Rebooting 60, let's go on a rampage with the orange cat!

Chapter 159 Stepson

With a smile, the mother handed a bowl of chicken soup to Zhong Hanzhe and placed another bowl of chicken soup in front of her youngest son.

Then she said gently, "Han Zhe, you're going back to school soon. Studying away from home is tough, and you rarely get to eat a good meal at home all year round. Eat this chicken leg quickly."

Seeing this, the little girl's pout deepened, but she still obediently remained silent.

Seeing his younger sister's sulky expression, Zhong Hanzhe couldn't help but smile slightly. He then gently picked up the chicken leg from the bowl and placed it steadily into his sister's bowl.

The young woman was taken aback at first, then a radiant smile bloomed on her face, like a blossoming flower.

She cheered happily, "Thank you, big brother!"

Mom scolded him playfully, "You little glutton!"

The third brother, Tie Niu, picked up the bowl and drank the steaming, fragrant chicken soup in big gulps, with a little oil still stuck to the corners of his mouth.

After swallowing a mouthful of soup, he said with a smile, "Our little sister has always been a lovable child! I remember it clearly. Several years ago, when we were still little, Mom secretly hid the candy that others gave us for New Year's greetings under the blanket in the cradle where the youngest child slept."

I thought this place was secluded enough, but who would have thought that my little sister would still find it.

Shi Tou, who was sitting to the side, laughed and chimed in, "That's right! We were so hungry back then that as soon as Mom left, we rushed to the cradle and devoured the whole bag of candy."

After finishing the meal, we were filled with lingering fear, worried that Mom would find something was missing and give us a good scolding. Luckily, my older brother was quick-witted and came up with a brilliant idea.

At this point, Stone deliberately paused for a moment before continuing, "Guess what? Big Brother found several pieces of charcoal, then carefully wrapped them up again in the same red wrapping paper used to wrap the candy, and put them back in their original places."

Hey, you can't tell anything wrong from the outside! But later, when Mom was about to give that bag of 'Dongtang' as a gift, she felt something was wrong as soon as she picked it up. Why was the weight different from what she remembered?

When she finally opened the package, full of doubt, lo and behold, it was filled with nothing but charcoal!

Upon hearing this, everyone could no longer contain themselves and burst into laughter. The laughter echoed throughout the room, as if it were about to break through the roof and travel far away.

The younger sister said, "Mom wanted to beat us, but my older brother took the blame. Later, Mom even punished him by not letting him eat dinner."

Tie Niu said, "Our eldest brother is a true righteous man. He's fought for us and helped us get revenge since we were kids."

Shi Tou said, "That's right. In the past, all the kids in this area respected Big Brother. But now Big Brother has gone to study in another place and can no longer protect us."

The stepfather nodded and said, "You should all learn from the eldest brother." He then suggested with a smile, "There are many children in the family, so in the future, we should chop the chicken legs into pieces so that they can be divided more easily. Otherwise, it would be unfair to everyone."

The little sister took a big bite of the chicken leg and said, "Dad is right."

Tie Niu said, "That's right, we should share the good times and the bad."

Everyone laughed again.

After hearing this, Mom smiled and turned to Hanzhe, asking, "Are you saying you're leaving tomorrow?"

Zhong Hanzhe nodded.

Shi Tou said, "So soon? Why not stay a few more days?"

"I'll go to work in the provincial capital for a few days first, and then go to Beijing when school is about to start."

"Brother, can you help me find a job in the provincial capital?" Tie Niu asked.

"They're all temporary workers there, would you be willing to work there?"

"Don't go. Your dad is pulling strings to get you a permanent job at the pottery factory," Mom said.

"And me?" Stone asked.

"Your job at the materials factory is almost done, probably after the New Year," said her stepfather.

Looking at his mother's slightly hunched body and gray hair, which were a result of hard work, Chung Han-che felt a pang of sympathy.

After finishing his meal, he gently placed a stack of banknotes in his mother's hand and said, "Mom, keep this for yourself."

However, after glancing at the money, her expression became hesitant. She counted it with some hesitation and then put it into the pocket inside her apron.

