In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 133: The Hypocritical Stepfather (12)

As the New Year approached, Qi Sheng planned to return to his hometown with Lele by himself. Mi Fei was easy to reason with, but Haohao began to feel conflicted.
On one hand, he didn’t like the people back in their hometown, but on the other hand, the thought of Dad not taking him along made him feel upset. He had been unusually quiet the past few days, and of course Qi Sheng noticed.
Qi Sheng pulled him close and tried to reason with him: “This time Daddy has some serious matters to discuss with Grandma and the others. You know what Grandma’s like—stubborn, like many of the older generation. I’m afraid I won’t be able to look after you properly and you’ll be wronged.”
The little guy kept his head down, saying nothing. Seeing this, Qi Sheng continued coaxing him: “Daddy’s going back to handle something big. If it works out, Grandma will never give you the side-eye again. Be good, Haohao. This year, spend New Year’s with Mommy and your grandma. I promise, from now on, our family will never be separated during the holidays again, okay?”
Hearing that finally drew a reaction. Haohao looked up at him, clearly still skeptical. But after hearing Qi Sheng’s promise, his expression softened a little. “Dad, what big thing are you going to do?”
Qi Sheng winked: “Secret! You just need to believe—when Dad makes a move, nothing is impossible!”
Seeing how confident he was, Haohao finally cracked a smile. Qi Sheng, having successfully cheered him up, handed over the prepared gift and red envelope. “This is specially for you from Daddy—an early New Year’s gift for our Haohao. I’ll call you on New Year’s Eve. When I get back, I’ll take you and Lele to the amusement park. Think about where else you want to go—Daddy will say yes to everything.”
After that string of promises, the little guy was finally satisfied. He looked at Qi Sheng seriously and said, “Then I’ll wait for your call.”
Qi Sheng had already called ahead to inform the family of his arrival time. So just after lunch, the old lady figured her son would arrive soon. She left the stew in the pot to be watched by Qi Laoda and hurried off with the old man to wait at the entrance of the village.
However, when they saw Qi Sheng getting off the bus with Lele, both parents couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. They exchanged a glance that said the same thing: Still can’t afford a car, huh.
But the moment the old lady saw her youngest son, whom she hadn’t seen in a year, her face lit up with joy—until she noticed it was just the two of them walking over. She couldn’t help but frown again.
Still, they were at the village entrance, and several folks were lounging around chatting nearby. She didn’t want to become a laughingstock, so she kept her questions to herself. One of the nearby villagers, however, curiously asked, “Shengzi, where’s your wife?”
Qi Sheng answered with a smile, “My mother-in-law’s not feeling well, so I let her go back to take care of her this year.”
That villager nodded and smiled, seeming to believe the story. But once the Qi family walked off, he exchanged glances with the others—it was still hard to believe a city wife would willingly come back to the countryside for New Year’s.
Qi Sheng didn’t care what outsiders thought. Once he brought Lele home and saw the spread of food on the table in the main hall, his mood brightened: “Mom, all this food? You haven’t eaten yet?”
The old lady kissed her little grandson and happily said, “We were waiting for you two!” Then she frowned and looked at Qi Sheng: “Where’s your wife? Is her mom really sick?”
Qi Sheng nodded, “Yes, I wouldn’t lie to you!” Though he thought to himself with amusement—overeating and getting bloated counts as “unwell,” right?
Her son was finally back, and thankfully not with that annoying “baggage.” Now that her son had made something of himself, and since he hadn’t brought that stepkid, her mood improved and she didn’t press too hard.
The family happily sat down to their reunion meal. The old lady hugged Lele and tried to feed him herself. Qi Sheng objected: “Mom, he’s almost six now. Let him eat by himself.”
“So what if he’s six? I haven’t seen my precious Lele in so long—I can’t be affectionate? Don’t worry, I won’t spoil him!” she said as she picked up a chicken leg to tear apart and feed him.
