Chapter 196: A Child Without a Father Has Such a Pitiful Life
Chapter 196: Chapter 196: A Child Without a Father Has Such a Pitiful Life
Mrs. Fang told Fang Ming to bring the white flour buns, and the two of them went to the Wang family’s home together.
The Wang family was in the middle of a meal—white flour buns, the dishes Wang Daguo had brought back, and a plate of Insect Cakes. If the main meal didn’t fill them up, the Insect Cakes were there to tide them over.
When he heard a knock on the door, Wang Daguo asked who it was. Only after getting a reply did he go to open it.
"Mrs. Fang, Fang Ming, what brings you here?" Wang Daguo let them into the house.
The Wang family’s home was already small for the five people living there. With two more people inside, it felt even more crowded.
Seeing that she had interrupted their meal, Mrs. Fang felt quite awkward. But since they were already there, she figured it was best to state her purpose quickly so as not to keep them from their food.
"Fang Ming and I have come to apologize."
"Apologize?" The Wang family exchanged confused glances.
Mrs. Fang turned her head to look at Fang Ming, signaling for him to speak.
Fang Ming bit his lip, his head hung low.
There are some things you can lie to yourself about, as long as they’re never brought out into the open.
But once you have to truly face them, the shame is enough to make you wish you could disappear.
"I’m sorry." Fang Ming was the type of person who, once he made up his mind, would do his best to follow through. Now that he was already at the Wang family’s home, there was no point in trying to put on a brave face. "I shouldn’t have eavesdropped on Wang Xiaohui and Wang Xiaoci, and I definitely shouldn’t have gone behind your backs to contact Boss Shen."
The room fell silent for a moment before Wang Daguo spoke up.
"I already found out about this yesterday."
At these words, Fang Ming snapped his head up, staring at Wang Daguo in disbelief.
It wasn’t just Wang Daguo who knew; the entire Wang family was aware.
Shen Lu hadn’t known that Fang Ming had come to see her behind the Wang family’s back. Yesterday, she couldn’t help but ask Wang Daguo about the Fang family, and during their conversation, she unintentionally revealed that Fang Ming had approached her.
At first, Wang Daguo had been a little angry when he heard.
But his anger quickly gave way to sighs.
After being neighbors for so many years, he knew what kind of people the Fang family were. Fang Ming’s actions might not have been completely aboveboard, but they were understandable.
Wang Daguo had asked Shen Lu roughly how much scrap metal she needed, just to get a general idea.
Shen Lu didn’t give a specific number, only saying that she would be collecting for at least six months to a year.
After work yesterday, Wang Daguo had told his family about the situation.
The Wang family reacted just like Wang Daguo: first anger, then sighs. Wang Xiaohui and Wang Xiaoci stayed angry a little longer than the others.
But after the adults had a talk with them, they came to accept it.
’Yeah, kids without a dad have it rough.’
’Luckily, they had their older brother, and he had a good job. They decided to be the bigger person and not hold it against Fang Ming, whose father had just died.’
A profound sense of guilt struck Fang Ming’s heart.
’Before coming to the Wang family’s home, he had been trying to find all sorts of rational excuses for his underhanded behavior. But they had known what he’d done all along and hadn’t even come to confront him.’
’He was truly despicable.’
Fang Ming’s eyes welled with tears, and his shoulders trembled as he struggled to hold back his sobs.
"I’m sorry." Fang Ming’s voice was thick and nasal. "Brother Wang, Grandma Wang, Aunt Wang, Xiao Hui, Xiao Ci... I’m really, truly sorry. I know what I did was wrong, but I was just so desperate to make money. I..."
’Any further explanation would just be an excuse.’
’Especially to people who had helped him.’
Fang Ming was utterly mortified.
"When I first found out yesterday, I was definitely angry," Wang Daguo said in an even tone. "I hope you won’t do it again."
"I won’t. I’ll never do it again." Fang Ming wiped the corners of his eyes. "I won’t take scrap metal to Boss Shen anymore."
"No, you should keep taking it to her." To be fair, Shen Lu had never said this opportunity was exclusively for the Wang family, and he wasn’t going to be so overbearing as to hoard the work for themselves.
Besides, from the sound of it, Shen Lu needed a large quantity of scrap.
Wang Xiaoci and Wang Xiaohui were just kids, after all; there was a limit to how much they could gather in a day. A few more people collecting wouldn’t interfere with Shen Lu’s needs.
And just like that, the matter was resolved. Mrs. Fang, feeling she was in the wrong, insisted on leaving behind the untouched bun they had brought. She thanked them again and again before finally leaving with her son.
"Fang Ming, I’ll only allow you to do something like this once," Mrs. Fang said, enunciating each word. "I don’t care how chaotic this world gets. We have to live with integrity. Otherwise, we’re no different from animals."
"Yes, I know, Mom. I promise I will never make this kind of mistake again."
The incident was now etched into Fang Ming’s very being. The fact that the Wang family was letting him continue to collect scrap filled him with so much motivation that he wished he could rush to the junkyard and get to work right away.
The mother and son returned home, shared the remaining bun, quickly washed up, and went to their own rooms to sleep.
「Early the next morning」
Fang Ming headed out the door with an Insect Cake in his mouth.
"Mom, I’m off to the junkyard!"
"Be safe."
"I will!"
Fang Ming had already been scavenging in the junkyard for two hours when Wang Xiaoci and Wang Xiaohui finally made their leisurely appearance.
The Wang family didn’t depend on the two sisters’ scavenging to survive; it was more of a way for them to earn pocket money. That’s why they usually didn’t head out until nine in the morning.
Now that everything was out in the open, Fang Ming no longer had to be secretive, and he openly carried a bag.
He didn’t have a cart, so he focused mainly on finding tungsten wire and copper blocks. Steel plates were too big and heavy for him to move easily.
The three of them met in the western corner of the junkyard. After a moment of surprise, Fang Ming was the first to call out a greeting and walk over to them.
"Here, this is for you."
Fang Ming placed everything he had collected that morning onto the Wang sisters’ little cart.
Wang Xiaoci pouted, tempted to snap back at Fang Ming. She was still a little angry.
But Wang Xiaohui stopped him. "No, you keep it for yourself."
"Consider it my apology," Fang Ming insisted. "Even though I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I still did something wrong. I don’t have any money right now. This is all I have to offer."
The boy looked at the girls, both two years his junior, with a pleading expression. "Can we... still be good friends?"
Fang Ming had always been on good terms with Wang Xiaoci and Wang Xiaohui. After all, their brother, Wang Daguo, was much older and too busy earning a living to have much time to play with them.
Fang Ming, being closer to their age, often played with them. Since they played together so much, the three kids naturally became good friends.
Otherwise, Fang Ming would never have been able to overhear the sisters’ conversation. They hadn’t been speaking loudly; you wouldn’t have been able to make out their words unless you were standing right beside them.
Wang Xiaoci eyed him. "Seeing as you seem sincere... Fang Ming, if you ever do something like this again, Xiao Hui and I will ignore you for good."
Fang Ming raised a hand. "I promise. Never again."
Wang Xiaohui tugged on Wang Xiaoci’s sleeve. "I don’t think he’s lying."
"Fine."
Making up was always simple for children. Especially since Fang Ming had so sincerely and humbly admitted he was wrong, Wang Xiaoci and Wang Xiaohui didn’t hold a grudge.
Shen Lu was completely unaware of the little drama between the Fang and Wang families. After collecting the materials yesterday, she had busied herself in the kitchen, completely absorbed in cooking.