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墨書 Inktalez
Wen Cheng returned home. Xiang Shu had also arranged with Wen Hao to go to Gao Liang's place the next day to discuss buying a vehicle on credit. In fact, Gao Liang had already agreed; they were just waiting for Wen Sheng's father to give his approval before Wen Hao could drive the vehicle.
The next morning, Xiang Shu got up early to start working. Xue Min and Xue Qiang had already gone to school, leaving only Hua Shan and Yuan at home. Hua Shan was drying grains in the sun, having little else to do. Yuan was busy washing her younger brother's clothes; children got their clothes dirty quickly, so she had to wash them almost every other day. Yuan had gained a bit of weight but still looked good. She wore a thin red floral blouse and black shorts, with her sleeves rolled up high and her bare feet resting on the stool as she washed the clothes. Yuan liked to keep her hair long, which made her face appear less round.
Wen Hao woke up early and headed to Xiang Shu's house. Xiang Shu's home was right next door to Wen Sheng's. The houses were similar, but the iron gate outside was neat and painted a bright blue.
This was the first time Wen Hao had gotten up so early; he couldn't sleep because he was preoccupied with thoughts. He rushed over to find Xiang Shu, eager to ride the motorcycle from his dreams. As soon as he entered, he asked, "Is my uncle home?"
Yuan glanced at Wen Hao as he came in and replied curtly, "My dad went to work; he won't be back until this afternoon!"
Wen Hao felt a bit disappointed and said, "Yuan! When my uncle returns, tell him I’ll be waiting for him at home!"
Yuan wiped some water splashed on her face with her hand and replied nonchalantly, "I got it! Do you have anything else to do?" Seeing that Wen Hao had nothing more to say, she lowered her head and continued washing clothes. Her younger brother's clothes were very dirty, and there was quite a pile of laundry for both of them.
Wen Hao didn’t know what else to say, so when he saw Hua Shan come out, he greeted her: "Auntie, have you eaten yet?"
"Oh, it's you, Wen Hao! Not yet; I'm just getting ready to cook!" Hua Shan smiled. "Wen Hao, you shouldn’t argue with your dad anymore! It’s not good for your reputation. You need to work hard! We still need to find you a wife in the future!" Hua Shan often took the opportunity to lecture Wen Hao.
"Okay!" Wen Hao grinned foolishly. "This time I have a vehicle; I’ll work hard from now on!"
"When your uncle comes back this afternoon, you can go with him and get this sorted out. Good boy, always listen to your parents; don’t act recklessly!" Hua Shan then told Yuan, "Go get your brother a stool!"
Yuan agreed but continued washing clothes. The basin was overflowing with bubbles, and water splashed all over her feet; her pants were wet too. She had no intention of getting a stool for Wen Hao; instead, she rubbed the clothes even harder.
Wen Hao noticed this and excused himself from Hua Shan: "Auntie! I won’t sit down; I have things to do, so I’ll leave first!"
Once Wen Hao left, Yuan complained to her mother: "Mom! Why do you care about him? I get annoyed just seeing Wen Hao!"
Hua Shan chuckled and explained, "Isn't he Wen Sheng's brother? Look at their family; neither Wen Sheng nor Wen Xin has had an easy life!"
"That’s true; it’s really sad for Wen Sheng and Wen Xin! How did they end up with such a useless brother? Honestly, my uncle is a bit clueless too!" Yuan said angrily.
Hua Shan sighed in agreement: "Exactly! There’s nothing we can do about it!" She shook her head and went into the house to prepare lunch.
Yuan continued washing clothes until she finished and hung them up to dry. Then she went inside to wait with her mother for her younger brother to come home for dinner.
The two children returned home from school at noon, covered in dirt. Li complained, "Mother! Look at what they've done! Now I have to wash their clothes!"
The two children mischievously replied, "Who told you to be the older sister?"
Hua Shan smiled as she scolded them, "Go on! You two need to be more careful! Your sister is supposed to help you wash your clothes!" She then pulled them along, saying, "Hurry up and eat! After that, get out of here! Don’t make your sister angry!"
The two children giggled as they rushed into the house to eat. Yuan brought over the dishes and set them up for them. The children quickly finished their meal, made a silly face at Li, and by the time she reached out to hit them, they had already run far away.
Hua Shan came over and smiled at Yuan, saying, "You shouldn't always indulge those two! Look at how lazy they are; they never wash their own clothes when they get dirty! They even wait for their meals to be served! Just look at Wen Xin; she helps her mother cook and does so much more. Wen Xin is only a few years older than them!"
Yuan thought about Wen Xin. Although she did a lot of housework at home, she felt much happier compared to Wen Xin.
