Chapter 501: Chapter 475: Waiting for Growth

Xiao Qian was trying hard to hold in her laughter, feigning a serious look on her face.

“You mischievous girl, are you laughing at me inside? Let me tell you, I was being tolerant towards you and the other women. I was simply not arguing with the old lady,” Father Yu said, trying to regain his dignity.

Xiao Qian lowered her head, trying hard not to laugh and echoed his words.

“You’re right, uncle. You are indeed the man among men, understanding that a well-ordered family can lead to a well-ordered country. Emphasizing the greater good and not being petty, you don’t argue with us women, and that shows your magnanimity. Otherwise, with your strength, my aunt would faint if you hit her.”

That was some successful flattery.

Father Yu’s mouth lifted into a subtle smile.

“How could I physically confront a woman? It’s always me being patient with her. This old lady, she’s been unreasonable for decades, always ready to hit me—this kind of domestic violence is wrong, no one should hit anyone!”

He’s just digging himself into a bigger hole…

Seeing Father Yu acting like this, Xiao Qian actually felt more affectionate towards him. From what she had heard from others, Father Yu was usually strict in managing the company and trained a very strong team. However, at home, he was extremely caring towards his wife, never retorting even when he was scolded. It made him appear even more endearing.

“Uncle, our city has so many tourist spots, why don’t you let the driver take you somewhere else for a visit? There’s nothing much to see here.”

The residential community was developed by Yu Mingyi. Although the environment was quite nice, it wasn’t so amazing that Father Yu would come here alone just to stroll around.

Father Yu seemed to be wandering aimlessly, but eventually stopped under a tree. He gazed at the small buds growing on the tree with nostalgia.

Unless you looked closely, you wouldn’t notice them. Those tiny green buds brought a sense of calm to those looking at them, making them quite pleasant after a long winter.

“This is a jujube tree, very many years old,” Father Yu said, touching the bark sincerely.

“They say as long lived as a turtle for a thousand years, and as a jujube tree for ten thousand years, but it seems like a jujube tree can only live for about 100 years or so?” Xiao Qian, not very knowledgeable about it, wondered if Father Yu had come all this way just to see this old jujube tree.

“This one isn’t 100 years old, but it’s certainly a few decades old. It was here when I was young and has remained after much transformation. When your eldest brother bought this land to develop the apartments, the only suggestion I made was to keep this tree.”

“That must have been quite difficult for elder brother.”

Designing the landscape to incorporate this short tree with the upscale surroundings was truly a feat. Elder brother should give his designer commendation for this – it wasn’t easy. From this, it was clear how filial elder brother was towards his parents; he would go above and beyond to satisfy their wishes without question. Probably Father Yu merely mentioned it offhand, but elder brother made sure to remember it.

Xiao Qian noticed Father Yu’s gaze and gave an awkward smile, quickly changing the subject, “Are the jujubes on this tree sweet?”

“I don’t know. I don’t like jujubes.”

“…” This line of conversation was going to be a dead end. Chatting with this old man is exhausting!

“But your Aunt likes them. She especially enjoys the jujube cakes your other aunt makes. Women seem to like such sweet stuff. I don’t understand what’s so great about it. However, don’t underestimate the contribution of this jujube tree. Back in the day, there were a few such trees in this area. When the jujubes became ripe, your youngest uncle would gather his friends and come here to pick them. He was always the fastest, beating other kids to it. The amount of fruit he collected was always the most!”

“He was always so domineering…” Xiao Qian could easily imagine the smug expression on Yu Minglang’s face as a child.

Having such a troublesome child must have been quite a headache.

“I tried to teach him not to be selfish and refrain from picking too many jujubes so others could have some. But he wouldn’t listen since he knew his aunt loved them. As a result, we had jujube cakes every meal, which put me in an awkward position. Who would want to eat that?! And during this season, there would always be complaints. Not only would your youngest uncle pick jujubes but he would also lead the kids to skip classes and harvest melons. When the farmers came complaining, he would hide at his aunt’s house. Your aunt had to pay the farmers 2 yuan and then squabbled with me for a week, always acting like a little girl.”

“So what happened afterwards?” Xiao Qian wondered. Two yuan was a lot of money back in those days. Just how many melons did her man destroy?

“In the end, your other aunt gave her five yuan and she stopped crying. She’s always been like this, liking to take advantage whenever she can but never able to accept losses. Even after she got married, she’d often come back to take advantage, sponging off us. But she’s not really a bad person… It’s just that now that she’s old…”

When reminiscing earlier, Father Yu seemed nostalgic, but as he thought of her sister’s current behavior, he could only sigh.

Xiao Qian remained silent, not taking up the conversation.

She realized that Father Yu wanted to vent and was using her as a sounding board. As the younger generation, she needed to refrain from giving any opinions.

No matter what Father Yu said about her aunt, it was okay. But if she said something, it would be a different matter.

Father Yu also fell silent for a while. Earlier that day, as he was passing by, he had suddenly thought about his younger days. At that time, they were not wealthy, but they were a big, happy family. There were little arguments, but no major conflicts. Upon hearing what Xiao Qian had done to his daughter-in-law, Father Yu was taken aback. He had no idea that his sister had done so many such things. He also felt sorry for his wife, who had been tolerating her sister-in-law’s actions all these years. He realized that his wife’s magnanimity played a major role in keeping the family together.

He had mixed feelings. Seeing the jujube tree that his family used to pick from when they were not so wealthy, he felt nostalgic. However, the familial bond had diluted over the years and the family had started to drift apart, which made him upset.

Their aunt always did whatever she wanted without considering the feelings of others. However, her brother still cared about her. Now that his sister had thoroughly disappointed him, Father Yu was truly hurt.

Xiao Qian was initially annoyed with her aunt, but seeing Father Yu touch the jujube tree and reminisce about the past, she felt more pity for her aunt.

This wilful and capricious old woman had destroyed her kinship with her brother because of her capriciousness.

“What are you thinking about, you little devil, looking so serious?”

“I’m reflecting on the importance of cherishing everyone who treats me well. No one is entitled to spoil me or treat me well. I can’t exhaust the love of someone who treats me well, or make them disheartened. Sometimes, it’s cute for a girl to be a little self-willed and capricious as long as it doesn’t violate principles. But excess is always bad. After all, those who love and care for me won’t always have the patience to wait for me to grow up.”