Chapter 91: Where's My Golden Ring?

  "Yanlin, your mom is living with me now, so you don't need to bother mailing the money this month, just give it to me directly." Old Lady Qiu almost directly said that he should give her the money.

  She has been living in Qiu's house for more than two weeks and is extremely depressed, with a fire burning on her lips.

  During the day, the second couple is at work and not at home, so only this family of five is left. Although they are free to do as they please, in the morning and at noon, she still has to cook for Old Three's family.

  She originally thought that coming to Er'er's house, she wouldn't have to cook anymore, and Erxifu would definitely serve her. Sanjiaren's family could also join in for a meal, it was all good things, everyone was happy. Who knew that Erxifu was never at home, going out to work every day, she couldn't even catch a glimpse of her. She had complained to Er'er before, and Er'er said that if Qiaofeng didn't go to work, just his salary alone wouldn't be enough to feed so many mouths. Er'er also asked back, why Zhang Cuilan didn't cook, letting this old lady do it, she immediately shut up, could she say it was her fault? When Zhang Cuilan was at home, she would get aches and pains all over from doing chores, then Sanji would come to ask for money, saying his wife needed medical treatment. In the end, she had no choice but to cook for them herself. She couldn't understand Sanxifu, could she say anything to Er'er? So she was getting angry!

  What's more, she hasn't gone downstairs even once in all these days. She is not familiar with the place here and has no one to lead her around, so she doesn't dare go anywhere. She just stays at home, facing the complaints of Old Three and his family about having no money to spend every day, or else it's just the white walls on all sides, which makes her feel suffocated.

  Qiu's grandma is just an unsophisticated rural old lady, speaking a mouthful of Shandong dialect that northerners can only vaguely understand after much guessing. She herself doesn't dare to go out and play around, in short, she's timid, but when it comes to her son, she's still quite domineering. When outside, she becomes a pushover, a typical stay-at-home bully.

  "Mom, you live with me, eat and use what I provide for you. What else do you need money for? If there's anything you want to buy that's useful and we can afford it, I'll definitely get it for you, so you don't have to lift a finger." His wife had been giving him orders just the other day. Since his mother was living with them, they didn't need to give her an allowance anymore; if anyone should be giving her money, it should be his other brothers. Qiu's father himself thought he didn't need to give his mother cash anymore. Even if he did give her some, she wouldn't be able to spend it anyway - the several members of Old Three's household would snatch it away from her. It was better for his mother to just tell him what she wanted, and he'd go buy it for her. That way, at least she could get something out of it.

  Qiu's father is kind-hearted, but someone has to appreciate it too.

  Qiu's father sends money to Qiu's grandmother every month, but she can't save any of it. Her third son and his wife come to her place for meals every day, and from time to time they ask her for money to buy this and that. If they don't get the money, they won't leave her alone. She finally managed to save some money and bought train tickets for these people. Adding to that, during the recent family celebration, the child came to ask for money several times. Basically, it's all gone now.

  This morning, Old Three's wife came again to ask for money, wanting to buy some snacks for her family treasure. Knowing that she had no money, she said: "It's already mid-November, and Second Brother still hasn't given this month's money yet?"

  This reminded her that she hadn't given money to her second son this month yet.

  "I have hands and feet, no need for you to buy. Just give me the money." Old Lady Qiu looked impatient, not at all like she was begging for money, but rather like a debt collector.

  Qiu Baba still doesn't understand what's going on. It's not that Old Lady is short of money to spend, it's that Lao San and his family are short of money to spend.

  It's reasonable to say that as an elder brother, supporting his younger brother once or twice is not a big deal. However, he doesn't want to give him the money, saying that helping in times of urgency is one thing, but constantly relying on others is another. He thinks that if Third Brother's family has no money now, it's because they are too lazy themselves. If they were diligent people, they wouldn't be living like this. If he gives them the money this time, Third Brother's family will think they have hope and continue to be lazy, waiting for him to support them. Even if he doesn't want to, they can still persuade their biased mother to ask for money on their behalf. Therefore, Qiu Dad has decided that from now on, he cannot give them the money.

  "Mom, our old family doesn't have this rule. It's not that whoever takes care of the elderly doesn't need to spend money, it's just that other sons are supposed to give money for supporting the elderly. If you're short on money now, then ask third brother for some. If all else fails, write a letter to big brother back in our hometown."

  Qiu's grandmother did not expect her usually well-behaved son to suddenly argue with her and refuse to give her money.

  "That's not possible, your elder brother is at home and is being controlled by his wife, he doesn't have any money. And your third younger brother isn't working either, where would he get the money from? Among all of you brothers, your condition is the best, if you don't give it to her, who will? Besides, didn't you say that your wife is making tofu now? Is your family still lacking that bit of money?" Old Lady Qiu said rudely.

  Qiu's father did not expect that his family was still wrong, he should be like his third brother to ask his mother for money to spend the day, and the old lady would not miss her.

