I secretly sold grain at age 60

Chapter 15 Utterly Shameless

When his lie was exposed in public, the eldest uncle's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, then ashen. He knew he was in the wrong, but his greed overwhelmed his shame, so he simply adopted a rogue-like demeanor, stiffening his neck and glaring at his mother.

"Li Xiulan, so what?" the eldest uncle shouted, his tone arrogant and domineering. "Are you taking this grain today, or not? If you don't, don't blame me for being rude!"

Unable to contain his anger any longer, the father stepped forward, his gaze sharp as he stared at his eldest uncle, and retorted in a deep voice, "If we don't take it, what can you do to us? Do you think you can cause trouble here?"

The eldest uncle's eyes flickered. He first glared fiercely at his father, then hurriedly glanced at the angry villagers around him. He decided to give up and turned to stare at his mother with a cold laugh.

"Fine, you won't take it, huh?" His tone was icy, without a trace of remorse. "Anyway, Mom and Dad are getting old. They won't starve if they eat a little less. Leave the food for me and the children. The children are still growing, so letting them go hungry for a meal or two is no big deal. They're already this old, they can't eat much anyway."

Upon hearing this, everyone present froze instantly, and the noisy courtyard fell silent in an instant.

After a brief silence, the villagers erupted in anger, shouts of condemnation rising and falling.

"My God! Is this even human language?"

"You can't even earn food yourself, yet you want your own parents to go hungry? That's utterly heartless!" Besides, the old couple can earn work points!

"How shameless! What kind of son acts like this?"

"To let the elderly go hungry while they and their children are well-fed—that's utterly heartless!"

The mother trembled with rage, her chest heaving. She pointed a finger at her eldest uncle, her voice trembling with disappointment and fury: "You bastard! Your parents raised you with such hardship, feeding you every drop of sweat, and now you dare say such things! Do you have any conscience?"

Gao Huaiyi, standing to the side, was visibly stunned upon hearing this, his heart filled with shock and contempt. He never imagined his uncle could be so shameless. The meaning behind his words was crystal clear: if he couldn't provide food today, he would deliberately starve his grandparents, using their safety to force his mother to compromise. This wasn't a relative; he was a wolf in sheep's clothing!

Faced with the crowd's angry curses, the eldest uncle not only showed no remorse, but instead stuck his neck out, acting like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.

"Can conscience feed you?" the uncle asked nonchalantly. "We've run out of food long ago, and the kids are hungry every day. What can I do? I have no choice!"

"Just because you can't do anything, does that mean your parents should go hungry?" The mother's eyes were red, her voice trembling with tears. "You were too lazy to go to work, unwilling to earn work points in the fields, and the lack of food at home is your own fault! Why should your parents pay the price for your laziness?"

"Exactly! If you're incompetent, don't drag the elderly down with you!"

"Get out of here! Our village doesn't welcome unfilial sons like you!" the villagers roared.

The father's face was ashen, his clenched fists bulging with veins. He suppressed the urge to strike and said in a deep voice, "You'd better give up that idea. You want to take our family's grain? You want to threaten us with your parents? Let me tell you, it's absolutely impossible!"

The eldest uncle's face turned pale and then red from the villagers' scolding, but he still refused to give up. He stood at the gate of the courtyard and refused to leave, with his hands on his hips, looking like a rogue who would not give up until he got what he wanted.

The surrounding villagers were still criticizing him, but the eldest uncle seemed completely oblivious, his gaze fixed on his mother, his tone threatening: "Li Xiulan, I'm asking you one last time, are you taking the grain or not? If you don't take it today, I'll come to your doorstep every day and make sure your family can't hold their heads up in the village!"

The mother trembled with rage, pointing at her eldest uncle and shouting, "Have you no shame? Everyone in the village heard what you just said! You're unfilial, and you expect us to cater to you?"

"I don't care about all that nonsense!" the uncle shouted unreasonably. "My child is crying from hunger, I really have no other choice! You're my own sister, what's wrong with helping me out? Are you just going to watch my child starve to death?"

His mother frowned, her face grim. He turned to his father and said in a low voice, "Dad, don't be angry. This guy is a tough nut to crack. He won't leave unless we give him something today."

The father was stunned, his face filled with disbelief: "He's bullied us like this, and we're still going to give him food? I'm not willing to accept this!"

"I know you're unwilling to accept this," the mother sighed, her voice low and full of helplessness. "But look at him like this. If we don't get rid of him today, he'll come and cause trouble every day. How will our family live? The neighbors won't have peace either."

The father looked at the mother and said, "Giving him food is just indulging him, isn't it? He'll only take advantage of us!"

