Struggle in Ancient Times

His original plan was waiting to buy a house then talked with his parents. But now, it seemed that he had to have a serious talk with his parents. This family matter was simply hard to ignore.

Although they weren’t harsh as a parent but one was used to be silent and the other was used to be partial, which was a bad thing in a family.
Another thing was to take care of big brother and sister-in-law. If sister-in-law was going to give birth, she needed to be in the town, it was better to have professional doctor and mid-wives take care of her. The so-called mid-wives in the village were the old women with experience of childbirths.
In this era, the survival rate was lower and truly worrying. He planned to have a good talk with mother Deng to pave the way for his future life.

If it worked, he would buy a store. Why not rent? Well, it didn’t feel good if you didn’t own the things. But this needed to be postponed, Liao Tingyu sighed with tiredness.
He thought about the houses under the real estate he talked days ago. There were a few small shops with a backyard house. The location wasn’t very good, it was in the North Street.
There was a fengshui here; the east was the most respected area; the south was the humble one while the rest was inferior and the North Street was where mother Deng and others went to sell things.

The houses there weren’t expensive and only a few dozen taels.
.
It was night when Liao Shi woke up.

Liao Shi opened his eyes and looked at the broad shoulder of his little brother, he felt that shoulder was straight enough to swallow the burden of their family, unlike himself who was a coward.
When Liao Shi woke up, Liao Tingyu was dozing off. He suddenly felt something was holding his hand and opened his eyes.
He saw his big brother staring at him with black shiny eyes which looked a little scary in the dim light. He comforted his heart and lit the oil lamp, “Big brother, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”

Liao Shi looked at the unfamiliar bed and wall around him, he knew it wasn’t their home. He shook his head, “I’m fine. How is your sister-in-law?”
“Sister-in-law took the medicine for her stomach. She is fine and the baby also alright.” Liao Tingyu knew his big brother must be hungry and panicked about his baby.
He brought a pastry bag, “When I came back, I bought some pastries in the town. You haven’t eaten this one, I bought it for you and sister-in-law. Here, it is good to eat sweet things after losing blood. I will boil a water for you later. Eat this and drink it, tomorrow we will go home.”

“What about your class? You have to go back tomorrow!” Liao Shi asked worriedly.
He didn’t want to ruin his little brother’s future.
This sentence reminded Liao Tingyu about what happened today. After some calculation, his class would be I the first period around 10 a.m. The ride would be an hour from their village, it was necessary to set off early in the morning. But he needed to take care of his big brother and sister-in-law and put them inside a hospital.

But how can a pregnant woman take care of a sick person all on her own? He still needed to invite mother Deng and others.
Liao Tingyu had no other choice, he had to drag mother Deng tomorrow. He could predict her reaction for wasting money like a water. He rubbed his temple and felt like he was turning to an old woman with so much trouble.
Liao Shi thought he was worrying about his school affairs and said, “I know you don’t have much time; you can go to work tomorrow. Don’t worry about me, your sister-in-law didn’t mean anything. She just wants you to live a good life, you are the most capable person in our Liao family.”
“Big brother, you misunderstood. There is still time for me tomorrow. I plan to let you and sister-in-law stay in the hospital. Uncle said that your body looks strong but it was hollow inside. You need to be raised carefully. Let the doctor in the town take care of you, sister-in-law couldn’t watch over you alone with her belly. So, I will let mother come too.” Liao Tingyu waved his hand and handed him a pastry.

“Eat it, you must be hungry.”
Liao Shi took the pastry with tears in his eyes, “After so many years, I still remembered the first time I ate it when I was young. At that time, my mother still loved me. But now my mother and I have fallen out, father also angry with me. How could they willing to take care of me? Just let me stay here.”
“Uncle is kind but he’s too old. He couldn’t take care of you.” Liao Tingyu shook his head. This was impossible.

“Anyway, uncle only has little knowledge. He could cure cold and fever but when he prepared your medicine, his hands were shaking. I’m scared he might pick the wrong herbs, something serious may happen. I will tell mother; you don’t worry too much. Although they were harsh but they still take care of you, when you came home late, mother left a food for you. There are no parents who didn’t love their children.”
Liao Shi shook his head angrily, “I know it. I just don’t have the face to go back. You don’t know what I have said. Even I didn’t know why I say all of that.”
“Then, you must regret it now.” Liao Tingyu pulled the quilt for him, “Don’t move your head, it’s not healed yet. You regret it, mother and father feel the same. They have hard mouth and soft heart. You tell her properly when you go back, she will forgive you.”

Liao Shi wanted to laugh a little, their mother was usually a little hard but she cared for them.
“You are right. She will definitely forgive me.”
He carefully finished the pastries in his hand and put away the extra ones. He drank a few glasses of water. He saw Liao Tingyu gaze on the leftover pastries, he said with embarrassment, “I plan to leave it for your saozi. She has never eaten these things.”

“I will buy more the next time.”
“Why are you wasting your money like this?”
“What’s the use of money if you didn’t spend it?”

“Mother will call you prodigal son.”
“She will praise me for being filial.”