Gu Xiaoqing lifted her head, staring at Gu Ruhai, feeling incredibly annoyed inside.
Her own father still couldn't change his weak nature.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
Gu Ruhai sat there holding his head, taking a few deep puffs from his cigarette, eventually choking on it and starting to cough.
Gu Xiaoying hurried over, patting Gu Ruhai's back, anxiously urging Gu Xiaoqing, "Xiaoqing, stop making things difficult for Dad. Just don't go to school."
Gu Ruhai stared at Gu Xiaoqing with reddened eyes, saying, "Xiaoqing, it's Dad's fault. Dad lacks the ability, doesn't have the money to support both of you going to school. It's Dad's incompetence."
He furiously punched himself twice, startling Gu Xiaojie who was squatting next to Gu Xiaoqing. He straightened up, muttering, "Dad, Dad, I won't go to school. You can support Second Sister. I really don't want to go to school anymore."
The child's words struck Gu Ruhai's heart profoundly, causing the tough man to suddenly cry like rain.
Gu Xiaoying looked helplessly at her father who had never been like this before, feeling anxious inside, but knowing that Xiaoqing had to say something for the situation to change; nothing she said would be useful.
She turned her head to look at Gu Xiaoqing, "Xiaoqing, are you that heartless to watch Dad be this upset? Is going to school really that important?"
This was the first time Gu Xiaoying spoke to Gu Xiaoqing with such a heavy tone. Since childhood, Gu Xiaoying had always cared deeply for her sister, who was five years younger; she was always willing to give anything good to her sister.
But this was the first time Gu Xiaoying couldn't understand what her sister was trying to do.
Is she trying to drive Gu Ruhai to despair?
Gu Xiaoqing finally spoke.
But it wasn't what Gu Xiaoying and Gu Ruhai imagined. Yet the words still struck Gu Ruhai deeply: "Sis, do you think our family can't afford both of us? My brother and I going to school only costs three yuan each year.
Three yuan! Is that a lot?
Is it really something Dad can't afford?"
The words hit Gu Ruhai's heart as hard as a stone.
Yes, three yuan!
Just three yuan!
And yet he couldn't produce it.
Gu Ruhai, full of sorrow, raised his head and said, "But at the end of the year, Dad has to prepare twenty yuan for your second uncle. Our family's income is only so much. Lending it to your second uncle leaves ten yuan, and there's five yuan needed for your grandparents' retirement money. That's the family's yearly expenditure. If you both go to school, the family won't have enough to eat."
Suddenly, Gu Ruhai felt something was off.
His words seemed truly misguided.
Gu Xiaoqing laughed, laughed heartily, pointing at Gu Xiaoying, "Sis, you heard that, didn't you? You heard it, didn't you? Giving twenty yuan to Second Uncle, yet no money for his children's education. The two of us together cost just three yuan, even if the fees for middle school, high school, university are more later. But if the money every year goes to Second Uncle, how can Xiaojie afford to study when he grows up?
What do you pay with when you get into those universities, with three yuan? Dad, are my brother and I your children, or is Second Uncle your son?"
These words struck Gu Ruhai's head like thunder.
Indeed, who are his own children?
Not letting his own children study, but giving money to Second Brother's family, Gu Xiaocheng — what kind of father is that?
How could he be so foolish?
Still, it's his twelve-year-old daughter who understands it clearly.
He's grown so old and yet remains so foolish.
If these words were publicized, the villagers would probably laugh themselves to death. Who would ignore their own biological children yet give all their money to a brother to raise the brother's kids? How could he say such things?
Gu Ruhai was uneasy. This matter wasn't supposed to be like this. His parents said as long as Xiaoqing didn't go to school, money could be saved to support Xiaojie's education, but, according to Xiaoqing's words just now, he could actually afford to support two children's education.
Why?
Why did he think his parents' words were so accurate?
Because he never thought much about it, whatever his parents said seemed to be for his own good, to make the family prosperous, so he listened to everything they said.
And then there was filial piety.
He'd always been filial, as long as his parents said he was being filial, he would be happily lost, never considering whether these things were really reasonable — were they right?
Now, Xiaoqing had exposed everything so bluntly, and everything inside seemed off.
Gu Ruhai crouched down bitterly, furiously smoking the cigarette until the burning cigarette singed his thumb, and he tossed it to the ground.
Using the cloth shoe with an exposed big toe, he stomped hard on the cigarette butt on the ground.
His face turned fiercely red with shame.
Being exposed like this by his own daughter, having everything torn open, Gu Ruhai's heart suddenly felt terrible.
When the facade of so many years of family affection is torn away, anyone would feel like they've been made a fool for so long and feel no good — and couldn't just accept it suddenly.
Especially for such an honest man.
Gu Xiaoying remained silent. Yes, their family had some spare money at the end of the year, at least those grains sold after paying the public grain taxes could still fetch thirty yuan.
That was thirty yuan.
With Xiaoqing and Xiaojie, they only needed three yuan. Just three yuan, which was only a small part of thirty yuan.
However the situation was described, it was just inexplicable.
Gu Xiaoying stood aside, not daring to say anything, quietly sitting next to the basin, continuing with her peanuts; this was Dad's fault, she couldn't help Dad convince Xiaoqing. But she also couldn't say Xiaoqing was wrong either.
So the best course of action was to keep silent.
Li Xuemei stood up, tossed aside the clothes in her hand, and walked over to Gu Ruhai, saying, "Enough, child's father, Xiaoqing is right. How could anyone allow their own children not to attend school, yet lend money for their brother's kids to attend? Reasonably speaking, there's no basis for that.
All these years, child's father, we've done enough; honoring our parents is right but I've never heard you're also supposed to honor your brother and his kids.
I'm not speaking up, not because I'm not fighting, but because I see you suffer every time, being pressured by your parents; but now things are different. Xiaoqing is right; their siblings have the ability and potential; we as parents can't be so heartless.
Think carefully.
Anyway, I don't intend to give money to Second Uncle anymore. They borrowed money when they needed it, and all these years, Gu Xiaocheng's education is about to finish but still haven't seen your brother repay even a penny.
Whether they have money or not, I don't dare say, but their days don't seem like ours. They're at least not eating dark bread like us, constantly asking a brother who's eating dark bread to lend money, that's just unreasonable."