In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 132: The Hypocritical Stepfather (11)

Wei Xiaohui was currently full of excitement. Seeing that her brother-in-law had truly made a successful business in Su City, her mind also became active with possibilities. She turned to face Qi Laoda and said excitedly, “If your younger brother can succeed, maybe we can too!”

Qi Laoda still had some “fear” of the big city—or rather, a natural fear of unfamiliar environments. He looked at his excited wife and poured cold water on her enthusiasm: “Give it a rest. Doing business takes talent. Don’t you know our own capabilities? You were even afraid to run a small shop in the village for fear of losing money, and now you’re thinking of opening something in a big city?”

Wei Xiaohui wasn’t discouraged at all by his words. She replied dismissively, “What talent? I never saw any talent in your younger brother before either—not even your parents believed in him—but he still made it, didn’t he? So I say, success in business isn’t about talent, it’s about courage!”

Qi Laoda looked amused at his wife’s lofty ambition and asked, “Then tell me this—if we took all our money right now, not even to Su City, but just to start a business in town, would you dare?”

Wei Xiaohui was momentarily speechless. Qi Laoda shrugged and tried to lie back down. “Stop dreaming. Maybe our younger brother just got lucky. Let’s go to sleep.”

Unwilling to back down, Wei Xiaohui grabbed him and pulled him up again. “Why wouldn’t I dare? If you support me, I’ll do it!”

Qi Laoda was once again forced to sit up. He looked at his wife with helpless eyes and slumped his head. “Aren’t you afraid we’ll burn through all the money and won’t be able to send Xiuxiu and Kangkang to school? This isn’t something you just jump into—we don’t know a thing about running a business.”

Wei Xiaohui smacked him angrily. “I’m being serious here—can’t you be more positive? We didn’t try before because we were totally blind about business and couldn’t afford to lose money. But now it’s different—we’ve got someone in the family who knows what he’s doing!”

Qi Laoda finally caught her meaning. He looked at her in confusion and said, “You mean… ask my younger brother to teach us how to do business?”

Wei Xiaohui nodded excitedly. “Exactly! Think about it—business is business, the basic tricks should be the same. He’s got experience now. If we let him guide us, even if we don’t make money, at least we won’t lose much.” Qi Laoda frowned. “Would that really work?” Then he glanced at his wife and waved dismissively. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. If younger brother had such a sure path to money, why wouldn’t he just do it himself?”

Wei Xiaohui pulled the quilt over her feet and wasn’t in a rush to answer. She asked, “Okay, let’s say you don’t want to go into business. But if your brother gets richer and richer in the future, would you still feel comfortable showing up at his house?”

Qi Laoda was immediately annoyed. “What kind of talk is that? Just because my brother gets rich, doesn’t mean he won’t recognize me as his older brother. Why wouldn’t I be able to go to his house? You’re just talking nonsense!”

Wei Xiaohui didn’t get mad at his reaction. She had so many thoughts running through her mind now, she was unusually sharp. “Forget his attitude for a second, let’s look at the facts. What do rich people fear most?”

Qi Laoda couldn’t think of it right away and asked with a frown, “What?”

“Of course, a bunch of poor relatives. Other distant relatives are manageable, but close siblings—that’s what they fear the most. Think about it—if there’s a big gap between our families one day and you go visit him, even if you don’t ask to borrow money, he’ll still be on guard thinking you came to sponge off him. And if we’re doing poorly, can you guarantee you’ll never need help from him? The first couple of times, he’ll help because of family, but if it keeps happening, even the closest of siblings will grow distant.”

Her blunt words clearly made Qi Laoda uncomfortable. But seeing her finally pause, he grumbled and rolled his eyes. “You’ve said so much—then what are we supposed to do? If we ask him to teach us everything, wouldn’t he find us annoying?”

Wei Xiaohui shrugged. “Not necessarily.”

Qi Laoda grew impatient. “If you’ve got something to say, say it—stop being so mysterious!”

Wei Xiaohui smiled. “Just like I said earlier—rich people fear poor relatives. So maybe your brother doesn’t want you to stay poor your whole life either. Otherwise, he’ll constantly be worried that you’re going to come asking him for help.”

“What do you mean by ‘poor as a church mouse’? Have I ever let you or the kids go hungry? Watch your wording!”

“Okay, okay. Even if we’re not poor, if we rely on farming to become the wealthiest in our village, we’d still be light-years behind your brother.” Wei Xiaohui paused to catch her breath before continuing, “That’s why we have to do business. We need to bite the bullet and ask your younger brother for advice. Don’t worry about him refusing. Think about it—Su City is such a big place. Do you think he can dominate the whole market? As long as he gives us a few pointers, we’ll have a path forward.”

