Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Father and Son Pay a Visit

That second son of his—he’d clearly come back, but didn’t even bother to visit his parents. Instead, he made his own father come in person. Absolutely outrageous.

In fact, Liu Guifang had known for a while that Gu Qinghuan was back. She’d even planned to give her a hard time, but with all the drama stirred up by her daughter and son, she’d forgotten all about it.

So it wasn’t until today that Xu Mingshan heard from others that his son had returned.

Xu Huaizhi had originally thought only Gu Qinghuan was home, so it didn’t seem appropriate to visit. But when Xu Mingshan said Xu Huaian was back too—and spoke with such detail—he was half-convinced, half-skeptical, and decided to come along and see for himself.

“Second Brother, when did you get home? I thought Dad was being tricked—everyone in the village is saying you’re back,” Xu Huaizhi said, walking over in a friendly manner.

He still had some brotherly affection for his second brother, after all.

Unlike the third brother, the second could still be counted on for mutual support in the future.

“Big Brother, I got back last night. With the New Year coming up, there’s a ton to do at home, so I didn’t make it over,” Xu Huaian replied perfunctorily.

Xu Mingshan finally found an opening to speak, putting on a stern face as if someone owed him money.

“No matter how busy you are, you should have let us know you were back. I had to hear it from someone else today—how embarrassing!”

Xu Huaian ignored him completely, neither responding nor arguing, pretending not to hear.

“Big Brother, Dad, have you eaten? Want something to eat?” He was just being polite, but the implication was clear: we’re about to eat, so maybe you should go.

But Xu Mingshan, with his dog-like nose, caught a whiff of all kinds of delicious aromas coming from inside and really was planning to stay for a meal.

“Perfect timing, I haven’t eaten yet. I’m starving—let’s eat before I go!” Xu Mingshan really hadn’t had much to eat lately, and had lost a lot of weight.

Back when the family was together, Xu Huaizhi’s monthly meat coupons and subsidies, plus the occasional fish or wild game, kept things comfortable. His wife Lin Xiaomeng was a good cook, too—everything she made was fragrant and delicious.

But ever since the family split, all that was gone. Not to mention Liu Guifang’s cooking—it was terrible to begin with, and she hadn’t cooked in years. The rice was either undercooked or watery, just never right.

Lately, they’d had enough meat, but Liu Guifang’s skills were limited to boiling things until they were just edible—no flavor at all.

To be fair, it wasn’t that her food was especially bad; it was just like everyone else’s in the village—stingy with oil, salt, and seasonings. You could eat it, but compared to before, the difference was huge, and Xu Mingshan just couldn’t get used to it.

That’s the downside of splitting up the family.

Xu Mingshan wished he could cook himself, but since he couldn’t, he just had to grit his teeth and bear it.

Things were a bit better when Yan Lijun was home—her cooking wasn’t as good as Lin Xiaomeng’s, but at least it was decent. But she only came home on weekends to cook a few meals, which didn’t help much in the long run.

So Xu Mingshan really was hungry.

Smelling the food, he felt like he could eat a whole cow.

Xu Huaian cursed himself for being careless—he’d forgotten how shameless Xu Mingshan could be.

With Xu Mingshan staying, Xu Huaizhi naturally stayed too.

He wasn’t really after the meat; he mainly wanted to talk to his second brother about his future plans. Now that he was healthy again, maybe he could apply to return to the army?

Gu Qinghuan, listening to the conversation from the kitchen, was grinding her teeth in anger.

She’d worked so hard today to prepare a whole lamb feast for the family, planning to invite the Ji father and son over as well. Now it was all ruined.

So she leaned in and whispered something to Zhong Luoning.

Zhong Luoning looked at her in surprise. “Isn’t that a bit much?”

“What’s wrong with it?” Gu Qinghuan replied.

She set up a separate table for the three men on Xu Huaian’s kang bed, letting them eat by themselves. She claimed it was to avoid disturbing them, so the three of them could chat in peace.

Everyone else sat around Gu Qinghuan’s kang table, eating and chatting together in the warmth.

Gu Qinghuan had already set aside some dishes to take over to the Ji father and son in the cowshed next door.

Xu Huaian knew Gu Qinghuan was only doing this out of anger, and he could only try to placate her—after all, he’d brought this on himself.

Xu Mingshan and Xu Huaizhi, however, didn’t notice any of this. They were too distracted by the dazzling array of dishes on the table.

Second Brother’s family sure ate well. Where did he get the money? And with so many extra people in the house, could he really afford it?

Whatever—better eat first and ask questions later.