Then she slowly got up, turned around and went into the room, and soon came out carrying a bulging cloth bag.

The mother walked up to Zhong Hanzhe, her eyes filled with love and reluctance.

She said softly, "Han Zhe, although our family lives a hard life, we can still manage to get by."

Now that you are studying alone away from home, as the saying goes, "It's good to be at home for a thousand days, but difficult to be away from home for even one day!"

It's not like home here; everything costs money! Taking this food with you brings back the taste of home.

As she spoke, her mother handed the cloth bag to Zhong Hanzhe.

Zhong Hanzhe took the cloth bag, opened it, and found it filled with all sorts of things. There were fragrant peanuts, sweet and delicious sesame candy, and his favorite mushroom sauce.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but feel a surge of indescribable emotions.

Over the years, he has come to know that his mother has always been biased and always treated her other siblings better.

He was the eldest child in his family, so he was taught from a young age to leave the best for his younger siblings. He always stood in front of his younger siblings when something happened, and he earned their respect by enduring hardship before enjoying comfort.

At that moment, looking at his mother's wrinkled face and expectant expression, he suddenly understood that his mother did love him, but the family was in dire straits, and she wanted to give the best of everything to the children she thought needed it more.

Parents can't always treat their children equally; sometimes spilling a little water is just a sign of their deep affection. But when it comes to their own children, won't they complain that they favored their son?

If I can't even do it myself, it's inevitable that my parents would have such deeply ingrained traditional ideas. Besides, I am ultimately a stepson, and even if I change my surname, I can't change the fact that we are related by blood.

Her stepfather had done a good job, and it was normal for her mother to favor the younger one. However, she never expected that her sisters, with whom she had grown up, would ostracize her after they grew up.

Thinking of this, Zhong Hanzhe sighed deeply in his heart, and his resentment seemed to lessen a bit. He nodded and said, "Okay."

Mother smiled and nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as well.

Zhong Hanzhe took the slightly worn cloth bag, a slight smile playing on his lips, and softly reminded her, "Mom, this thirty yuan and a few cloth coupons are what I earned through hard work doing part-time jobs at school during my spare time."

You can keep it to buy yourself some food and clothes. As for these things, I'll take them.

The mother looked up at her son, who had grown into a man, her eyes filled with joy and pride.

She gently patted Zhong Hanzhe's hand and said with emotion, "Hanzhe, you're really becoming more and more promising! After you graduate from university, the country will definitely assign you a good job."

When that time comes, you'll have to help your younger siblings a lot. Sigh, none of them really like studying. I asked around to help your two younger brothers find jobs, and I had to give them quite a few gifts..."

Hearing his mother's words, Zhong Hanzhe's heart tightened, but he still nodded casually and softly replied, "Mm."

Just as he was about to turn and leave, his mother said anxiously, "Han Zhe, don't you still have some savings? We're helping our two younger brothers find jobs right now. Could you help pay them back when they start earning wages?"

Chung Han-che glanced at his mother, and time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Zhong Hanzhe knew that he had also helped his two younger brothers find jobs in his previous life. He glanced at his brothers without making a sound and saw that they were all looking at him eagerly.

He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Mom, as you know, for all these years, from junior high school to now, seven years, I haven't used a single penny of the family's money, and I even pay 5 yuan to the family every month."

I don't have any extra money. Tomorrow I need to go to the provincial capital to do some odd jobs to save some money before going to school.

The second brother, "Tie Niu," stared intently at Zhong Hanzhe, as if trying to see right through him, and said urgently, "Big brother, please stop hiding it from us! A few days ago, I saw you carrying that camera towards Lianhuatang. That camera is really expensive; it's only sold in the province."

The younger sister standing next to her wasn't to be outdone. She pouted her rosy lips and grumbled in dissatisfaction, while gently twirling her shiny black braid with her slender fingers. She complained in a coquettish tone, "Big brother, you have such a good camera, why won't you take some pretty pictures of me? I've been looking forward to them!"

At this moment, although the younger brother and stepfather did not say anything, their eyes remained silently fixed on Zhong Hanzhe, as if they were also waiting for him to give a satisfactory answer.

