Chapter 86: Chapter 86: An Unexpected Blessing

After settling things on his end, Xu Huaian went to Xu Mingshan to ask for a letter of introduction.

Xu Mingshan had just returned from the county. He’d spent the whole night at the hospital—Chen Jianghe had taken a nasty fall, breaking his leg. The doctor also mentioned something about a concussion and said he needed to be treated at the county hospital. Luckily, he’d woken up that morning.

Still, a perfectly healthy man now had a broken leg and wouldn’t be able to work for a while. He’d need someone to look after him, and his daughter was pregnant too. Just thinking about it made Xu Mingshan feel anxious and frustrated.

When he heard Xu Huaian wanted to go to the capital, he was startled. “What are you going to Beijing for? Where did you get the money?”

He’d actually been suspicious for a long time. By rights, the money he’d given Gu Qinghuan back then should have run out ages ago. How was this family supporting themselves?

Looking at them, their clothes and daily necessities were all pretty decent. From adults to kids, everyone wore brand-new clothes—not the homemade, coarse cotton jackets everyone else had, but styles that looked like they came from a big city.

He suspected Xu Huaian was hiding some private savings, but now that the family had split, it wasn’t his place to say anything.

Xu Huaian hung his head and said, “I had another episode yesterday. I want to go to a big hospital in Beijing to get treated.”

Thinking of yesterday, Xu Mingshan felt sore all over. This brat had really gone hard on him—it still hurt.

Before he could say anything, Xu Huaian looked at him hopefully. “Dad, I actually came to talk about money. Look, I’ve given you plenty over the years. Now that I’m sick, you should at least help pay for my medical bills, right?”

His acting could win an Oscar.

Xu Mingshan was just thinking up an excuse to refuse when Liu Guifang, who’d been eavesdropping outside, burst in. “No way! You’re already split off from the family and you still want to mooch off us? Forget it! I run this house—no one else gets a say.”

Xu Mingshan wasn’t as agitated as Liu Guifang.

He spoke earnestly, “Huaian, you’ve already split from the family. We still have your older and younger brothers to think about. We can’t play favorites. Besides, we already spent a lot marrying you off and setting you up with a house. Don’t make things hard for us old folks.”

Xu Huaian sneered inwardly. All these years, he’d contributed the most to the family, brought in the most money, and they’d sent him off with just a hundred yuan. And they still had the nerve to talk about favoritism.

If they played favorites, it was never in his favor.

He hadn’t really come for money anyway. Everything he’d done before, he considered repayment for their raising him.

But if he didn’t put on a show of being broke and asking for money, the old fox would probably suspect he was hiding cash again. So he deliberately came to ask for money.

Now, though, he had a new idea—maybe he could settle things once and for all.

Xu Huaian said angrily, “I’ve given the family plenty over the years. Now I want to see a doctor and you’re crying poor, refusing to help. Don’t expect me to support you in the future!”

Liu Guifang thought to herself, “Look at you, broke and crazy, no way to earn money. You’ll be scratching in the dirt for food, and maybe give me a few yuan a year if I’m lucky.”

She wasn’t stupid. Giving Xu Huaian money for treatment would cost at least several hundred yuan, and she’d probably never get it back from him in her lifetime.

Besides, they still had two other sons—they didn’t need him for support.

“I said we don’t have money and that’s that. I’ve got two other sons. Counting on you? We’d be lucky to eat black bread.”

Xu Huaian looked at Liu Guifang, hurt. “Mom, do you really despise me that much? Don’t even want to acknowledge me as your son?”

“Fine. If you won’t give me money, then write me a note. If you won’t pay for my treatment now, don’t expect me to take care of you in the future. Let’s just call it quits.”

He’d long since become immune to his parents’ favoritism and neglect, but saying this still tugged at his heart.

Ever since he was a child, he’d tried to do better, hoping for his parents’ attention and affection. But no matter what he did, they only had eyes for his older and younger siblings.

Later, when he joined the army, he learned to care about bigger things, and whether his family valued him or not didn’t seem so important anymore.

But now, truly cutting ties, he still felt a pang.

Xu Mingshan thought it over and decided maybe this was for the best.

This son had caused enough trouble lately—cutting him off might be a relief.

Mainly, he didn’t want to give him any money.

“You’re sure? If you want to cut ties, so be it!”

The old fox was quite the actor too—he couldn’t wait to throw him out.

But Xu Huaian wasn’t about to take the blame, so he fanned the flames.

“I don’t want to, Dad. If you just give me five hundred yuan so I can go to Beijing for treatment, I promise I’ll support you in the future.”

“What? Five hundred yuan? Why not ask for a thousand?” Liu Guifang shouted.

“A thousand? Even better,” Xu Huaian played dumb.

“You wretch, how dare you! I’ve got plenty of sons. Write him the note, husband. A thousand yuan—over my dead body!”

She actually had more than a thousand yuan in savings, but that was for her eldest and youngest sons and her own retirement. She couldn’t touch it.

Xu Mingshan wrote the note without hesitation.

It stated clearly that from now on, they would not be responsible for Xu Huaian’s illness, and Xu Huaian would not be responsible for supporting them in their old age. From now on, the two families would go their separate ways.

This really was an unexpected blessing.

He’d only come for a letter of introduction.

But by a twist of fate, in order to avoid giving him money, his parents had even given up their right to be supported by him in old age.

Of course, in the end, Xu Huaian still got the letter of introduction, complete with the official stamp on a stack of blank papers—he could fill them out as needed.

When Gu Qinghuan saw the note Xu Huaian brought back, she was stunned. Weren’t they just going to get a letter of introduction? How did they end up with this?

Those two really were shortsighted! They’d regret it someday.

Not knowing how long this trip would take, the two of them spent the day packing up everything at home.

They put everything into their space—big things like quilts and bedding, small things like grain, cured meat, and seasonings.

By the time they left, the house was basically empty. If anyone got any bad ideas, the lock on the yard gate would only keep out honest folks, not thieves. Better to take everything with them.

Any thief who broke in would have to admit—it was impressively clean."