Great Benefactor 06

Chen Meihua gritted her teeth: "It's fine. At worst, we'll use the household living expenses for now."

Fang Jianguo hesitated: "Are you sure that'll work?"

Chen Meihua whispered, "Haven’t you noticed how much the kids have gained weight lately? Dad might act tough, but he won’t ignore the family."

Fang Jianguo thought about it and realized it was true—Chen Xiao had even grown taller recently.

"Alright!"

It was the weekend, and since they both had the day off, they decided to visit the market first. If they were going to do a good deed, they wanted to buy quality items, so they needed to inspect them personally. But as they reached the neighborhood entrance, they saw a crowd gathered there.

Fang Jianguo glanced curiously and spotted his father animatedly telling some story. The moment their eyes met, Fang Jianguo felt a sinking feeling.

"Where are you two headed?" Fang Zhiyi asked.

Everyone turned to look at them. Fang Jianguo froze for a moment, but Chen Meihua answered, "Dad, we’re going to the market to buy new stationery and backpacks." She felt a flicker of pride—with so many people watching, they’d surely praise her for her kindness.

Fang Zhiyi let out an "Oh" and said, "Right, Fang Xiao and the others do need new backpacks. Their rulers are practically worn down to nubs. I offered to buy them some, but they refused, saying their parents would get them new ones."

"Old Fang, you’re lucky—your son and daughter-in-law are so filial, and your grandkids are so well-behaved," someone remarked.

Fang Zhiyi smiled and nodded. "Exactly. I was just thinking, what kind of parents would let their kids wear tattered clothes and use worn-out supplies? That’s the kind of thing a stepmother would do, hahaha!"

The crowd laughed along.

"Old Fang, you’ve got quite the sharp tongue. Aren’t you afraid Meihua will get upset?"

Fang Zhiyi gave a meaningful look. "She wouldn’t get mad, right?"

Chen Meihua’s face flushed. She hadn’t even considered replacing her own children’s backpacks until now. Under Fang Zhiyi’s gaze and the neighbors’ scrutiny, she forced a nod. "Of course not, Dad. We’d better get going."

She tugged Fang Jianguo away, afraid Fang Zhiyi might say something even more embarrassing if they lingered.

That evening, the three children were overjoyed with their new backpacks, filling the house with cheerful noise for the first time.

But Chen Meihua watched them with a grim expression. She even considered convincing them to keep using their old ones.

"There are many kids your age who don’t even have backpacks. You should learn to think of others first, understand?" She softened her tone as much as possible. "We’ve always taught you to share."

Fang Xiao lowered his head, Fang Yang clung tightly to his new backpack, and only the youngest, Fang Yue, hesitated before reluctantly offering hers to her mother.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted them.

"How can you take care of others if you can’t even take care of yourselves?" They all turned to see Grandpa cracking sunflower seeds.

Fang Zhiyi glanced at Chen Meihua, then picked up Fang Yue. She had indeed gained some weight recently.

"Yueyue, tell Grandpa—what makes someone a good person?"

"People like Mom and Dad are good people," Fang Yue answered after a brief thought.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "Is someone who can’t even manage their own life but pretends to be generous really good? For example… you really like this new backpack, don’t you?"

Fang Yue glanced at her mother, then at her grandfather, and finally nodded.

"Then why give it away?"

"Doing good deeds means helping within your means, not playing the self-sacrificing saint like some kind of fool." He shoved the backpack back into her hands. "Sharing means giving away things you don’t really need, not things you love and want. That’s just pretending to be something you’re not. Understand?"

"Dad!" Chen Meihua couldn’t take it anymore. She felt like the old man was mocking her. "What kind of lesson is that?"

She’d had enough of Fang Zhiyi. Lately, he’d been making life difficult for her and Jianguo, forcing them to help him with chores every night while keeping every penny he earned to himself.

Fang Zhiyi set Fang Yue down and motioned for Fang Xiao to take her to their room.

"What did I teach her? Just not to sacrifice herself for no reason. What’s wrong with that?"

Chen Meihua was seething.

"Oh, and one more thing. Since you two are so busy with work, starting next month, I’ll take charge of the household expenses. You’ll just need to give me a monthly allowance. How does that sound?"

"Allowance?" Chen Meihua nearly exploded. "Dad, you’re already earning your own money! Why do you need ours? And the household is running just fine without your interference."

Fang Zhiyi gave her an odd look, then turned to leave, hands behind his back. "Fine by me!"

For some reason, watching him walk away made Chen Meihua uneasy. But she quickly steadied herself—this time, she wouldn’t back down. She had to make sure this old man went back to the countryside!

That afternoon, Fang Jianguo returned home after volunteering to help someone move furniture, his expression dark.

"What’s wrong?" Chen Meihua asked, scrolling on her phone.

"What… what did you say to my dad?" Fang Jianguo looked frantic.

"Nothing much. He wanted us to give him a monthly allowance, and I refused. Our budget is tight as it is, and we have so many other things to—"

Fang Jianguo cut her off. "Do you know what people in the neighborhood are saying now?"

"That we refuse to support him, so he has to take care of the three kids alone—working late-night shifts and running a morning stall just to make ends meet!" He slammed the table. "And today, while I was helping Uncle Li move his flowers—you know his leg’s been bad—something happened…"

Earlier, Fang Jianguo had been cheerfully chatting with Uncle Li while carrying potted plants when he overheard his name. He turned to see his father struggling alone with a sack of flour.

"Old Fang really has it rough. Who’d have thought his son was like this?"

"If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. Was he just putting on an act all this time?"

"Blood is thicker than water, yet Old Fang still defends them."

"Look at him—working himself to the bone for strangers but ignoring his own father."

Fang Jianguo’s face burned with shame. He didn’t understand—his father usually ordered him around like a servant, so why was he doing manual labor today?

Frozen in place, still holding a flowerpot, he hesitated. If he went to help now, it would only make things worse.

Just then, a young man approached Fang Zhiyi. "Let me help you with that, Grandpa."

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "It’s fine. I can manage. The more I do, the more the kids can rest."

The young man frowned. "That’s not right! What if you overwork yourself? Who’ll take responsibility then?"