Zhong Hanzhe frowned slightly, pondering to himself.

However, when he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the expectation in his mother's eyes, his heart softened.

Forget it, if a problem can be solved with money, then it's not a big deal.

Thinking of this, he slowly reached into his pocket, fumbled for a moment, and finally pulled out a few slightly crumpled banknotes.

Then, he carefully placed the banknote flat on the old wooden table, spread his hands, and said helplessly, "Sigh, this is really all I have left. You can decide what to do with this twenty yuan yourselves. I really can't help you."

This sum of fifty yuan was equivalent to my stepfather's monthly salary. Although my mother wasn't very satisfied, it was better than nothing.

Zhong Hanzhe's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile, and he said softly, "I borrowed this camera from my teacher. The purpose is to complete the image processing work of those ancient buildings."

Besides, there's a limited quantity of film, so we have to return it to the teacher when we get back.

Oh, right, I should go back and pack my things, so I won't talk to you any longer.

After saying these words, he seemed unwilling to continue the topic, so he turned around decisively and reached out to pick up the slightly worn cloth bag placed to the side.

Mom sighed and said, "You are the eldest child in the family, so you should help your parents more. Your younger brothers' weddings and your sister's dowry will be quite expensive. I know how much you've contributed."

She hesitated for a moment and then said, "From now on, all the money you earn will be given to Mom to keep for you. Mom will save it for your wedding."

Upon hearing this, Chung Han-che frowned and remained silent. Instead, he took a step forward with unusually firm steps, as if each step carried a certain determination, gradually moving further and further away from everyone.

His younger sister called out from behind him, "Big brother, Second Sister Mei wants to see you, do you want to wait a bit...?"

Zhong Hanzhe didn't turn back. When he will come again, perhaps only he knows in his heart. It all depends on his mood.

Perhaps, this home was never truly his home...

Just now, deep down he still had a bit of womanly compassion, and he was actually bound by so-called filial piety and righteousness.

However, after experiencing all sorts of things, he had already made up his mind not to try to use money to exchange for other people's false friendship, just like in his previous life.

His thoughts involuntarily drifted back to that distant yet vivid time in his past life.

Back then, my mother would always secretly hide delicious chicken legs or treats when no one was looking, and then secretly hand them to my third son's wife.

As for Huai'an, because of his work, he had to rush to change shifts every day, so he would eat first. However, his mother would quickly cover the dishes with a bowl or plate, as if afraid that Huai'an would eat an extra bite.

Huai'an didn't care about this. He just silently poured some boiling water from the thermos into his rice bowl, stirred it a few times, and then began to swallow the tasteless rice porridge in big mouthfuls.

Sometimes they would only eat a few bites quickly before putting down their chopsticks and rushing out to work.

Huai'an sometimes felt grateful to her mother-in-law for helping take care of the children, and at first she would buy fruit and pastries for her mother-in-law to eat. However, her mother-in-law was reluctant to spend the money, and would always knock on the door of the third daughter-in-law under the cover of night. Perhaps the mother-in-law and the third daughter-in-law got along well.

For some unknown reason, he has been frequently recalling these little things that happened in his past life lately.

At times like these, a deep sense of guilt and self-reproach would well up in his heart, making him feel incredibly heavy.

He knew all too well that neither he nor his family had treated Huai'an so unfairly or unsatisfactorily in their previous life.

They showed Huai'an too little care, ignored his efforts, and instead treated him unfairly in every way.

But now, even with a heart full of regret and remorse, and a desire to make amends for past mistakes, it seems too late. After all, time cannot be turned back; the past is the past, and there's no going back…

The past life was a mess, and there's no going back in this life.

Now, in his eyes, such cheap and fake family affection is utterly worthless.

Sometimes, after seeing through everything, one may be able to laugh it off, but forgiveness is just another form of severing ties and giving up. Now, it feels like even the patience to be perfunctory has been lost.

At that moment, the warm and dazzling sunlight fell directly on his body, enveloping him in a golden glow.

As he continued to walk forward, a long shadow stretched behind him.

From afar, the shadow dragged forlornly on the ground, as if telling of the loneliness and sorrow in his heart that no one could understand.