Now that Zhang Yu has more free time, when the weather is nice, she’ll take Zhao Xi to the riverbank to fish. If it rains, she’ll go mountain biking outside the suburbs to pick mushrooms, and the child will be sent to the recycling station. You could say life is really going well. Next door, the Xue family’s days are just all kinds of chaos. After Xue Fan gave his job to Xue Zhan, he hasn’t reached retirement age, which means he doesn’t earn anything. He also thought about taking Wang Xia’s temporary job, but the machinery factory responded that temporary jobs cannot be swapped, and if he can’t work, he should leave directly. Even with his unwillingness, Xue Fan can only stay at home and be a stay-at-home spouse with no income. The salary for the logistics personnel isn’t high. Plus, Xue Zhan is only a middle school graduate, along with Wang Xia’s temporary worker salary, it’s just slightly more than what Xue Fan earned before. The reduction in salary has made Xue Fan absolutely furious, and even more irritating is that Xue Zhan only gives 10 yuan for living expenses after getting paid, unwilling to give more. The reason being, he’s working and says how can his hands be short of money since he works so hard. Zhang Yu is dealing with the fish caught today by the pool, listening in on Xue Fan and Xue Zhan’s mother-son argument. Indeed, Wang Xia, as Xue Fan’s wife, is not siding with Xue Fan, but with Xue Zhan in times like these. Listening to Xue Zhan calling him useless and a burden, Xue Fan is absolutely infuriated. He pointed at Xue Zhan, utterly enraged, "Xue Zhan, how dare you talk to me ." "What, you think you’re something just because I gave you the job?" Xue Fan is now truly regretting, wondering why he was so out of it and gave the job to Xue Zhan. "You don’t want to give living expenses, do you?" Xue Fan looked at Xue Zhan viciously. Xue Zhan shows no fear of Xue Fan right now, "I said I have no money, and that’s that." "The family isn’t lacking your food and drink," Xue Zhan straightforwardly pushed away Xue Fan’s finger pointing at him. Wang Xia also advised Xue Fan not to make a fuss, "You’re at home all day, not going to work, what are you fussing about." Wang Xia never thought there’d be a day she’d be above Xue Fan; it felt splendid. Xue Fan didn’t fuss anymore, "Alright, it’s how you say it." "Xue Zhan, remember what you said today, you resent me not earning money, unwilling to give me money." Xue Fan was inherently a selfish person. He only agreed because he thought, after all, it’s his son who’d rely on him in the future, plus with a promise to hand over income. But it hasn’t been long, and they’ve flipped on him, calling him a waste and a burden. This infuriated him no end, but no matter, the job is his, and he doesn’t believe he can’t reclaim it. Xue Fan didn’t continue arguing with Wang Xia and Xue Zhan, remaining silent. Zhang Yu noticed Xue Fan’s vicious glare at the mother-son pair, knowing he harbored resentment and wouldn’t let it go, there will definitely be more to this. Soon enough, Xue Fan did as Zhang Yu expected. The next day, he went to the factory and relayed all of Xue Zhan’s contemptuous remarks, demanding his job back. The job had already been transferred to Xue Zhan, taking it back wasn’t easy. But Xue Zhan still believed he was digging his own grave, being reckless and opposed to leadership, who in their right mind—from the canteen manager to the chef, or even a hand—is going to welcome him? Though Xue Fan wasn’t particularly diligent, at least he ensured the tasks assigned to him were done. In the end, they didn’t even consult Xue Zhan; the work was directly returned to Xue Fan. When Xue Zhan saw Xue Fan appearing in the canteen, he thought he’d come to report something, becoming furious, planning to teach him a lesson back home. "Xue Zhan, starting tomorrow, don’t show up for work, your dad’s back." The canteen manager was in high spirits thinking he wouldn’t have to see Xue Zhan again. Everyone was delighted to hear Xue Fan’s return, welcoming him enthusiastically. Xue Zhan was dumbfounded, "I disagree, I disagree." Isn’t the job his? "It’s mine; you don’t respect me, why should I give the job to you?" Xue Fan glanced at Xue Zhan with disgust. Though Xue Zhan was unwilling, he was no longer a worker in the machinery factory. If he didn’t leave, the security department would immediately show him out. Wang Xia never thought the job in hand would slip away, "Xue Fan, you’re insane. You take away the job, what about our son going to be an intellectual youth, what will happen then?" "I checked, households with just one child don’t send them as intellectual youths." Xue Fan sneered, "For a son like him, it’d be better if he went as an intellectual youth." Wang Xia did not expect Xue Fan to have investigated this, knowing she couldn’t use that angle, "But our son’s no longer young, without a job, who would want to marry him." "Marry him?" Xue Fan laughed, "A man without a job, don’t talk about marriage, first think about how to support himself." "I remember how you two treated me before." Wang Xia and Xue Zhan stared at Xue Fan, anxiety bubbling inside, now truly regretting. The news of Xue Fan reclaiming his job quickly spread through the machinery factory, prompting many of the next generation workers to improve their attitudes towards their parents. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on noⅴelfire.net They worried that if they ever mistreated their parents even slightly, the parents could demand their jobs back at the factory, which would be quite the laughingstock. Xue Fan paid no mind to others’ opinions, working daily with enthusiasm, keeping all the salary he earned himself. He didn’t care about Xue Zhan nor Wang Xia. As for Xue Li, serving as an intellectual youth far away in the Northwest mountain village, no matter how many letters she wrote back lamenting her hard life, he didn’t send even a penny. Wang Xia, with her temporary worker’s wage, was paying water and electricity bills, buying groceries, and giving Xue Zhan pocket money, making the financial situation quite tight. Wang Xia had argued with Xue Fan, demanding he contribute. Xue Fan lay on the deck chair, not even glancing at Wang Xia, "No money? Then don’t give the bum any money." "A bum lounging at home, doing nothing, why give him money?" "One meal a day is sufficient." Xue Fan rudely shot back the same words Xue Zhan had said before to the mother-son pair. After receiving months of wages, Xue Zhan’s expenses had grown considerably, treating friends to meals. Now without a job, although his peers didn’t mock him outright, he felt everyone was ridiculing him. Further mortifying for him was having little money left on hand, feeling irritated even considering it. Looking at Xue Fan lounging in the deck chair, he simmered with anger, alongside the constant curses he heard.