After finishing, Wei Xiaohui saw her husband still frowning and asked, puzzled, “Say something. What’s with that look? You really don’t think your brother will help you? Or… did something happen between you two when you visited?”

With that thought, Wei Xiaohui suddenly got anxious. The Qi family and her own family finally had someone like Qi Sheng, a successful and wealthy person in the big city. Could her husband have been foolish enough to offend him completely?

Qi Laoda was still deep in thought. He rolled his eyes at his anxious wife and said, “What are you thinking? From how I looked when I came back, do you think I fought with him?”

Wei Xiaohui relaxed a bit upon hearing that. She had just gotten too anxious and forgotten that her husband had come back with bags full. Then she asked again, more confused, “Then what are you still worried about?”

Qi Laoda sighed and finally shared what had been on his mind: “You’re jumping the gun here. Sure, from what I saw, your brother’s business seems to be doing well right now—but it’s still early. It’s normal for business to be good just after opening. What if things go downhill soon? He’s only been doing business for a year. He might still be figuring things out himself. Can you really trust that everything he says is right?”

Wei Xiaohui was stunned for a moment, then surprised. She hadn’t expected her usually quiet husband to be this thoughtful. She frowned too and said, “You’re right.”

The couple both sat there silently, brows furrowed. After a while, Wei Xiaohui still felt unwilling to give up: “That may be true, but he still knows way more than we do. Think about it—in just one year, your brother opened a clothing store in the center of Su City. That shows he’s got some vision and ability. Look around—who around here has that kind of speed? Take Xie Laoda from the neighboring village—he’s been doing business for years and still hasn’t opened a storefront in a big city.”

Qi Laoda chuckled. “That’s not the same. Xie Laoda built everything from scratch. As for my brother, even if we didn’t help him, remember what he said last New Year? That big store of his might’ve been funded with his father-in-law’s funeral savings.”

Wei Xiaohui had to admit that was a good point. She glanced at her husband and nudged him with her elbow: “Regret it now? If you had gone to the city after middle school, maybe you could’ve married a rich city girl too!”

Qi Laoda was a bit slow to respond. He couldn’t quite keep up with her train of thought, and only smiled after another nudge: “Now you’re worried about me? Stop daydreaming. We’ve got two kids already. Let’s get back to the topic—business!”

Wei Xiaohui had just been joking. She refocused and said seriously, “You’re right, I was thinking too far ahead. Your brother is only just getting started. He’s probably barely managing himself, let alone in a position to help us.” She sighed and added after a pause, “It really is too soon. Even if we wanted to start a business, we’d probably need to borrow seed money from him. He hasn’t even bought a car yet, so it’s likely he doesn’t have much extra cash. If we’re going to borrow money, we’ll have to wait until he’s really doing well.”

Qi Laoda nodded, but his attitude suddenly became more optimistic: “It’s not the right time now, but we can save up more ourselves. We don’t have to go all the way to Su City. Maybe we can do some small business here in town or the county. With brother around, who knows—it might work!”

“That’s a good idea, but…”

Qi Laoda saw her hesitation and immediately knew what she was thinking: “But what? Still thinking about Su City?”

Wei Xiaohui admitted, “I am. Even if we just look at the county, the gap with Su City is huge. Take your brother’s stepson—he’s the same age as our Kangkang, but if you put them side by side, even if I’m biased toward our son, it’s obvious one is a country boy and the other a city prince. Lele’s still young, but I bet he’ll grow up just like that boy. You and your brother being different is one thing, but I can’t stand seeing such a big gap between our kids and his!”

Qi Laoda frowned too when he heard that. Looking at his upset wife, he thought of their two children growing up in the dirt and suddenly felt the weight of that difference. Yeah, it was one thing if he fell behind his brother in this life, but were his daughter and son destined to be left behind too?

Thinking of his smart and lively little nephew, Qi Laoda finally felt a spark of determination. He seriously thought about their future path and, after a long pause, said, “How about this—when brother comes home for New Year’s, I’ll talk to him. I’ll ask if his store needs an extra pair of hands. I’ll work with him for a while, and if things go well, we’ll ask him to guide us.”

As soon as he said that, Wei Xiaohui lit up: “Yes! That’s a great idea. Even if we don’t end up going to Su City, you can scout things out first. Your brother has lived there for seven or eight years—he has sharp judgment now. Even if you can’t catch up to his pace, it’s still way better than going in blind. And since he’s just getting started, he’s probably at his busiest—if you help him now, it’ll be easier to ask for help later.”

The couple finally had a clear plan. Qi Sheng, however, had no idea he was already being plotted into someone else’s future. But to be fair, he’d already considered the possibility. In his mind, as long as his family back home didn’t go overboard, he was more than willing to help when needed.