Chapter 100 Brother Xu Makes a Scene

Immediately afterward, Mr. Xu's face darkened. He glared at his eldest son and snapped, "What kind of look is that? It's like a copper bell! Do you dislike me and your mother, or do you have a problem with your brother?"

"If you have any complaints, just say so. Don't be so sarcastic. Nobody can read your mind and guess what you're thinking!"

Upon hearing his father's words, Brother Xu's anger erupted like a volcano, becoming uncontrollable.

His eyes widened, and he roared furiously, "Fine, since you want me to say it, then I'll say it!"

He took a deep breath and continued to complain indignantly, "My wife and I only eat a few decent meals at home all year round. We usually eat simple meals, and we don't even have any fancy dishes during holidays."

"And look at how you treat your brother, it's worlds apart! Every time he comes home, he's served big meals of fish and meat, or all sorts of delicacies laid out on the table."

Today was even more outrageous. He gave so many expensive gifts to others, didn't even eat lunch at their house, and then when he got home, he was fed plain noodles!

At this point, Brother Xu became even more agitated, and his voice unconsciously rose eight octaves: "And my child! He is still young, at the age when he should be growing, but he has never even tasted a single bite of white noodles."

"Even during the Lunar New Year, a time for family reunion and supposed to be filled with abundance, our family can't bear to eat a single meal of plain noodles!"

By this time, Xu's father was already so angry that his beard was bristling, his eyes were wide, and his whole body was trembling. He pointed at Xu's elder brother's nose and cursed loudly.

"You ungrateful wretch! You and your wife idle away your days, cheating and shirking your duties, earning pitifully few work points. It's only thanks to your mother and me working ourselves to the bone that we can barely support you!"

"If it weren't for your younger brother living frugally in another province and sending back those meager allowances every month to help support the family, we would probably be starving by now!"

"Now that he's finally come home, what's wrong with him eating a bowl of plain noodles? Is that too much to ask?"

Faced with his father's reprimand, Brother Xu blushed with embarrassment, but he still stubbornly argued back.

"Hmph! I'm the eldest son in the family. If I hadn't been worried about you two, I would have gone out to make a name for myself long ago. Maybe I'd be the company commander now, not my younger brother!"

"Oh, so that's why you've been getting increasingly annoyed with us lately. You've been acting all irrational, so that's what it's about!"

Mr. Xu was so angry that his whole body trembled, but he still suppressed his anger and insisted on continuing to speak: "Back then, it was clearly your own fault for failing the physical examination for enlistment, so naturally the army wouldn't accept you."

"We decided to let your brother give it a try because we didn't want to waste such an opportunity. You only have yourself to blame; you were already out of the running from the start. There's no such thing as someone taking what was rightfully yours!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Xu Wenhua, who was standing to the side, quickly stepped forward and gently patted his father's back with both hands, trying to help him catch his breath.

Xu's mother was busy preparing lunch for Xu Wenhua in the kitchen when she suddenly heard a loud argument coming from the living room. Startled, she quickly put down what she was doing and rushed out of the kitchen.

When she saw that Xu's father was trembling with anger, she panicked instantly.

"Old man, please don't scare me!" Mrs. Xu cried out in a panic, reaching out to support Mr. Xu's swaying body.

Mr. Xu suddenly pushed away Mrs. Xu's outstretched hand and said loudly, "I'm fine! Over the years, we have always been considerate of their reputation and have been tolerant and forgiving towards them in every way."

"But I never expected them to be so ungrateful. They still think that we owe them something and that we've made them suffer. So we'll split up the family," Father Xu said quietly, looking at his eldest brother.

"Dad! Please don't separate the family! My husband is just a straightforward person, he speaks without thinking, and he doesn't mean what he says!"

Seeing things develop to this point, Sister-in-law Xu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and hurriedly stepped forward to plead for mercy.

Xu's father sat steadily in the chair, his expression relatively calm, but his tone was unusually firm: "Old woman, go and invite the village chief and the brigade leader here. Let's divide this family first, and then we'll separate Wenhua after she gets married."

Standing to the side, Mrs. Xu's face was full of hesitation and reluctance. She asked softly, "Old man, is it really necessary to separate the family? Isn't it better for the family to stay together and have a lively time?"

However, Mr. Xu remained unmoved. He glared fiercely at his elder brother's family and said indignantly.

"Hmph! Since they think we've taken advantage of their family, let them go live separately. That way, no one can take advantage of anyone else!"

Brother Xu was filled with remorse, but since things had come to this point, he couldn't bring himself to beg his father for forgiveness.

Left with no other choice, Xu's mother wiped away her tears and headed towards the brigade leader's house.

Along the way, she became more and more heartbroken, tears welling up in her eyes. By the time she arrived at the brigade leader's house, her eyes were already red from crying.

Xu's mother raised her hand and gently knocked on the door. At that moment, the brigade leader was fast asleep on the kang (a heated brick bed) when he was suddenly awakened by the knocking.

Hearing the commotion, the brigade leader's wife got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and said to the brigade leader, "You go back to sleep. I'll go see who's here and what they want." With that, she quickly walked towards the door.

As the gate slowly opened, the brigade leader's wife immediately saw Xu's mother standing outside with tears in her eyes, and was momentarily stunned.

"Sister-in-law, what brings you here? Is something the matter? Oh dear, why are your eyes red? Is something wrong? Tell me about it."

The brigade leader's wife greeted her with concern, took Xu's mother's hand, and asked anxiously.

With her head down, Xu's mother rubbed her reddened eyes and said softly, "Is the brigade leader here? I need to go to my house to talk to him about something!" Her voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of a sob that was barely perceptible.

"Yes, yes, sister-in-law, don't worry, I'll go in and call him out for you. Please wait here for a while."

The brigade leader's wife quickly agreed, then turned and ran into the house, her eyes full of worry, after all, the two families had a decent relationship.