Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 30

“My brother and I cleaned up the house. Look how clean it is! We even washed his sheets.”

silence.

Li Changsheng watched as Xia Lin's expectant face gradually dimmed until it fell silent, and he was furious.

When will this end? You've been angry for a whole month, and we haven't left the house at all. We've been writing and cleaning all day. Even Aunt Bai said we deserve a red flower. When will this end?

She slammed down her chopsticks, ignored Lin Meng's wink, grabbed Qiu Shanglin, and left.

He dragged the struggling Qiu Shanglin into his room, closed the door, locked it, drew the curtains, and ignored Xia Lin knocking on the door outside.

He took out a stick and shoved it into Shang Lin's hand: "Come on, if you're angry, take it out on me. Stop being so sarcastic and causing trouble all day long!"

He crouched down, firmly planted himself in a horse stance, and patted his chest: "Hit here!"

Shanglin hated their thuggish behavior the most. She couldn't control what others did, but her own children were not allowed to act like thugs!

With a swing of the stick and a determined look, he delivered a hard blow to the buttocks: "Fighting, huh? Fighting, you think you're in the right after fighting?!"

Li Changsheng was raised to be beaten, so he didn't even blink. Besides, with her little strength, how much pain could it possibly cause?

She's still angry about the fight. Isn't that just being unreasonable? It's been a month, and the other party has said it was a misunderstanding.

"They attacked us first, are we just going to let them hit us?"

"How can others beat you up if you don't provoke them?"

"They beat Xia Lin to a pulp, so I can't get revenge?"

"Revenge? Are you going to kill your whole family? Look at Lin Xuecheng—his mind is full of martial arts, chivalry, righteousness, fighting, and killing. He's practically a bandit! He'll be in jail!"

Shanglin roared in extreme anger.

Li Changsheng was stunned.

prison?

"Are you crazy?" he asserted.

"You're the one who's sick!"

“You’re just sick! Which kid isn’t naughty? Look at the kids in the yard, and then look at Xia Lin, how much more well-behaved they are! Prison? We didn’t steal or rob, we just had a fight. When I was a kid, I fought three times a day until dark, and I never went to prison. What does he mean by that?” Li Changsheng naturally assumed that he was an adult.

Shanglin sneered: "And what about when they grow up? They steal a needle when they're young, and they'll steal gold when they're old. I can see their future when they're three!"

The two were arguing and unable to reach an agreement when Granny Bai knocked on the door: "Shanglin, open the door, open the door!"

The two looked like they were cross-eyed, one squatting and the other standing, one holding a stick and the other glaring, neither willing to give in to the other.

"Open the door! Open the door! If you don't open the door, I'll smash it down!" Aunt Bai shouted forcefully.

Shanglin was so angry that he was panting heavily. He slammed the door open, which startled Qiu Xialin. He didn't care about his sister's anger and slipped into the room to see if his brother was still breathing.

Aunt Bai called Shanglin into her room, brought her a cup of water, and kindly advised her:

“Child, I know you are sensible and smart. But your brother is still a child, and you are asking too much of him.”

Shanglinleng, am I asking for too much?

“Look at the kids in our yard, which one is as sensible as Xia Lin? He knows how to take care of you and listens to you. Kids are all naughty at this age. Do you think it's a big crime if they don't listen after being told a few times? Look at those mischievous kids next door, they get beaten every day, and none of them are obedient. Xia Lin is pretty good. He listens to you even when you're disciplining him. If you tell him to practice calligraphy, he practices calligraphy; if you tell him to study, he studies; if you say the house is dirty, he picks up the broom and follows you to clean it. Look at them, not just in our yard, but in all the villages within a hundred miles, which family's child doesn't play wildly and only knows how to cause trouble?”

Aunt Bai couldn't stand it any longer and decided to have a serious talk with her.

"I know you have big ambitions and are destined for great things, but you can't expect your younger brother to be just like you, can you? Different people have different tastes, and not everyone can be as smart as you!"

She opened her mouth and said, "Auntie, you don't know, I..."

I can't say it, I can't say it.

You don't know how scared I am. I'm afraid he won't take the right path and will go astray in the future.

But how could she dare to say such a thing?

"Take today for example. Changsheng cleaned for the factory's little Sichuanese guy for a week to learn how to make spicy fish. Today, he even pricked his hand while handling the fish. How old is he? Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you; he knows what he's doing! Your family treats him well, but look at him, when have you ever been asked to move coal briquettes when your parents aren't home? He'll hit any other kid who even glances at him. You're always ordering him around, but what has he ever said?"

The longer they spent time together, the less Aunt Bai treated her like a child.

“Good boy, don’t get stuck in a dead end. You say you’re worried they’ll go astray later—but which child wasn’t mischievous at first? It’s in a boy’s nature!”

Shanglin was perplexed. Had he really made a mistake? Had he gone too far?

But other people's kids don't fight with thugs or provoke hooligans every few days, right? It's just my two kids, they're either getting beaten up or beating others up every few days.

