Free Web NovelChapter 178: Chapter 178: Time Passes
An Ning and Jiang Xia had been running together for over half a month. Their paces were quite similar, and they ran long distances, often from the foot of the mountain to the top and back down again.
Deep down, both of them were competitive. It wasn’t about being hot-headed, but rather a respectful rivalry that emerged when they met a worthy opponent.
While they competed in running, they also practiced their verbal sparring.
Although Jiang Xia was subconsciously nice to An Ning, he hadn’t changed his ways. He still carried himself like a young master—arrogant and sharp-tongued.
And through her verbal jousting with Jiang Xia, An Ning’s own tongue was getting sharper and sharper.
Meanwhile, the newly returned An Guoming finished a bowl of noodles under immense pressure. Across from him sat An Sancheng, who hadn’t said a word but whose gaze never left him.
After An Guoming drank the last of the noodle broth, he carefully set down the bowl.
"Dad... please don’t look at me like that. You’re scaring me."
An Guoming was genuinely terrified!
In his eyes, An Sancheng had always held a position of great authority.
"Good, you’re scared. Being scared means you still care about something. It means these two old bags of bones are still worth a thought from you. I guess we haven’t lived in vain."
The sarcasm made An Guoming tremble, and he fell right off his stool.
With a THUD, An Guoming landed on his knees.
"Dad—don’t be like this! I was wrong. It’s all my fault. I was really wrong. Just hit me!"
Just as An Guoming finished speaking, An Guoping arrived, presenting a freshly shaven bamboo switch of moderate width and bright color with both hands.
"Dad, my sister told me to bring this."
"Second Brother, this has nothing to do with me. I’m just the errand boy."
After saying this, An Guoping heard An Ning clear her throat at the doorway. He immediately added, "Dad, my sister said she made several, so feel free to use it."
An Guoping tiptoed out of the kitchen and received a pat on the head from An Ning.
"Not bad. Go to your lesson now."
An Ning shot a triumphant smile at An Guoming as she led the way out. An Guoping gave An Guoming a "you’re on your own" look before piously and obediently following An Ning to his room for his lesson with Li Chengze.
As for An Ning’s room, Lin Cuihua strictly forbade any non-family males from entering.
In his room, he, Yin Xuemei, and Yang Jianguo would have their lesson first. Afterward, Li Chengze would act as a teaching assistant, helping the three of them with problems.
Once the lesson for the three of them was over, An Ning would give Li Chengze a short, private lesson.
This short lesson wasn’t about formally taking Li Chengze on as a student; it was more like a test of his fundamentals.
After the siblings left, An Sancheng, still in the kitchen, picked up the bamboo switch An Guoping had delivered and tapped it against his palm twice.
"This is actually pretty good. My daughter really is clever."
An Guoming, still kneeling, was speechless. ’Is this really a matter of being clever?’ he thought.
"Dad, have you noticed that Little Sis’s personality has changed a bit?"
An Sancheng brought the bamboo switch down on the table with a loud CRACK, startling An Guoming so badly he shot upright, his back ramrod straight.
"Has it? I hadn’t noticed."
Of course, An Sancheng had noticed. But he was happy to see it—in fact, he was delighted by the change.
"Your little sister’s change isn’t a change, it’s an improvement. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then don’t talk nonsense."
"Right, right, right. You’re absolutely right."
It wasn’t that An Guoming thought the change was bad; he just hadn’t gotten used to it yet. He remembered how An Ning used to protect him whenever he was about to get a beating.
That sweet little sister of his was now personally delivering the bamboo switch!
’How fickle the world is!’
"An Guoming. Talk. What reason do you have for not contacting the family for over a month?"
"You should know that the greatest source of grief for me and your uncle is your Second Uncle."
"What, you want to be like your Second Uncle? Disappear for years without coming home, not even a single phone call? Last time, when your sister got married, your uncle and I had to save face by saying he’d sent back a bolt of fabric. In reality, we didn’t get a damned thing from him."
Every time An Sancheng thought about it, his chest tightened with frustration.
If he felt this bad, how much worse must his big brother feel?
After all, his big brother had single-handedly raised the two of them.
Hearing An Sancheng’s words, An Guoming immediately understood.
His Second Uncle was a taboo subject in this family.
"Dad, I... I..."
An Guoming didn’t know how to explain, so he simply lifted his shirt.
The sight made An Sancheng’s nose sting, his eyes welling up.
An Guoming’s torso was covered in black and blue marks. An Sancheng shot to his feet and looked at his son’s back.
It was the same: a crisscrossing mess of marks from clubs and rods, some new, some old.
"Get up! What the hell are you still kneeling for!"
An Sancheng pulled An Guoming up and took a deep breath.
"What happened?"
An Guoming wasn’t the least bit sad; on the contrary, his eyes were shining with excitement.
"Dad, they look serious, but none of them are deep."
"For the past month, I’ve been running truck routes between the north and south. I found a few guys to work with, and I made money."
"This time, I made real money."
Seeing that An Sancheng’s expression was still grim, An Guoming changed the subject. "Don’t worry about how I look. The guys we fought with were hurt much worse."
"I didn’t mean to not call. It’s just that for this entire month, I’ve been eating and sleeping in the truck. I’d leave one factory and get right back on the road, drive to a place, sell the goods, and then set off again. I really had no time."
"Over this period, I’ve scouted out several new routes. Now that the routes are pretty stable, I bought another truck. I’ve registered both trucks under the textile factory’s name and started running my own operation."
"I ran the routes myself twice, and when I felt things were set, I let the other guys do a run on their own. It was a way to see what kind of men I had working for me—if they were reliable or not."
As An Guoming explained everything, An Sancheng listened with a mixture of pride and heartache.
’My second son has become more thoughtful.’
"Good, good. My second son has really made something of himself."
Being praised by An Sancheng like this actually made An Guoming feel a bit shy.
He gave a sheepish laugh and scratched the back of his head.
"Dad, I take after you. I’m clever." frёewebnoѵēl.com
"What’s that? So your mother isn’t clever, is that it?"
Hearing Lin Cuihua’s voice, An Guoming quickly turned and looked at her with a fawning expression.
"Of course not! What I meant was, I’m clever like my dad, but I’m even cleverer like my mom. And when you put those two kinds of cleverness together, it’s just incredible."
With his nonsensical rambling, An Guoming finally passed this trial.
At noon, Lin Cuihua made several dishes, and the family sat down to eat together.
The perceptive Li Chengze tactfully returned to Jiangxia’s house for his meal.
An Guoping watched Li Chengze’s retreating back and remarked, "That kid seems to be growing up."
"Just eat your food. He’s older than you!"
Lin Cuihua rapped An Guoping on the head with her chopsticks.
An Guoping dodged and said, "Don’t hit me! What if you make me stupid?"
What An Guoping didn’t know was that Li Chengze hadn’t thought to leave for the meal on his own. It was Jiang Xia’s doing.
After an extra "private lesson," Li Chengze had no choice but to understand, whether he wanted to or not.
The An family began to eat. As An Guoming picked up some food with his chopsticks, a section of his wrist was exposed.
BANG!
"Second Brother, who bullied you?"
An Ning slammed her bowl and chopsticks down, her aura formidable, looking as if she was about to avenge him.
"Little Sis! I knew you still cared about your Second Brother!"