"We won't give him much, just some coarse grains to send him on his way." The mother looked at the father, her eyes full of helplessness. The father knew she was only giving in because she was genuinely worried about their parents. "It's just ten catties of cornmeal, not much, but it's a small token of filial piety for Xiulan! If he's sensible, he'll take the things and leave; if he's still not satisfied, we'll settle the score with him later."

Hearing this, the older sister quickly interjected, "Dad, we can't give it to him! This kind of person doesn't deserve our pity. If you give him food, he'll forget about it as soon as he turns around and will come back to cause trouble next time!"

Gao Huaiyi chimed in, "Father, Mother, Uncle is deliberately using elders and children as an excuse to extort money. If we give in, he'll only pester us more."

Father said in a deep voice, "I know everything, but now is not the time to be stubborn. He's just a scoundrel, and we can't afford to waste time with him. What if he really makes your grandparents sick from starvation? This kind of person might actually do something. Ten pounds of cornmeal is nothing; it can buy us some peace and quiet, and save the villagers from having to keep watching the spectacle."

The father was silent for a moment. He really didn't want to give it to his brother-in-law, who was still acting arrogantly at the door. But thinking about the peaceful life at home, he finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "Fine, I'll do as you say. Give him ten catties of cornmeal and send him away as soon as possible!"

After saying that, the father turned and went into the house. He quickly came out with a small cloth bag filled with cornmeal, which was quite heavy.

When my uncle saw the bag, his eyes lit up instantly. He stepped forward to take it, muttering, "Why didn't you do this earlier? Why make things look bad for everyone?"

The father abruptly withdrew his hand, looking at him coldly: "Don't be too happy! This ten pounds of cornmeal is for your parents' sake, not for you or your children! If you dare take the grain and let your parents go hungry, we'll sever all ties with you from now on!"

The eldest uncle's smile froze, then he resumed his roguish demeanor, saying nonchalantly, "Alright, alright, I know, just give it to me now!"

The father stepped forward and said, "I'm warning you, this is the last time! I'm giving you ten catties of coarse grain today out of consideration for our family relationship. From now on, you are not allowed to step into our house again."

"If we find out again that you mistreat your parents at home and deliberately let them go hungry, don't blame us for being ruthless and reporting you directly to the village committee so that the police can arrest you."

The eldest uncle was preoccupied with the cornmeal and didn't take his father's warning to heart at all. He nodded perfunctorily and said, "I know, I know, I won't come again!"

The father handed over the cloth bag, his tone icy: "Take the grain and leave now. Don't ever come back again."

The eldest uncle snatched the cloth bag, weighed it in his hand, and his face instantly darkened. He grumbled, "That's all? Only ten pounds of cornmeal? Li Xiulan, you're so stingy! There are several people in my family, who can eat this little bit of food?"

"How much more do you want?" the mother retorted angrily. "These ten pounds of cornmeal are what our family has saved up by scrimping and saving! And you still think it's not enough?"

The father said in a deep voice, "Ten catties of cornmeal is already our biggest concession. If you are still not satisfied, then put the grain down and we will go to your village and let your villagers judge this matter."

The surrounding villagers echoed this sentiment:

"Ten pounds of coarse grains is already quite a lot; one shouldn't be too greedy!"

"People are kindly giving you food, and you're being picky? That's too much!"

"Hurry up and take the food and leave. Don't embarrass yourself here!"

Seeing the angry expressions on everyone's faces, the eldest uncle knew that he would not get anything out of it if he continued to make a scene, so he could only take the grain and leave!

After the man left, the surrounding villagers gradually dispersed, still gossiping about the uncle's shameless behavior.

Watching his uncle's retreating figure, Gao Huaiyi narrowed his eyes. This matter couldn't end like this. His mother had compromised out of concern for his parents! He couldn't let him off so easily.

The courtyard finally returned to quiet, but the family's mood was extremely heavy.

The mother sighed deeply, her eyes reddening, her voice full of helplessness: "It's all my fault for having such a brother."

The father patted the mother on the shoulder and comforted her, "Don't think too much about it. Just consider it a loss to avoid further trouble. Ten pounds of cornmeal is nothing. It's worth it to get some peace and quiet."

"I'm afraid he'll come again," my sister said.

Gao Huaiyi nodded and chimed in, "Yes, my uncle is the kind of person who doesn't know how to be grateful. He took the grain today, but who knows how he'll try to extort money from us in the future."

There's really nothing you can do when you encounter relatives like this.

The mother wiped away her tears and nodded slowly: "I hope he has a conscience and won't cause trouble again. I also hope that my parents will be alright and won't be mistreated by him."