After setting down his luggage, Xu Qiguang watched Xu Changqing with a thoughtful expression. She had been completely silent the entire time and was now carrying a basin of water into the room.
"I hear you went to harvest the wheat."
Looking at her father, who had returned to his usual gentle demeanor, Xu Changqing felt a dull ache in her teeth.
"Heard you even fainted from exhaustion."
Xu Changqing lowered her head and stared at the floor.
"It seems all those years of training with your uncle have paid off. Otherwise, how could a small frame like yours take on two people at once? Well done, heroine Hua Mulan!"
'Can we please not bring up the past?'
"Feigning compliance again, are you?"
Xu Changqing almost laughed out loud. She looked up at her old man, who was unhurriedly wiping his face and neck with a towel, and walked around to his side. "Dad?" she called out softly.
"So, you were wrong?"
"...I wasn't wrong."
"Why?"
'Why? There were so many reasons…' Xu Changqing lowered her eyes. After a moment, she said, "He said Xu Baimei told him to go into the east room to find a pair of Grandpa's old shoes."
'He really did deserve a beating!'
He couldn't come home every week. Overtime or business trips could keep him away for a month or more at a time. With only his wife and two daughters at home, they maintained a pretense for safety: that the grandparents occupied the east room.
Outsiders didn't know this, but both daughters were well aware of the truth. Especially Bai Mi. She had to have known that ever since Changqing turned five, their grandmother rarely stayed over, let alone their grandfather.
This year was an exception. Because their mother was pregnant, their grandmother had moved in to help. And while their grandfather claimed to live there, he actually only came over occasionally to spend the night with his wife.
Besides, the idea of leaving old shoes here was ridiculous. The way his own mother doted on his father, the old man had more new, hand-sewn shoes than he could wear. Why would any old pairs be left here to inconvenience him?
'Good. It seemed the kid was only after money this time.' He glanced at his daughter, who was already nearly at his shoulder. 'And that face of hers…'
Xu Qiguang was secretly glad he had raised his daughter to be tough. 'Otherwise, with a face like my Changqing's... If something had actually happened, it would have been too late for regrets.' "Did he do anything else?"
"He didn't have time to try anything. I guess he didn't know I would happen to be home today." Xu Changqing paused. "Dad, do we have money?"
'Thank God the boy wasn't driven by lust!' A fierce glint flashed in Xu Qiguang's eyes before he smiled. "We don't have a lot, but it's no problem to provide for you."
'That line again.' Xu Changqing thought with a wry smile. 'Did I really misunderstand? Am I overthinking things? Putting aside all other expenses, the grain we harvest each year is never enough. We rely completely on Dad's salary to buy expensive grain from the market…'
"I've told you before you have low blood sugar, but you wouldn't listen. Go on, be stubborn."
Her train of thought interrupted, Xu Changqing flatly denied it. "No, it was just the heat. It was stuffy. My teacher recently assigned an essay about the wheat harvest, so I wanted to experience it for myself."
'A fine excuse!'
Given the miserable state those two were in, he figured her small frame was probably fine. Xu Qiguang shot another glance at his daughter. "Know your own limits."
"No problem." Xu Changqing pressed her lips together. "Dad, if there's money hidden in this house, you should move it. I've probably tipped him off this time."
Xu Qiguang wrung out the towel and nodded slowly. "I was careless. Do you know why I had your Fifth Brother take them to the clinic?"
"To prevent them from getting desperate."
"...You." Xu Qiguang shook his head and chuckled. "There are plenty of ways to deal with people. Why give them fodder for gossip? Changqing, you were a bit too impulsive."
"Hey, hey, hey, that's enough out of you! How else do you plan on lecturing your daughter? Someone nearly got killed," Bai Xiulan said, hearing him as she lifted the door curtain.
"Slow down." Xu Qiguang gave a noncommittal smile. 'With Changqing's sense of measure, how could anything truly serious happen?' "Didn't I repeatedly order you not to let them in the door?"
Bai Xiulan immediately deflated like a popped balloon and fell silent. After a moment, she turned and walked away, saying, "You must be hungry, coming back at this hour. I'll go get something ready."
Listening to her parents beat around the bush, Xu Changqing smiled to herself, then braced herself and hurried after her mother. 'Dad was easy to handle, but Mom was another story.'
"I'm asking you a question. Hurry up and answer."
Xu Changqing's hand, which was placing bowls and chopsticks into a basket, froze. "...Say what? He knew no one else was home, but he still snuck into the east room like a thief. I offered to lend a hand, and he ran away."
"So you threw a stool at him?"
'What else was I supposed to do?'
"Look at you! You don't act like a proper girl at all!" Bai Xiulan glanced outside. "Later, if anyone asks, just say your brother-in-law was having another lazy spell, and you accidentally hurt him while trying to shoo him off to work."
Xu Changqing pressed her lips together.
'This difficult child has clammed up again!' Bai Xiulan laughed in exasperation. "Did you hear me? What sounds better: that your brother-in-law is a thief, or that a sister-in-law and her brother-in-law were caught fighting in a room together?"
"Mom!" 'What in the world is she talking about? That's disgusting!' Watching her mother grab her arm, demanding she agree, Xu Changqing nodded speechlessly. "I heard you. But we're not paying them any money."
"Pay my ass! You think my money grows on trees?" Bai Xiulan let go of her. "This family relies on your dad's job alone. We need money for everything, inside and out. What money could be left? As for him, he sees we're about to have another mouth to feed and is afraid your dad will really disown your sister in the future. That's why he got crooked ideas."
'I hope so.' "I'm going to take some water to Grandpa and Grandma, and have Grandma come back. You don't have to go to the work site. Dad rushed back, so he'll definitely go in your place."
"Alright, alright, just stop making me angry and I'll be happy." Bai Xiulan waved her right hand. "Be smart. Don't always be thinking about earning more work points. Just stay put in the wheat field and behave."
When Xu Qiguang came out, he saw his daughter Changqing looking spooked, as if she wanted to make a quick escape. He glanced at the sun; though it was getting close to sunset, the air was still sweltering.
"Get in there and lie down." 'So reckless!' Xu Qiguang turned, walked over to the heavily pregnant Bai Xiulan, and took what she was doing from her hands. "You just sit down and take it easy."
Bai Xiulan waved at her daughter, signaling for her to go inside and lie down. She then turned to look at Xu Qiguang's profile, silent for a long time. After a moment, she sighed.
"Mr. Xu, are you really planning to disown our eldest?"
Xu Qiguang was silent for a moment. "...Last time, I was worried you'd go into labor early, so I specifically took out that sum of money and left it at home for emergencies. Our mother wouldn't say anything about it, so only you knew."
"Today was also the first day of the wheat harvest. Almost no one in the entire production brigade was at home. Yet he snuck over and went straight for the east room. Think carefully about where the problem lies."
'Where did the problem lie?' Bai Xiulan knew perfectly well. The problem was with her. A few days ago, she'd had a slip of the tongue in front of her eldest daughter.
"She has a husband and a daughter now; her heart is no longer with this family. You can't force these things. But let's drop it. I'm not asking you to abandon her as a daughter, but on one point…"
Bai Xiulan stared intently at his face.
"Don't be nervous yet." Xu Qiguang gave his wife a reassuring smile. "Our Changqing is fifteen. She'll be a young woman soon. There are some things that you, as her mother, need to pay attention to."
'So that's how it is. His tone and wording are completely different from usual. This problem must be more serious than I thought…' Bai Xiulan nodded thoughtfully, signaling for him to continue.
"That man is never to set foot in this house again."
'So, you intend to escalate this?'