Chapter 48 Dad, I'm back! I'm not going to study anymore...

Chapter 48 Dad, I'm back! I'm not going to study anymore...

Old Ding stared at the approaching face. The vicious words escaping Du Min's mouth, the mockery in his eyes, and the sarcastic smile on his face all revealed a son's provocation of a father. He was so angry that his face twisted, and the rage in his heart almost made him lose his mind. His trembling arm subconsciously rose up and slapped heavily against that hateful face.

"Are you addicted to hitting me?" Du Min quickly blocked the slap, the force of the thick palm landing on his forearm, his hand bones aching. He didn't dare to imagine how many days it would take for the slap mark to fade if it had landed on his face.

"You unfilial son! Did I give birth to you and raise you just so you would go against me?" Old Ding roared, grabbing Du Min's collar and pulling him forcefully, angrily rebuking him, "If I had known you were like this, I shouldn't have sent you to school!"

Du Min was heartbroken. He sneered, "See, I was right. You have children just to make them obey you."

"For children, filial piety is an instinct ingrained in their bones." Old Ding shoved him away, not understanding Du Min's emotions, and demanded hoarsely, "What have I done to wrong you as your father? What do I do that doesn't deserve your filial piety?"

“I am a human being, just like you. You have your thoughts, and I have mine. I can’t possibly listen to you completely, and I can’t fulfill the filial piety you demand.” Du Min tugged at his crumpled collar, puzzled. “You’re a father, but before you became a father, you were a son. When you were a son, could you fulfill the filial piety you’re demanding of me?”

Du Laoding was stunned.

"Have you ever been slapped by your father after you grew up? How many fathers have you seen beat their 10- or 20-year-old sons like they're beating dogs?" Du Min also questioned loudly, defiantly saying, "If you want me to be at your mercy, you'd better see if you're someone who can guide me."

"In the end, it's because you look down on me. You've read a few books and you think you can look down on me? I'm your father, I gave birth to you and raised you, so you should listen to me." Old Ding was enraged. He stared intently at his son, who was now unrecognizable, determined to straighten him out and make him understand who the father and son were.

Du Min was in despair. He truly understood what it meant to talk to a brick wall. He had said so much, but his father hadn't listened to a single word.

He turned and left, no longer wasting his breath.

"Stop right there! I'm not kidding. If you don't change your ways, I'll make sure you can't take the provincial examination," Old Ding threatened.

Du Min paused, turned around, and saw the hideous old man transformed into a fat leech, clamoring to suck his blood dry.

"Stop right there!" Seeing Du Min turn away without a word, Du Laoding chased after him and threatened, "You're expelled from school. From today onwards, you don't need to study anymore."

Du Min replied with a simple "Okay" without turning his head.

Old Du was stunned.

Avoiding the distant laughter and chatter, Du Min took a detour away from Sangtian, leaving without saying goodbye to the Meng family.

A sense of panic rose in Du Laoding's heart, and he chased after him.

The Meng family had picked all the dates off the twelve date trees, but the father and son still hadn't come over. The father said, "Son-in-law, go and find your father and your third brother. They should have finished talking by now. It's noon, time to go back."

Du Li searched around but couldn't find anyone. However, he heard geese honking loudly in the mulberry fields to the south. The honking was familiar to him; they were trying to scare people away. He walked out of the mulberry fields, stood at the edge, and looked south. He immediately saw two people crossing the bridge one after the other.

"He's a complete scoundrel!" Du Li cursed angrily. This was a slap in the face! They left his in-laws here without a word and just walked away, treating him like family at all.

"Brother-in-law? Where did you go? How come you lost yourself while looking for someone?" Meng Chun shouted.

Du Li took a few deep breaths, turned back, and truthfully confessed with a blank face: "My father and my third brother have already gone back. There's no need to look anymore. We'll go back too."

A look of embarrassment appeared on the faces of Meng's parents.

