Wang Cheng had no idea that while he was away, his parents had told Second Aunt a shocking secret about him. Not long afterward, the two elders came over to help move things as well. The rented house was fairly close to the new home, so this time they did not have to move everything in one go like before.
Wang Ziyu stayed behind to watch the house as usual.
After three or four trips back and forth, they finally moved all the large furniture out of the rental. Wang Cheng planned to take all the remaining odds and ends in one last trip. Wang Ziyu helped him pack, and once they were done, she picked up the miniature pig and followed Second Brother to the new house.
There was still half a month left on the lease, but they no longer planned to stay there. They locked the door, and the two of them left the home they had lived in for more than three months.
At the new house, Papa Wang and Mama Wang were organizing everything. Several neighbors had come to help. Plenty of people wanted to get on good terms with their family now, and with the extra hands, the two of them finally had a chance to rest for a while. They were getting older, after all, and heavy work tired them easily.
Fortunately, their family did not own that much. Some of the furniture had been used for many years, simple pieces Papa Wang had made after learning from other people back then. Since they were moving into a new house, and a new home ought to have a fresh atmosphere, the family discussed it and decided to replace a batch of the old furniture.
They worked until after three in the afternoon. Mama Wang cooked a pot of Chinese yam soup for the neighbors who had come to help, and everyone left only after finishing a bowl.
Wang Cheng came downstairs from the second floor drenched in sweat. He never wanted to experience the misery of moving house a third time. Every move meant working from morning to night until he felt half dead from exhaustion.
“Chengcheng, tired out? Come have a bowl of yam.” Mama Wang poured him a bowl. The yams were grown locally in Guanjia Village and were much better than the ones sold outside. Wang Cheng had heard before that Chinese yam also had another name, huai shan, though the two were actually considered different here. Huai shan was said to have greater medicinal value, but people in Guanjia Village habitually called both of them yam.
Wang Cheng gulped down an entire bowl. Before long, Wang Ziyu and Papa Wang came over too, and Mama Wang served each of them one.
“Let’s stop here for today. We can do the rest tomorrow.” Seeing that everyone looked exhausted and that they were nearly finished anyway, Mama Wang made the decision and sent them all off to rest.
After finishing her yam soup, Wang Ziyu immediately ran back to her room. Every bedroom in the new house had been decorated according to its occupant’s preferred style. She had not yet left for university in the capital while the renovations were underway, so she often came over with their parents to help. Now it was finally time to enjoy the results.
Mama Wang was preparing to go to the market to buy vegetables and meat for dinner. She went back to her room for her purse and stepped out the front door, only to find an elderly man with a cane blocking her path. He even called her by her full name.
Hearing the commotion, Wang Cheng and Papa Wang, who were resting in the living room, looked outside. The moment Papa Wang saw who it was, he stood up at once. “Dad, what brings you here?” He went over to help the old man inside, only to step outside and discover that his mother was there too. Surprise filled his face.
Of everyone present, Wang Cheng was the least surprised by the two elders’ arrival. Given how much they valued and doted on Eldest Uncle’s family, it would have been strange if they had heard about what happened that morning and done nothing. What came next would probably be Papa Wang’s greatest test.
Papa Wang invited both elders inside. They might only dote on their eldest son’s family, but they were still his parents. If he simply shut them out, people would inevitably criticize him behind his back once word got around.
“Dad, Mom, what brings you over? You should’ve told us ahead of time.”
Compared with Papa Wang’s enthusiasm, Mama Wang and Wang Cheng were especially cold. Anyone who was not an idiot could guess why the elders had come. Sure enough, Old Madam Wang opened her mouth and immediately said something that stunned Papa Wang.
“If you still consider me your mother, then give the contracting agreement to your eldest brother.” Old Madam Wang glanced at Wang Cheng and gave a cold snort. From the moment she entered, her posture had been lofty. She had not even spared Mama Wang a proper look. If the matter had not involved Wang Cheng, she probably would have treated him as invisible too.
“Impossible.” Papa Wang rejected it without a second thought.
Old Madam Wang was surprised. In her mind, this youngest son had never contradicted her when he was a child, and even less so after growing up. She had never seen him refuse one of her demands so firmly. Once she recovered, anger flared. “Do you still consider me your mother or not?”
Papa Wang felt the urge to smoke again, but since everyone around him was family, he held it back. His voice remained firm. “I can’t agree to this. The contract belongs to Chengcheng. Unless he agrees himself, I won’t interfere.”
“You unfilial son!” Old Madam Wang accused.
Papa Wang remained silent. Some things could not be agreed to simply because of blood ties. This was a matter of principle. Besides, he had grievances of his own against the two elders. He had simply never voiced them. Now that the matter involved his second son, there was even less chance he would agree.
