Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

Zhou Haibing glanced at him but didn't speak immediately.

Seeing that his elder brother didn't immediately refute him, Zhou Hailong quickly took another half step closer, lowering his voice and softening it with a deliberately ingratiating tone that he rarely used:

"Brother, think about it, what will happen to our family if you leave?"

"Dad can't do that much work by himself. I...I...I still need to learn medicine from you. Who will teach me if you leave? Our family can't do without you..."

Zhou Hai looked at him coldly, the corners of his mouth slightly downturned. His expression was neither angry nor imposing, but it carried something that made people's hearts tremble.

His voice wasn't loud, but each word was like a stone hitting a hard surface:

"Zhou Hailong, shut up."

Zhou Hailong was speechless, his mouth agape, still unable to wipe the fawning look from his face.

Zhou Haibing took half a step forward, his gaze fixed on Zhou Hailong's eyes. His voice remained neither loud nor soft, but every word carried an undeniable force:

"You have no right to persuade me to stay and study medicine with me. You think studying medicine is boring and that I recite the names of medicinal herbs every day like chanting scriptures, which gives you a headache."

When asked to do farm work, you complain that it's too tiring. You squat in the field pulling weeds for less than half an hour before complaining of back pain and running to lie down under the shade of a tree.

The work points you earn throughout the year aren't even enough to buy your own share of food.

"You're jumping out now and telling me not to leave because you're afraid that if I leave, no one will earn work points for the family, and the production team will give out much less money and grain at the end of the year, leaving you hungry, isn't that right?"

Zhou Hailong's face turned pale and then red, as if someone had hit his most painful spot. He opened his mouth several times to try to explain, but he couldn't utter a single word.

His gaze darted back and forth between Zhou Haibing's face and his father's face a few times, finally stiffening his neck and letting out a harsh, urgent snort, as if trying to cover something up:

"What does it matter to me whether you leave or not? It's not like I'm cutting ties with you!"

I said a few words to you and you've brought this up against me? I'm really trying to be nice but no one appreciates it! Go away if you want, I don't care about your business!

After saying that, he turned and stepped aside, put his hands in his pockets, tilted his head and looked away, muttering something under his breath. His voice was so soft that it was hard to hear, but judging from his moving lips, it probably wasn't anything nice.

Zhou Fuxiang stood at the door, watching all of this unfold, his facial muscles twitching several times.

He had originally hoped that his second son could persuade his eldest son to back down and give him a way out, so that the matter would be over.

As a result, the second son not only failed to dissuade him, but also added fuel to the fire, saying a few meaningless words before retreating.

He had nowhere to vent his anger; it churned inside his chest like a fire with its outlet blocked, burning his internal organs as if they were smoking.

Zhou Haibing ignored Zhou Hailong and turned his gaze back to his father, who was standing at the door, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate provocation:

"Dad, why aren't you leaving yet? Are you scared? Are you worried that if I leave, the family will lose a pillar of support and we won't be able to make ends meet?"

Are you afraid that without me, the whole family won't be able to survive?

These words were like needles, piercing Zhou Fuxiang's most sensitive spots one by one.

He was a man who valued his reputation above all his life, and he couldn't stand it when people said he was incompetent or that he couldn't live without someone.

His face flushed red, and the veins on his neck bulged again. His hesitation and panic from before seemed to have been burned to ashes by those few words.

He straightened his neck, his voice even louder and harsher than before, as if to bolster his courage:

"Fine, I'll go! Who can live without whom? If the family loses you two ungrateful wretches, there will be two fewer mouths to feed, and I can save a lot of food!"

From now on, life will be peaceful and better! Let's go! Let's go find the village chief now!

He angrily stepped out of the threshold, taking large strides and thumping on the muddy ground of the yard, walking towards the east end of the village without looking back.

His back was ramrod straight, his shoulders taut, and every step he took seemed to leave a dent in the ground.

But Zhou Haibing noticed that his pace was faster than usual, almost unnaturally fast, as if he was in a hurry to get somewhere before something happened.

A cold smile flashed across Zhou Haibing's lips.

He took his sister's hand and followed.

Zhou Hailong hesitated for a moment, kicked at the clod of dirt at his feet, and finally followed, trailing behind at a few steps, like a reluctant tail.

To get to Sun Deming's house at the east end of the village, it's a short walk, crossing the village's bumpy dirt road, with low mud-brick houses and scattered fenced yards on both sides.

A few houses had wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys. Most people were resting at home after lunch, and there weren't many people on the road.

The sun hung high in the west, casting long, crooked shadows on the dirt road.

Zhou Haiqing walked beside Zhou Haibing, her hand held by her older brother, and she kept pace with him as she walked.

She tried to say something several times, but swallowed it back each time.

When they were halfway there, she couldn't hold back any longer and looked up at her older brother.

Her voice was so soft, as if she were afraid her father, who was walking quickly ahead, would hear her. Her speech was rapid and delicate, carrying the unease and worry unique to a young girl.

"Big brother, are you really going to sever ties with Dad? If the villagers find out, won't they talk behind our backs?"

They'll definitely say you're unfilial, that you're an ingrate...

Zhou Haibing looked down at her and saw that her big, bright eyes were full of seriousness and worry.

He squeezed her hand, his voice soft but steady, as if trying to nail a predetermined answer into her heart:

"Haiqing, think about it, has your father been good to you? From childhood to adulthood, when has he ever been fair to you?"

When there are good things, we give them to my second brother; when there are good jobs, we give them to you. You eat the least, do the most work, and are the most frequently scolded.

If I leave, leaving you alone in that house, how can you be okay? I can't bear to see you suffer.

Zhou Haiqing paused slightly, looked down at her toes, and remained silent.

Zhou Haibing continued walking forward, his tone so calm it was as if he were stating a fact that no longer needed discussion:

"Moreover, Dad forced me to break up with your sister Su'e and forced me to marry Sun Guiying, the village chief's daughter."

You've met Sun Guiying before. She rolls her eyes upwards when she looks at people; she's never given our family a proper look.

I don't like her. If I marry her, life won't be easy.

As for what the villagers say, you don't need to listen to them at all.

Those idle words can't fill your stomach or clothe you; let whoever wants to say them talk.

Let's just live our own lives.

As long as we live well and have more dignity than them, what they say doesn't matter.