The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 170

 

| TBBOTOF | 170

Tang Xu was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted.

The old woman begging for food saw Wei Dong approaching and immediately turned and ran.

He pursed his lips, looking up at Wang Cuicui. "Auntie, did you see anything else?"

Wang Cuicui shook her head, "I didn’t see anything; Dongzi saw it."

She had brought this up with Tang Xu because she was puzzled. Dongzi had always been calm, and it was rare for him to seem dazed, so it felt a bit odd.

Tang Xu had a guess about what might be going on, but he couldn’t say it outright in front of Wang Cuicui. 

He waved his hand and said, "It was probably just a reaction to the fact that the food was spilled unexpectedly. Don’t worry about it. If you see the old woman begging again, just give her some food."

Wang Cuicui nodded, "I thought maybe she knew Dongzi, or it someone from the Wei family." 

Since they were from the same village and she had heard a lot about Wei Dong from the Wei family.

So when she saw the old woman running away, she was afraid that it was a relative from the Wei family who deliberately came to the door to make trouble, but she saw the old lady who was scared away.

Tang Xu thought to himself that if his guess was right, it would be more troublesome than having someone from the Wei family come and cause trouble.

During his nap time, Tang Xu looked at the three children lying side by side on the bed, fast asleep. He also glanced at Wei Dong, who was resting with his eyes closed. 

He reached over and gently nudged him.

They were separated by the three children, so he had to be careful not to make too much noise to avoid waking them.

Wei Dong opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow.

Tang Xu beckoned to him with a finger and mouthed, "We need to talk."

Wei Dong nodded slightly, then adjusted the pillow to block the chubby child from falling out before getting out of bed.

Tang Xu covered the children with a light blanket and also got out of bed.

The two of them didn’t go outside; they just sat at the table in the living room.

Wei Dong poured some water and looked at Tang Xu, "What’s wrong?"

"Was the old woman you saw this afternoon Liu Xiangxiang?" Tang Xu moved his cup in front of him and stared at Wei Dong. "It was, wasn’t it?"

Wei Dong sighed. He hadn’t intended to discuss this with Tang Xu, but since Wang Cuicui had already mentioned it, he figured he might as well confirm it. 

However, he was curious about how Tang Xu had guessed it was Liu Xiangxiang.

Tang Xu said, "I can't think of anyone else who would run away as soon as they saw you, and risked going hungry, I can’t think of anyone else but Liu Xiangxiang."

"Yes, it was her. If she hadn’t run off suddenly, I wouldn’t have recognized her," Wei Dong said, taking his empty cup back to refill it.

Tang Xu rested his chin on his hand and muttered in confusion, "How did she end up here? I remember the Liu Family is quite far from here."

"Her legs are her own, she can go wherever she wants," Wei Dong replied. He had no particular fondness for Liu Xiangxiang but didn’t take pleasure in seeing her in a dire state either. 

He felt indifferent about her existence, as long as she didn’t interfere with him or be an eyesore, it was none of his concern whether she lived or died.

Tang Xu felt something was off. 

Liu Xiangxiang's sudden appearance was hard to explain, and even though she had silver, which should have been enough for her to live comfortably in the countryside, it didn’t make sense that she had fallen to the point of begging.

With no clues about this situation, Tang Xu asked Wang Cuicui to keep an eye out for the old woman in case she came back when Wei Dong went to the county the next day. 

However, after three days, the old woman did not return.

Tang Xu guessed that she might have been frightened away by Wei Dong and was now too scared to come back.

Still, this was something he should mention to Tang Erhu and also to Tang Li, as Liu Xiangxiang was Tang Li's biological mother. 

If Liu Xiangxiang seeks her out, it is unlikely that Tang Li would just ignore her. 

In these times, filial piety was paramount, and if Liu Xiangxiang caused trouble, it could seriously damage their store’s reputation, potentially collapsing their business.

In the past few days, Tang Xu had been unable to sleep well because of Liu Xiangxiang’s sudden appearance. 

Additionally, with no one to help him with the three children at night, he had visibly lost weight and looked exhausted.

"Why does it seem like my brother hasn’t been eating or sleeping well these past few days? Is it because he misses his husband so much when he goes out?" Tang Li’s teasing voice came from behind, pulling Tang Xu out of his thoughts as he turned to look at her.

His younger sister had grown into a graceful young woman with a cheerful personality, and she looked quite different from her younger self.

They say a person’s appearance reflects their inner self. Tang Xu remembered when he first saw Tang Li; she had been a mischievous child who hid her true feelings.

But in just a few years, she had grown into someone entirely different, becoming increasingly impressive.

Tang Li, feeling embarrassed under her brother’s gaze, touched her face and said, "Brother! Say something!"

Tang Xu snapped back to attention, gently removing a leaf that had stuck to her hair. He said softly, "I was just thinking how our Ah Li was so small back then," he gestured with his hand, 

"and now she’s grown into a young lady. In a few years, she’ll be ready to become a mother herself."

Tang Li’s face flushed again from his words. "Brother, stop saying such things!"

"It’s not nonsense," Tang Xu replied. 

"You and Liu Yao will get married sooner or later. I just think it’s better to wait another two years. First, you’ll be older and healthier, so marriage and childbirth won’t harm you. Second, you can focus on earning more money while you’re still childless." 

Tang Xu couldn't accept the idea of young girls getting married and having children at fourteen or fifteen, no matter how mature they might be mentally; their bodies weren’t fully developed!

Tang Li was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "I understand, Brother. Auntie also told me not to rush."

Tang Xu saw her shy reaction and thought, it’s not her who’s impatient; it’s Liu Yao who is eager.

He could understand but didn’t necessarily agree.