“Dad, Mom, next time you come, just come to my place. Don’t worry about their feelings. You’re worried that if you come and don’t come to our house for a meal, the villagers will laugh at them, but those kinds of people are ungrateful and don’t appreciate our hospitality. You don’t need to be polite to them,” Du Li said earnestly.

Meng's father nodded, but in his heart he thought he would never come again. What kind of people were those two old devils from the Du family? They were unreasonable and knew nothing of etiquette. And Du Min, a scholar at least, didn't even know how to treat guests. What kind of people were they?

However, as the Meng family left Sangtian, they encountered Du Min, who had turned back. He was alone, and his face was extremely pale. He forced himself to apologize: "Uncle Meng, Aunt Pan, I'm sorry, I had a fight with my father and didn't want to spoil your enjoyment, so I left first. I didn't expect my father to leave without saying goodbye."

When Meng's father took back his words, his expression softened slightly, and he said, "When you're angry, you can't think of anything else. I can understand."

Du Min said nothing more and walked to the side without uttering a sound.

Seeing his appearance, the Meng family felt embarrassed to continue joking. The group quickly returned to Dujiawan and entered the Du family home, where they saw Old Ding Du standing in the courtyard with a dark face.

"The boat is still waiting at the ferry dock, let's go back," Meng Chun said angrily.

"The food is ready, eat before you leave." Du Li tried to persuade him to stay, but then questioned, "Dad, what's wrong with you? You left without even saying goodbye. How can you be like this? You're already in your forties, have you lived in vain? Even a seven or eight-year-old knows how to treat guests."

Old Du was once again contradicted by one of his sons, and he was so angry that his chest felt like it was going to explode. He wished he could lock up these two wretches and beat them to death.

Meng Qing was startled by the resentment in the old man's eyes. She had never seen him so angry when she had schemed to get money from the old couple to hold a full-month celebration for Wangzhou. She wondered what Du Min had argued with him about.

"Never mind, it's normal for people to forget things when they're angry," Meng's father said, trying to smooth things over. He didn't want his son-in-law to get slapped after they left.

Old Ding nodded slowly and apologized in a gruff voice: "I was dizzy and forgot about the important matter. I remembered that I had guests halfway there, so I sent Du Min to turn back and tell them for me."

Du Min gave a mocking laugh.

Old Du ignored him and raised his hand, saying, "In-law, please come inside. The food is all ready."

The meal was quite lavish, with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, but the atmosphere at the table was strange. Old Du held his chopsticks but didn't pick up any food, Du's mother had a long face and didn't say a word, and Du Min also seemed absent-minded. Du Ming's family of three didn't care about anything and ate with their mouths full of oil.

Seeing Du Ming's eating habits, Meng's parents lost their appetite.

Du Li felt embarrassed and secretly resolved never to bring guests home again.

“Let’s go back.” Meng Chun spoke again after receiving a look from his father.

Mr. Meng nodded, stood up and said, "My dear in-law, we have things to attend to back home, so we'll be leaving now."

Du Laoding nodded without saying a word, his gaze following Du Mindong.

"Brother, sister-in-law, pack up Jinshu and Qiaomei's things today. I'll come back to stay tomorrow. I'm not going to study anymore," Du Min said calmly, uttering words that shocked everyone.

Everyone present changed their expressions and turned to look at him.

"You're not going to school anymore?" Du Li exclaimed in shock. "What nonsense are you talking about? Why are you suddenly not studying?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to study anymore. I'm going to withdraw from school today and I'll pack my bags and come back tomorrow." Du Min didn't explain. Ignoring the uproar he caused in the room, he took the lead and walked out.

"Dad, what did you say to the third son?" Du Li pointed the finger at Du Laoding, "He was perfectly fine when he came back from the city..."

"Alright, shut up. If he doesn't want to study, he doesn't want to study. Let him come back to farming." Old Ding Du scoffed. He didn't believe Du Min could pull off dropping out of school. Who was he trying to scare?

“My dear in-law, please don’t be angry with the child. Once Du Min drops out of school, he won’t be able to go to school anymore,” Meng’s father advised.

“This is our family matter,” Old Ding Du retorted firmly.