Even for Xu Huaizhi, who was used to having meat, this was a rare spread. Especially since lamb was so hard to come by.

Both Xu Mingshan and Xu Huaizhi set aside their surprise and doubts for the moment and started eating in earnest.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Gu Qinghuan and her group were laughing, eating, and drinking together—the atmosphere was clearly much better than at the men’s table.

Xu Huaian, sitting at the men’s table, was restless. His heart was already over there.

After the meal, the other group even played a drinking game—not with real wine, but with water. The room was filled with laughter from both adults and children.

At Xu Huaian’s table, things were quiet and a bit awkward. After a few rounds, Xu Mingshan finally got to the point. “Second, is your illness really cured?”

Xu Huaizhi also put down his chopsticks and looked over.

“Pretty much,” Xu Huaian replied, keeping things vague.

“So what are your plans? Are you going back to the army?” Xu Huaizhi asked eagerly.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Huaian said, “I can’t go back. But I have a new job opportunity. After the New Year, I’ll be heading to the capital.”

There was no way to keep this a secret, especially since he’d need Xu Mingshan to write a letter of introduction for him. So he might as well be upfront.

Xu Mingshan perked up immediately.

“The capital? What kind of job? How did you find it?”

Xu Huaian pretended to look a bit downcast. “It’s a temp job at a factory that Qinghuan’s family helped arrange. It’s better than being a farmer—at least I can support my family.”

“You really can’t go back to the army? With your situation, you should be able to apply to return, right?” Xu Huaizhi said, a bit disappointed.

Having the second brother stay in the army would benefit him too—it would bring the family honor and help future generations. It was much better than some temp job.

“Big Brother, the army isn’t a joke. Once you’re out, you’re out. I can’t go back.”

“Well, maybe it’s for the best. I used to worry you wouldn’t be able to support your family, but now that you’re healthy and can provide for them, that’s good enough.”

Xu Mingshan opened his mouth several times, looking awkward, before finally speaking up.

“Second, if your wife’s family has connections, could you help your third brother get a job too? After the New Year, his ankle should be healed, and he’s about to be a father—he should settle down and find work. Oh, you probably didn’t know—your third brother got married recently, and his wife is already pregnant.”

Xu Huaizhi put down his chopsticks in annoyance. “Dad, why do you always bring up the third brother? With his attitude, he’s neither here nor there. What could he possibly do? I even used my master’s connections to get him a temp job in a kitchen, and he got fired after just a few days.”

Xu Mingshan, a bit sheepish, said, “That was because of his injured foot!”

“You know very well that even if his foot wasn’t hurt, with his lazy attitude, he wouldn’t last long. He’d get fired sooner or later! Dad, we’re all your sons—can you stop dragging us down for the sake of the third brother?” Xu Huaizhi stood up, clearly agitated.

He’d had enough. All these years, he’d been helping the third brother out of brotherly duty, but the third brother only ever used him as a tool—there was no real brotherly affection there.

After what happened with Lin Xiaomeng’s miscarriage, he’d finally seen his third brother for what he was. From now on, he’d rather not have any contact.

As for finding him a job—forget it!

He’d be better off staying in the countryside as a farmer and not causing any more trouble for them.

The second brother was the family’s hope—at least there was still some brotherly bond there. That’s why Xu Huaizhi was determined not to let the third brother drag the second down as well.

Xu Huaian was thoughtful—he hadn’t known that Xu Huayu had gotten married and was about to become a father.

As for himself, he had a long road ahead and didn’t know when he and Gu Qinghuan would have a child of their own. Just thinking about it made him giddy.

His mind had already wandered, completely ignoring the argument between father and son.

It wasn’t until their voices grew louder that he finally slapped the table to stop them.

“That’s enough! Dad, you know I have nothing now. You took all my money, and the house is empty—we’re living off my wife. She has a temper, and if she hears you talking like this, she’ll make a scene. I can barely take care of myself—I can’t help with the third brother.”

As he spoke, he glanced nervously toward the other room, putting on a show of being afraid.

Xu Mingshan and Xu Huaizhi could both see it—he was clearly henpecked. From the moment they sat down to eat, his mind had been elsewhere, always paying attention to what was happening at the other table.

Gu Qinghuan had deliberately separated the three of them onto this kang, giving them no face at all. The second brother didn’t even dare to fart.

But it made sense—whoever brings in the money calls the shots. Xu Huaian had no money, no job, and no confidence. Not only did he get no help from his parents, he was supporting two stepchildren.

No wonder he had to watch his words and keep his head down."