Chapter 317: The Little Brat Is Too Powerful

Li Ye slept soundly all night, but Wang Qiang tossed and turned.

He wanted to go to the guesthouse and see if Huang Suwen had stormed off in anger.

Huang Suwen was never a weak girl; her temperament was even more "stubborn" than Li Yue's.

Back then, when Huang Gang was nearly beaten to death outside Lao Cui's restaurant, and Lao Cui refused to open the door, Huang Suwen and her mother had blocked the restaurant entrance, cursing for hours.

So would last night's bowl of noodles make this Beijing girl snap?

But going over to her place in the middle of the night just to ask, "Did my mom upset you?"

That would be idiotic.

"Sigh~"

Why is my life so miserable?

Wang Qiang didn't fall asleep until around four or five in the morning.

But he felt he'd barely closed his eyes when he vaguely heard voices outside—his mother was complaining to someone.

"Uncle Er, what am I supposed to do? I raised this son for twenty years, and now he's going to Beijing to be a live-in son-in-law—what if he disowns me?"

"How could that be? Qiangzi has been under my watch since he was a child. Even if your two sons turned their backs on you, Qiangzi wouldn't be so unfilial."

"Uncle Er, you don't understand! Last night, the third son said his own mother isn't as good as a stepmother—you've got to settle this for me, I'm being wronged!"

"Hmm, he's wrong to say that. How could a birth mother be worse than a stepmother? I'll have a proper talk with him later."

"."

Wang Qiang couldn't sleep anymore. He rolled over, got up, and put on his clothes.

If the family had already summoned Uncle Er Wang, why should he just lie there? He'd go out and settle this!

Uncle Er Wang Dasheng carried great weight in the Wang family—if he branded Wang Qiang as "unfilial," it would be a grave injustice.

In 1983, if you carried the label of "unfilial," you'd never get promoted at work.

Wang Qiang's room was the family's grain storage—no stove, freezing cold. As soon as he left the quilt, the chill jolted him fully awake.

He dressed and stepped into the main room, then said to Wang Dasheng: "Uncle Er, you're here?"

Wang Dasheng looked up at Wang Qiang and said: "Qiangzi, didn't you sleep well last night?"

Wang Qiang smiled: "Nothing. I often go without sleep when I'm out. It's no big deal."

Wang Dasheng nodded: "Life away from home is hard. Isn't there an old saying? 'Living in Beijing is tough.' Life there is never as stable or comfortable as back home."

Wang Qiang immediately shook his head: "Not necessarily. Once you get used to it, you feel at ease anywhere."

Wang Dasheng was stunned. Was Wang Qiang just speaking casually—or had he understood his hint and shut down his entire argument before he could even begin?

Wang Dasheng earned his status as the Wang family's "respectable one" not because he was stern or liked to wield "filial piety" as a weapon, but because his household was the wealthiest and his thinking was clear-headed and rational.

Every family has such a "capable person." For example, when you're giving a gift and the recipient clearly grows impatient, yet you still foolishly think they value your meager offering—you only make yourself disliked.

So after hearing Fan Chunhua's complaints, Wang Dasheng immediately grasped the core issue.

Whether Wang Qiang was filial or not didn't hinge on "birth mother" versus "stepmother," but on where Wang Qiang believed his roots lay.

Most people who leave home feel hardship abroad and only find warmth when they return.

If Wang Qiang believed his roots were in Qingshui County, then everything was fine. But if he felt stifled in Qingshui and free in Beijing, then Fan Chunhua's fears might well come true.

Who wouldn't choose comfort if they had the option? Could a mere uncle like him stop it?

Wang Dasheng thought for a moment, then probed again: "Qiangzi, do you find life in Beijing more comfortable—or back in our hometown? I remember when you sold sesame candy in the provincial capital, you did quite well!"

"How can you say that?" Wang Qiang smiled. "Uncle Er, you know what I was like back home."

"On the streets, people called me a beggar. But in Beijing? No one ever said that about me."

Wang Dasheng clenched his lips, unable to respond.

He'd seen clearly what his nephew had been like—disdained at home, slow-witted, barely able to speak a full sentence, everyone found him annoying, including Wang Dasheng himself.

Now Wang Qiang had laid it all out bare—it was like slapping him across the face.

You all ignored me before—now you're playing the elder?

