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Chater 699
Chater 699
Chater 699
Chapter 699 One Shouldn’t Be Too Selfless
The old lady believed that once her children graduated and started working, they would finally have an easy life and enjoy their blessings. Little did she know that things would take a different turn after her children entered the workforce.
“My eldest son failed to pass the civil service exam. He blamed the lack of connections in our family and insisted on using personal connections during the second attempt. His father even gave him a sum of 100,000…
However, despite spending that amount of money, all he managed to secure was a position at the rural grassroots level. Eventually, he quit and returned home, complaining about the low pay and the hardships of staying in the countryside for an indefinite period, with no hope in sight.
“When my second son got married, the bride’s family insisted that he should come to their house for the wedding. We thought it would be tough for a young man like him, to face hardships and be looked down upon. We disagreed, but he refused to break up with her and insisted on buying a house. Without buying a house, there would be no marriage.
“Eventually, we did buy a house for my second son. After all, it was their custom for the parents to buy a house for the son’s marriage, and many families followed this tradition.”
“Unfortunately, just two years after the marriage, my second son got divorced, and the house went to his ex-wife.”
Later, when he remarried, he once agam had to follow the custom of going to the bride’s house. They had no choice but to agree, giving him money, and with the help of his father-in-law, he managed to secure a house of his own.
Lilly interjected, “Well, it seems like you have a lot of money.
Observing the old lady’s dying process, she had assumed they were financially struggling. Little did she know that they could afford to give their eldest son 100,000 for personal connections and buy a house for their second son. In the end, each of the children also received their share of the family property.
“What about your daughter and youngest son?” Josh asked.
The old lady sighed, “When we gave 100,000 to our eldest son for personal connections, our daughter refused us to do that. When we bought a house for our second son, she didn’t want us to do that either. She kept saying too much and became angry, and then both of my sons turned against her, accusing her, a girl, of fighting for a share of the family property.”
This sparked a heated argument among the siblings. The daughter felt it was unfair and that she had done so much without receiving anything, while the sons wished to claim the entirety of the family assets.
Lilly nodded, “It’s a complicated situation!”
Based on what she had heard, the sons always found excuses to avoid work and focused on studying. The daughter harbored resentment in her heart but still helped her parents with their chores.
She probably thought her brothers were unreliable.
The old lady’s face turned bitter, “We never favored boys over girls. In those days, people believed that education was useless for girls. But we clenched our teeth and sent her to high school. When she didn’t pass the college entrance exam, we paid for her to attend a vocational college…
“When she got married, we gave her a dowry of 100,000. The bride’s family also gave her a dowry of 100,000, and we returned it all to her…”
After her daughter got married, the land in the village was divided equally-half for her and half for the youngest son.
Yet the daughter still felt a sense of injustice, claiming her parents hadn’t done anything for her, only favoring her brothers.
“When my youngest son was a child, he was fond of playing, but after he dropped out of middle school, he became idle and shirked responsibilities at our family shop, complaining about the hardships…”
“Eventually, he fell for a girl and got married in the village. Since then, he has been blarning us for neglecting him during his childhood. Both of his brothers grew up in the city, while he was the only one left in the countryside.”
No matter how much they provided for their children, the more they gave, the more they felt it was unjust.
Tears welled up in the old lady’s eyes as she lamented, “We helped this one, and that one became upset. We helped that one, and this one grew angry. We gave them everything, and yet now they disdain me in my old age.
At times, she didn’t know where she went wrong.
She loved and cared for each of her children and provided them with everything within her means.
They divided the family’s estate and the rural land equally among them. She cooked for them, did their laundry, cleaned their rooms, picked them up from school, carried their backpacks, and brought their dirty clothes home to wash and neatly fold before returning them.
After they started working, she sympathized with their hardships and washed their dirty shoes and socks when they returned home….
Yet, in the end, when she stood at her eldest son’s doorstep, calling out to him all night long, he pretended not to hear.
A bitter expression washed over the old lady’s face. “Little one, do you think I have done something wrong?
Lilly shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again.
In truth, she wasn’t sure either.
She believed that mistreatment by parents would lead to resentment from their children. But she never imagined that being good to them would also give rise to resentment…
Lilly silently pondered for a long while before saying, “Maybe… when your child is that kind of person, no matter what you do, it always ends up the same way…”
Josh nodded. “Some people complain even when surrounded by blessings, while others express gratitude amidst hardships. It’s about the individual.”
Finally, Max chimed in, “Just focus on your next life…”
Children may not understand and believe that selfless sacrifice is always right, but the reality is that one
In this example, the old lady was excessively selfless, going as far as bringing her children’s dirty laundry home when they lived at school.
To be brutally honest, she had fostered their selfishness.
Lilly shook her head. “Enough, enough. Let’s focus on the next life-”
She burned more paper money, wishing for the old lady to face fewer hardships on her journey.
After all, she was just a child. What could a child do? Burning paper money was enough-
Lilly scattered the paper money and threw some into the brazier.
She lit three incense sticks and placed them in a bowl of white rice.
Smoke filled the room.
The smoke detector started beeping.
Soon enough, the smoke detector sprayed water, soaking the room. Lilly quickly grabbed the brazier and
Josh picked up the wet bowl of rice.
Max grabbed the chicken.
Just as the fading spirit of the old lady was about to disappear, her expression changed, and she hastily drifted outside. “What’s happening? What’s happening?
Lilly stopped at the doorway, innocently gazing at the room while holding the brazier.
“Sorry, Uncle Max. I accidentally set your room on fire!”
Max remained silent.
Well, the fire didn’t ignite… but it triggered the smoke detector, which sprayed water and soaked the sheets and blankets in the room.
Drake, who always distanced himself from trouble, was drenched like a drowned rat.
Zachary, clutching his notebook, didn’t mind getting wet himself, but his notebook had to stay dry.
Hannah…? Hannah wasn’t there. Her biological father had locked her up to do her homework.
The almost-fading spirit of the old lady looked at the group of children exchanging glances and suddenly burst into laughter.
She waved at Lilly, disappearing completely.
Bettany hurried upstairs, panicking. “What happened?”
Seeing Lilly holding the brazier, she quickly said, “Put the brazier down, be careful not to burn yourself!”
Lilly held two talismans in her hand, using them as heat-insulating pads under the brazier to avoid getting
burned.
But she obediently put down the brazier and said, “Granny, I don’t know what happened. The smoke detector suddenly sprayed water!”
Her hair still dripped with water droplets, and her innocent little face couldn’t be any more innocent. The older and younger children also looked extremely innocent, standing in a row…
Bettany was speechless.
Polly rushed out of another room, squawking, “What!! Flooding?!”
However, she flew too fast and couldn’t stop in time, crashing into the brazier Lilly was holding….
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