Chapter 34: Tao Daqiang Throws Down a Harsh Threat

Li Jianguo came in from outside, closed the door, took off his hat, and cursed:

"It's so cold. This old sky doesn't want us to get through this winter properly!"

"How is Xiao Xia's father?" Liang Yuemei asked while preparing to put the meat in the pot to render the oil.

"He's okay, he can get out of bed now." Li Jianguo shook his hat and placed it on the heated wall to dry, then said while changing his shoes:

"He's just exhausted, plus malnourished. Even so, he tried to pretend with me and offered me money. I said, 'Give me a damn!' Back when we dug the canal together, the cornmeal bun he stuffed into my hand counted as payment. He just laughed, saying that bun was truly valuable, enough to swap for two big fish and a quacking chicken!"

Liang Yuemei smiled but said nothing.

"Where are Juan and Qiangqiang?" Li Jianguo glanced around, saw no one in the room, and asked.

"They took the astragalus bones to the Lu family to play. There's nothing good enough for her to show off."

"That's normal. The Lu family girl doesn't stop showing off her two astragalus bones; it makes Juan so jealous." Li Jianguo laughed. "Now that she has her own, doesn't she have to get them back? Juan never lets herself lose out."

"I wonder how the little dragon fish are selling today." Liang Yuemei changed the subject. "If they don't sell well, we won't catch any tomorrow, right?"

"I think we still have to catch some. Those two ice holes shouldn't go to waste." Li Jianguo said. "After lunch, I'll go cast a few more nets. If we can catch more, Xiao Long and the others can head out early tomorrow."

"Then what will you do later?"

"What else can I do? I have to deal with the remaining five quacking chickens. On the second day of the New Year, you can take Juan and Qiangqiang back home with two of them, plus the fish and the mutton leg, so our parents can have a proper New Year."

"Alright." Liang Yuemei smiled, feeling delighted inside.

In the past two years, her parents had helped them a lot, and there were people who gossiped. But neither her parents nor Li Jianguo said a word. As the eldest son-in-law of the Liang family, Li Jianguo truly went whenever there was trouble at his father-in-law's house and could hold things together. At that time, Liang Wenyu was still a minor, and some people thought their family was easy to bully; Li Jianguo settled every single issue.

Now that life was better, Liang Yuemei was even happier.

Li Long first took Tao Daqiang to the Tao family, dropped off the rice, flour, and meat, then pulled the sled and turned back home.

He felt the sled was too slow; it would be great to get a bicycle.

Just as he was thinking this, Tao Daqiang rushed out of the yard and asked:

"Brother Long, are we going tomorrow?"

"Yes. In a bit, I'll go check the lake. If we can catch fish, we'll go tomorrow."

"Then I'll come right over." Tao Daqiang said excitedly.

Tao Jianshe looked at the pile of rice, flour, and the two-plus kilograms of fat on the ground, feeling a bit stunned.

His son must have hit a stroke of luck!

But if his own family did this, wouldn't they earn even more?

After all, if his son could get this much, the second son of the Li family must have gotten double that.

It seemed this fish-selling business was worth doing!

Tao Daqiang entered the room, saw his father staring at the items on the ground with rolling eyes, and felt immediately suppressed.

"Go, cut a piece of meat and take it to your older brother." Tao Jianshe ordered. "Your brother's family has children; take some rice and flour over there too."

"I won't take it!" Tao Daqiang said with a dark face. "My brother's family slaughtered a pig; he gave most of the meat to his father-in-law's house and only gave us a pig head and trotters. I cut grass for that pig every day all summer; did he ever think of me? Every year, the fine grains were all given to him. Am I not human?"

For the past two days, Tao Daqiang had felt suppressed as soon as he got home and couldn't help but want to go out.

But today he knew that as soon as he stepped out the door, these items would be sent by his father to his older brother.

He didn't want the things he had worked hard to earn given to that older brother who barely even looked at him properly.

