Ch 61: One Word, “mom,” Caused An Emotional Breakdown For The Sisters?
The matter was slightly melodramatic.
But…
In those times, it seemed quite normal.
Father Cao’s ancestors had also been wealthy.
Later, the family business expanded to Zhonghai. Although it wasn’t large, they still had some family fortune, belonging to the earliest group of wealthy people… a trailing presence.
Father Cao received a good education, attending a good high school, and later university.
He met a young, innocent college junior—Aunt Ren.
Aunt Ren was a year younger than him.
Love was sweet.
The two were practically inseparable every day.
Hearing this,
Cao Cheng thought of a terrifying fact.
“Wait.”
“Am I not your illegitimate son with Aunt Ren?”
Father Cao glanced at him: “You wish!”
That’s good.
Cao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Almost having a blood relationship.
That would have been troublesome.
Thankfully, not.
…
The subsequent story became melodramatic.
Aunt Ren’s father was a wealthy person, a proper local big merchant.
Ren Family’s old man also particularly doted on his youngest daughter, allowing her to act as she pleased, but he wouldn’t let her act recklessly in matters of marriage.
In short,
he didn’t look favorably upon the Cao family’s meager assets and broke up the couple. He met with Father Cao, who was still in university at the time, and had a long talk, completely demoralizing Father Cao.
But what kind of person was Father Cao?
Even when he was young, he was a bit shameless. After being demoralized, he quickly recovered, ignoring the old man’s words and continued dating Aunt Ren.
The Ren Family’s old man was angry, so he confined Aunt Ren and set her up on blind dates with various prominent young masters.
Rumors slowly spread in the martial world that the Ren Family looked down on the Cao Family.
Although the Ren Family didn’t take action themselves, those who flattered the Ren Family secretly suppressed the Cao family’s business.
Their business wasn’t large, so it was quickly destroyed.
The Cao family’s old man was directly angered into illness. He didn’t die, but his health deteriorated from then on.
They lost their money and were forced to return to their hometown.
They found some connections and got Father Cao a job at the cotton mill.
This tumultuous love story became a typical example of an unsuitable match.
The Cao family’s old master’s health deteriorated, constantly clamoring for a grandson, so Father Cao eventually married a female worker.
Not long after, Cao Cheng was born.
That’s roughly the story.
Father Cao didn’t mention some details.
Then, during those twenty years, the old master passed away, and the dilapidated Cao family faced a series of problems like “state-owned enterprise reform,” which was also the period of massive layoffs.
Cao Cheng was still in elementary school that year.
And his mother also became seriously ill, related to the factory’s production environment, a lung problem.
Treatment cost a lot of money, and she didn’t recover, and she also fell out with her family relatives.
In short, the family was poor, and getting poorer.
After that, it was just the two of them depending on each other.
…
Cao Cheng didn’t expect
that one day he would hear so much gossip.
He didn’t know about it before.
He always thought Old Cao was not discreet, saying whatever came to mind.
But he didn’t expect that these matters had been hidden for so long.
Cao Cheng said, “So where is the Ren Family’s old man now?”
“Dead.”
Father Cao laughed, a very happy laugh. He looked around, seeing no one, and said, “Good riddance!”
“…”
This hatred between father-in-law and son-in-law escalated into a resentment that transcended death.
The person is dead, why are you still gloating?
Don’t you know that death is a major event?
I despise you!
“He wasted twenty years of my youth, don’t you think he deserves it? Of course, I don’t hate him anymore. Endless revenge, when will it end? I can’t go dig up his grave, so forget it. Your dad, I’m a very magnanimous person,” Father Cao said, showing off.
Cao Cheng didn’t know what to say.
He was speechless for a moment.
After all, it was all from a previous generation.
And it’s only Old Cao’s side of the story; who knows what happened.
But one thing is certain.
Old Cao and Aunt Ren’s relationship was probably not a fleeting affair.
They might have really grown old together.
This was completely different from what Cao Cheng had thought before.
