one after another.