Actually, Tao Dayong wasn't like this before, but after getting married and splitting the household, the changes grew greater and greater.

Tao Jianshe raised his tobacco pipe to smash Tao Daqiang, but seeing the stubborn look in his youngest son's eyes, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to strike.

"That's your brother!" "My brother's family doesn't have better conditions than ours; why doesn't he know to take care of us? The wood I pulled back, he hauled away. The fish I caught, he took. With no fuel left at home, you only add that little bit of coal every day; why doesn't he know to bring some coal over?"

Tao Daqiang was originally simple-minded and rarely spoke so much in one breath.

This was because, seeing how close Li Long and Li Jianguo were these past few days, while his own relationship with his brother's family had turned out this way.

Should he just give unconditionally?

Just as he was speaking, the door opened.

Tao Dayong walked in, saw the items on the ground, and his eyes lit up:

"Oh, Daqiang is doing well, pulling back so much stuff? Good, good, good, not bad! Looks like tomorrow I'll get a scoop net, and we can try it too."

He took off his hat and, while preparing to change his shoes, said:

"Why is the room so cold?"

"No coal left, and the wood I pulled back for burning, you hauled away, so of course it's cold!" Tao Daqiang said irritably. "Since your family has coal, bring some over?"

"What are you talking about? How much coal do I have at home? The wood looked pretty good; I was thinking of making some furniture or something when spring comes. You and that kid from the Li family can just pull two more trips, right?"

"Do you think that's easy to pull?" Tao Daqiang had changed a lot these past two days; he sat down coldly, looking at his brother. "Look, three carts went out yesterday; how much did they bring back?"

!.

Dayong's expression froze for a moment, then he slapped Daqiang with his hat:

"What's wrong with you? Did you eat gunpowder? How are you talking to me?"

"Why can't I speak? The wood I pulled back, you hauled away. The mutton legs I pulled back, you took. The fish, you took. Today, seeing the stuff I brought back, are you preparing to take it again?"

Tao Dayong just stood there stunned.

He really had planned to do exactly that.

But hearing his brother say it out loud changed the flavor of the situation.

"Daqiang, what are you saying?" Tao Jianshe, not wanting his two sons to quarrel, scolded Tao Daqiang. "That's your brother's family; they have children. That's your nephew too!"

"I'm slow, but I'm not stupid! Two mutton legs; at least one went to my sister-in-law's house. Do you believe me?" Tao Daqiang suddenly felt the urge to pour out everything pent up in his heart today. "My father and I haven't even had a bite yet!"

Tao Dayong fell silent.

Two mutton legs; his father sent one over, and he took one back. One of them was sent to his wife's maiden home that very night.

He had come over now because his wife saw Li Long and Tao Daqiang returning with the sled and urged him to come divide the goods.

He had gotten used to it before, but now hearing his brother say it like that, and seeing his father's increasingly aged face, Tao Dayong wanted to argue back but didn't know what to say.

"Later I'll still go with Xiao Long to haul wood. Brother, that wood is reserved for us to burn until spring. Don't blame me for not being clear; if you take any more, I won't be willing!"

Tao Da finally took nothing and slammed the door on his way out.

Tao Jianhua scolded Tao Daqiang for a long while:

"What grudge are you brothers holding? Your older brother wasn't always like this."

"Then let him live his own life well; why does he still take things from here?" That was all Tao Daqiang said.

He no longer feared his father's scolding now. At worst, his father would go live with his older brother's family, leaving him free.

But his father wouldn't, and his sister-in-law wouldn't allow it either.

Tao Daqiang didn't intend to take advantage of his older brother, but he wanted to live well through his own hard work, not be taken advantage of by others for nothing.

Thanks to reader Meiying Gudu for the donation, and to readers 20230716100533245, Nanhai Xiaobailong001, and 20220525072459517 for their monthly ticket support. Thanks to everyone for the recommendation tickets, continued reading, and various suggestions. While enjoying the May Day holiday, remember to finish reading the updated chapters.

(End of chapter)