The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 254

 

| TBBOTOF | 254

Luo Pingping entered the house and immediately started scolding Sun Ning'er.

"How long has it been since we’ve been living in peace? What’s the matter, just because you can now earn a little money doesn’t mean you’re capable!" Luo Pingping yelled, glaring at her daughter-in-law, who was startled by her outburst. 

Pointing at her nose, she continued angrily, "Who gave you the idea? Keep your small ambitions to yourself! If you don’t like the money we’re earning right now, then get out and make your own!"

Sun Ning'er was stunned by the two sharp rebukes. When she heard these words, she realized that Tang Xu must have told her mother-in-law about her desire to go out and do something on her own.

A sense of grievance arose in her heart. If he wasn’t going to help her, why make her the target of a scolding?

She pursed her lips, and her face showed a hint of dissatisfaction.

Luo Pingping may not know her daughter-in-law well, but she could clearly see her greed. With a cold laugh, she crossed her arms and looked at Sun Ning'er with mocking eyes. 

She even turned to scold her son, Tang Wei, who was comforting the child on the bed: "The reason we’re saving so much money now is all thanks to Xu Ge’er. If it weren’t for my son and grandparents living with us, and if I hadn’t treated people well, do you think he would have been so generous to let us join him? Look at your third uncle, then look at us. What, do you think this life isn’t worth it?"

Tang Wei blushed from his mother’s harsh words and quickly put his son down, saying, "Mom, I didn’t mean that."

"You didn’t mean it, but your wife does. Let me tell you, the life we have now is envied by the whole village, and there are plenty of people gossiping behind our backs. But you must remember, this money wasn’t something Xu Ge’er begged us for help with, it’s because he’s been good to us and helped us earn it. Got it?" Luo Pingping turned her gaze back to Sun Ning'er, but only looked at her son.

She understood her son well and guessed that he probably didn’t know anything about this. It was Sun Ning’er who had gone behind his back to approach Xu Ge’er.

Just thinking about it made her even angrier.

"If things really go bad, you can go out and do it on your own. But remember, if you want to do your own business, then the money-making opportunities with Xu Ge’er won’t have anything to do with you anymore." She looked at Sun Ning’er and asked, "What’s the deal? You want to go off on your own? If you really have the ability, then go ahead and do it. Don’t keep dreaming about other people’s money-making ideas!"

Sun Ning’er frowned and retorted, "I’m not trying to take anything for free. If he gives me an idea, I can work with him, just like Tang Qi did."

Luo Pingping gritted her teeth and snorted, "Is your surnamed Tang? If Tang Qi can do it, does that mean you can too? Who gave you the courage?" She turned to look at Tang Wei and asked, "Did you give her the courage?"

Tang Wei quickly shook his head, repeatedly denying it. "I didn’t know anything about this. Mom, don’t be angry, I definitely won’t go do my own business. If I did, what would happen to our family? Besides, I’m not that smart. What if someone tricks me later?"

Sun Ning’er glared at him in anger, but Tang Wei didn’t care whether she was angry. He was satisfied with their current life.

With a son and a daughter, and his mother giving him money to spend every month, Tang Wei didn’t care about earning more silver. Not to mention having big fish and meat at every meal, even the regular meals always had slices of meat. 

From time to time, he would get other nice things as well. He had no interest in going out to earn more money.

Tang Wei was a bit like Tang Dahu, a person who was steady, but his steadiness lay in not wanting to venture out.

On the other hand, his younger brother, Tang Zu, couldn’t sit still. But even though he was restless, he only fussed around on his own and never thought about relying on Xu Ge’er.

Luo Pingping scrutinized Tang Wei, trying to figure out whether his words were truthful or not.

Tang Wei didn’t feel intimidated under her gaze. After a while, Luo Pingping withdrew her gaze and looked at Sun Ning’er.

In a cold voice, she said, "I’ll say this only once. If you try this again, both of you can pack your things and leave."

After speaking, she turned and walked away, showing no regard for her son’s feelings.

As soon as she left, Sun Ning’er began to sob quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed, crying in soft sobs.

Tang Wei looked at her helplessly, then turned his head to glance at their youngest son, who was sleeping on the bed. 

After thinking for a moment, he said, "You don’t need to be upset. Mom gives us a lot of silver every month; it’s enough to raise the kids."

Sun Ning’er couldn’t catch her breath, and the tightness in her chest made her feel a dull pain.

Tang Wei seemed oblivious to Sun Ning'er’s displeased expression as he kept talking.

"Mom’s not wrong. The reason we’ve been able to save money is because Xu Ge’er is so filial. Have you ever seen a man who’s married and still helps his mother earn money? To put it simply, he’s a good person. Even after earning money, he hasn’t forgotten about us. Otherwise, would you be having meat at every meal? Could you still be dressed so comfortably?"

He reached out and gently poked his youngest son’s cheek, chuckling softly, "If it were up to me, you should just be content. If you really make Mom mad, you’ll end up with nothing."

Sun Ning’er bit her lip, looking at her husband with a glance full of resentment, as if she were angry at his lack of ambition.

Tang Wei didn’t seem to understand, continuing to turn their son to his side in his sleep.

At that moment, their eldest daughter entered from outside, calling "Mom" as she came in and saying she was a little hungry.

"Eat, eat, eat. You just had a meal and now you’re hungry again. I wonder who you got that from!" 

Though she scolded, she turned around to pull her daughter’s hand, heading out to get her something to eat.

Tang Wei gave her a side glance and sighed.

After leaving Tang Wei, Luo Pingping went straight to Tang Zu’s house. The couple was planning to tidy up and take an afternoon nap. 

