Struggle in Ancient Times

Liao Shi saw the scene of his wife kneeling in front of his mother, he quickly helped his wife to stand up and asked, “Mother, you have heard our explanation. Why did you ask her to kneel again? She is about to give birth.”
Liao Ming looked at his eldest son with cold eyes, “Didn’t I ask you go to the town? Why are back already?”
“Father, it’s already afternoon. Even if I took the fastest ox cart, the school probably already closed by then.” There was something more to add, if he went there right now, he probably wouldn’t be able to go home.

“You just don’t want to go there, right? You still want your brother to be ruined. How can you be so selfish!” mother Deng said angrily.
“Mother, that’s not the case. It’s too late to go now, there will be no ox cart in the evening.”
“Too late! Then you can use the small road.” Mother Deng laughed angrily.

 
“Small road?” Liao Shi looked at his mother in shock, didn’t she know that the small road was where the wild boar would walk around during these months?
The village chief organized young men to hunt that wild boar, they found some traces of it but never be able to catch it.

A few days ago, someone was trying to walk this shortcut with his friends and both of them were still laying in the bed now.
Liao Shi felt cold in his heart, “Mother, am I still your biological son?”
“You were picked up. How could I give birth to a thing like you!”

“You used to tell me that my brother is smart. As long as he’s admitted to scholar, our family will live a good life. I will be the eldest brother of a scholar now. I work hard for him to pay for his school and life in the town. My brother gets a few taels each month but I have nothing from my works. I haven’t bought new clothes for three years, the only good clothes I have was the old clothes my brother didn’t want. I haven’t said anything at all. Now, my brother has passed the exam and you don’t want me to hold him back. What do you mean by holding back? What did I do to him? Am I holding him back by spending some money for my wife? Is it okay for my family to die? Father, mother, we are your own family, why did you treat us so differently?”
Liao Shi talked so much without giving his mother a chance to reply. He talked about his bitterness and suffering all these years, his tears were flowing down uncontrollably. Wen Xiuer cried silently beside him. She didn’t dare to say it, but his husband had lived so hard for the family but the parents didn’t even treat him well. It was so unfair.
They were the same blood, the same son of his parents. But the parents only cared about their youngest son, praised him to the sky and treasured him. His husband was left in the dust, with hunched back his worked so hard but never been praised.

When mother Deng and Liao Ming heard this, they were so angry and pointed at their eldest son, “You feel wronged? Do you have the ability to be a scholar? Your life was blessed by your brother!”
Liao Ming shouted angrily, “I don’t care about you. Who would look at you, you couldn’t even lift your head in the street. You walk around the town like a coward and still ungrateful. What kind of evil thing I have done, to deserve a son like you??”
“Yes, I don’t have the ability. But I was born and raised by you. I don’t have the ability to make you proud but I am also your son. Why can’t I come to visit my brother if I have something to say? Can’t I ask for his help even if he is a scholar?” Liao Shi raised his head and vented a lot.

“You are not my son; you are a debt collector. If it weren’t for you, my family wouldn’t be so poor! My job was ruined by you, a beast. I couldn’t save any money since you were born.” Liao Ming was angry. He knew that his wife was harsh on their eldest son but he didn’t say anything.
Because he also disliked his eldest son, if he didn’t beat the young master of a rich family, he wouldn’t live so hard like now. He was in charge of money back then. He was envied by everyone in the village but everyone looked down on him as soon as he lost his job.
The taste was unforgettable.
Liao Shi felt silent, the root of everything was here and he felt very sad.

Liao Ming’s words ignited the fire inside mother Deng’s heart. She looked at her eldest son’s wimpy appearance, she was very angry. For some reason, she picked a bowl and smashed it so hard into his head. Liao Shi didn’t dodge, after he was smashed, he fell straight down.
Everyone was stunned. Wen Xiuer reacted first and rushed forward; she cried so hard like a flood bursting from a river banks.