I went home, feeling confused and slightly apologetic.

There was still some food on the table, and Li Changsheng sat there with a dark expression.

Xia Lin, with a stick strapped to his back, came over, head bowed, and said, "Sister, if you're still angry, hit me! I'll apologize with a bundle of thorns on my back!"

She suddenly felt like laughing.

The anger that had been building up for a month suddenly vanished, as if I had really made a mountain out of a molehill.

But he still kept a straight face: "What's the point of beating you? Haven't I beaten you countless times? When have you ever really listened to me? And besides, who did you learn this trick from? Was it your brother Yin again?"

Xia Lin, though young, was quite shrewd. Seeing that his sister's expression had improved, he seized the opportunity and said with a smile, "No, no, no, I met Teacher Lin a few days ago, and he taught me."

Teacher Lin, Lin Tongmao?

A thought flashed through my mind. I was afraid they might be involved with thugs, afraid they might go astray—why not send them to school?

Yes, now no one is supervising them, and I'm too busy to be attentive to everything. But once they enter school, with their homework and various rules, and fixed times for going to and from school, how far can they go astray?

She considered that Li Changsheng was already nine years old, a year too late for school, while Xia Lin was only five, but it wasn't impossible to find connections to help. Sending them to school to learn a little might be a good idea—wait, schools have already started, and she's too busy to enroll herself, so she might as well wait until September when school starts, and once Mocha Cat's arrangements are settled, she can accompany them to school!

Thinking of this, his expression softened slightly: "Fine, I won't hit you. But you all have to make a deal with me."

Shinohara quickly agreed, "No problem!"

"From now on, you are not allowed to have any dealings with street thugs!"

Li Changsheng asked, "What if they come and provoke us?"

"Go around it!"

I'm going to find Lao Jiu tomorrow and tell him to avoid you guys from now on. I don't believe he can still go astray!

Sailor suit and silver bracelet

"Quickly thank Aunt Zhang." The wife of the head of the supply department of the provincial food company is a math teacher at the provincial central primary school. She is quiet, elegant, and well-educated.

Her son, a third-grade elementary school student, said obediently, "Thank you, Aunt Zhang."

Without looking up, he fiddled with his newly acquired set of stationery—the latest Mocha Cat boys' stationery set. It included a backpack, pencil case, notebooks, and a blue outfit. His mother helped him put the clothes and stationery into his backpack, affectionately stroking the cool-looking cat wearing sunglasses, thinking smugly, "Hmph, mine's much newer than that stinky-headed guy's stationery."

His name is Cappuccino, and he's Mocha Cat's cousin. He's smart, clever, plays basketball well, and is a cool kid.

Zhang Hongwei smiled politely: "You're welcome."

He turned to the section chief's wife and said, "Your son is so well-behaved."

She said with no small amount of pride, "What do you mean 'well-behaved'? All he does is cause trouble. But he's always been number one in the class academically, and he's quite clever."

Almost no parent dislikes boasting about their children.

Zhang Hongwei smiled politely and tactfully: "It's obvious at a glance."

You can tell at a glance that they're good at making money!

The clothes cost 120, and the whole stationery set was 85—that's half a year's wages for an average worker's family. He waved his hand and said it cost me 205.

Across from the provincial capital's department store, at the Mocha Cat Boutique Stationery Shop, the pretty saleswomen had sweet smiles and attentive attitudes, a stark contrast to the department store's saleswomen who were quick to give the cold shoulder. Of course, she had to be attentive and polite; after all, the customer had just bought two hundred yuan worth of items.

She saw the little boy's ecstatic joy and Zhang Hongwei's generosity, and guessed in her heart that he was again spending money to bribe someone for a favor. Little did she know that Zhang Hongwei's heart was bleeding—not because of the wasted money, but because this was clearly his daughter's shop, and he had to pay for things he was taking from his daughter's shop!

Qiu Shanglin, you've set the price so high, let's see if you can catch anyone to fleece in a year!

In fact, she knew very well that she wasn't the only one who was willingly ripped off; the children in the provincial capital were all proud to use Mocha Cat products.

She was a little discouraged. How many popsicles would her factory have to sell to earn enough for a pencil case?

She had been in contact with the provincial food company for some time, and through an introduction, she met the head of the supply department and became friends with their family. This time, she came to consult them about the supply channels for creamer, and treated them to a meal at a restaurant in the most bustling area.

Braised lion's head meatballs, crab meat dumplings, braised pork intestines, braised prawns, stir-fried vegetables, and finally, a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes. Zhang Hongwei smiled and said kindly, "Place this in front of our little friend."

His mother smiled and accepted it without hesitation: "This child is spoiled and picky about food, but he loves hot and sour shredded potatoes!"

She chimed in, "Kids love it, my two kids too. A plate of shredded potatoes is all they need to eat with their rice."

The other party, being a city dweller, thought that even though she owned a factory and was wealthy, she still had to flatter her husband and herself, which inevitably made her feel superior.