Although Wei Yutang didn't really want to bring this clingy little guy along, in his eyes it would be best if the father and son stayed there together.
When they're with me, they always seem to get in my way.
However, it was better to bring Xiaxia along. After arriving at the vegetable garden, I casually tossed him some things.
Xiaxia stared at the thing in her palm, paused, frowned, and tilted her head back to say to her father:
Do you treat me like a child?
He was not as taciturn as before in front of this child.
After all, Xia Xia was someone he brought more of.
"You've always been a child."
Although she knew that her father was right, Xiaxia still felt somewhat unhappy after hearing it.
He buried the seed in the ground, and then told his father about what had happened in the county town that day.
He knew his father might be too embarrassed to tell his father, and those people over there were really annoying. Even Xiaxia, a little girl, could tell that they clearly only wanted to use his father to achieve some goals.
"You mean your father didn't give them the money?"
Wei Yutang's first reaction upon hearing this was disbelief. After all, he had previously compromised so much; how could he not immediately send the money over once he had it?
"Father didn't give it to me."
Xiaxia has a pretty good memory; she told him all the things her dad bought for her today.
When Wei Yutang sent this thing out, he was already prepared that the money would be spent in one go.
After all, besides the cost of the medicine needed to treat the leg, there would also be expenses for recuperation after the leg heals, as well as for post-treatment care. And the Chu family wasn't exactly a wealthy or powerful family.
"Not even a tiny bit?"
After seeing her father's attitude, Xiaxia had some doubts in her heart, wondering if she had remembered it wrong. After thinking about it carefully, she nodded gently.
Father only spoke a few words to that person and didn't give him anything. That person even threatened Father, which was simply outrageous.
"He bullied his father, and his father beat them up."
Wei Yutang was somewhat unhappy when he heard what the child said.
If Chu Qing willingly gave them the money, then he had nothing to say, since he had given it away himself.
However, if he directly asks for it like this, and Chu Qing refuses and then threatens him, then he has crossed his bottom line.
"Let's go together tomorrow and ask them what it means."
Having spent so much time with my father, I've inevitably picked up some of his personality traits.
So in this little guy's eyes, his father saying he was going to their house to ask what they meant was tantamount to saying he was going to their house to give them a good beating.
From being completely unfamiliar with the process, he has now managed the entire vegetable garden in an orderly manner. After planting the seeds, he glances at the sky, wondering if the heavens will be on his side and if it doesn't rain, he'll have to come over and water it a few more times.
Xiaxia was forced to accept the fact that she was just a child in her father's eyes. She squatted down and played nearby. If her father came over when he was a little later, maybe she could play with him.
He tidied up the vegetable garden quickly and went back home as soon as he was done.
The little guy was also a bit sleepy and fell asleep shortly after arriving home. Wei Yutang was thinking about where to go in the afternoon when Chu Qing pushed open the door and came in first.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know if they will come looking for you after they fail with me, so I want to tell you in advance that if the Chu family has any further plans, you should ignore them."
Wei Yutang was already shocked when he learned from Xia Xia that he hadn't given the money to the Chu family. He never expected that Xia Xia would come to remind him of this.
Aren't you going to give them to them?
Chu Qing also vaguely realized at this moment that the sudden change from the original owner's personality to her own was a bit abrupt.
However, he really didn't want that family to gain any more advantage, not even the slightest bit; he felt a little uneasy about it.
"I don't want to give them anything anymore. No matter how much I give them, it won't be as important as what they like. Giving them anything is pointless. I might as well save it to buy something for Xiaxia."
Before, when this man stuffed so much silver into his hands, he had a dazed feeling of becoming rich overnight, but now it suddenly changed.
Thinking about it carefully, after raising Xiaxia to that age, we would then have to go on a scientific expedition to cover all the daily expenses incurred by her family and outside the home.
They also have to be prepared for unexpected situations from time to time. The amount of money they have is not much, and they still need to be thrifty to make ends meet.
"All the money in the house is with you now, so even if I wanted to give it to you, I couldn't."
Wei Yutang told him about this fact, after all, this matter was not a small thing for either of them, and if it was not handled properly, it could leave an indelible scar in Chu Qing's heart.
"We have enough money at home right now. If we need more, I'll go out and work harder to earn more. If you want to give me some, then go ahead."
He had indeed hoped that Chu Qing could quickly see through the true nature of that family and, ideally, sever ties so that they would never have any contact again.
But now that Chu Qingyi is obedient and has started taking care of the family, I suddenly feel a little reluctant.
Actually, if you think about it carefully, it's not really a bad habit. After all, he was raised in such a big family. Even if he did something wrong, it's only natural that he couldn't bring himself to be ruthless because of all the years of affection they had.
Perhaps after some time, he could consider returning to the capital and having that family cooperate in the charade, pretending to be parents for the rest of their lives, as long as Chu Qing is happy.
"No, I don't want to give them any at all."
The thought that Xiaxia might have to spend money to learn to read and write in the future gave him a strange sense of crisis.
Not knowing how to best explain this to the man in front of her, she simply frowned, pretended to be angry, and said:
“Last time Xiaxia went back with me, my parents said that my younger sister was too young and that Xiaxia should give way to her. But who is younger, Xiaxia or her?”