Mencius' father choked.

"Go away, go away, it's none of our business, let them do whatever they want." Meng's mother was angry, and she shouted: "You shallow old hag, if you've had enough of living, jumping into the river and drowning is a good thing, living is a sin, driving your children to become inhuman."

Old Du remained unmoved. He carefully observed the reactions of the Meng family, especially Meng Qing's. She looked puzzled but not worried. If Du Min hadn't told her something, she wouldn't have believed that Du Min could drop out of school.

"Old man, what did you say to the third son? Why is he not going to study anymore?" Mrs. Du was getting agitated.

Du Laoding found her foolish and said in annoyance, "Mind your own business."

Seeing him like this, Du Li ran out to chase after Du Min, and the rest of the Meng family followed. Meng Chun went out and then remembered that he had forgotten to bring the dates, so he ran back and brought a big bucket of dates.

A group of people were still gathered at the village entrance, chatting away. When they saw Du Min leading the way, they all asked, "Du Min, leaving so early? You've only been back for a short while! Don't your parents miss you? Didn't they want to talk to you?"

Du Min smiled and replied simply, "I'll be back tomorrow."

When Du Li caught up and heard this, his heart skipped a beat. "Are you serious?"

Du Min ignored him and went straight to the ferry, boarding the boat first.

"Are you really coming back tomorrow?" Du Li asked from the shore. He thought carefully and asked again, "You're really not going to study anymore? You're kidding, right? What did your father say to you?"

"Second Brother, don't worry about this. Just continue doing what you're supposed to be doing," Du Min replied tactfully.

At this moment, the Meng family of four arrived. In front of the others, Meng Qing didn't ask many questions, only asking simply, "How long will you be back?"

Du Min glanced at her but did not answer.

Meng Qing looked at Du Li and instructed, "If my third brother comes back, I have no reason to stay in the city anymore. Go into the city early to sell eels and pick me and the child up on the way."

Seeing that she was not flustered at all, Du Li calmed down and said, "Okay, I'll take the bedding out to air it in the next couple of days."

"Boatman, let's go," Du Min instructed.

As the boat left the ferry dock, Meng Chun leaned close to Meng Qing and asked, "Sister, are you really coming back? What will happen to the shop if you leave?"

"You guys handle it." Meng Qing gently patted Wang Zhou to keep him from waking up. She whispered, "Little brother, the paper horse shop will be yours from now on. I'll be leaving sooner or later, so don't rely on me. You'll have to take care of it yourself. I'll teach you how to make every paper funerary object. You know the process, and your parents will help you. It's not that difficult. Don't be afraid."

Meng Chun said with a mournful face, "I want to drown myself."

Upon hearing this, Du Min stared at him in surprise.

"Brother Du, are you really going to drop out of school?" Meng Chun couldn't help but ask.

Du Min pretended not to hear and looked away.

They remained silent for the rest of the journey. Before sunset, the boat arrived at the Wumen Ferry. The Meng family disembarked, while Du Min continued his journey by boat to the prefectural school.

"Second sister-in-law, you don't need to go back. No one at home will care whether you're in the city or the countryside." Du Min said before setting sail.

Meng Chun stared at Meng Qing with hopeful eyes, but Meng Qing smiled and waved her hand, "I want to go back and watch the excitement."

Meng's mother slapped her, "You always join in on every little thing. The Du family is so filthy, it hurts my eyes just looking at those faces."

"If you want to see the excitement, let your son-in-law tell you. You should take Wangzhou back with you when you go back. We can't bear to part with him; he hasn't left our sight since his full moon celebration." Meng's father also advised Meng Qing not to go back.

But Meng Qing had made up her mind and wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.

*

"This student has learned his lesson from the prefecture."

Du Min paid the fare and disembarked. After walking a few steps, he turned back and called to the boatman, "Come pick me up at dawn tomorrow and take me back to Dujiawan. I'll pay you fifty coins for the fare. Will you take this job?"

“Okay.” The boatman readily agreed. Although he had to leave before dawn, carrying one person meant the boat was practically empty, so rowing it wouldn’t be hard work, and with a high price of fifty coins, it was worth the trip.

