Chapter 529 - 559: A Heart Grown Completely Cold
Qin Bogang had never spoken to Mr. Qin so forcefully. Even during the incredibly tense affair of the arranged marriage swap, he had never broken with his father like this.
Mr. Qin’s eyes went wide as he stared at his eldest son.
The people around them opened their mouths to mediate, but they were at a loss for words, unsure of what to do.
Qin Bogang turned to the village head and the other elders. "Uncles, I’m heading back now. I’ll return tomorrow to handle the paperwork and transfer the house back into my father’s name."
With that, he stood up and walked away.
Old Mrs. Qin stopped him on his way out, her eyes red-rimmed. "Eldest," she said softly, "dinner is almost ready. Stay and eat. Besides, it’s so late now. There are no more buses back to the county seat."
When Qin Zhonghui’s family of four had left, it was still light out, but now it was pitch-black. There really were no more buses running.
But Qin Bogang didn’t want to stay a moment longer. He turned back to Old Mrs. Qin and said, "Mom, if things get too hard here, come find us in the county seat. Sun Li and I will take care of you."
"Eldest..." Through her red-rimmed eyes, Old Mrs. Qin watched her eldest son’s figure disappear into the night.
Qin Bogang borrowed a bicycle and rode through the night back to the county seat, not arriving until the middle of the night.
Sun Li was already asleep but was startled awake to find her husband’s face streaked with tears.
"Bogang, what’s wrong?"
Qin Bogang stepped forward and hugged her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Xiao Li," he said, "I feel so awful I could just die."
"What’s this nonsense about dying? If you die, what happens to me and Xiao Lan? What, you expect me to take Xiao Lan and remarry? Then some other man can sleep with me, beat your daughter, and live in your house?"
Qin Bogang had been overwhelmed with grief, but his wife’s words stunned him.
His immediate reaction was, "Alright then, I’m not dying!"
"There, now. There’s nothing we can’t get through. Go talk to Zhonghui and his wife tomorrow. They’re a level-headed bunch. We’ll just follow their lead, and we can’t go wrong."
Qin Bogang thought for a moment, then nodded.
Early the next morning, Qin Bogang went to the guesthouse to find his younger brother’s family and told them what had happened the day before.
Qin Zhonghui’s family of four had planned to visit Su Yun’s parents that day, but after hearing Qin Bogang’s story, how could they possibly leave?
Qin Zhonghui sat in silence for a long while before finally looking up. "I’ll go back with you. If he insists on having his way, then I don’t want my house either. He can have it all and deal with it himself. If he listens to us, we sell the houses, go to North City for his treatment, you take care of Mom, and we’ll send Xiao Tao to Feng Lan’s family."
Feng Lan was getting out soon. Under the circumstances, sending her son to be cared for by his own mother was the only option.
Listening from the sidelines, Qin Jiao felt a pang of regret about the house. ’It’s a shame,’ she thought. ’In another ten years or so, it would be slated for demolition, and they’d get a huge payout.’
’But given the situation, if giving up the house could buy them a clean break, then it was worth it.’
’Grandpa really managed to thoroughly wound both of his sons all by himself!’
’Parents could be so ridiculous sometimes.’
’They’d have other, more promising children, but they just wouldn’t like them. In the old days, they’d make those children drop out of school early to come home, work the fields, and earn work points for the family.’
’Girls had it even worse. They’d be married off to get a bride price, which would then be used to pay for a wife for their brother.’
’Mr. Qin, for instance, favored his sons over his daughter. He couldn’t care less if his daughter, Qin Na, lived or died. On top of that, he was incredibly biased toward his youngest son, Qin Jiqun.’