"It's one thing for my parents to say those things to me before, since I am indeed older than my sister. But they say those things to Xiaxia, which shows that they don't really think that way. They just favor my sister."
To fit the original owner's personality, he could only say things that sounded a little childish, and after he finished speaking, he stared at the man's face in front of him.
This sounds far too childish, like a clumsy lie that could be easily exposed.
After speaking, Chu Qing was prepared that the person in front of her would not believe her and would make up other excuses.
"You don't need to care too much about their opinions. Their hearts are biased by nature, so no matter what you do, it's wrong. Only the person they favor is right in their eyes."
Wei Yutang rarely spoke such a long string of words as he did now. After he finished speaking, he reached out to hug the person and carefully soothe his emotions.
"I understand. Anyway, no matter what I do, I'm never good enough in my parents' eyes, so I might as well do nothing."
When he heard Chu Qing's excuse, his first reaction was that it was indeed somewhat hasty and absurd, but upon closer reflection, the person in front of him seemed capable of doing such a thing.
"Since that's what you think, then let's not have any contact anymore. Don't worry, I'll take care of things over there for you."
When Wei Yutang said those words, it was a promise, and he also wanted to observe the person in front of him to determine whether he said those words out of spite or because he truly felt that way.
“It’s inevitable that we’ll run into them occasionally in the village, and I don’t want to have any more contact with them.”
“Since my parents think my sister is so good, they can just ask her about these things. They already said before that they no longer recognize me as their son, and now they are just repeating what they said before.”
Chu Qing genuinely felt sorry for the original owner in this matter, even though the original owner's parents kept saying they didn't want any further involvement.
In reality, no matter what good things happen, he never thinks about having the original owner's son, but once he encounters any trouble, he can't wait to come knocking on his door.
“I’ll leave this matter to you. I don’t want to see them at all, and I don’t want to have any more involvement with them. I ran into my brother in the county town today, and he was actually blaming me for not going back to visit.”
The broken leg happened only recently, so even the closest relatives wouldn't want to go and see him in just a few days.
While he was blaming Chu Qing for not going back to see the person he was worried about, he was afraid that Chu Qin hadn't sent the money back yet.
"Leave this matter to me. If you want, you two will never have any contact again."
If it weren't for the many chaotic things happening in the capital that hadn't been dealt with yet, he would have even considered taking Chu Qing and Xia Xia and simply leaving from here.
By then, with mountains high and roads far away, there will be no need to meet again, and there will be no need to worry about these people affecting Chu Qing's mood when they are around.
Things are still a mess, so he doesn't intend to be honest with Chu Qing yet. He plans to wait until everything settles down before explaining everything in detail.
"We don't have enough silver right now. How about we save up some more silver and then leave this place?"
Chu Qing had never thought of this before. Perhaps since the mission began, he had taken it for granted that he would be here to carry out the entire mission.
Overall, the environment here is not bad, but there are too many annoying people. If one day we can leave this place, it would be good, especially for him and Xiaxia.
From all perspectives, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but after careful consideration, Chu Qing still gently shook her head.
It's true that most things are going well, but it's too expensive. The money they're earning now is barely enough for them to live on.
But if we go to a different place, we have to start all over again. In addition, Xiaxia has to go to school. All these expenses combined are not a small amount.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to leave?"
When Wei Yutang asked this question, he frowned slightly. In fact, if possible, he would still like to take the father and son away with him.
After all, there were too many people and things in this small mountain village that made him unhappy, and other things were also inconvenient.
When he left, His Majesty promised him that if he returned with his child, the child could attend the Imperial Study and be taught by the Crown Prince's tutor.
Apart from his status, he enjoyed the same treatment as the crown prince in everything else, which was an affirmation of his past.
"I do want to leave, but we don't have enough money. You work so hard outside, it's good for you here."
Wei Yutang considered countless possibilities in his mind, but he never imagined it would be this.
If he heard correctly, Chu Qing must have doubted his ability to earn money.
He's now being suspected by his wife that he doesn't earn enough money to support the family.
Chapter 110
For Wei Yutang, he had never worried about money before, but now, seeing Chu Qing's expression, he really thought it was difficult for him to earn money.
"Even if we have some money now, we can't spend it recklessly. Xiaxia will be going to school in two years, and we'll need money for everything, from writing materials to paper and inkstones."
Chu Qing silently calculated the amount of money she might have to spend in her mind, then frowned and went back into the house.
The pressure cannot fall solely on Wei Yutang's shoulders; he must share the burden.
The next day, Wei Yutang used the excuse of taking Xiaxia to play in the mountains to go to the Chu family's house in the same village, along with his usual hunting gear.
In the village, Wei Yutang didn't interact much with most people, but almost everyone in the village knew him.
Seeing him carrying a knife and heading menacingly towards the Chu family, some who were closely related to the Chu family hurriedly took a shortcut and went past him first.
"What did you do to offend that hunter? He's coming with a knife!"
When Old Man Chu, who was lying in bed, heard these words, he was so startled that he almost stood up.