72: Chapter 72 Every family has its own troubles

Zhao Xiaoshuai's home was in the old district, quite far from the new commercial street and his previous company. For the sake of a convenient commute, he rented a place of his own outside.

Over the years, as work became increasingly busy, even though they lived in the same city, he and his parents only managed to see each other during holidays and festivals.

"My eldest son is back. Why are you off work so early this year?"

"You seem to have lost weight? It's good to be thinner; you were as round as a ball before."

As soon as the door opened, he was met with the familiar voice and the slightly aged face of his mother.

"I've been losing weight lately. Where's Dad?"

He placed the crates of New Year's goods neatly against the wall and scanned the house.

It was still the same familiar decor, much of which had been there since he could remember, and a thick sense of "home" washed over him.

"Your dad knew you were coming back and said he wanted to go buy a pork knuckle and pig ears. The supermarket closes early today, so he's been gone for a while. He should be back any minute now."

Ever since he was a child, Zhao Xiaoshuai had loved eating meat, and his parents remembered this very clearly.

"There are still some things left. I'll just go down and make a few more trips myself. Mom, close the door; the wind is quite chilly, don't catch a cold."

Downstairs, he happened to run into his father returning.

His old father insisted on helping, so Zhao Xiaoshuai had to share some of the lighter items with him. After a few trips, the father and son finally moved all the New Year's goods upstairs.

"Did Qingqing go back to her hometown?"

"Yeah, she and Xinyi left today."

Although he had decided to come clean, Zhao Xiaoshuai felt he should at least finish the New Year's Eve dinner peacefully and hedge his emotions first.

"You two aren't young anymore. Have you decided when you're getting married?"

"Let's talk about that after dinner tonight. Let's get the cooking done first."

Although it was just an ordinary family of three, every year Zhao Xiaoshuai's family would prepare a table full of dishes, always including all the ones Zhao Xiaoshuai had loved since he was a child.

There had to be chicken, there had to be fish, and sometimes there would be shrimp.

Of course, dumplings were indispensable—chive, cabbage, and three-delicacy fillings; they would make plenty of them.

Naturally, they couldn't finish it all in one day; the side dishes alone would last until the third day of the Lunar New Year, and they would even have Zhao Xiaoshuai take the dumplings back with him so he could eat them for a long time.

Father Zhao and Mother Zhao both knew that their son didn't eat properly on normal days, surviving on instant noodles or takeout.

And since that "daughter-in-law" wasn't someone who managed a household well, they, as parents, had to worry more.

The family always had endless things to talk about, from reminiscing about the past, "When you were a child, you were like this…"

To looking forward to the future, "Once you start a family and have a child, our family's main life mission will be complete."

No matter how they talked, they could never avoid the topic of a "child."

Although the Spring Festival Gala got worse every year and the content really wasn't worth watching, out of habit, his family still kept the TV on, using it as background music to accompany their family chat.

Occasionally, when they saw a brilliant segment, the family would watch it carefully and exchange their thoughts.

"Xiao Shuai, you bought quite a lot of things today. What's up, did you get a bonus?"

Father Zhao casually started the conversation, and Mother Zhao immediately followed up with her concerns:

"Son, you can't spend money recklessly. You haven't even secured the money for your wedding yet. When will you be able to bring Qingqing home as your wife!"

Although high bride prices weren't a custom in their area, and many families didn't even ask for a bride price.

But the mere cost of a marital home was enough to make many people clutch their wallets and fall into dejected silence.

Zhao Xiaoshuai's parents hadn't managed to work until normal retirement age; they were just ordinary drops in the tide of that mass layoff.

But they had done their best to give Zhao Xiaoshuai an ordinary enough childhood.

Internet jokes often said that buying a house was a matter of emptying six wallets.

But the reality was that, often, a family only had two wallets, or even just one.

Zhao Xiaoshuai's parents were just like that; they couldn't provide direct financial support, so their urging for him to marry was only verbal, and all these years, they hadn't pressured their son too hard.

"Mom, actually, Chu Ziqing and I have already broken up."

Sensing the atmosphere, he felt it was about time and started to come clean.

The two elders were indeed shocked. They set down everything they were doing and looked at him: "You were getting along so well, why did you suddenly break up?"

Facing their questioning, Zhao Xiaoshuai calmly told them everything he could about the whole situation.

Hearing that the "daughter-in-law" had cheated and dumped their son, Father Zhao and Mother Zhao were furious.

"What an ungrateful wretch! Tell me, how much has our Xiao Shuai helped her family? How could she…"

"Dad, Mom. I'm not angry anymore, so you shouldn't be either. There are plenty of girls better than her. It's the New Year, let's talk about something happy."

After much persuasion, he managed to calm his parents down, and this landmine was successfully navigated.

With the past reminisced and the future unable to be envisioned, the family could only start chatting about domestic trifles.

"Your Second Uncle came to ask your dad for money again. His son Xiaohu is getting married, and they're still short on the down payment for the marital home."

"I told him we didn't have any money either, and that our Xiao Shuai didn't even have a marital home in sight, but he just cried to your dad, saying how hard life was. Whose life is easy anyway…"

His mother went on and on, and although his father tried to interrupt a few times without success, he eventually just let her be.

When his mother got tired of talking and paused to drink some water, Father Zhao finally managed to get a word in:

"You only remember my second brother coming to borrow money. Why don't you mention the 5,000 yuan your eldest sister borrowed from us? It's been so many years, hasn't she paid it back yet?"

Mother Zhao didn't refute this, just sighed lightly:

"My eldest sister has had a hard life, too. Her daughter was originally dating a young man just fine, but she insisted on breaking up with him to be with some guy from a rich family."

"You say it's an unequal match, what could they possibly want from her daughter? As a result, she got pregnant, and they took her to a small clinic to get it aborted."

"Her health collapsed, and that guy vanished without a trace. She's been suicidal for so many years; how could I have the heart to press her for the debt?"

Father Zhao stopped there, not saying any more about the matter. "Every family has its own troubles."

"Young girls nowadays are all so restless, fantasizing about marrying into a good family and jumping up a few social classes overnight."

"There aren't that many good things in life!"

"Fish find fish, shrimp find shrimp, and turtles pair with tortoises; people just shouldn't have too many delusions."

Perhaps thinking of her own son's experience, Mother Zhao became agitated again:

"I originally thought that although Qingqing's family conditions weren't good, she was pretty, so she was a match for our Xiao Shuai. How much money have we spent on her and her family over these years?"

"If it hadn't been for being held back by her, Xiao Shuai would have earned enough for a down payment by now. Finding a girl to marry would be easy then!"

"Who would have thought she was an ungrateful wretch!"

Father Zhao sighed again: "It's all because we parents have no ability. If we could have given you some support, you wouldn't have had to live so hard."

Seeing the two elders sighing more and more, the atmosphere was heading in an unhappy direction.

And with the fire of their frustration threatening to shift onto him, Zhao Xiaoshuai hurriedly changed the subject:

"Dad, how much does Second Uncle want to borrow exactly?"

"He's not getting a cent; we don't have any money anyway!" Mother Zhao's attitude was firm, determined to shut Father Zhao's mouth.

Zhao Xiaoshuai smiled slightly, "Who says we don't have money?"