The first thing Du Min did upon entering the prefectural school was to find Dr. Xu.

Dr. Xu was reviewing Du Min's past assignments when his page told him that Du Min had arrived. Without looking up, he said, "Let him in. I was just looking for him."

"Dr. Xu, my father is ill, and I need to go back to take care of him. I need to ask for a period of leave." Du Min skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point as he entered.

Dr. Xu looked up. "Going home to care for your ailing father? Is he seriously ill?"

“His illness isn’t serious, it’s just been going on for a long time. I’m worried that if others don’t take good care of him, it will leave him with chronic conditions that could affect his lifespan,” Du Min explained fluently.

Dr. Xu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he didn't die, that was fine. If Du Min's father had died, Du Min would have to observe mourning, and he wouldn't be able to take the imperial examinations for three years due to the mourning period. Chen Yuanwai's plan would have fallen through.

"In this situation, your children need to take good care of you. How long will you need to take leave?" Dr. Xu asked.

"It can take anywhere from half a month to a month."

"Granted." Dr. Xu readily agreed. He got up and took two books from the bookshelf, saying, "These two are Shangguan Yi's court poems. Take them back and study them. Don't fall behind in your studies while taking care of the sick at home."

Du Min noticed that Dr. Xu's attitude towards him had changed drastically. He couldn't figure out why for a moment, but it was to his advantage. He thanked him gratefully and said, "Student thanks you for your guidance, teacher. I will study it carefully."

He accepted the book with reverence, bowed, and left Dr. Xu's study.

Back in the back room, Du Min closed the door and eagerly flipped through the books he had just received. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Dr. Xu had annotated both of the poetry books.

He was so engrossed in reading that he didn't come to his senses until it got dark and the room was too dark to see the words. After thinking for a moment, he didn't go to eat, but lit a candle and continued reading, completely absorbed in his book.

A rooster crowed from a distant house, and another candle went out; the night was about to end.

Du Min put down his book, opened the door and went outside. The night was deep and the stars were fading. He walked outside for a while, shrouded in darkness, until his stiff body relaxed. Then he went back inside, lit another candle, and began to pack his things.

With a bedding set, a blanket, two boxes of clothes for all four seasons, and a box of discarded books with smudged writing, Du Min walked around the room and decided that these were enough to take back with him.

He rolled up his clothes in the bedding, packed his books in a book box, carried them on his front and back, and left the back house under the thin darkness of night.

The gatekeeper was woken up by the noise. He opened the door and saw Du Min looking like he was about to pack up and leave. He couldn't help but ask, "Student Du, have you dropped out of school?"

"Yes." Du Min deliberately misled the gatekeeper to prevent his family from asking questions.

He walked out of the prefectural school, where a boat was already waiting at the ferry.

At the beginning of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the boat departed from Wumen.

At the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the boat carrying Du Min arrived at Dujiawan.

"Boatman, thank you for your trouble." Du Min took out fifty coins and handed them over. He picked up his bedding roll and threw it ashore. Finally, he smoothed his disheveled hair, carried his book box, and disembarked.

The women washing clothes at the ferry were stunned by him. In just one night, Du Min was completely different from the day before. He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but they were wrinkled like pickled vegetables, his hair was messy, and he looked dejected, as if he hadn't slept all night.

"Third nephew, what happened to you? Why did you bring your bedding back? Are you not going to study anymore?" Aunt Du asked as she walked over, carrying a wooden mallet.

Du Min grunted in response, silently shouldered his bedding roll, and left step by step under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Just like yesterday, a group of men gathered at the village entrance, chatting idly. As soon as Du Min appeared, everyone turned to look at him.

"Boss Du, your golden phoenix is ​​back," someone said.

Du Ming was in a panic. Had Du Minzhen really returned carrying his bedding?

As Du Min approached, someone noticed something was wrong. Du Min looked like he had lost his mind, not like someone who had come back to change his bedding.

