Time ticked by.
No one responded.
Hua Qingqing, with red - rimmed eyes, confronted Grandma Fang.
"Tell me!"
Tell what?
You've said it all. What else can I say?
Grandma Fang was both scared and angry. "Which family doesn't raise their kids like this? Your parents left you with us. Do you think you're some rich young lady who needs to be served? Which kid in the brigade doesn't start working two years after birth!"
"I'm being nice not to just throw you away!"
Feng Xiang's face changed drastically. She quickly stepped forward and tugged at Grandma Fang.
Oh dear, saying such things was just giving others an excuse!
Hua Qingqing interrupted Feng Xiang before she could speak. She choked back her sobs. "Grandma, you admit that you've treated me differently, don't you? Just because I'm not your biological grandchild, you've treated me like a servant. Have you been abusing me with the money my parents sent?"
From the very beginning, the whispers around them shifted their target.
Grandma Fang knew she had said the wrong thing. It took her a long time to stammer out a response.
"I raised you. I can do whatever I want. What you said in the newspaper is ungrateful. People like you don't deserve to study at No. 1 High School. Pack your things and come back with us right away!"
"..."
How could this old woman be so shameless?
Everyone already knew her true colors, yet she still had the nerve to make such an excessive request.
However.
No one had expected that Hua Qingqing had had such a tough life before. Even less did they expect that she had only studied for two years and yet reached senior year. She was a genius!
Chen Mengshu, who had a fiery temper, couldn't hold back anymore and shouted.
"Old lady, have you no shame? Qingqing didn't lie in the newspaper. Why should she listen to you and go back with you?!"
"You made her work when she was so young. You even stole the money from her parents and abused the child. Aren't you afraid of going to hell after you die?!"
Superstition was being strictly cracked down on nowadays.
But people of Grandma Fang's age, who had received little scientific and cultural education, firmly believed in such things.
Grandma Fang nervously looked towards the place where her eldest grandson had been standing in the crowd. But when she looked, there was no one there.
Yu Linsen had run away right after Hua Qingqing finished speaking.
Grandma Fang realized something was wrong. She grabbed Feng Xiang's hand and was about to leave when Hua Qingqing shouted.
"Wait!"
"We haven't finished talking. Where do you think you're going? You come to the school and cause a ruckus, ruining my reputation, and now you just want to leave like this?"
Hua Qingqing turned to the principal who was hurrying over and shouted, "Principal, I'd like you to be a witness. My grandma's family came to the school just because I told the truth in the newspaper. They tried to frame me, ruin my reputation, and even intended to make me leave No. 1 High School! I don't know what their intentions are. We're supposed to be family, but they seem to want to destroy me. I won't pursue the matter of them taking my living expenses for the past thirteen years, but I can't stand it anymore!"
"Since that's the case, I'll separate myself from the Yu family. I have my own parents. Even if they don't want me, I can live on my own! I want to go to college. I have a bright future. I don't want to waste my time and opportunities anymore!"
On that day, Hua Qingqing directly moved her household register out.
She then brought her teacher to the Wuxing Production Brigade to move the things she had left at the Yu family's place to her rented room. When she was leaving, the people in the brigade saw her.
They surrounded her and asked what she was doing.
Hua Qingqing said that she was leaving the Yu family and the Wuxing Production Brigade. She calmly told them what had happened at the gate of No. 1 High School that day.
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Dongsheng cursed. "That's nonsense! Why do they have to torture the child like this?"
"Qingqing, don't be afraid. I'll go talk to them later. It's good that you're going to school. Study hard. Uncle Lin won't let them hold you back!"
Hua Qingqing had saved his child's life.
Such a small favor was something he was willing to do. Moreover, the Yu family had really gone too far.
Qingqing was such a good child. She had good grades and a good character. She was clearly going to achieve great things in the future.
But the Yu family was so ungrateful. At the last moment, they even wanted to pull the child down!
Unlike Lin Dongsheng, who was indignant, many people in the brigade were just watching the show.
Originally, they wanted to watch Hua Qingqing's show. Now, they wanted to watch the Yu family's show.
Grandma Fang had always been so imposing.
She always boasted about her son - in - law and eldest son.
Now, her daughter was divorced, she no longer had a son - in - law from the city, and her eldest son's job at the brick factory was unstable. He might be fired at any time.
Now, her granddaughter, who was the top student in Nan County, had also been slandered and driven away by her.
Now Grandma Fang had no chance to be proud anymore.
...
Grandma Fang and Feng Xiang rushed back to the brigade.
Seeing the neighbors on the roadside whispering and smirking, Grandma Fang couldn't stand it anymore.
She shouted at them, "What are you looking at?!"
Those people pursed their lips and stared at her.
"If you weren't looking at us, how would you know we were looking at you?"
"This is what we call being self - absorbed."
"Oh, amazing! You can say such a cultured word even though you haven't been to school."
"Hey, we all learned it from the show at the Dongxing Factory's evening party. I even learned the phrase 'shameless'. Am I right?"
Grandma Fang was confused. She vaguely felt that these people were making fun of her. She grabbed her walking stick and was about to rush up and hit them, but Feng Xiang pulled her back home.
Feng Xiang was not happy. "Mom, there are so many of them and only two of us. If we really fight, we'll be beaten up. You should know when to lose your temper!"
She was already in a bad mood because things hadn't gone well today. Now she still had to take care of the old lady. She just couldn't get over it. She wished she could fly home and sit down properly right now.
Grandma Fang glared at Feng Xiang and said unhappily, "How can you talk like that?!"
Feng Xiang shut up.
Yu Jianhai came back with some packed meals from the factory canteen.
Although their factory wasn't very big, it had all the necessary facilities. The food in the canteen was especially good. There was meat almost every day.
If an employee wanted to pack the food to take home, they could go to the kitchen in advance to make a request and then pay for it. The price was reasonable, and no food stamps were needed.
Seeing so many delicious dishes, Yu Jianhai simply took an old lunch box to fill it with rice and planned to take it home for his wife and children. After all, his wife and children didn't have enough to eat at home every day, and the food didn't taste good.
He had learned his lesson. He would never let the others in the family know about good things, especially the old lady. Otherwise, he would either be scolded or left with nothing.
As soon as he entered the house, before Yu Jianhai could catch his breath, his wife dragged him aside.
"Your mom is so cruel!"
"What happened?"
Yu Jianhai took out an aluminum lunch box from his clothes. As soon as he heard this, he immediately realized that his mom must have done something.
Sure enough.
After hearing what his wife said.
Yu Jianhai threw the lunch box on the table and turned to look for Grandma Fang.
Wan Yindi quickly picked up the lunch box, feeling heart - broken. She complained at the back of Yu Jianhai's figure at the door, "Why did you throw it so hard?!"