"Uncle Er, want a cigarette?"

Wang Qiang pulled out a pack and offered it to Wang Dasheng.

Though he wore a foolish grin and was polite, his eyes made Wang Dasheng feel uneasy—as if saying, "Don't be ungrateful."

"Peony cigarettes! These are good. Looks like your life in Beijing is going well."

Wang Dasheng took the cigarette, barely put it to his lips when Wang Qiang lit it with a click of his lighter.

"Hmm, a good lighter too."

Wang Dasheng praised it, then said: "I heard from your mother you beat your second brother. I came over right away to see—how could brothers have such a grudge?"

"Because he deserved it."

Wang Qiang's smile vanished. He spoke coldly: "I looked into it. My second brother hired a matchmaker to arrange a bride for me from Daliu Township—that girl had been sick as a child, her mind isn't right."

"Uncle Er, you know I've always been a fool. If I married another fool, what future would I have?"

"You're no fool—you're a late bloomer, Qiangzi! Hahaha! If what you say is true, your brother deserves a beating—I'll slap him twice myself."

Wang Dasheng laughed heartily, praising Wang Qiang, but inside he cursed Wang Yonggan and Fan Chunhua to hell.

How dare you bully such a simple man?

How could you think he was simple? He's in Beijing and still uncovered everything back home—what kind of ability is that? My Wang family's pillar!

From now on, I won't just flatter him—I won't treat him like an ordinary junior.

At family banquets, seats are arranged by seniority, but real status always depends on who has real power.

Wang Dasheng chatted amiably with Wang Qiang for a long time before leaving, visibly pleased.

Fan Chunhua hurried out after him, complaining: "Brother, why didn't you scold the third son? If you don't give him a lesson, he'll—"

"From now on, treat him with respect."

Wang Dasheng scolded Fan Chunhua: "You raised him for twenty years, and favored the others for twenty years. I'm telling you, Sixth Sister—your two sons together can't match your youngest son!"

"."

Fan Chunhua wandered back home, dazed, and saw Wang Qiang about to leave.

"Third son, where are you going? You haven't eaten yet! I've already made the scallion pancakes—I'll fry you some, hot and fresh."

"I won't eat, Mom. The Huang siblings are still at the guesthouse. Besides, today I'm taking them to the Private Secretary's home—I need to buy gifts. I can't show up empty-handed."

"Yes, yes! Wait for me—I'll go with you. Your Private Secretary loves the salted duck eggs from Old Jiang's in Nancheng."

Wang Qiang stopped and suddenly smiled: "Mom, do you still have money to buy duck eggs?"

"."

Fan Chunhua did have some cash left—but very little.

Every month, when Wang Qiang sent money home, her two sons and daughters-in-law swarmed her, their mouths sweeter than honey, making her feel like a wealthy landowner.

Wang Qiang smiled: "Don't worry, Mom. I've got money."

Huang Suwen arrived at the Li household and was received with great ceremony.

After chatting with her, Grandma Wu Juying turned to Fan Chunhua and said: "Sixth daughter-in-law, I've approved this bride. She's filial and reasonable. Don't worry."

Fan Chunhua smiled awkwardly: "If Auntie says she's good, she's good. Filial or not, I don't care—being reasonable is what matters most."

"Don't laugh at me, but last night Qiangzi got mad at me—I don't even know how to make up with him!"

Huang Suwen glanced at the awkward Fan Chunhua, then at the calm Wang Qiang, and smiled gently: "Auntie, don't mind it. A son never truly quarrels with his birth mother—it's just playful bickering. Sometimes I even argue with my own mother."

"Exactly, exactly," Fan Chunhua laughed. "Girl, you help me reason with Qiangzi—he's stubborn as an ox."

Huang Suwen quickly waved her hands: "Auntie, you're joking! My Bazi with Qiangzi haven't even aligned yet—how could I interfere in his affairs with you?"

"To be honest, even if I could interfere, it'd only be after Qiangzi and I get our marriage certificate. But by then—"

Huang Suwen paused, then smiled with narrowed eyes: "By then, I can take a little loss—but my husband won't suffer a single injustice. In any home, the man is the pillar. How could he ever take Weiqu?"

Fan Chunhua: "."

【My goodness, this is bad—I knew outsiders couldn't be trusted. This little brat is eight times more formidable than the third son.】

(End of Chapter)