"Du Min, why are you back again?" the village chief asked as he walked over.

Du Min didn't say a word; he turned his face away and left quickly.

"Boss Du, what's going on?"

"Your precious daughter got expelled from the state-run school?"

"Du Min has stopped studying?"

"..."

Du Ming couldn't answer, so he fled in panic.

"Let's go, let's go see what's going on," the village chief called out.

Du Ming caught up with Du Min, "Third brother, what are you doing? Are you really not going to study anymore?"

“Didn’t you see it?” Du Min asked.

Du Ming was both anxious and angry. He slapped his thigh in anger, "The family has supported your education for more than ten years, and all the money has been spent. We were finally seeing hope, and now you're saying you don't want to continue your studies?"

Du Min's face turned cold, and he fell silent.

Du Ming punched him, and he ran back quickly. "Dad, Mom, the third brother is back. He brought back all his bedding rolls, and I think he brought back all his books too."

As Du's mother was scooping water, upon hearing this, the water ladle in her hand fell to the ground, and the gourd ladle shattered into pieces instantly.

Old Du Ding walked out of the cowshed, his bedding roll covering his head, but he recognized him at a glance. He could clearly see Du Min approaching him step by step, and he could hear the rapid heartbeat in his chest, so loud that it made him deaf.

"Father, I'm back. I'm not going to study anymore." Du Min threw his bedding roll on the ground. "Now you can rest assured. I won't harm your sons and grandsons anymore."

Du's mother screamed and threw herself at Du Min, pounding her fists. "What are you doing? Do you know what you're doing? I've raised you for over ten years, and this is how you repay me?"

Du Min was beaten so badly he couldn't stand, but he felt extremely pleased; no one could threaten him now.

"You really dropped out of school? I don't believe it." Mr. Du almost vomited blood.

"Isn't this what you wanted? Believe it or not, it's up to you." Du Min laughed disdainfully.

"Get out of here! Get back to the prefectural school!" Madam Du pushed him frantically. "Get out of here! You're not allowed to come back!"

Du Min let her push him, and casually said, "It's too late. If you had said that yesterday, I wouldn't have dropped out of school."

"Alright, quiet down for a bit." The village chief stepped in to calm things down. "Du Min, tell Eighth Master, you really dropped out of school?"

Du Min unloaded the box of books and said, "How can you believe what I'm saying? I can burn this box of books."

Du Ming quickly snatched the box of books away.

"What happened? You were fine when you came back yesterday," the village chief asked.

"He was acting strangely when he left in the afternoon," someone interjected.

The village chief looked at Du Laoding and asked, "Laoding, what did you say to Du Min?"

Old Ding remained silent, his face ashen. He still couldn't believe that Du Min would drop out of school. Du Min had previously been willing to risk his life rather than leave the prefectural school, so how could he possibly drop out just because of a few words from him?

"Uncle Ba, don't mind him, he's probably on leave," said Du Laoding.

Upon hearing this, the village chief realized that the root of the problem lay with Du Laoding. He reprimanded him with a dark face: "Du Min is very promising. He has never caused his parents any worry since he was a child. He has studied all the way through his own efforts. You are blessed to have such a son. You do not cherish your blessings and treat him harshly. You are truly blinded by greed and senile."

Du Laoding bowed his head and accepted the scolding.

The village chief came to persuade Du Min again, "I scolded your father, but calm down. If you have any problems in the future, come to Eighth Master. Eighth Master is on your side. You are the junior, and I am the senior. I will speak for you if you have something you don't want to say."

Du Min smiled and said, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Eighth Master."

Thinking he had appeased Du Min, the village chief grabbed him and said, "You're back so early? Did you leave the city before dawn? Haven't eaten yet? Come on, let's go to Uncle Ba's house, and I'll have Aunt Ba stew two bowls of sweet boiled eggs for you."

Du Min refused, saying, "I haven't slept all night and just want to get a good night's sleep."

"Alright, alright, go back to sleep." The village chief let go of her hand. "Old Ding, Lotus, I'm entrusting the child to you now. You're not allowed to beat or scold him anymore."

