Reborn: Back to the 1980s Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Human Nature

After Guan Mancang and Yang Feifang were thrown out, Chanchan pursed his little lips and huffed, "Hmph! How dare you scold my daddy!"

Li Ying certainly didn't object to Zhao Shenggu having the two of them tossed out — in fact, she found it quite satisfying. 

Guan Guo was a bit worried, though: "Xiao Yuan, no matter what, they're still your elders. Throwing them out like that — I'm afraid it won't look good for your reputation."

Zhao Shenggu smiled carelessly. "Uncle Guan Guo, it's fine." Apart from a few clueless people who might make a few sour remarks, those who truly understood the situation wouldn't dare make an issue of it.

Seeing how unconcerned they both looked, Guan Guo stopped talking. The kids had grown up now and had far more insight than he did—if they said it was fine, then it was fine.

The group quickly put the unpleasantness behind them, but Yang Feifang and Guan Mancang, who had been thrown out, were absolutely furious. Even as they were being tossed out the door, they still couldn't figure out how two burly men had suddenly appeared in that room. Now, standing outside and staring at Guan Guo's front gate, it finally dawned on them that they had actually been thrown out.

Guan Mancang was absolutely livid. Actually, Guan Mancang's feelings were complicated. Guan Yuan had always been a frail, timid child who didn't dare make a peep in front of him. Later, under Zhao Shenggu's instigation, he had grown bolder and dared to talk back. Eventually he even developed a bit of presence, and their repeated attempts to get something out of him had all failed. But this time, seeing him again had been a tremendous shock.

Perhaps it was because the room had been so brightly lit, but when Guan Mancang entered, the sight of Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu backlit by the light gave him a sudden, cowardly urge not to provoke them. And he had never expected that the son he had ignored since childhood would grow up to be so good-looking, bearing a faint resemblance to Li Yuehua. Standing before Guan Yuan, he didn't feel like a father at all — rather, like someone facing an important figure, filled with a deep, instinctive timidity.

This feeling made him fly into a rage out of humiliation. He mustered his courage and shouted, repeating to himself over and over: I'm his father, I'm his father. But not only did the little brat throw chopsticks at him, that bastard Zhao Shenggu had them thrown out.

Yang Feifang didn't notice Guan Mancang's expression. Looking at the two burly men standing at the gate, she gave up any idea of forcing her way back in. Her eyes darted around, and she immediately began wailing, tears and snot streaming down her face.

"Heartless! He comes back and doesn't even visit home, and when his own parents come to the door, they get thrown out! Oh, heavens above! I raised him with my own two hands, cleaning up his shit and piss, and now that he's finally good for something, this is how he treats his parents! Guan Yuan, you have no conscience!!"

Yang Feifang's duck-like voice rang out across Guanjia Village. Many people were still sitting around the village threshing ground after watching the earlier commotion, and now, hearing Yang Feifang's funeral wail, they knew there was a good show to watch. In no time at all, Guan Guo's courtyard was surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.

Some people thought Yang Feifang had gone too far. How had Guan Yuan lived as a child? Did the people in the same village not know? Now she was claiming she'd raised Guan Yuan with her own two hands—wasn't she afraid of making people die of laughter? Her current hypocritical display was simply nauseating.

But there were also some jealous gossips who said, "So money changes everything, huh? He won't even acknowledge his own parents — how is that any different from an animal? If my kid turned out like that, I'd beat him to death now and save myself the trouble later."

Hearing this, someone laughed: "Guan Daya, if you say that, how come I don't see you supporting your own parents? By your logic, Seventh Uncle Guan should have beaten you to death with a club long ago!"

Guan Daya's father was in his seventies, living alone and making a living entirely by collecting and selling scrap. Guan Daya himself, on the other hand, had made quite a bit of money over the years running shipments for the garment factory. He'd only made one snide comment, and now that his own dirty laundry was being aired, his face flushed and he snapped back, "We're talking about Guan Yuan here — why drag me into it?"

Yang Feifang cried while listening to the discussions around her. Seeing that not too many people were on her side, she immediately cried even more pitifully: "I know I wasn't perfect when Guan Yuan was little, but didn't he turn out fine anyway? If we hadn't fed him and clothed him all those years, could he have grown this big just by drinking water? We know we were wrong — that's why we came here today to apologize to him. But not only did he refuse to come home, he had us thrown out! Tell me, who would dare raise a child if this is how they turn out? If your own children grew up and treated you like this, how would you feel?"

Yang Feifang's words actually swayed quite a few people. There were many children among the onlookers—if they thought Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were in the right, wouldn't that mean their own children could treat them the same way when they grew up? That wouldn't do. Immediately, some people started lecturing their children: "You little brats, if you dare be unfilial to me and your father when you grow up and make something of yourselves, see if I don't slap you to death!"

