Neither would his family ever treat him like outsiders and speak ill of him because he was fatherless. On the contrary, the Wei family had always stood on his side and protected him, asking Jiajia to give in to him whenever he had gotten into an argument with Jiajia because he was ‘fatherless’.
But today, Wei De, who was already grown up, felt that the Wei family was looking at him in a different light. Their gazes were not warm or friendly, especially his ‘uncle’, who seemed to be looking at him rather fiercely.
Wei Wei was no fool either and could think for himself. As such, Wei Wei could feel that the Wei family was blaming him for Zhai Hua requesting a divorce.
Wei Wei remained hidden in the corner for fear of provoking his elders even further. But his heart was in turmoil and he was enraged about his current situation.
He had not chosen to be fatherless, and neither had he chosen for his uncle to become his father. He had no control over his birth, so why was he at fault? His dad was the one who had gotten into a relationship with his mom in the first place.
He was almost fifty but was still so clueless. Even though he knew that the entire family relied on his aunt, he should have been thankful that he had been able to keep his past relationship with his mom under wraps. He should have taken that secret with him to his grave. His mom was not even as pretty as his aunt, so he wondered why his uncle chose to sleep with his mom instead of his aunt when he got the rare chance to return. What was he thinking?
They were blaming him for causing her aunt to propose a divorce, while he hated the Wei family for being so stupid. They had already gotten his aunt, who was like Buddha, into their family, but they had been the ones to chase her away!
Without an aunt like Zhai Hua, his life would never be as carefree in the future.
When Wei Wei had talked to Wei De in the past, Wei De had on more than one occasion said that he would ask Zhai Hua to send Wei Wei abroad for his tertiary education. Without his aunt around, he would not need to think about going abroad. In fact, even his tertiary education posed an issue. He would have to rely on his own efforts.
His bright and smooth-sailing future had suddenly become such an arduous path. He had not gotten angry over that yet! He would much rather his uncle remain as his uncle and he remain as a fatherless child than have his uncle become his father while having to give up such a good aunt like Zhai Hua.
Wei Wei hid in the corner with resentment in his heart, hearing the elders talk about the remaining assets the family had. Wei Wei could only say that the family was in a pitiful state. They were too poor. What the Wei family was left with could not even compare to the amount of money he had paid in the last two years for his school fees. His aunt had been brilliant indeed to have been able to support such a huge family without complaining about how the family’s expenses were too huge or that there was not enough money to go around.
Wei Wei had no respect for Wei De. He had already married into a rich family but had lost everything for a woman who was not even pretty. He was a disgrace to all men. The only thing Wei Wei thought that he could learn from Wei De was to marry a woman who had a better family background than himself.
At the same time, he would learn from Wei De’s lesson and distance himself from his family if he really married such a capable woman. Otherwise, he might make such a foolish error and be dragged down by this family from the countryside. Then, there would be no way of turning back.
If his grandma’s behavior had not been so bad, causing there to be no relationship between them and his aunt and Jiajia, his aunt would never have been so decisive and determined about getting a divorce.
After calculating the remaining assets of the Wei family, Father Wei, Mother Wei, and Wei De remained silent for a long while. At this time, the whole family had the same thought as Wei Wei. Their family was too poor.
Wei De felt pinched. “I’m sure you two can tell what situation our family is in. Xiao Wei will graduate from high school in half a year’s time. Xiao Wei’s results haven’t been the best after entering The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, but they have indeed improved. There’s no reason for him to transfer out of that school now that he’s almost graduating.”
More importantly, the last half a year was the most critical period. Wanting to transfer to another school would not be easy either. No school would accept transfer students at this point in time, and he would not be able to achieve ‘extraordinary circumstances’ either.
Zhai Hua was already getting a divorce from him. Wei De was worried that he would not be able to use Zhai Hua’s connections to transfer Wei Wei into another school, and neither did he know how to face his friends once they found out that he was getting a divorce from Zhai Hua.
In reality, even when he had not gotten a divorce from Zhai Hua, Wei De could already feel Zhai Hua’s friends looking down on him every time they interacted.
If not for his son, Wei Wei, Wei De would never have interacted with all those people. He would much rather spend all his time in the military and hear his subordinates address him courteously as a company commander. All men cared about looking good, after all.
Because of this, Wei De would much rather grit his teeth and pay for the remaining school term for Wei Wei to complete his education than let Wei Wei transfer out. He carried the hope that Wei Wei would suddenly have a breakthrough and would get good enough results to enter a good university.
The Wei family held on to the belief that sons had to provide for their parents in their old age.
Wei De wanted Wei Wei to take care of him in his old age. As such, he had to find a way to improve Wei Wei’s grades so that he would be able to find a good job in the future since Wei Wei’s job would directly determine how he lived in his old age.
“So, what will happen to your dad and me?” Mother Wei stared blankly at Wei De. “It’s not cheap to rent a house in Ping Cheng.” Their son’s salary from the military was just sufficient to pay for Wei Wei’s school fees at The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, but there would be no money for her and her husband.
“You and Dad will have to return to the countryside. You still have land and Wei Xiaomei there. You won’t have to spend any money on food and drinks.” In fact, if his parents were a little more hardworking and sold their goods, they would even be able to earn some money. He would never be able to afford his son’s university fees alone. Thankfully, there was still Wei Xiaomei. Wei Xiaomei was not old and would still be able to find a job to earn some money.
Mother Wei’s jaw dropped and she was speechless. She was almost at the age of becoming a great-grandmother, but not only would she not be able to enjoy her golden years but she would also have to go back to the countryside and work in the fields? Mother Wei really wanted to say that she had already forgotten how to use a sickle.
Mother Wei remained silent and looked at Father Wei. She would never go back to such a life ever again.