For the first time, Old Madam Wang experienced her youngest son’s stubbornness. Seeing that he truly would not budge, she immediately turned her gaze to Mama Wang. “Lanfang, if you still want to be a daughter-in-law of the Wang family, then persuade your son to hand over the contract. I’ll let the matter of you stealing your eldest brother-in-law’s opportunity go.”
Mama Wang sneered. “Dad, Mom, is that what Eldest Brother told you? He said Chengcheng stole his opportunity? Whatever he says, you believe? Did he tell you he was actually the one trying to take what belonged to us? He moved too slowly himself, then came running over to blame Hongxin and Chengcheng. Now he’s even inciting his own parents to come demand the contract. What a wonderful eldest brother he is.”
“Is that any way to talk about your eldest brother-in-law?” Old Madam Wang snapped. Then she turned on Papa Wang. “Look at the fine wife you married. I opposed you marrying her in the first place, but you insisted on bringing her into the family. Now she even dares speak ill of your eldest brother.”
If she had left it alone, that might have been the end of it. But the moment she brought up the past, the resentment in Papa Wang’s heart only deepened. Back then, the family had quarreled over dividing the houses. The two elders thought only of the eldest son, and between Papa Wang and the second son, they favored the second as well. In the end, Papa Wang received nothing. That had created a rift between mother and son. Later, when he insisted on marrying Guan Lanfang, Old Madam Wang declared that she would not contribute a single cent. His father secretly gave him a little money afterward, but the grievance had already lodged itself in Papa Wang’s heart.
“Lanfang didn’t say anything wrong. This was never our fault.” Papa Wang’s tone finally hardened.
Old Madam Wang’s eyes widened.
“Mom, from the time I was little, neither of you ever cared about me. All your attention went to Eldest Brother and Second Brother. Anything good went to them. The things I ate and used were whatever they no longer wanted. When it came to the houses, they got to choose first, and by the time it was my turn, there was nothing left. Did you ever think about how I felt? Your thoughts were always on Eldest Brother and Second Brother. How could you possibly think of me? From childhood until now, I was probably nothing more than an attachment to them in your eyes. I could give way before. After all, you did give birth to me and raise me. But now I have a family of my own. I can’t make my wife, my sons, and my daughter suffer their temper the way I did, handing over everything good to them. They have no obligation to do that. And whatever I owed you, I’ve repaid over all these years.” Papa Wang finally said everything he had wanted to tell his parents for years.
“You… you’re blaming your father and me?” Old Madam Wang had never imagined that her youngest son carried so much resentment toward them. They had raised him for nothing. What an ungrateful wretch.
“Yes.”
“You unfilial son! I’ll beat you to death!” His answer ignited Old Madam Wang’s fury. She snatched the cane from her husband beside her and tried to swing it at Papa Wang, only for Wang Cheng to catch it. Old Madam Wang had never truly regarded Wang Cheng as her grandson anyway. He was not her biological grandson, so she showed him even less kindness. “Let go!”
“Old Madam, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Wang Cheng did not address her as Grandmother. Even as a child, he had already noticed that she disliked him. Before he went to live with the old monk, whenever he visited the Wang family during festivals and holidays, the old woman treated him as invisible. The other children received red envelopes and candy, but he alone got nothing. He had even heard her with his own ears telling the other children not to pay attention to him. How could anyone like an elder like that? When he was little, he had not understood why she singled him out. Now he could no longer be bothered to understand. Old Madam Wang tugged hard on the cane but could not pull it back. Instead, Wang Cheng wrested it away and flung it aside. Without her weapon, the old woman only had her mouth left. Just when everyone thought she had run out of options, Old Madam Wang dropped onto the floor and began wailing.
Several people had already gathered outside the door. Seeing the scene, they began murmuring among themselves. Old Madam Wang was truly ruthless. Favoritism this extreme was rare even in the world. “If I had parents like that, I’d definitely cut ties with them. Is the eldest son a son while the youngest somehow isn’t?”
“Exactly. Most families dote on the youngest son, but in the Wang family, the eldest is the treasure instead. So what if he opened a small company? What’s so impressive about that? At this point, he probably doesn’t even have as much money as the youngest son’s family.”
Old Madam Wang’s wailing attracted another crowd of onlookers. People kept asking what happened, and once someone explained it, they immediately understood. So when she could not get what she wanted, she had decided to make a scene.
At that moment, Wang Cheng stepped forward and said to Papa Wang and Mama Wang, “Dad, Mom, weren’t you going to buy groceries? Hurry up, or it’ll get late.”
Mama Wang froze for a moment before understanding. She grabbed Papa Wang, who had not yet caught on, and dragged him out the door.