Boss, He’s Becoming a Father [Arc 1] Chapter 14.1: The Prodigal Son (25)
When Shao Dabao was feeling dizzy with fever, he vaguely saw a figure appearing in front of him.
This man has a stooped figure and his hands are covered with calluses, much like Shao Yu.
Shao Dabao immediately grabbed Old Man Zheng’s clothes as if grasping a life-saving straw.
Shao Dabao immediately grabbed the corner of Old Man Zheng’s clothes as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw.
Old Man Zheng looked at him and couldn’t bear it. He carefully fed him some warm water and put a steamed bun into his arms. After doing all this, he couldn’t help but sigh and said: “You are a poor man too.”
Shao Dabao was so dizzy with fever that he thought he saw Shao Yu and immediately muttered: “Don’t go…”
“I can only help you so much.” Old Man Zheng said helplessly, Shao Dabao’s illness is unknown now, and those officials don’t care at all.
“Dad, dad…” Shao Dabao shouted in a low voice.
Old Man Zheng leaned close to his mouth and felt sad as he listened to Shao Dabao’s mouth “Dad” one after another.
Good things don’t go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles. Old man Zheng made some inquiries among a group of corvees today, and he actually found out about Shao Dabao. Basically, there was not much difference from what Baby Face said.
Shao Dabao was a gambler. He gambled away all his family property and lost a finger, and almost lost his sister in gambling. Such a person would be scolded by Old Man Zheng just by hearing someone say it.
But he has had deep contact with Shao Dabao, so it is inevitable that he will be a little more tolerant. Seeing his current appearance, he just assumed that he had changed his ways.
“I’m not your father.” Old Man Zheng said softly.
However, Shao Dabao, who had been burning for a long time, kept saying: “Dad, don’t deny me… I’m obedient, I’ll change…”
After hearing this, Old Man Zheng felt even more sad.
But there was nothing he could do about Shao Dabao’s current situation. In the end, he was cruel and tore out his clothes.
“Dad, don’t go, don’t leave me…”
But Old Man Zheng made up his mind not to look at him, turned around and left the woodshed.
Shao Dabao lay there, his cheeks flushed, and he felt the departure of Old Man Zheng in a daze. He immediately felt as if he had been abandoned by the whole world.
It was not until the next morning that the officer who sent Shao Dabao to the woodshed seemed to remember that there was someone in the woodshed. He felt guilty and ran over to take a look.
However, except for a pile of firewood, there was no trace of Shao Dabao anywhere in the woodshed. The officer was heartbroken. His first reaction was that the man was dead and had been thrown away, so he wanted to ask his colleagues.
“The lord is looking for you, come quickly.”
Hearing this, the officer immediately forgot about Shao Dabao’s matter. When he remembered to ask, several colleagues could not tell where Shao Dabao was. Finally, they discussed it and finally decided to let him go. After all, it is still recorded that he fell into the water.L
Shao Yu in Qingzhou City didn’t even know that his son’s whereabouts were unknown. At this time, he was dealing with his wife who came home.
Mrs. Wang returned to her natal family this time because her nephew was getting married. She went back to help out for three days.
When she saw her nephew who was about the same age as her son marrying, Mrs. Wang had mixed feelings, so when she got home, her first reaction was to look for her son.
As soon as she entered the house, she only saw Shao Yu and her daughter, and she suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.
“Where’s Dabao?” Mrs Wang asked, looking at Shao Yu closely.
“He went to do corvee service.” Shao Yu said lightly.
When Mrs. Wang heard this, she was like a thunderbolt. In her heart, she hoped that Shao Dabao would make progress, so she was willing to look fierce. But in such a dangerous place as a corvee, how could she be willing to let her son suffer like this.
“Dabao is a scholar, how can he endure such hardship?” Mrs. Wang’s eyes were red. When she thought of her son suffering in a place she didn’t know, Mrs. Wang was eager to replace him.
“Corvee labor is not a place to eat people. There are so many people that come back in full force, and it’s not just Dabao. “Shao Yu comforted.