  "Mom, I'm saying the same thing, I don't have money. If you were living in our hometown or with my older brother and younger brother, I would borrow money if needed to send you the pension on time every month. But since you're living here now, I shouldn't be paying this amount of money. I also said that if mom really needs something, as long as it's useful and reasonable, I'll go buy it for you directly." Mr. Qiu finished speaking and left without caring about his mother's reaction, it seems he was going to ask someone again, even if it meant spending some extra money, he had already contacted the house for them and once he got a job, they could move out and live separately.

  Afterwards, Mrs. Qiu made another scene, but since none of Old Second's family was around to egg her on, she herself didn't find it interesting anymore. So after a while, she wiped away her tears, patted down her clothes and went back inside to rest. She still had to cook for Old Third's family later, so if she didn't take a break now, this day would be really unbearable for the old lady.

  Qiu's mother has been going home to sleep at night recently. Although she is still angry with the people who took over her house, after being comforted and consoled by her daughter and Zhao Shuyan every day, she feels much more calm.

  That day her tofu sold quickly, and she returned before 3 pm. After some thought, she still felt that it was better to go back home and show filial piety. Others were living in their own homes, and it wouldn't be right if she didn't return even once during the day. Besides, Old Qiu had said yesterday that he and Shi Da had already discussed it, and they had found a job for Old Three's family member. Old Qiu said it would only take two days, and then he would tell Old Three and his family to move out.

  So she decided to celebrate in advance and went home to cook a good meal.

  She had just opened the door and was changing her shoes at the entrance when she saw Lao San's youngest child, Jia Bao, hastily coming out of his room, not daring to look at her, and then rushing into Old Lady Qiu's room. She was puzzled, why did he have to sneak around like a thief?

  She changed her shoes and first greeted the old lady, looking at the closed door across from her, thinking that Old Three and his wife were still sleeping in the middle of the day. She shook her head and went to her own room to put away the bag with money, preparing to go to the kitchen to start making dinner. But as she glanced around, she saw that the door to her large closet was open a crack, and what's more, she saw a flash of red peeking out from the gap in the door, which looked very much like the red cloth she used to wrap valuable items.

  Qiu's mother immediately had a bad premonition, hastily opened the wardrobe, and saw that the red scarf she had hidden in the quilt was actually pulled out and spread on the top layer.

  She hastily took out her handkerchief to see if she had lost anything. Under the sunlight, everything wrapped in the handkerchief was clearly visible, and at a glance, she saw that the gold ring given by the young lady was gone.

  Qiu's mother was anxious, that thing is worth several hundred yuan. She thought of Qiujiabao's sneaky appearance just now, and it was probably him who took it.

  However, Qiu's mother thought a lot about it, involving theft, and since she was still a child, she had to be cautious. She also feared that she would wrongly accuse someone, in case she remembered the wrong place, and it would not be good to wrongly accuse the child.

  Qiu's mother started searching everywhere, in the places where she usually put things, and even in the big wardrobe. She pulled out all the quilts and searched through them one by one.

  At the time when Qiu's mother was busy with this, Qiu's father came back. He had been going to the family team every day these days, asking the leader of the household for a position to arrange his third brother in. Today he went down to do the final work and also to express gratitude. This job was done by Yansen, who not only pulled connections but also spent money, hoping that he would cherish it.

  Qiu's dad greeted his own mom and entered his room, only to see his wife rummaging through the closet, pulling out everything inside. He looked at her suspiciously and asked: "What are you doing?"

  Qiu's mother told Old Qiu what had just happened as soon as he came in.

  Qiu's father furrowed his brow and hesitated, saying: "You didn't make a mistake, did you? You wouldn't have put it somewhere and forgotten about it. Have you looked under the pillow or something?"

  "I'm just afraid of making a mistake, so after I found out when I came back, I started searching everywhere. I looked in all the usual places where things are put, even turning over the tea cups, but it was nowhere to be found." Mrs. Qiu also thought she might have forgotten, and didn't want to accuse the child of stealing, which would affect their reputation, and besides, she dreaded arguing with that unreasonable family.

  Qiu's father also started to help his daughter-in-law find it, and after re-searching the hidden places in the house again, he was certain that the gold ring was no longer in this room.

  He sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette, while Qiu Ma put away the things she had taken out, one by one, and checked them carefully again.

  "I'll go find your mom, this matter must be clarified." Qiu dad decided after smoking a cigarette.

  At this time, Qiu's mother hesitated and said: "Can this thing be spread out? Will it be bad for the child?" Qiu's mother softened her heart. If it was really that child who took it, let everyone know, how could he lift his head in the future?

  "It's all for the child's own good, this matter needs to be made clear. At such a young age, if he's not taught a lesson now, when he grows up, it will only get worse." Mr. Qiu is thinking ahead, as the child is still young and may not know what's right or wrong, but if adults let him go unchecked, he might stray from the right path in the future.