Wen Xin had just returned home from school as well. She dropped her backpack and ran into the kitchen to help her mother cook, her face covered in soot. During mealtime, she would also help serve the food. Sometimes, Wen Sheng would lend a hand too. However, Wen Xin often found that the meals he helped prepare weren’t tasty and wouldn’t let him help. Once the food was ready and placed on the table, Wen Xin went looking for Wen Hao to eat. She knew he often went to that card-playing spot—a vacant lot with a few trees providing some shade where people gathered to play cards.
When Wen Xin arrived there, she saw Wen Hao playing cards. She walked over and whispered, "Brother! It's time to go home for dinner!"
Wen Hao ignored her and continued playing. The others at the table remained silent as well. Thinking that perhaps Wen Hao hadn’t heard her, she raised her voice slightly: "Brother! It’s time for dinner; the food is ready."
Without turning his head, Wen Hao shouted back, "Get lost! Can’t you see I’m losing money?"
Wen Xin was too frightened to say anything more.
At that moment, a few adults watching the game looked disapprovingly at Wen Hao. "Wen Hao," one of them said, "you losing money has nothing to do with your sister! She came here kindly to invite you for dinner, and you shout at her like that? Wen Xin, just go back! Don’t worry about him; he doesn’t know what’s good for him!"
Wen Hao didn’t dare respond. He was known for being tough at home—tight-fisted! Sometimes it was hard for outsiders to find an opportunity to loosen him up; he had one advantage though—he never talked back!
Hearing this from those around him softened Wen Hao's attitude a bit. He spoke kindly to Wen Xin: "You go back first! Don’t wait for me; just save me some food!"
Wen Xin slowly walked away.
Later that evening, Xiang Shu came by after dinner looking for Wen Hao. Since lunch, Wen Hao had been waiting at home for Xiang Shu's arrival. When he saw Xiang Shu enter, he was very happy; it was something he had been looking forward to for a long time. He hurriedly approached him and said, "Uncle, you’re here!"
Xiang Shu laughed and scolded Wen Hao playfully: "You rascal! Do you think I would forget what I promised you? Why did you come looking for me so early? Don’t you trust me? Have you eaten? If you have finished eating, let’s get going!"
Wen Hao anxiously said, "I'm not eating anymore, let's go!" He turned to his mother and added, "Mom, I'm not having dinner at home! I have things to do in town! Give me a hundred yuan; Uncle Xiang and Gao Liang have been busy with our family's matters! We should at least treat them to a drink!"
Seeing his urgency, his mother borrowed a hundred yuan from a neighbor and handed it to him. Wen Hao and Uncle Xiang rode their bicycles to the town to find Gao Liang.
Once they arrived in town, they quickly spotted Gao Liang. Wen Hao insisted on treating Gao Liang to a meal at Uncle Heng's restaurant. Gao Liang declined several times, but seeing Wen Hao's determination, he eventually agreed. They also invited Wang Lijuan's father and the car dealer Wang Xian, as well as Wen Hao's cousin. Gao Ming did not show up since he heard that Wen Sheng wasn't coming either; he simply didn't want to see Wen Hao.
Everyone drank until past eleven at night. Naturally, the hundred yuan that Wen Hao brought was insufficient, so they had to put the bill on Uncle Heng's tab. As the drinking was winding down, Wang Xian said, "Wen Hao, the car deal is settled. With Gao Liang and Wang Lijuan's father as guarantors, Uncle Xiang will speak on your father's behalf. I don't have much to offer. Regarding the money, I've heard about your family's situation; it's tough for you. Once you have the car, there won't be any more trouble at home! As for repayment, I'll discuss it with your father or Uncle Xiang later; as long as you don’t cause a scene at home, I won’t chase after you for the money." In just a few sentences, Wang Xian conveyed that he was a good person while leaving the timing of repayment uncertain.
Wang Xian continued, "It's getting late now. Ming Xiang should take Wen Hao to my shop to pick out a car." He stood up, having many things to attend to; no one seemed as carefree as Wen Hao.
As Uncle Xiang and Wen Hao were about to leave with their bicycles, Gao Liang stopped them. "Uncle Xiang, it's so late; why don't you ride my motorcycle back? It’ll be easier for you both!"
Uncle Xiang enjoyed riding motorcycles; they certainly saved a lot of effort compared to bicycles! Having had a bit too much to drink, he was overly confident in his driving skills. On the road, he drove like he was flying. Even Wen Hao sitting behind felt a bit chilly from the speed.
As they approached an intersection and were about to turn, a large truck loaded with logs came barreling towards them. In his dazed state, Uncle Xiang recklessly sped forward…
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