“Why isn’t it a place to eat people? My cousin went to do corvée last year and never came back!” Mrs. Wang said angrily.
Shao Yu understood why she was worried about her son traveling thousands of miles away, and he didn’t think Wang was making a fuss, so he explained: “This time Dabao is serving as a corvee, not in a dangerous place like a mine. He is going to build an embankment this time. Building an embankment is very safe.”
Mrs. Wang immediately said: “The embankment is so high, what if he accidentally slips down?”
As she spoke, tears fell.
Shao Yu sighed helplessly and said: “Eating is so dangerous, if he accidentally choked, what should he do? Everything is dangerous, even if he stays at home all day, he may not be careful and fall into a ditch and drown.”
Mrs. Wang’s body stiffened. Although she understood the truth in her heart, she still didn’t want Shao Dabao to suffer. She quickly accused: “Why can’t you hope that your son will be well?”
“I’m not expecting him to fall off the embankment.” Shao Yu replied immediately.
Wang choked.
Shao Yu continued: “It is also a good thing for him to go to the corvee. After suffering there, he will know the benefits of studying. When he comes back, he will cherish the opportunity to study more. If he can study hard because of this, it will not be long before you can also become a scholar’s mother.”
Hearing this, Mrs. Wang felt vaguely that something was wrong. Although she still cared about her precious son, she was still very excited about the pie that Shao Yu had described for her. Moreover, the matter had reached this point and could not be changed. Mrs. Wang could only hope that Shao Dabao comes back early.
Mrs. Wang eagerly awaits her son’s return at home every day. She is not very interested in other things, and even does her daily housework full of mistakes. However, the Shao family does not have a picky ghost like Shao Dabao, so no one blames her.
Shao Yu and Shao Xiaocao focused on research. Shao Xiaocao first learned to make lanterns to help her parents, but after doing one thing and loving another, over time, Shao Xiaocao really fell in love with it.
“The paint is ready!” Shao Xiaocao became excited.
Seeing the bowl of paint that was finally made, although the color was very different from what was expected, and the color was not even bright at all, it was already a huge improvement for Shao Xiaocao who had failed several times.
Shao Yu knew how to make paint correctly, but what he gave his daughter was only a single, very superficial method. Shao Yu did not want to do everything, and he did not want to deprive his daughter of the joy of exploration.
Shao Xiaocao looked at the bowl of strange yellow paint in her hand, her face full of excitement. She had never experienced such happiness in the fifteen years of her life.
“What color is there to be happy about?” Mrs. Wang on the side seemed to be displeased to see her daughter so happy and couldn’t help but jeer.
Shao Xiaocao, who was still immersed in joy, suddenly felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured on her.
Shao Yu immediately patted her shoulder and said, “Well done.”
Shao Xiaocao immediately revived with blood, ignoring the unpleasantness caused by Mrs. Wang, and looked at the bowl of paint happily.
“Your brother is suffering outside, but you can still laugh at home. You don’t even think about who he goes out for!” But Mrs. Wang couldn’t see her daughter happy.
Originally, although Mrs. Wang’s treatment of Shao Xiaocao was not as good as that of Shao Dabao, she was still her biological daughter after all, so her attitude was okay. However, since Shao Dabao broke a finger, Mrs. Wang began to unconsciously express her anger towards her little daughter.
The smile on Shao Xiaocao’s face froze again.
“Her brother endures hardships outside just so that his family can be safe and happy at home. The happier she is, the more worthwhile her brother’s efforts are.” Shao Yu put a high hat on Shao Dabao without thinking.
Shao Dabao had never been such a noble and upright person, but it was difficult for Mrs. Wang to refute this. After all, once she refuted it, it meant denying her own son.
Mrs. Wang couldn’t defeat Shao Yu, so in the end she could only snort, then turned and entered the kitchen.
After being beaten by her mother, Shao Xiaocao felt a lot disappointed, but she had no intention of complaining to Shao Yu. She was used to being ignored at home. Shao Xiaocao had already had her own way of digesting her emotions. At this time, she took up a homemade pen dipped in yellow paint.
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