Lele had long since gotten used to eating on his own, and he especially loved gnawing on chicken legs. He quickly said, “Grandma, I want to eat it myself.”
The little guy’s word carried weight. The old lady immediately laughed and started serving him other dishes instead, all the while asking: “Lele, did that stepbrother of yours bully you at home? Does your mom favor him over you?”
“Grandma, don’t call my brother a stepbrother. My brother is the best!”
The old lady was displeased that her little grandson actually defended Qi Chenghao. She thought it must be Mi Fei who deliberately taught Lele to say that, so she decided to ‘re-educate’ her grandson: “Lele, he’s nothing but—”
“Mom, don’t just focus on feeding Lele. You should eat more too. I have something to discuss with you after the meal.”
The old lady was annoyed to be interrupted by her son. She rolled her eyes at him, but when the old man gave her a warning glare, she didn’t say anything more. After the meal, she casually set down the dishes and utensils, sent the kids out into the yard, then sat down with a stern face and asked Qi Sheng: “What do you want to say? Is it that wife of yours talking bad about me behind my back again? I just knew she was up to no good. She didn’t come back this time not because her mother is unwell, but because she looks down on us, right?”
Qi Sheng looked at his mother with a troubled face and sighed: “Mom, today I really do want to talk to you about your relationship with Feifei…”
“You brat, you’ve barely come home and you’re already siding with her. What? Now that you’ve made some money, you’re going to turn your back on your own mother?”
Qi Sheng smiled bitterly: “Mom, what are you even saying…”
Seeing that Qi Sheng really had something to say, the old man looked at the old lady and said: “Let the boy finish talking. It might be something serious.”
The old lady turned away with a sour expression, clearly showing her dissatisfaction with her son.
Qi Sheng didn’t try to placate her. Instead, he asked, “Did my brother tell you about how things have been going for me in Su City? Want to guess how much I made this year?”
The old lady perked up instantly at the mention of money. Her anger vanished, and her eyes lit up: “How much? Is it tens of thousands?”
Qi Laoda and his wife also looked eagerly at Qi Sheng, clearly curious. They didn’t dare guess too high, thinking even tens of thousands would already be amazing.
Qi Sheng grinned proudly: “Tens of thousands? That’s nothing!” He held up ten fingers and raised his eyebrows: “100,000—net profit!”
The old lady immediately lit up like a blooming chrysanthemum. She looked at Qi Sheng, absolutely thrilled: “Well done, Xiaosheng! You’ve really made something of yourself. At this rate, you’ll earn back all your capital by next year, and then it’ll be all profit!”
Qi Sheng nodded with a smile. In his heart, he thought the real number was even higher. But outwardly, he sighed deeply, which startled the old lady.
“This is such good news—why are you sighing?”
Qi Laoda also asked nervously, “Is the business not doing well now? Not making as much as before?”
Qi Sheng shook his head. Seeing all four of them so tense, he continued to sigh: “Even though I made quite a bit, there’s one thing I need to tell you in advance. The money I earned… not all of it is mine.”
“What do you mean it’s not yours? Aren’t you the boss? Isn’t that clothing shop yours?!”
“Mom, don’t be anxious—I was just getting to that.”
Then he looked at the four of them with a gloomy expression and said, “Actually, the clothing shop isn’t entirely mine. Back when I didn’t have enough funds, I borrowed money from my mother-in-law’s family. They were willing to lend it to me, but later insisted on having shares in the business.”
The old lady widened her eyes: “Shares? What does that mean?”
Qi Laoda frowned and thought for a moment before explaining: “Mom, I think it works like this—when doing business, you need capital. Whoever invests more gets a bigger share of the profits. The more money someone puts in, the larger their share.”
Qi Sheng nodded in agreement: “That’s pretty much it. I was short by 100,000 yuan, and my mother-in-law was willing to put that money in. But they insisted on owning a share of the business. I couldn’t just watch the money I’d already invested go to waste, so I agreed.”