Du's mother thought the farce was over. After everyone in the village left, she glared at Du Min and said, "You brat, you scared me to death. Go to sleep. I'll make you a bowl of egg soup. You eat well and sleep for half a day. This afternoon, you go back to the city to study."

Du Min smiled, offered no further explanation, picked up the bedding roll from the ground, and went straight back into the house.

Li Hongguo rushed in first, and said in a gentle voice, "Third brother, wait a moment, let me pack up Jinshu's things. Why don't you just sleep in his bed? I just washed and dried his bedding, it's clean."

"Pack your things and leave. I'm not just staying for a day or two," Du Min said.

Li Hongguo was startled. What did those words mean?

Du Min walked into the back room and found that the desk that was in the study had been moved out. He went to push open the study door.

"Third Uncle, I'll sleep inside," Qiaomei said timidly as she cautiously followed in.

"Sister-in-law, move Qiaomei's bed out, and move Jinshu's things to the study. Qiaomei is not a child anymore, it's not appropriate for her to keep coming in and out of my bedroom," Du Min instructed.

Li Hongguo straightened up. "Third brother, are you really not planning to go back to the prefectural school?"

"I've already dropped out of school. There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me." Du Min put his bedding roll on the desk.

Li Hongguo's face turned pale. "Really dropped out of school?"

Du Min was too lazy to repeat himself.

Li Hongguo ran out to complain, "Father, Mother, Third Brother has really dropped out of school. He's going to stay at home for a long time."

"Ignore him." Old Du firmly believed in his guess.

Li Hongguo felt uneasy. It was as if a twenty-year-old elm tree in a mulberry field had rotted from the inside; how could she feel at ease?

Du Min waited in vain for Li Hongguo. He stuffed all of Jinshu's things into the study, kicked Qiaomei out, locked the door from the inside, and went to sleep.

He was woken up by a knock on the door. Du Min kicked off the covers and asked irritably, "Who is it?"

"I'm getting up to eat." Du Li returned.

Hearing his voice, Du Min suddenly felt much calmer, as if he had found a source of strength. After the events of the past two days, he realized that it was quite remarkable that his second brother had grown up to be this kind of person.

Du Li was still waiting outside. When the door opened, he glanced at Du Min a few times and asked, "You really came back?"

Du Min grunted in response.

"How long do you plan to stay?" Du Li asked in a low voice. "If you're only staying for three to five days, I won't go to pick up your second sister-in-law."

Du Min glanced at him but ignored him.

Seeing that she couldn't get him to talk, Du Li had no choice but to give up.

Old Du was standing under the eaves when he caught a glimpse of someone coming out. He said, "I won't hold what happened today against you. After you finish eating, you should go back to the city and study."

"Father, have you forgotten what you said yesterday?" Du Min asked.

“You should stop now,” Du Laoding warned him.

Du Min ignored him and went to wash his hands and face.

Seeing that everyone had come out, Li Hongguo carried the dishes into the main hall. When she came out, she bumped into Du Li and said unhappily, "Second brother, in the future, you should let me know in advance if you come back for a meal. There's no food prepared for you at home. You come back without telling me, and I don't know what to do."

"With so many people in the family, if each person takes a spoonful less rice, it will be enough for one bowl. Why do the others have to eat until they're stuffed?" Du Min doesn't give anyone face now and will bite anyone who comes along.

Li Hongguo didn't dare to argue with Du Min, so she had to swallow this bitter pill.

Another silent lunch ensued. Du Li didn't leave after finishing his meal. He went to open the door to the south room and took out the quilts that had been packed in chests to air them out.

"Pack your things, and have your second brother take you to the ferry terminal," Old Ding Du said.

Du Ming took out a box of books he had stolen and muttered to himself, "What good stuff is hidden inside? And it's locked."

Du Min picked up the book box and went back into the house. He then locked the door from the inside and remained unmoved no matter how much people called him from outside.

Du Li came in to take a look, then quietly left. He left this place of trouble and returned to his own territory to dig mud and make bricks.

