Chapter 123: Chapter 123

Bai Guoping was still talking about letting Ye Ling marry the captain’s son from the production team. Bai Xue was considering agreeing, but now, for one, Ye Ling is still too young, and for another, Ye Ling has just been accepted to high school, ranking first in the city. If she were to stop Ye Ling from studying and have her marry so young, wouldn’t she be drowned in a sea of criticism?

Bai Guoping talked until his mouth was dry, but seeing as the noodles were brought to the table, he hadn’t heard a word from his sister, "Big sister, you should say something. At least give me an answer, yes or no. I’ve been talking for so long, and you haven’t said a word."

With a sullen expression, his hands weren’t idle, as he picked up a bowl of noodles for himself and began to eat heartily. Bai Xue couldn’t stand the sight of him wolfing down the food, "Alright, eat less. Ye Qian’s health is poor right now, we didn’t make much, if you’re still hungry, I’ll make more for you tonight."

Bai Guoping didn’t even lift his head, "Alright then, let’s have noodles tonight."

Seeing her brother behaving in such an unseemly manner, Bai Xue knew it was useless to be angry with him. She filled a bowl of noodles for her daughter and another for her niece in the East Room. She served her daughter’s bowl first, then her niece’s. When she saw that her brother’s bowl was nearly empty, she brought the pot to the West Room.

Bai Guoping smacked his lips, clearly unsatisfied with the meal. He wiped his mouth with his hand and resumed his earlier posture, "What I’m proposing is a good match. The captain’s family in our production team even owns a horse. They eat refined grains like white rice and wheat flour every day and have meat a few times a month. That’s not something just any family can afford. Don’t mind though you live in the city; if you look at what you eat, I bet it’s not as good as the captain’s family."

Seeing her brother belittling her family, Bai Xue got angry, "Even if the food isn’t great, haven’t you eaten your fill? Did I not make meat for you?"

Bai Guoping sulked without replying, continuing to talk about the marriage proposal, "If Ye Ling marries into their family, not to mention the captain only has one son, won’t everything in their house belong to Ye Ling? She could even help out your family in the future."

"You’re living well in the village, right?" Bai Xue knew her brother well—lazy and living aimlessly wherever he goes, "If it’s so good, why don’t you have your Hehua marry there? I’m telling you, you can say whatever you want in front of me, but don’t say it in front of your brother-in-law. Now that that girl ranked first in the city, if your brother-in-law hears you, he won’t let you come here anymore. Not just your brother-in-law, even the girl’s temper isn’t something I could handle. If it ends up causing a big scene, I’ll be the one embarrassed."

Upon hearing this, Bai Guoping looked indifferent.

Bai Xue continued, "I won’t say much about why you came this time. If Ye Qian weren’t sick and Hehua stayed, I wouldn’t say anything. But you already see how hard things are at home. Another mouth to feed, and we won’t have enough to eat. Stay for a day or two, then please take Hehua back home. It’s not convenient to leave Hehua’s mother alone and pregnant at home."

"Big sister, you know our situation at home. If it were doable, I’d have Hehua earning work points at home, not sending her to your place. It’s because we can barely keep the pot boiling. If you want me to take Hehua back, can’t you have some pity on me? Our parents passed away long ago; you’re the only family I have. If you don’t help me, who will?" Bai Guoping wasn’t pleased about being asked to take the child back home. "Your brother-in-law is an official, can’t he pull some strings to find a job for Hehua? Even a small salary would be better than earning work points for grain at home. With her earnings, things might improve for us."

"Don’t tell me your sob stories; our parents passed away after you got married. How much work have you done since childhood? Besides, everyone has to work the fields in the countryside. Haven’t I been secretly giving you thirty bucks yearly for buying grain? How come that’s not enough? I saved up by scrimping and saving, even before our old lady passed away. If your brother-in-law finds out, won’t it break his heart? Even if I don’t care for you, I secretly saved for you," Bai Xue hardened her resolve seeing her brother’s ungrateful attitude.

Bai Guoping chuckled dryly, pleading, "Big sister, I’m only open with you because you’re my family. You love me, don’t you? If you ask me, given your family’s situation, you shouldn’t let Lingzi study anymore. Graduating from middle school is enough; why bother with high school? When she grows up, won’t she belong to someone else?"

"So you’re saying you don’t treat Hehua as one of your own?" Bai Xue glared at him, feeling sorry for her brother, "We don’t mind another mouth in the house, but Hehua’s only sixteen. Where would she find work? If she were a grown man doing some physical labor, maybe. But she looks like a twelve or thirteen-year-old; who would hire a child? Why don’t you take Hehua back first? When she’s eighteen in a couple of years, I’ll help find her a place."

Bai Guoping hesitated before nodding, "Alright, but sister, you know we spent what little money we had on the trip here. Can you spare some money?"

Bai Xue knew it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of him. Looking into the East Room and seeing the door was closed, she took some money from her pocket, counted twenty bucks, and handed it over, "Keep it safe; it’s the money d for Ye Qian’s illness by the army."

Bai Guoping pocketed the money, agreeing repeatedly, saying nothing more. After finishing lunch, Bai Guoping said he wanted to go for a walk. Bai Xue reminded her brother to come back early and didn’t bother much further, while in the East Room, Ye Ling had fallen asleep long ago. Bai Hehua had initially been sitting cautiously, but after taking the train for two days to get here, she was truly exhausted and eventually fell into slumber on the bed too.

Ye Ling woke up early, around two in the afternoon. Across from her, Bai Hehua was still asleep. Ye Ling sat up to read a book for a while and, when it was close to four, Bai Xue opened the door and came in.

"Your uncle hasn’t returned yet; I hope he didn’t get lost. Can you go out and look for him?" she asked her elder daughter.

Ye Ling didn’t move, "He’s an adult. How could he get lost? Besides, the city is so big, where would I even start looking? I’m not going."

"You’re so hard to ask for help," Bai Xue said unhappily as she slammed the door and left.

Her outburst woke up Bai Hehua, who found herself lying in bed, dazed for a moment. Then she hurriedly sat up, cautiously glanced at Ye Ling, and seeing Ye Ling wasn’t looking at her, she lowered her head, never uttering a word.

But Bai Xue was getting anxious. Dinner was ready, yet her brother still hadn’t returned, and it was getting pitch black outside. Something didn’t seem right. (To be continued. If you work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)