"Third, give your second brother some time. I believe if he soars high enough, he can definitely help you and the eldest. You are brothers after all."
What Zhang Wenxue said was just to deceive the ignorant. It wouldn't work on Zhang Liunian, who had dealt with his second brother before.
He knew that in his previous life, when Zhang Liunian was selling goods at a stall in South City, many things happened. When he wanted help from his second brother, the latter wouldn't even bother to look at him, showing no sign of treating him as a brother.
For such a selfish second brother, why would he pray that he would keep his brothers in his heart and help them?
It was just that his parents thought their second son was the best in the world, but in the end, it was him who supported them in their old age.
Their second son, whom they were so proud of, immediately sent them to him when they became old and frail.
"Dad, how selfish is second brother? I don't believe you can't feel it. If you insist on playing dumb, I have nothing more to say.
But if you still want to help him ask me for the formula, I'll say it again, absolutely not." *Slap*
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Xiaohua rushed forward and slapped her younger son.
"Liunian." Jiang Qingqing exclaimed, then quickly looked at her husband with concern, feeling extremely distressed.
After slapping her younger son, Yu Xiaohua's right hand trembled. She wanted to say it was an accident, but the moment she thought of her younger son speaking ill of her second son, she couldn't control herself.
Her second son was her greatest pride in this life, and she wouldn't allow her younger son to speak of him like that.
Zhang Liunian's face was slapped to the side by his mother, and then he burst into laughter.
Seeing his younger son like this, Zhang Wenxue knew it would be even harder to get the formula.
Why was the old woman always so impulsive?
"Third, from childhood to adulthood, we as parents have never hit or scolded you. This time, your mother acted rashly. Please don't be angry with her, okay?" Zhang Wenxue stood up, pulled his wife behind him, and met his son's cold, smiling gaze.
"How could mother act rashly? She's blaming me for speaking ill of second brother.
Dad, you must also want to hit me! Because I spoke ill of second brother."
Zhang Liunian looked directly at his parents. Seeing them with their mouths agape, unsure of how to react, he felt extremely bored. "Alright, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want to ask why Mom broke the skin on Qingqing's head.
I don't care what your reason is, but please apologize to my Qingqing. You can hit me, because I am your son.
But Qingqing cannot. She wasn't born to you, you never provided her with food or clothing, and there's no reason for her to endure your beatings and scoldings."
Zhang Liunian put away his sarcastic smile and then solemnly stated that he only wanted his mother to apologize to Jiang Qingqing.
Jiang Qingqing was extremely touched. She hugged Zhang Liunian's arm and said, "Liunian, listen to me, this is just a misunderstanding. It will be fine once the misunderstanding is cleared up. Mom doesn't need to apologize to me."
Her words were very sensible, which extinguished a tiny bit of the anger Yu Xiaohua felt towards her, and only a tiny bit.
As long as she couldn't confirm that Jiang Qingqing hadn't cheated on her son, or had Huabao with someone else, she couldn't fully forgive her.
"Third, you are truly beyond help. I am her mother-in-law. Since she married into our Zhang family, she is a member of the Zhang family. Even if I misunderstood her, there's no reason for me to apologize to her." Yu Xiaohua absolutely would not apologize to her daughter-in-law. She was an elder, and if she apologized, where would she put her face?
Moreover, she was Huajin Phoenix's mother, how could she apologize to anyone?
This would be admitting she made a mistake and disgracing her second son.
"No more talk. Since Third, you believe Qingqing, then we'll consider this a misunderstanding.
However, you should stop being a self-employed vendor from now on." Zhang Wenxue wanted to change the subject and help his wife turn the page.
But Zhang Liunian wouldn't budge. His wife was not someone anyone could hit.
"Whether I continue to be a self-employed vendor or not is another matter. Mom, you still need to apologize to my Qingqing first!"
"..."
Can't this page be turned? Zhang Wenxue also started to get angry.
His wife was an outsider, how could his son relentlessly pester his wife for an outsider?
She was his own mother, the one who gave him life, how could he act like this?
"Third, if you continue like this, Dad will get angry." Zhang Wenxue was usually the least prone to anger in the family.
But if he did get angry, he was even more terrifying than Yu Xiaohua.
However, Zhang Liunian wasn't afraid at all. His relationship with his parents wasn't very close, and he wasn't the favored one among them.
Therefore, he felt that no matter what, it couldn't get any worse.
"Mom hit my Qingqing without asking any questions. Can I not seek justice for my wife?"
"She is your own mother, the one who gave you life. How can you do this?"
Jiang Qingqing saw that her husband was about to clash with his parents for her sake, so she quickly grabbed his hand, "Liunian, it's really not necessary, really not necessary to apologize."
As long as he had her in his heart, she could accept anything.
Seeing his wife's flustered expression, Zhang Liunian put his arm around her, drawing her into a half-embrace.
It was the first time Zhang Wenxue saw his younger son acting like this in front of him. His old face felt somewhat uncomfortable, and he secretly muttered, when did his younger son start valuing Jiang Qingqing so much?
What had happened in these two months? Why had the whole world changed?
After watching for a while, Zhang Wenxue couldn't bear to stay any longer. He stood up and said, "Third, give your second brother some face. Starting tomorrow, don't be a self-employed vendor. Your mother and I will take our leave."
As soon as he said this, Zhang Liunian immediately retorted, "Since you ignored me when we divided the family back then, can't you maintain that? What does my second brother's face have to do with me?
Earn your own face. If you lack the ability but crave face, then don't cling to it desperately."
Zhang Liunian's words truly angered Zhang Wenxue.
Was this the self-awareness of a genius younger brother? First, he called the second brother selfish, then he said the second brother was incapable. Who did he think he was?
"Third, among your three brothers, your second brother is the most capable and competent. Now, as long as you give him some time to soar, he can turn back and help you.
But instead of helping him, you want to hold him back. Is this what a brother should do?
Actually, Dad doesn't want to make things difficult for you, but your second brother said he owes Fang Yan a favor and needs your formula to repay it.
Otherwise, do you think I like coming here to see you, my useless son?"
They say proximity to vermilion makes one red, proximity to ink makes one black. There is truth to this.
After spending so much time with Yu Xiaohua, even Zhang Wenxue, who considered himself a rational person, would utter such unpleasant words in anger, despising his younger son's uselessness.
Zhang Liunian had long been aware of his position in their hearts. Upon hearing these words, he showed no outward reaction.
Instead, Jiang Qingqing was extremely surprised. She looked at Zhang Wenxue with wide eyes, disbelievingly, as if she had never expected him to say such a thing.
After all, before today, Jiang Qingqing had always thought her in-laws were relatively reasonable people. But she never expected that in their anger, they would say such harsh words to attack Zhang Liunian.
This made her feel very distressed. She opened her mouth to say something for her husband, that it wasn't like that, he was excellent and great, but before she could speak, Zhang Liunian interrupted her.