He washed his hands and went back to collect the bedding just as the sun was about to set.

Du Min locked himself in his room, and Du Laoding kept yelling that he would tear down the door, but he didn't.

"Sister-in-law, I'll be eating at home tonight, so please add a little extra rice when you cook," Du Li informed her.

Li Hongguo rolled her eyes.

"The third brother is back, but your wife is still living at her parents' house? Who is she still feeding? Is she feeding ghosts?" She found another opening to speak.

“I’ll pick her up tomorrow. She’s too busy taking care of the child and moving her luggage by herself,” Du Li explained calmly as he carried the bedding into the house.

Li Hongguo choked. No wonder he came back today to air out his bedding; it seems he had planned this all along.

Du Li thought about it and felt indignant, so he came out again and asked, "Sister-in-law, Meng Qing has been married into the family for almost two years, but you've only known her for less than three months at most. What grudge do you hold against her? You've always disliked her, and you peck at her like a fighting rooster whenever she's mentioned. She's never said a bad word about you, and she's treated your two children well, hasn't she?"

Li Hongguo's face turned pale, and she turned and went into the kitchen.

Du Li wouldn't let her off the hook. He followed her into the kitchen and bluntly exposed her inner turmoil: "She's doing well because she's lucky. Her parents cherish her because she deserves it. No matter how jealous or envious you are, it's useless. She's just lucky and doing better than you."

Li Hongguo was so angry that she burst into tears. "Go away! Don't eat the food I cooked!"

"If I don't want to eat it, I don't want to eat it." Du Li didn't care.

"Second brother, stop right there. Go to the prefectural school tomorrow and find out what's going on," Du Laoding instructed.

Du Li held out his hand, "Pay the fare."

"I think you're asking for a beating too!" Old Ding glared.

"I'm not going to run errands for you. If you want to find out, go find out yourself." Du Li strode away. He wasn't going to take on this task. Du Min couldn't possibly drop out of school. If he went to find out, it would mean he was helping Du Min lie, and he would be blamed later when things came to light.

"You bastard!" Old Du was so angry that his chest ached. He then ordered, "Boss, go into town tomorrow and inquire."

"I'm not going. The people at the prefectural academy are all snobbish and look down on people like us. Besides, we've already embarrassed ourselves enough at the prefectural academy; I don't want to embarrass ourselves further." Du Ming also refused.

Old Ding took off his shoe and hit Du Ming a few times. Du Ming ran away, saying indignantly, "It's not like I caused trouble. If you want to hit someone, hit the one lying in the house."

But Du Min wouldn't open the door at all, and wouldn't come out even when it was time for dinner. If someone called him, he would say he wasn't eating, and after a while, he would just ignore them.

"Mother..." Qiaomei looked distressed. Her third uncle wouldn't open the door, so she didn't even have a place to sleep.

“Sleep with us tonight.” Li Hongguo felt bitter. She didn’t know when this would end. Everyone was bullying her, but her husband seemed deaf to it.

*

The next day.

Du's mother went to call Du Min to come out for breakfast, but no one answered. She was worried that Du Min was trying to commit suicide again, and her legs went weak with fear. "Old man, old man, come and break down the door! There's no sound from inside!"

Old Ding was so frightened he almost couldn't catch his breath. His hands and feet were weak and he couldn't muster any strength. It was only with the help of Du Ming and Li Hongguo that the door was finally dismantled.

“No one is in the room,” Du Ming said. He saw that the study door was open and went in to find that the window was open.

"He climbed out the window at some point, he's just deliberately causing trouble!" Du Ming was furious. Du Min could have easily walked out the door, but he insisted on going through the window.

Mr. and Mrs. Du helped each other inside. Mrs. Du burst into tears and pushed Mr. Du, asking, "What exactly did you say to him?"

Old Ding Du didn't answer. "I'll go find him."

Du Min was having breakfast at Du Li's place. Du Li's expression was also not good. "My life had finally settled down, and you've brought me trouble again."

"No, your parents are too busy to bother you right now."