“No wonder Aunt Ren liked you? It’s completely the first love halo at work,” Cao Cheng muttered to himself.
Before, he couldn’t understand why such an aunt would like Old Cao.
Now everything makes sense.
“What kind of words are those? Am I, your father, that bad?”
“Heh!”
Cao Cheng smiled without speaking.
…
Lunch was quickly prepared.
The whole family was lively and bustling.
Only Second Sister’s expression was wrong.
Aunt Ren and Father Cao were sitting at the ends of the large table.
Aunt Ren raised her glass, smiling: “We’re finally all together. First, this first toast, welcome Xiao Cheng home.”
This face must be given.
Cao Cheng also raised his wine glass: “Thank you, Mom.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The sudden change of address almost made everyone gasp.
Actually, after hearing the whole story, Cao Cheng knew that there would be a change.
Still, the same sentence, they may have grown old together.
Then, changing the address is a natural thing.
First, to give Old Cao some face.
Second…
it could bring a lot of positive emotion.
Sure enough.
This change of address resulted in Aunt Ren’s happiness doubling.
Father Cao was also pleased, this kid is giving face, very good, Father is very satisfied.
Eldest Sister’s emotion should be the most calm, smiling slightly, neither negative nor positive.
Third Sister was happy.
Fourth Sister was slightly unhappy.
The most likely candidate was Second Sister Ren Fanxing. The negative emotion that erupted instantly filled Cao Cheng up.
As expected of someone skilled in critical hits.
Second Sister’s fists were clenched tightly, as if she wanted to get up and leave.
She was finally held back by Eldest Sister, whose hand under the table firmly grasped hers.
Then Eldest Sister shook her head at Second Sister, without speaking, but the meaning was clear: give Mom face, don’t make Mom look bad.
Second Sister ultimately remained silent, picking up her wine glass.
A small glass of red wine, she drank it down in one gulp.
Heroic capacity!
…
During this meal, Aunt Ren frequently served Cao Cheng food, laughing happily.
Second Sister left midway, saying “I’m full.”
She only drank three glasses of wine and didn’t eat a single dish.
Eldest Sister also said she was “full” afterward, probably going to comfort Second Sister.
The rest was like a family.
Eating, drinking, laughing…
Cao Cheng also completely figured out the family factions during this meal.
With the existence of the system, the emotion value is like “mind reading,” allowing him to clearly capture everyone’s subconscious emotions.
Regardless of their outward attitude, it doesn’t affect Cao Cheng’s judgment of their relationships.
One could even say
that the most difficult person in this family is not Second Sister.
But Eldest Sister.
Because Second Sister’s emotions are all on her face, if she dislikes something, she directly shows it.
But Eldest Sister’s thoughts are too deep.
Whether it was the initial contact or the change of address during the meal, Eldest Sister’s expressed emotion was a smile, extremely gentle.
But her subconscious emotions were not missed at all.
He didn’t understand what her attitude was at all.
But it didn’t matter,
Cao Cheng, with years of experience, couldn’t handle a few little girls?
To put it simply, Aunt Ren’s satisfaction is enough, and she clearly is the one who calls the shots in this family.
She genuinely likes him.
Whether it’s loving the family or not.
Or because he’s handsome.
Of course, he’s more inclined towards the latter.
In short,
there was no double-dealing.
This also made Cao Cheng feel good about Aunt Ren, providing her with positive emotions, otherwise, he wouldn’t have changed his address so quickly.
…
After the meal,
Aunt Ren also gave a “change of address fee,” giving Cao Cheng a key, a car key.
The car was bought some time ago, a new car specially prepared for Young Master Cao.
This “Mom” wasn’t called for nothing.
Sigh.
If I had known about this car, I should have called her “Mom” more sweetly.
Thinking back,
the “Mom” just now seemed insufficiently full of emotion, and the progression of emotion was rather stiff. There should have been more layers in the way I said it.
Sigh…
I have to pay attention next time.