The old lady immediately got anxious and asked, “Then how much of that… share do they have?”
“Half.”
“What?! So that means half of the money you earn goes to their family?!”
The old lady instantly flew into a rage. She couldn’t help but curse: “Those two old things, they really are no good—so this is how they take advantage of you!”
She glared at Qi Sheng angrily: “I told you those city people are crafty! Look at this—loaned you a hundred thousand, and now who knows how much they’ll take from the profits in the future!”
She slapped the table in fury: “No way, I have to go talk some sense into them. The kid just wants to run a business, and they’re trying to squeeze him for profit—what scheming minds!”
Seeing his mother so worked up and his father’s face also turning grim, Qi Sheng rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, “Dad, Mom, please let me finish talking first.”
The two turned back at once. The old man quickly asked, “Xiao Sheng, go ahead. Is there more to this?”
Qi Sheng nodded: “Yes, my mother-in-law didn’t mean to take advantage of me. She’s just afraid that if I get rich later, I won’t treat Feifei and Haohao well. That’s why they insisted on putting that agreement in writing. But she also said that as long as I treat Feifei well and don’t let her suffer, it’s fine if I give her half the earnings.”
“Dad, Mom, you know what Feifei is like. She’s so honest and she trusts me. When I told her I needed funds to open the store, she gave me full control of the money. So technically, all the money is still in my hands.”
Hearing that, the old couple let out a sigh of relief. Even Qi Laoda looked more relaxed. The old lady said, “That’s good then. As long as the money is in your hands, it’s yours. You brat, you really scared me just now.”
Qi Sheng smiled, but still looked a bit gloomy: “Mom, the reason I’m telling you all this is because I need your help. The reason I didn’t bring Feifei this time is because I wanted to talk to you all privately.”
The old lady frowned, confused: “What is it? What could we possibly help with?”
“Of course you can help—and Mom, you’re the key to everything!”
She looked even more puzzled but said cheerfully: “Just say it, son. If there’s anything I can do for you, I definitely will!”
Qi Sheng smiled: “It’s about that share issue. The profit split is fixed. Right now, Feifei and I get along well, and the money is all mine. But if one day our relationship goes south and she wants her share back, I’ll lose at least half. And if we ever get divorced, I’ll have to split my assets with her.”
The old lady got alarmed at that: “Why are you suddenly talking about divorce? If you split up, won’t she take most of what you own?”
Qi Sheng glanced at his mother, a bit displeased: “I’m just saying if. That’s why I’m saying you are the key here, Mom. I really need to talk to you about this. Why did you have to give Feifei such a hard time? When she first married me, her parents treated me so well—they practically clung to me! Not only did they get me a job, they also often brought us meat and vegetables. If I hadn’t stopped them, they would’ve bought me a motorcycle!”
Seeing the old lady looking unconvinced, Qi Sheng continued: “You know how they treated me before. But after Lele was born, you made things so hard for her. Back then, her parents started suspecting I married her for her family’s money. After that, they became guarded. That’s why, when it came to this loan, unlike before, they insisted on owning shares.”
The old lady’s face grew long from being scolded and she muttered unhappily: “Is it really that bad? We only saw each other a few times a year. Who gave her a hard time?”
Qi Sheng smiled: “Mom, we all know in our hearts whether you made things difficult for her. I’m not blaming you. Back then, I pretended not to see and stood by you, but things are different now.”
“How are they different?”
Qi Sheng explained: “Back then, Lele was young, so Feifei just endured it. But she’s never been treated badly in her life before. Now that Lele’s older and the clothing business is making good money, she—being an accountant—knows exactly how much she’s entitled to. Mom, life in the city isn’t like the countryside. It’s not just men who change when they get rich—women do too. If one day she can’t take your temper anymore and kicks me out, she could take most of our money. And even if she brings the two kids with her, there’ll still be someone willing to marry her.”
The old lady frowned at that: “She’d dare kick you out? You’re Lele’s biological dad!”