Er Bao stuck out his thumb. Now that San Bao was in the kitchen with his mom, Da Bao and he would have the chance to tell his dad all about what had happened in his maternal grandfather’s house earlier.
“Dad, come. Let’s have a chat.” It was probably because he had really been agitated. It was the first time that Er Bao did not have a great reaction in front of Zhai Sheng. “Let’s have a chat about what happened at grandpa’s house just now. If you choose not to stand up for Mom in this matter, Da Bao and I will do it ourselves.”
Zhai Sheng sneered and flicked Er Bao on the forehead again. “Da Bao and you are still children. How will you do that? He’s my father-in-law. It’s not even convenient for me to do anything. More so for you two who call him grandpa! It’ll be even more inappropriate for you two to do anything.” Besides, Qiao Zijin had just passed away. It was possible that Qiao Dongliang was hit hard by Qiao Zijin’s death and was not in the right state of mind. That could be the reason he had done something wrong.
His father-in-law, Qiao Dongliang, had not even been able to do many good deeds while his mind was still clear, less so now when his mind was filled with grief and confusion.
Da Bao was conscious of this first, so he let Er Bao speak first. “It’s inconvenient for us. It’s inconvenient for you too. Then, is it convenient for anyone? Are we going to ask our paternal grandpa to do it? Or are we just going to let my mom be bullied like that?” Da Bao could not let the matter go just like that.
Now that his elder aunt was dead and could no longer bully his mom, was someone else going to do it? Was his grandpa going to bully his mom? His mom did not owe these people a single thing!
“That’s right. You might agree, but Da Bao and I definitely won’t. Mom’s life is already hard. That burden that is Mom’s family isn’t much. But to see them do such things to her, I really have to say something even if it isn’t right for me to do so. That whole family is a burden to my mom. In the end, they even despise her for letting them have even better lives! What right do they have?” Er Bao was so furious that he slammed the table.
Zhai Sheng smacked the back of Er Bao’s hand. This was the third time Zhai Sheng warned Er Bao to rein in his attitude. There would not be a next time. The next time, Er Bao would be punished. “What right? It was him and Ding Jiayi who gave birth to your mom. Without them, there wouldn’t be your mom. Without your mom, there wouldn’t be the three of you. Do you still not understand?”
It was frustrating, but they had to accept that fact.
Hearing Zhai Sheng’s words, Da Bao’s and Er Bao’s faces darkened. After a while, Er Bao sullenly said, “Dad, thankfully, you and Mom are not like that. Mom is nothing like the people in her family.” Otherwise, in just a few years’ time, their lives would have been miserable.
This time, Zhai Sheng was pleased. “It’s great that you know how good your mom and I are. When we get older in the future, the three of you have to be filial to us. And if you have your own families, take good care of them and don’t cause trouble for us. If you have any problems, try to fix them yourselves. Don’t come looking for your mom or me, especially not your mom. Most importantly, once you have children, don’t ask your mom to take care of them. When she gave birth to the three of you, she was still in university. Just think about how difficult it was for her to take care of the three of you.”
“She’s already raised the three of you, so when you have children in the future, you should learn to take care of them yourselves. Do you understand?” He did not wish for a bunch of women trying to steal his wife away from him before having children. After having children, he did not wish for a bunch of children to be fighting over his wife. He would hate to have to fight with a bunch of children for his own wife even when he was old and no longer mobile.
Zhai Sheng was already feeling a little depressed. Was he the one marrying his wife or was he trying to help these people find a wife?
When he was younger, Zhai Sheng was ambitious and there were just too many things he needed to do. With so many people constantly occupying his wife’s time and energy, Zhai Sheng was already quite upset. But if Nan Nan’s attention was still going to be on other people once he retired like his father, Zhai Sheng would definitely not accept that situation.
Nearing his old age, he and Nan Nan should get their own time after all.
As for these children, the further they went, the better.
“…”
“…”
Da Bao and Er Bao were momentarily silenced. So, their father’s last sentence was the most important. Humph! What a petty man! His world revolved around his wife, and he was even fighting with his children for his wife’s attention! Who would have expected that this majestic Chief Zhai, who was usually so suave and cold outside, was such a clingy old man at home!
By the time Miao Jing and Qiao Nan brought out the dishes, the men of the Zhai family had basically finished their competition. Just as Zhai Sheng went up to take the dishes from Qiao Nan, Er Bao squeezed ahead. But Da Bao managed to run ahead of the both of them and took the dishes over from Qiao Nan’s hands. “Mom, you should’ve called us when you were done with the dishes. We couldn’t help with the cooking, but we can always help set the table!”
“That’s right!” Er Bao nodded. “There’s still more inside, right? I’ll get them out.” Both he and Da Bao still dared to fight over the plates in his mom’s hands. As for those in his grandma’s hands, he would leave them for his grandpa. They had to leave some dignity for such a good grandpa after all. Otherwise, he would feel wronged on his grandpa’s behalf.
“…” After being pushed aside by his sons who had formed an alliance, Zhai Sheng felt his temple throb. What should he do? These rascals were still not grown up and at the age to get married, but he already had the urge to kick them out of his house.
Zhai Yaohui thoughtfully took the dishes over from Miao Jing’s hands. “Da Bao and Er Bao are right. Since you guys cooked, it’s only right for us to serve it. The weather is cooler nowadays, but these freshly made dishes are still quite hot. Don’t take any more of them out. Get some rest. We’ll do it.” Anyway, Da Bao and Er Bao were fighting over the dishes in his daughter-in-law’s hands.
Seeing his son concede defeat, Zhai Yaohui rejoiced within his heart. Whether it was when he was younger or now, he had his fair share of conceding defeat to his son and daughter! Every dog had its day. Now, it was time for his grandsons to take revenge on his behalf!
The grandfather and grandsons were in it together. Zhai Sheng felt extremely helpless, but he could only pinch his own fingers. He had no choice now, but once the winter break came, he would send the three children back to the military. He would see how gleeful they could be then.
It was often said that one couldn’t avoid something forever. What’s going to come would come eventually.
Da Bao and Er Bao did not yet know that their loving behavior toward their mom had evoked immense jealousy in their birth father. He would not let anyone who tried to fight for Qiao Nan’s attention go. Not even his own sons!
