C19 Fatty Carried Heqiu

Mao Jinlan heard that Lin Yuefen had gotten into a fight, and she was so concerned that she left her cooking unfinished and hurriedly dragged Shen Jian, who was still engrossed in making shoes, over to the Bai family home.

By the time they arrived, Lin Yuefen was already tidying up after cooking. In the rural setup, the dining area and kitchen were in the same room, and Bai Shengli was chatting with his five nephews at the table.

As Lin Yuefen cleaned up, she explained the situation to Mao Jinlan, saying, "They just showed up out of nowhere, and we weren't prepared."

Shen Jian was immediately frustrated and scolded Bai Shengli, "Didn't I tell you not to hand over the money right away?"

Bai Shengli hesitated, then replied, "But Uncle called for it, and I couldn't just refuse..."

Shen Jian snapped, "That old uncle of yours? He's always trying to act important despite his age. Have you forgotten what happened back then?"

He was referring to the time when the Bai family divided their property. At that time, the Second Branch already had a son, and the Third Branch was expecting. Yet, despite Bai Shengli and Lin Yuefen being married for over a decade, they hadn't had any children until Bai Qiaoqiao was born after the division.

Back then, Bai Yuvliang used this fact to repeatedly humiliate the First Branch. In the end, they didn't even get any farmland, and the Third Branch ended up with more land than the Second Branch. In those days, not many people left to work elsewhere, so farmland was a family's lifeline!

Moreover, the Third Branch, after acquiring the land, left it uncultivated for years, and many in the village considered them to be wastrels.

Shen Jian took a drag from his cigarette, sighing, "I hadn't really thought much about it before."

Back then, Lin Yuefen hadn't had any kids. Being from the same village, it wasn't their place to meddle. It was only after Qiaoqiao was born that they whispered a few words in sympathy for the main branch of the family.

"It was when Heqiu came back and told me that Zhao Weizu was frequently bringing gifts to your great-uncle's house that I started to realize something was off."

They were simple country folks, working hard just to put food on the table, not ones to overthink things. It was only after his eldest son mentioned it offhandedly that Shen Jian began to piece things together.

The Bai family's Bai Yuanchao wasn't much to speak of, except he was decent-looking, and Zhao Weizu's daughter had taken a liking to him. Ever since his daughter got married, Zhao Weizu had been regularly bringing gifts to Bai Yuvtian and Bai Yuvliang's homes. Wasn't it obvious he was trying to win over the elders so his daughter could have the upper hand in her in-laws' house?

Shen Jian shared this with Bai Shengli, who was even slower on the uptake. It took him a while to catch on.

"So, you're saying my great-uncle isn't being fair? From now on, we shouldn't let them call the shots in our family matters," he said.

Mao Jinlan chimed in, "Why let them decide anything? Times have changed."

Now that Bai Shengli thought about it, he was pretty fired up. "I was wondering why they came by twice. Turns out it wasn't just..."

It turns out he wasn't concerned about the kids from the second family but was running errands for the third!

With all his nephews around, he kept his thoughts to himself. Instead, he turned to Jinlan and said, "Jinlan, I need you to keep an eye on Yuefen for the next few days."

Zhao Weizu, notorious for being a troublemaker in the village since his youth, was genuinely worried about his wife. He didn't even feel like going to the Bless Coming Gate these days...

Just then, Shen Heqiu came back holding little Qiaoqiao. Bai Shengli chuckled, "Oh, how come you and Mr. Qiu are carrying her?"

Since Shen Heqiu was still young, Bai Feng stepped over and took Qiaoqiao into his arms. Shen Heqiu let go and quietly sat down next to his parents, knowing they'd be having dinner at the Bai family’s place today.

Bai Feng settled Qiaoqiao down, and Bai Liang, Bai Jin, and Bai Xi all playfully pinched her cheeks. She didn't mind, smiling as she crawled over her brothers' knees.

Then Shen Heqiu said, "Tomorrow, I'll go with you to the Bless Coming Gate."

Shen Jian was overjoyed, quickly replying, "Great, great!" He was thrilled whenever his eldest son showed interest in him.

Shen Heqiu added, "You need to earn more money." Though he directed the comment at his dad, it struck Bai Shengli, who had just been feeling a bit let down by family matters, with a jolt!

"Yeah! He needs to earn more money to support his nephew!"

"Darn it, who has time to deal with all the family issues?"

He urged Lin Yuefen, "Yuefen, are you done yet? I'll grab a quick bite and then get to making shoes!"

---

The next day was Sunday. Except for Bai Feng, who was about to take his college entrance exams and headed to school, all the other kids were at home. Bai Liang, as usual, woke up early; he never slept in.

First thing in the morning, he went into the kitchen, hoping to lend a hand to his aunt.

Lin Yuefen quickly said, "You don't need to help here. Go on and do your morning reading."

Bai Liang's good grades weren't just due to talent; he was also very diligent. Even during holidays, he was up at the crack of dawn to study.

But now... he and his brother had talked it over the night before and felt that their uncle and aunt might not be able to support them all.

Seeing his slightly awkward expression, Lin Yuefen smiled warmly and said, "What's up? Just like old times."

The stove was smoking gently, and his aunt's smile was so gentle.

Bai Liang bit his lip and said, "Okay." Then he went out to study.

Bai Qiaoqiao was also up early. She saw him reading on a small stool in the yard and, still sleepy, ran over to rest her head on his lap.

Her brother's fluent English was impressive; it seemed he had really mastered the phonetics, with no trace of an accent.

Bai Liang patted her head, not letting it interrupt his reading.

Early in the morning, Bai Shengli and Shen Jian were each carrying goods and their kids, getting ready to head to Bless Coming Gate.

Bai Qiaoqiao peeked out from the basket, complaining, "Dad, didn't I tell you to buy a little cart already? Why haven't you gotten one yet?"

Bai Shengli felt a bit embarrassed and said, "I meant to buy it yesterday."

But then he got into a fight, and in the afternoon, he was rushing to finish making shoes. Now, he was reluctant to spend the money, especially since he wasn't exactly flush with cash, and he had five nephews to take care of.

Bai Qiaoqiao noticed this and kept nagging, "We really need to get one. What are we going to do with all these shoes? Plus, I'm so chubby, and I'm too young to lose weight..."

While she was rambling, the basket suddenly felt lighter as someone picked it up.

Bai Qiaoqiao turned her head and saw Shen Heqiu had come to carry her.

Shen Jian was delighted and said, "Just for this, it was worth bringing her along!"

The little girl was a charming draw for customers, but she was indeed a bit heavy. Even though they took turns carrying her, hiking the mountain path was really tough!

Bai Shengli quickly said, "Hey, Heqiu, it's a mountain path. This girl is heavy..."

Bai Qiaoqiao: "..."

Shen Heqiu weighed the basket and smiled, "It's okay."

Shen Jian quickly added, "Let's get going. We can take turns carrying her. Besides, Heqiu learned boxing from his mom, so he's really strong."

Bai Shengli thought about it and agreed; after all, they took turns carrying her on the way. But today, Bai Qiaoqiao was in a mood. Usually, she would nap in the little backpack on the way to the Bless Coming Gate, but today, being carried by Shen Heqiu, she was wide awake.