"I’ll talk to Liu Yao about it; he shouldn’t feel embarrassed," Tang Xu indicated for her to sit down. 

After thinking for a moment, he said, "There’s something I need to tell you."

Seeing his suddenly serious expression, Tang Li quickly sat down beside him. "What is it?"

"Your brother-in-law saw our mother outside the store today," Tang Xu had initially tried to phrase it carefully, thinking of ways to soften the impact, but then decided to be direct. 

"Her condition isn’t good."

Tang Li was stunned, her smile frozen on her face. For a long while, she didn’t even blink, just staring blankly at Tang Xu.

As she tried to convince herself that it might have been a hallucination, Tang Xu gently patted her arm. "Yes, it was definitely our mother."

"She... she’s supposed to be in the Liu Family, isn’t she?" Tang Li's lips trembled slightly, her voice wavering.

Tang Xu shrugged. "I’m not sure. She hasn’t come around in the past few days. I’m worried that your brother-in-law might have seen it wrong."

"Brother wouldn’t make a mistake. If Mother hasn’t come around, it’s probably because she’s afraid of brother-in-law." Tang Li forced a smile. "Brother, should we tell Father?"

"I haven’t told him yet. I was just thinking about how to bring it up with him." Tang Xu sighed, glancing at their father who was happily playing in the dirt with the three kids, all covered in mud, his face beaming with joy.

Tang Li looked back at the store and whispered, "Has Auntie mentioned anything?"

"No, she hasn’t. I just wanted to let you know so that you could be prepared. I don’t want us to be caught off guard if Mother really shows up. And for Auntie, let’s keep this quiet for now. I’ll talk to Father and see what he thinks." 

Tang Xu was mainly worried that Liu Xiangxiang might cause trouble once he went home. 

The easiest solution would be to bring her back to the village and make sure she doesn’t come out again.

With Liu Xiangxiang's crazy temperament, it's not easy to take her away. 

Moreover, although the town isn't very big, finding someone who's hiding is truly not an easy task. 

Given his understanding of Liu Xiangxiang, it's impossible for her not to cause trouble. 

After lunch and putting the three kids to sleep, Tang Xu really couldn't sit still and decided to find Tang Erhu.

Tang Erhu was lying on the kang, feeling drowsy and just starting to doze off, when Tang Xu slapped him awake.

Startled, Tang Erhu's body jerked, and his eyes snapped open.

"Huh?"

Tang Xu glanced at the sleeping Wang Cuicui, put a finger to his lips, then gestured to his father and pointed to the door, turning to leave.

Tang Erhu frowned, glanced at the snoring Wang Cuicui, and got up to put on his shoes and go outside.

In the courtyard, Tang Xu stretched his arms and twisted his waist. Noticing his father's footsteps behind him, he turned around and said in a low voice, "Dad, there's something serious I need to tell you."

Tang Erhu looked puzzled. "What is it? How serious could it be?"

Tang Xu took a step closer, leaned in, and whispered, "A few days ago, at the shop door, Mother came asking for food."

This sentence left Tang Erhu stunned for a while.

Seeing his father standing there in a daze, Tang Xu tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Dad, snap out of it!"

Tang Erhu frowned. "Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?"

"Yes, it was my auntie who told me. She didn’t recognize Mother, she just said it was an old woman asking for food. Ah Dong gave her a bowl of noodles, and when the old woman saw it, she smashed the bowl and ran away. My auntie thought she might be from the Wei family and mentioned it to me." Tang Xu briefly explained, "I asked Ah Dong, and it was indeed Mother."

Tang Erhu exhaled but didn’t say anything.

Tang Xu waited in silence for his father to speak.

After a while, Tang Erhu said, "Have you not seen her these past few days?"

"I don't know. I haven’t been to the shop, and my aunt hasn’t mentioned anything again," Tang Xu shook his head. 

"I also told Ah Li about it, mainly because I’m afraid that after we go back to the village in a few days, Mother might come and cause a scene. If she asks Ah Li for money to support her, Ah Li would have a hard time refusing."

Tang Erhu fell silent again.

After a long pause, he said coldly, "We made it clear back then, and it’s written in the divorce agreement. She took the money; she has nothing to do with our family anymore."

"That's what we said, but considering Mother's temperament, she’s quite capable. If she sees Ah Li, she'll surely look for any opportunity to cause trouble," Tang Xu said with a smile. 

Given Liu Xiangxiang’s nature, if she knew Ah Li was making money, she’d be sure to take advantage of her.

"What do you mean?" Tang Erhu asked.

"I’m thinking of finding her and asking what she really wants. If she truly intends to cause trouble for us, we won’t be polite with her," Tang Xu replied. "If Wei Dong can scare her once, he can scare her again. Let’s see what she chooses."

Tang Erhu didn't have a better solution, so he nodded.

Tang Xu had originally thought he would need to wait until Wei Dong returned to find her, but unexpectedly, he encountered Liu Xiangxiang begging on the street that very night.

Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were tattered. If Tang Xu hadn’t been paying close attention, he might not have recognized her.

The three kids were with Tang Erhu and Wang Cuicui. Tang Xu told them he had something to do and walked up to Liu Xiangxiang.

Liu Xiangxiang was huddled in a corner by the wall, staring intently at the broken bowl in front of her, which only contained three copper coins.

Suddenly, there was a clink, and a piece of broken silver appeared in the bowl.

She was stunned for a moment, then instinctively bent over and bowed, murmuring, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, kind person."

Her dirty hands grabbed the silver from the bowl. 

When she looked up, she saw Tang Xu’s face.

Liu Xiangxiang's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, as if someone had seized her throat, and she could only make hoarse, choking sounds.

Tang Xu gave her a faint, indifferent smile and said, "Mother."

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