Rebirth: Phoenix Riding the Ninth Heaven

Qi's father's lips trembled and his voice shook as he asked incoherently: "Dad... Mom... you... why are you doing this? Why? He is not only my son, but also your grandson! Although our family is not rich, we can still afford to raise three children. Why do you have to sell my son to someone else?" At the end, Qi's father was already sobbing, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Grandpa Qi and Grandma Qi looked at their eldest son, who looked dejected and lifeless, and could not help but feel a deep disgust in their hearts. They really couldn't understand how they could have given birth to such a useless child!

Grandpa Qi frowned, glared at his eldest son, and then turned to look at his wife beside him. He narrowed his eyes slightly and gave Grandma Qi a suggestive look, the meaning of which was obvious - she was asked to quickly persuade this unruly eldest son to leave.

Grandma Qi understood immediately, took a deep breath, and quickly adjusted her mood and state. She put her hands on her hips, her eyes wide open, and scolded her eldest son: "You unfilial son! From childhood to adulthood, you have eaten and drunk my food, even when you were a child, you grew up drinking my milk! Now you are so arrogant, haven't you? You dare to show your teeth to me here!"

When she got excited, Grandma Qi raised her hand, pointed at the door and shouted, "Get out of here! Don't get in my way! I'm getting annoyed just by seeing you!"

When Father Qi heard his mother's deafening roar, his body trembled violently, as if struck by thunder. His entire body trembled with fear. His lips trembled slightly, and he wanted to say something, but in the end, he clamped his mouth shut tightly, not daring to utter another sound. However, his feet felt like they were nailed to the ground. Although his heart was filled with fear and helplessness, he could not bear to leave.

Qi's father lowered his head, his eyes fixed on the ground, his hands fidgeting with the corners of his clothes. He said nothing, standing there quietly, like a statue. Qi Jianlin, watching all this, felt extremely anxious. Seeing his father unable to even speak back in the face of his grandparents' authority, he could no longer suppress his inner urge and pleaded on his brother's behalf, "Grandma and Grandma, my brother is still young. If he leaves our house, he'll definitely cry and make a fuss! Please, let him stay!" Qi Jianlin's eyes welled up with tears.

Then, he took a deep breath and continued, "In the future, I can eat less and work more. I will go out to work early every morning and come back later at night. As long as it is something I can do, I will rush to do it. In this way, the burden on the family can be reduced a lot. Please keep my younger brother by your side!" After speaking, Qi Jianlin looked at his grandparents earnestly, his eyes full of pleading.

At this point, Grandma Qi, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke. She frowned and muttered unhappily, "How much money can you save by eating less? Besides, you're supposed to work anyway, so you really want to eat for free at home? If I send my brother away, there'll be one less mouth to feed, and we'll be able to live a little better!"

Qi Jianlin's plea to his grandmother proved fruitless, and he became extremely anxious. He quickly turned around, clutched his father's shirt tightly, and pleaded with tears in his eyes, "Father, please speak up! Go and ask Grandma to let my brother stay, okay?" Qi Jianlin's face was filled with tears and fear, and his voice was trembling with nervousness.

Seeing his son so anxious, Qi's father felt a pang of pain in his heart. He gritted his teeth, as if making a great decision, and suddenly fell to his knees in front of his parents. He put his hands on the ground, forehead pressed to the ground, and tears flowed like a broken dam, sobbing heartbreakingly.

"Dad and Mom! Please have mercy on me and leave our son to us! I promise to get up early and work hard in the fields every day to plant more crops. Even if I have to eat less, I will save that food to feed the children. Please don't make things difficult for me anymore, I really can't live without this child! My wife has always been in poor health and can no longer have children. Now there are only these two sons and a daughter in the family. If I lose any one of them, how can I live as a father..." Qi's father cried and kowtowed continuously, and a bruise soon appeared on his forehead.

Grandma Qi's eyes widened, her face etched with fury as she stared at her eldest son, who was now crying uncontrollably. Her fury instantly ignited. Unable to contain her inner rage, she quickly stepped forward, raised her hand, and slapped her son hard. The slap was so resounding and crisp that the entire room seemed to echo with the sound of the snap.