Wang Lanhua had just gotten their child to sleep and was surprised to hear a knock on the door. She opened it and was taken aback. "Mom, what brings you here?"

It was no wonder Wang Lanhua was surprised. Since her marriage, her mother-in-law had only come to visit a handful of times, and she could count them on one hand.

Luo Pingping entered the house, first checking on the child who was already asleep in the small room, and then went to the couple’s bedroom. Tang Zu had already sat up on the bed when he heard the noise, looking at his mother with some confusion.

During dinner, he had had a couple of drinks, so his face was a little red, but he wasn’t drunk.

He yawned and, puzzled, asked, "Mom, did you come here just to watch me? If you have something to say, just say it."

Luo Pingping glared at him and turned to ask Wang Lanhua, who had walked over, "When you were cooking, did you hear Sun Ning’er telling Xu Ge’er that she wanted to go out and earn money on her own?"

Wang Lanhua looked at her in confusion, then slowly shook her head after a pause. "I was out setting the table. But when I went back, I did see the eldest sister-in-law getting pretty close to Xu Ge’er and talking to him. I didn’t hear what they said, though. Mom, what’s going on? Did the eldest sister-in-law say something that upset Xu Ge’er?"

Luo Pingping snorted coldly. "Xu Ge’er didn’t get upset, but I’m the one who’s upset."

Tang Zu’s eyes shifted as he immediately guessed that his sister-in-law, who was always chasing after money, had caused trouble again. 

He said, "Mom, you don’t need to say more. I know what you’re getting at. Don’t worry, I remember how good Xu Ge’er has been to us, and we would never do anything shady behind his back."

Luo Pingping gave him a glance and said to Wang Lanhua, "Don’t learn from Sun Ning’er. If she causes any more trouble, I’ll kick them all out!"

Wang Lanhua was startled and quickly nodded in agreement.

Luo Pingping didn’t stay long. After speaking, she left.

After she left and locked the door behind her, Wang Lanhua returned to the room. She saw Tang Zu lying back down, half-closed eyes, in a semi-sleepy state.

 She went over and sat on the edge of the bed, taking off her shoes and coat, while asking him, "Why is the eldest sister-in-law so greedy?"

Luo Pingping was a generous mother-in-law, and Wang Lanhua felt that although her mother-in-law’s words could be sharp, she was really quite good to both of them. 

At least her own mother wouldn’t treat her sister-in-law so kindly.

Helping with the work and even getting silver? 

That was a dream. If it were her own mother, not only would there be no silver, but she’d also get two hard slaps and a scolding right in her face.

So, since Luo Pingping started earning money with Tang Xu, they had been helping with small tasks. Every time they made braised ducks, they would pitch in. Her mother-in-law had never let them work for nothing.

Tang Zu scratched his face and muttered, "There are a lot of greedy people out there. Just don’t be like her. Mom isn’t the kind of person who just threatens with words. If she really gets mad, forget about them, both of us will suffer too."

Wang Lanhua kept nodding. Life was good now, and she cherished it.

Lying in bed, she turned over and patted the man who was almost asleep, whispering, "Don’t think about causing trouble. What if Mom gets angry, what will we do?"

"I sell skewers, Mom knows that. Besides, I won’t neglect the work in the fields. Don’t worry about it," Tang Zu turned over, his sleepiness kicking in as he quickly started to snore.

Wang Lanhua had been up early and was busy, so she was quite tired. Though her mind was still occupied with thoughts, she gradually fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Tang Xu and Wei Dong had returned with the children. On the way, Wei Dong noticed that Tang Xu seemed off. After getting the three kids settled, Wei Dong pulled Tang Xu aside to take a bath.

They spent about an hour in the bath, and Tang Xu was carried back to the room.

He lazily lay on the bed, asking Wei Dong to massage his sore lower back. Tang Xu glanced at him and snapped, "What are you doing!"

He started to act crazy after drinking a little! In broad daylight, how shameless!

"When we were eating, you didn’t seem quite yourself, what’s going on?" Wei Dong leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Who upset you?"

Tang Xu sighed, tilting his head to kiss him back, answering with a non-answer, "You really understand me."

Wei Dong raised an eyebrow.

Tang Xu pouted, turned over, and sighed. "Sun Ning'er asked me for advice on how to make money. She and Tang Wei want to go out and earn silver."

Wei Dong didn't say anything.

Tang Xu glanced at him and asked, "What do you think of Auntie?"

"She's pretty good," Wei Dong replied. He had a good impression of Tang Dahu's family. Auntie had helped a lot when his wife was having children.

"I think she’s good too. She’s fair. Both of her daughters-in-law get the same amount of money for helping with the work, and she raised one of them well," Tang Xu said, his tone growing cold. 

Then, confused, he asked, "Why can’t she just be satisfied?"

"Money attracts people," Wei Dong said, getting onto the bed and pulling him into his arms. 

There was a faint smell of alcohol on his breath. "Don’t think about it too much. Whatever you decide, I support you."

Tang Xu grunted and leaned into his embrace, closing his eyes to sleep.

After all, he had already told Auntie about the situation. As for how she would handle it, he didn’t want to ask too much.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and exclaimed, "Ah!"

Wei Dong was startled by his sudden shout. He quickly opened his eyes and looked down at him. "What happened?"

"I forgot to tell Grandma about my eldest cousin’s situation," Tang Xu muttered. He had planned to talk to the old lady after dinner, but the meal ended up taking longer than expected. 

The old lady was clearly feeling unwell and had gone to bed early.

Tang Xu sighed, closed his eyes again, and mumbled, "Never mind, I'll go over tomorrow."

Wei Dong gave a soft hum in response, pulling him closer as they settled in to take a nap.

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