Chapter 158

Upon hearing that Sister Qiao was going to the second son's house, Old Man Ding and Old Woman Ding exchanged a look and immediately stood up, saying, "We're going too. I want to ask that couple why they can't tolerate us."

Sister Qiao couldn't stop them, and not only did Old Man Ding and Old Woman Ding follow, but Ding the eldest followed as well.

Ding the eldest's wife was now retired and at home looking after their grandson.

Her eyes rolled, and she followed along to the second son's house too.

Ding the second's house was over forty square meters, and because it was based on actual area, it had one more large room than Ding the eldest's place.

It looked indeed very spacious; at the very least, there was no luggage spread out in the living room.

At this moment, Ding Jianshe was sitting on the sofa, holding his head.

A middle-aged woman in her forties sat on the other side with a gloomy expression.

This person must be Ding Jianshe's wife, Chen Ying.

Sister Qiao said, "Ding Jianshe, you know the basic principle that children should support their parents when they are old, right?"

Ding Jianshe didn't speak, but nodded silently.

Sister Qiao continued, "We are here today to understand the true situation. Both of you husband and wife disagree with supporting your parents; are there any difficulties or other reasons?"

Old Woman Ding said indignantly, "What else could it be? They despise us two old fossils for coming to eat for free."

Old Man Ding said, "Second son, think about it with a clear conscience. For so many years, it has been your eldest brother taking care of us; no matter what, it should be your turn now."

Chen Ying sneered immediately, "You make it sound so easy. When you were young and strong, you stayed with Ding the eldest, and now that you're old, you come to us. What kind of logic is that?

Do you still remember what was said back then?

The eldest brother is your firstborn; when you split us off, you didn't give us anything and said you didn't need us to provide for your old age. Even though nearly twenty years have passed, I still remember that.

Although I only have two children, my son also needs to get married. If you come here, where will my son and daughter-in-law live?"

If one thinks carefully, Ding the eldest's house was already four generations under one roof.

But it is the seventies now; even if the military factory has large tracts of land to build residential buildings, where would the building materials come from?

Most importantly, there is no money!

It seems that her method still has some hope.

Lu Qiao glanced at Old Man Ding and Old Woman Ding.

Although both were capable of self-care, they were clearly getting old.

Facing the second daughter-in-law's unceremonious questioning, Old Man Ding was clearly at a loss.

When they were young, that was how they thought: live with the eldest, as their eldest son was reliable, and split the second son off, so they wouldn't need them to provide for their old age later.

Who could have imagined the situation would be like this now?

Old Man Ding glanced at the eldest son and daughter-in-law standing there silently, and sighed in his heart.

To tell the truth, when they were young, they could help them look after the children, cook, do housework, and even earn money for them to spend.

But now that they are older, they frequently see doctors, and the old woman doesn't even have a retirement pension.

Their health is indeed not as good as before.

They are just old and despised.

It's not that he doesn't regret it; he shouldn't have been so absolute with his words back then.

But so what?

When all is said and done, he is still the father.

Before he could speak, Chen Ying looked at Ding the eldest again: "Eldest brother, when you and Ding Jianshe were split off back then, didn't you swear that we didn't need to worry about Mom and Dad, and that you would provide for them? Back then, you didn't even give us a pair of chopsticks; how do you have the nerve to stand at my front door now?"

Clearly, this wasn't the first time this had been said.

Ding the eldest and his wife didn't take it to heart at all.

Anyway, as long as they put the old folks at the second son's place now, it didn't matter if they were scolded a few times.

Ding the eldest still said, "Times change. I really have difficulties now. Look at how many people are in my house; the house isn't even as big as yours. I really have no choice. Can't you two be understanding? Besides, didn't Mom and Dad raise you, Ding Jianshe, and get you a wife?"

Chen Ying immediately retorted, "Your mom and dad raised Ding Jianshe, they didn't raise me. Your younger brother has the responsibility of support, but do I? I've never heard of any daughter-in-law having the responsibility of support."

"Chen Ying, you're being unreasonable. Which daughter-in-law doesn't have to show filial piety to her parents-in-law?" Ding the eldest's wife was immediately displeased.

"Yes, you show filial piety to your parents-in-law, so why are you driving the old man and old woman out? When it comes down to it, isn't it because they are old and can't work, can't help you with anything, and have become a burden, so you shamelessly dump them on us?

Eldest sister-in-law, you think you're the smartest in the world and everyone else is a fool. You've calculated this abacus so well—all the benefits go to your house, and all the bad things go to others. Two cadres from the neighborhood office, do you think there's any logic in this?"

Sister Qiao scratched her head a bit.

This matter was inherently unfair and unreasonable.

But come to think of it, there really are quite a lot of such cases.

When the elderly are young, they help the child they like most as much as they can, and when they get old and are despised, they are dumped on the child they like the least.

If they encounter a sensible and filial child, they just accept it.

But when they encounter someone like Chen Ying, who can't swallow the resentment in her heart, she is truly unwilling to support them no matter what.

Lu Qiao said, "From a legal perspective, as children, you all have the responsibility to support your parents. You all acknowledge this point, right?"

Old Man Ding and Old Woman Ding looked at Lu Qiao with gratitude.

That's right, legally speaking, children all have the responsibility.

Ding Jianshe and his wife didn't say the legal provisions were wrong.

But they didn't speak.

However, not opposing is acknowledging.

Ding the eldest and his wife nodded vigorously: "That's right, that's right, the law is stipulated that way. When we held study classes before, didn't the cadres in the factory popularize the law for us?"

Old Man Ding and Old Woman Ding also nodded vigorously.

At first, seeing that Lu Qiao was young, they hadn't taken her seriously.

They didn't expect that as soon as she opened her mouth, she would use the law to pressure them; she was truly formidable.

But they didn't expect Lu Qiao to continue: "From a moral perspective, your actions, Grandpa Ding and Grandma Ding, are unfair and unreasonable. Just now, your second daughter-in-law also said that when the family was split, you didn't even give them a pair of chopsticks; this is no different from leaving with nothing.

In a situation where the scales are not balanced, you demand fair treatment from your second son and his wife. They must have thoughts in their hearts, and both of you elderly people should understand this."

Sister Qiao immediately followed up, "That is the logic. They are both your sons, yet you failed to treat them fairly; how could they not have thoughts in their hearts? Although these are things of the past, they insist on remembering them, and we at the neighborhood office cannot force them to forget. Many times, the grievances accumulated in one's heart are also very painful."

Chen Ying sat there, her eyes reddening slightly.

Old Man Ding was so angry his face turned livid: "I want you neighborhood office people to help solve the problem, not to hold a criticism meeting for me. What, as a father, I still have to apologize to her? Do I need to kneel down to them?"

Saying this, Old Man Ding actually looked like he was about to kneel on the ground.