Grandma Qi was trembling with anger, pointing her finger at her eldest son and shouting, "You good-for-nothing! From childhood to adulthood, I've provided you with good food and drink, hoping that you would become successful! But what about you? Now you're crying and wailing here, what a shame! Are you trying to curse me and your father to die soon?"

Father Qi was stunned by the sudden slap. He covered his swollen cheek, shook his head in panic, and stammered to explain: "No...no, Mom, I really didn't mean that! Please don't misunderstand..." However, before he could finish his words, his daughter-in-law saw that the situation was not good and quickly interrupted to help defend him.

However, Grandma Qi was furious at the time and didn't give them any chance to explain. Without saying a word, she raised her hand again and slapped Qi's father hard in the face. This slap was even harder than the previous one, knocking Qi's father to the ground.

"Get out! From now on, don't let me see you again!" Grandma Qi shouted angrily, pointing at the door.

Qi Jianlin watched helplessly as his father was being angrily yelled at by his grandmother. Seeing his father about to turn around and go back into the house, he was so anxious that he couldn't care about anything else. His legs gave way and he fell to his knees in front of his grandmother with a plop.

He kowtowed desperately, his forehead hitting the ground with a thud, and begged tearfully, "Grandma! Grandma! Please don't sell my brother! If you must sell someone, then sell me! I can do any job and I'm very strong! If the buyer takes a strong laborer like me, they'll make a fortune! Please, please sell me to them! Can you let my brother stay at home?"

When Grandma Qi heard her grandson's words, she was speechless and didn't know what to do. She turned her head and her eyes first fell on her husband, as if she wanted to get some advice from him. Then she looked at the old man who came to buy the person, her face full of embarrassment.

Seeing this, the old man who bought the child walked over to the bed and took a closer look at the little boy lying there, a flicker of fondness in his eyes. Then, she turned her gaze to Qi Jianlin, who was kneeling on the ground and begging desperately. After looking him up and down, she frowned slightly.

The old man muttered with displeasure, "Oh my! What I want is a naive little kid who knows nothing about the world! Look at you, you're already such a grown-up. If I send a kid like you over, people will blame me to death, saying that I'm unreliable and can't even handle such a small thing!"

Hearing this, Qi Jianlin quickly turned around, facing the direction of the old man, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Old man, please send me to that family! I promise you won't suffer any loss! Don't look at my young age, but I am full of strength! I have already mastered most of those simple labor jobs!

"As long as I go to their house, in two years, I can become a real strong laborer! This deal is so profitable! If you send my brother there, he is still young and can't do anything. He will have to eat and drink for free for more than ten years. Wouldn't this be a losing business? So, please be kind and show mercy to me and sell me to that family!"

The old man thought about it for a moment and felt that this was indeed reasonable. After all, the purpose of buying someone home was simply to continue the family line, to have someone to take care of them in their old age, and to help with farm work. Thinking of this, the old man opened his mouth and said to the two elders of the Qi family, "In that case, it's not a bad idea to replace him with this one. But after bringing him back, it won't be easy to discipline such a little guy! Who knows how he'll cry and make a fuss? But let's be clear, this replacement was your initiative, so the price should remain as agreed upon. Not a penny more!"

Upon hearing this, the Qi family's grandparents couldn't help but frown slightly. Their originally peaceful faces suddenly darkened, and their wrinkles became tightly pressed together. They said in unison, "No! We can't sell the big one. He's very strong and can do a lot of work! It's more cost-effective to sell the small one."

Qi Jianlin, who had been standing silently by, could no longer suppress his anger. He glared at his grandparents with wide eyes and shouted, "Grandpa and grandma, if you insist on not agreeing to my request, then I will spread the word throughout the village, saying that you were so cruel as to sell my brother and cut off our family's livelihood! When that happens, I will hang myself at your doorstep! Let the whole village see it every day and accuse you of forcing your own grandson to death! I want to see how you two can continue to live in the village after this!"