1308 Estrangement Between Father and Son
Shao Yin was rendered speechless. She did not know how to do anything apart from working in the fields and doing manual chores like chopping firewood and washing the dishes. She did not know anything about needlework and did not have any skills that she could boast of.
The food was ready very soon. Since the rest of them did not help with the cooking, they quickly helped to bring out the dishes. With so many pairs of helping hands, all the food was placed on the table in a jiffy.
After Xia Jun took his seat at the table, everyone sat down one after another.
No one spoke when everyone was seated at the dining table. It was usually Zhou Hua who gave the opening speech for the Spring Festival celebrations. Now that Zhou Hua was no longer around, no one knew who should take over this task.
Suddenly, Shao Yin stood up and raised her glass at Xia Jun while saying, “I wish Grandfather happiness and good health in the new year!”
Her posture reminded everyone of Zhou Hua and all of them frowned slightly. Shao Yin was not considered a daughter-in-law of the Xia family yet. By doing this, she was only bringing bad luck to their family.
Xia Xing also felt a little awkward and nudged Shao Yin, asking her to sit down.
“Thank you. Everyone, let’s eat.” After saying that, Xia Jun started eating.
Shao Yin sat down awkwardly with the glass in her hand. The atmosphere felt cold as the family ate quietly. It would have been much more lively if only the families of the eldest and second sons were gathered together. With the addition of Xia Guang and his family, everyone else felt a little uncomfortable.
No one knew what was wrong with Xia Guang recently. Whenever he saw his relatives and friends from the Xia family, he always had a distressed expression on his face, as if someone owed him a few million dollars. It felt like he was ready to leave and return to the border as soon as anyone made him unhappy.
Perhaps he hated them for making Zhou Hua leave the Xia family, or perhaps he felt resentful towards the family, or perhaps he did not think of this place as his home at all.
Recently, Xia Jun had been thinking of transferring Xia Guang back to the capital so that the whole family could be gathered together. It might be better for Xia Xing and his two brothers to stay with Xia Guang rather than Zhou Luo.
It was still better for Xia family members to return to the Xia family. If these three brothers continued to be brought up by a vicious woman like Zhou Luo, something bad would happen to them sooner or later. After dinner, Xia Jun asked Xia Guang to go to the study with him so that the two of them could have a chat.
It had been a long time since the two of them sat down to talk to each other face to face.
“Xiao Guang, do you hate me?” Xia Jun asked calmly.
Xia Guang did not know how to answer the question. Perhaps he hated his father, but he did not know what it was that he hated. Regardless, he definitely did not have any good feelings towards Xia Jun.
“No, I don’t,” Xia Guang said.
“Then tell me why you’ve been in such a state recently. Is there a conflict between you and your eldest brother? Or do you have a conflict with your second brother, or a problem between you and the grandchildren. Tell me and I can help you resolve it,” Xia Jun said.
“No, there isn’t,” Xia Guang said again.
“Then it must be me. You must be blaming me for asking you to divorce Zhou Hua and for not giving Xia Xing a grand wedding. Is that right?” Xia Jun asked.
This time, Xia Guang did not say anything. It seemed that Xia Jun had guessed correctly.
“If there’s anything you are dissatisfied with, you can say it. Let’s think of a solution together. Haven’t you been angry with me for so many years already?” Xia Jun said resignedly.
“I don’t have any right to be angry with you. You’ve never thought highly of me anyway. After I started working, you left me all by myself out of town and I was even bullied by other people everywhere I went. Even until now, I’m still not as successful as Eldest Brother and Second Brother. I think it’s more a situation of you being dissatisfied with me,” Xia Guang said.
Xia Jun sighed deeply. Back then, Xia Mao and Xia Yao had both started at the bottom of the rung too. Why was Xia Guang the only one who had an issue with it?
“A few years ago, I said that I wanted to transfer you back here, but you insisted on going to the border. I’ve also discussed with you about the issue of my three grandsons, about letting me bring them up. However, you still went with what Zhou Hua wanted. You have to divorce Zhou Hua because she did something hurtful to the family. It’s not our fault,” Xia Jun said.
“Yes, that’s why I think I’m a failure. I can’t do as well as anyone, not even Eldest Brother’s children,” Xia Guang said self-deprecatingly.
“I want to ask you if you’re willing to return to the capital to work? You can live with Xia Xing and the other two boys. You’ve seen how Zhou Luo takes care of these children. Don’t tell me you want to be a hands-off parent and leave the three children to their own devices?” Xia Jun questioned angrily.
“Then I’ll do what you say. I’ll come back to the capital,” Xia Guang said.
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