Others disagreed. Everyone knew Guan Yuan had survived thanks to Zhao Shenggu. She had been cruel to the child first, and now she had the nerve to say the child was unfilial. Truly...

Opinions were divided—some in favor, some against, everyone discussing it heatedly.

Yang Feifang smiled smugly. Little brat, you think you can fight me? You're still too green.

The two bodyguards at the gate watched the scene unfold, completely dumbfounded. The gossip among these villagers was even more intense than the media!

One of them quickly went inside to report the situation to Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu. Neither of them cared. Put simply, a person's status determines their perspective—this kind of trivial matter wasn't worth worrying about.

But just because Zhao Shenggu wasn't afraid of trouble didn't mean he would tolerate these people's baseless slander of Guan Yuan. He leaned over and said a few words to the bodyguard, who nodded and went back outside. When he returned to the gate, the other bodyguard asked, "What did the boss say?"

"He said not to interfere." With that, he raised his phone and started recording the people still arguing at the gate.

Yang Feifang and Guan Mancang had assumed that causing such a scene would surely make Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu unable to sit still, but nearly an hour passed with no reaction.

The onlookers gradually dispersed. Yang Feifang and Guan Mancang gritted their teeth and had no choice but to leave reluctantly. When the two returned to the Guan family house, the whole family looked at them with shining eyes.

Guan Manxing was there too. Seeing that they hadn't brought Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu back, she knew their scheme had failed.

After what happened with Guan He and Guan Manyue one after the other, Li Xiucui had indeed been down for a while. But whether it was because she was naturally carefree or just tough by nature, she now seemed more energetic than ever. At nearly seventy, she was still spry.

Seeing that Yang Feifang and Guan Mancang hadn't brought Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu back, she couldn't help complaining: "What were you two doing? I sent you to bring people back and you couldn't even manage that?"

Yang Feifang said defiantly: "Mother, you know those two boys. Even when they were at home, they dared to defy us. Now they're rich and powerful—why would they even look at us? We barely said a word before they had us thrown out!"

"What! You were thrown out? They have that much nerve? No matter what, they should have some scruples—you're his parents after all! Don't they say rich people care about face?"

Because Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu had money, the family had started to think of themselves as a wealthy family. Over the years, using their status as Guan Yuan's elders, they'd grabbed plenty of benefits from businesses in Yun County. Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan didn't have time to bother with such small matters in Yun County — and the people at the factory, out of respect for them, just turned a blind eye as long as the family didn't go too far.

This made them increasingly bold, believing that although Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu had made something of themselves, they wouldn't dare ignore them. Now, hearing that Yang Feifang and Guan Mancang had been thrown out, the whole family found it hard to believe.

Among all of them, only Guan Manxing saw things clearly. She knew Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu felt not a shred of family affection toward them. She had originally assumed they would at least care about their reputation, but now it seemed they didn't even care about that. Guan Manxing panicked—over the years, although their family hadn't managed to get actual jobs at the garment factory, they always got steep discounts when buying goods. She'd been reselling them and making quite a profit. If they angered Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu, would those benefits disappear too?

The more Guan Manxing thought about it, the more anxious she became. She glanced at the Guan family members who were still loudly cursing Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu and sneered inwardly. What a bunch of fools who can't think straight.

She immediately said to Li Xiucui: "Mother, since Xiao Yuan and Shenggu aren't coming back, I'll be going. There's still things to do at home!"

Li Xiucui was already irritated and didn't think twice about it. "Go on then. There's a pig leg at home — take it with you!"

Li Xiucui's habit of subsidizing her daughter hadn't changed after all these years. The daughters-in-law all looked displeased, but Guan Manxing was clever and got along well with all of them. Back when they were scheming for benefits from the garment factory, Guan Manxing had contributed plenty of ideas, so they couldn't say anything now.

Guan Manxing nodded and left with the pig leg, worry weighing on her mind. No matter what, she needed to go home and discuss things with her husband. If nothing else, they at least couldn't afford to lose what they already had.

Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu had no idea how the Guan family had reacted, but they expected they would scheme something. Guan Yuan even guessed that among all of them, his eldest aunt would be the first to act. Of all the Guan family members, she was the only one who had a bit more sense—though she was also the most selfish.

As for how the younger generation of the Guan family had turned out, he'd been gone for so many years that he neither knew nor cared to know.

After eating and resting for a while, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu took Chanchan back to the Zhao family house where they once lived.

It was still kept just as it had been. Since he hadn't been around, the flowers and plants in the little garden were gone, but Uncle Guan Guo and the others had maintained the place well — no weeds in the yard, clean and tidy.