Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Facing his father's dark face and harsh reprimand, Xu Bei remained unfazed, replying directly, "Of course I know to come back. Where else would I go?"

Xu Dashan hadn't expected his son to dare talk back like that, and immediately, panting heavily, he cursed, "Go wherever you want! This is my house! I'm the head of the household! You little brat, you have a perfectly good job but you're always..."

Xu Bei was about to continue his rebuttal.

Just then, Zhao Fengying, whose eyes were a little red and swollen, rushed out of the west room, pressed him down tightly, and then shouted at Xu Dashan.

"Why are you yelling and screaming at my son? If you're angry, take it out on me!"

So what if I didn't agree to let you bring those people over to eat and drink?

"Don't you think about it? You bring a whole bunch of people over, and they eat and drink like crazy, without caring about anything else. The kids probably don't even get a few bites. How can I, as their mother, be happy about that!"

Xu Dashan pointed at Zhao Fengying's nose and shouted, "You old woman, you have no sense of reason at all! I've eaten and drunk my fill at your place before!"

"We finally manage to cook something nice at home, so it's only right that we invite people over! If people find out how you treat them, they'll be so angry with me!"

Zhao Fengying almost jumped up and questioned, "I'm asking you, what do you usually serve when you go to other people's homes? There's not even any meat, just some pickled vegetables, tofu, and soybeans to make do!"

"Since you've brought them home, you have to put on a show of generosity, and serve them whatever good food and drinks you can!"

Xu Dashan shouted confidently, "So what? Don't forget that I'm the one earning money to support my family. It's only right and proper for me to spend my own money to treat my friends to food and drinks!"

Sometimes I don't want to argue with an old woman like you, don't push your luck!

Xu Bei and Xu Juan stood aside, watching the couple argue more and more fiercely.

The former, in particular, was eager to join the war, but Zhao Fengying kept blocking him from doing so.

"You're really pushing your luck! What can you do to me? Besides, you're not the only one earning a living! If we relied on you alone, we'd be starving long ago!"

Besides, the roe deer meat was a gift from my son's friend, Dahei, and the pork and ribs were bought with the commission my son earned from selling stools! He didn't spend your money!"

Xu Dashan was furious and became even more reckless with his words, "What do you mean you didn't spend my money? You've eaten, drunk, and worn my clothes all these years, haven't you had enough?"

Everything in this house was bought with my salary! If you're so capable, don't live in the house allocated by my work unit, and don't use my ration coupons to buy food!

"Damn it, if I hadn't come here, you would all have starved to death back in your rural hometowns, and your graves would be as dark as Dongzi's..."

The Dongzi that Xu Dashan mentioned is Xu Bei's deceased older brother.

His full name was Xu Dong, and he died before he was one year old.

Because the conversation had drifted to this point, the whole room fell silent for a moment, and the expressions of the people present varied.

Although Xu Bei had forgotten some things due to the passage of time, he would never forget the reasons and circumstances surrounding the deaths of his older brother and younger brother.

If Xu Dong was an accident, then Xu Nan below him was also a bit of a surprise.

It has to be said that he was the only one to survive out of three sons in the family, which also shows that he was a bit of a tough guy.

Zhao Fengying experienced the pain of losing her son, and it wasn't the first time she had suffered the loss of her child.

Unexpectedly, the argument reopened old wounds, making them even more agitated and indignant.

"Xu Dashan, how dare you mention Dongzi! If it weren't for your mother and you... that kid is only two years younger than Xiaoli, and if he were still alive, he'd definitely be getting married and having kids by now!"

Xu Dashan also realized he had spoken out of turn; his arrogance just now was like a punctured balloon.

Especially in front of her son and youngest daughter, bringing up those old stories made her feel somewhat guilty and in the wrong.

He said angrily, "That was an accident, nobody wanted it, and don't keep blaming me and the old lady!"

Anyway, I can't reason with an old woman like you! I didn't buy any of those things, so I won't eat a single bite! You can eat whatever you want, I don't care anymore!

After saying that, he turned around, went back to the east room, grabbed his coat, hat, and gloves, avoided Zhao Fengying who was still trying to pester him, and then slammed the door and left.

Xu Bei embraced his mother, helped her back to the kang (heated brick bed) in the east room, and gently comforted her.

"Mom, that happened more than 20 years ago, so don't be sad. You have to look forward to life, you can't always live in the past or in memories."

Xu Juan also stood beside her with a worried expression, joining in the persuasion.

"Yes, Mom, if you don't look at others, look at me, my brother, and my sister. Aren't we all doing just fine?"

Zhao Fengying forcefully wiped away her surging tears, sniffed, and said, "You're right, those things happened so many years ago, we shouldn't take them so seriously."

But I'm really upset. Especially seeing your dad's attitude, he wiped away all the years of effort I've put into this family with just one sentence.

It seems like all these years I've relied on him to support the family, and I haven't done anything, I haven't done anything at all!

"Mom, we children know very well what you've done for this family, and he can't just dismiss it with a few words!"

Xu Bei took the opportunity to instill in his mother, "Also, he doesn't give all of his monthly salary to his family. His hometown sends money every few days to buy things."

You've never been idle all these years. You sell popsicles in the summer and pancakes all year round. You do whatever makes money, no matter how hard it is. The only time you've had a little easier time is recently when you're selling stools.

My sister and I started working and earning money when we were fifteen or sixteen, and we gave him most of our salaries every month, so we haven't relied on him to support us all these years!

Xu Juan listened to her brother's words and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, my grandma and my aunt come over every year when the farming season is over."

Every time they come, they eat and take things with them, and when they leave, they leave a mess in the house.

It's almost the twelfth lunar month, I guess they'll be coming again.

Zhao Fengying's eyes blazed with fury, a hint of gritted teeth in her voice. "If they come again this year, they can dream on, just like in previous years!"

Xu Bei felt extremely annoyed when he thought of that old woman with bound feet and Xu Dahong.

In particular, he knew more about many future events than his mother and sister.

The brother and sister persuaded Zhao Fengying for a long time, one on each side, and finally managed to calm her down.

Hearing the clock on the cabinet chime on the hour, Zhao Fengying belatedly realized that she had been delayed for a long time, and quickly grabbed her apron.

"No, I need to get the ribs stewed quickly. Your sister and brother-in-law will come over after get off work and when they see that nothing is ready, they'll definitely ask what happened. It won't be good if I let it slip."

Xu Bei had no intention of covering up for his father. "If they ask what happened, just tell them the truth. They'll find out sooner or later anyway."

Xu Juan pursed her lips and remained silent, probably thinking the same thing.

Zhao Fengying sighed, "It's fine to tell your sister the truth, but your brother-in-law is still an outsider. It would be too embarrassing for him... He'd probably stop caring about your sister then."