Chapter 14: The Yang Family Meeting

Sun was so frightened she didn't dare breathe heavily. Gripping Yang Ruoqing's hand tightly, she lowered her head and walked toward the long bench in the corner, where she sat down.

Over by the bed, Lady Tan saw that she had failed to drive Yang Ruoqing out of the room. She remained somewhat persistent, but after receiving a fierce glare from Old Man Yang, the head of the household, she let out a huff and turned her face toward the inside of the bed.

Sun was so frightened she didn't dare breathe heavily. Gripping Yang Ruoqing's hand tightly, she lowered her head and walked toward the long bench in the corner, where she sat down.

Over by the bed, Lady Tan saw that she had failed to drive Yang Ruoqing out of the room. She remained somewhat persistent, but after receiving a fierce glare from Old Man Yang, the head of the household, she let out a huff and turned her face toward the inside of the bed.

Old Man Yang withdrew his gaze. After sweeping his eyes across the faces of his three sons sitting at the eight-immortals table, he let out a sigh and spoke: "I called you brothers here tonight to discuss the matter regarding the third son. The fact that something like this happened to the third son is a misfortune for our Yang family. Among the children of the third branch, some are foolish and some are young; moving forward, there are five more mouths to feed and medicate. You cannot expect the third son's wife, a mere woman, to shoulder this burden alone! You are all biological brothers. I called you here because I want to hear your ideas. Furthermore, regarding your third brother's legs—do we still want to treat them? If we do, how shall we do it?"

After Old Man Yang finished his opening remarks and laid out the central theme of tonight's family meeting, he rolled some tobacco, stuffed it back into the pipe, lit it, and took several rhythmic puffs. However, the three sons gathered at the table all sat with their heads bowed, lips pursed and brows furrowed; not a single word was uttered!

Seeing this trend, Old Man Yang grew displeased.

He struck the corner of the table heavily with his tobacco pipe twice and glared at his sons, rebuking them, "What is wrong with you? Every one of you is like a sealed gourd! I called you here to deliberate on matters—to figure out how our Yang family can work together to get through this crisis—and yet none of you will say a word?"

The three Yang brothers at the table glanced at one another, but still, no one spoke first.

Old Man Yang was so angry that his originally dark complexion turned somewhat flushed. He raised his pipe and pointed it at Yang Huaan, who was sitting to his lower left. "You are the eldest, and the eldest brother acts as a father. Take the lead and tell us what should be done!"

Sitting in the corner, Yang Ruoqing had been paying close attention to the movements here. Hearing Old Man Yang call out names to question them one by one, her gaze followed and landed on her eldest uncle, Yang Huaan.

The original owner of this body was someone with incomplete mental faculties; the memories in her mind were like broken fragments, very blurred. To be honest, she was basically a stranger to almost everyone in this room.

However, looking at this eldest uncle, Yang Huaan—though he was born into a farming family and his wife, Lady Jin, was a disreputable and slovenly woman—Yang Huaan himself possessed a certain elegance that surpassed that of an average peasant.

His somewhat stout body was wrapped in dark gray clothing. The clothes were about seventy percent new, with a patch on the shoulder, but they were worn very neatly, with almost no signs of dirt or disarray. His facial features were eighty percent similar to those of Yang Huazhong and Yang Huazhou, except that Yang Huaan's eyes took after Lady Tan's—narrow eyes. When he wasn't speaking, he sat there with his hands folded, eyes slightly squinted, looking like a living Buddha; yet occasionally, a flicker of something inscrutable would pass through his pupils.

Yang Ruoqing's judgment of character had always been precise. This eldest uncle looked like a quiet, good-natured man, but in reality, his depths were likely quite profound!

Being called out by Old Man Yang and seeing everyone's eyes fall upon him, Yang Huaan shifted his weight, lifted his eyelids, and let his gaze sweep indifferently around the room before finally landing on Old Man Yang.

He let out a long sigh and said, "Father and I are thinking along the same lines. The fact that the third son has encountered this is a great misfortune for our Yang family. On my way here, I was even instructing the four brothers, Yongxian and Yongjin, telling them that as nephews, they must help the third branch more in the future. After all, he is their biological third uncle; you can't write the name 'Yang' without including him..."

Since it involved her own interests, Yang Ruoqing pricked up her ears.

But after listening for a long while, she only heard Yang Huaan sighing and lamenting—either reminiscing about the brotherhood of the past or expressing his current heavy grief. He didn't answer the issue Old Man Yang had posed at all.

*He's playing Tai Chi,* she thought to herself. She stole a glance at the four cousins standing behind Yang Huaan, arranged from tallest to shortest; they all had their heads bowed, eyes fixed on their noses, clearly having received instructions from Yang Huaan before coming so as not to take any sides prematurely.

Over there, Old Man Yang finally lost his patience after listening for a while.

"Enough, enough! You've gone in so many circles that my head is spinning, and I still haven't heard a straight answer!"

Old Man Yang paused, then continued, "You are the eldest brother, so state your position. Do we treat your third brother's legs or not?"

A hesitant smile appeared on Yang Huaan's somewhat sagging, fleshy face. He glanced at the second and fourth sons sitting at the table and said, "Father, asking me like this... aren't you making things difficult for me?"

"How is it difficult? Explain yourself!" Old Man Yang had a fiery and straightforward temperament; he loathed people who spoke in half-truths. His voice instantly hardened.

Yang Huaan swallowed hard, no longer daring to smile. He lowered his eyes with a contemplative expression. After a moment, he spoke cautiously and deliberately, "Father, there is a reason I say it is difficult. If I say we don't treat the third son, I wouldn't have the heart to do so, would I? We are biological brothers; how can we just watch him become a cripple? He has elders to care for and young ones to raise; the burden on his shoulders is heavy! But if I say we do treat him, where will the money come from?"

"Father and Mother are still alive, which is a blessing for us children. The family's money is all held by Mother; she knows better than we do how much there is. Furthermore, while I am stating that we should treat him, I am not the only one in this family. The fifth brother and sixth sister are not yet married, but the second and fourth brothers are both married with children to support. Every one of those mouths needs to eat and drink. As the eldest brother, I cannot fathom what they are thinking. If I rashly stand up and demand to treat the third son, I might end up being resented by them! That is why I am in a difficult position!"

Upon hearing Yang Huaan's words, Old Man Yang's face darkened even further.

This eldest son was a slippery character; asking him was as good as not asking at all.

"Second son, what kind of ox liver did you eat tonight? Did I call you here to drink tea? Put down that teacup and tell me what you think of this matter immediately!" Old Man Yang barked at the second son, Yang Hualin, who was silently sipping tea.

Yang Hualin sat on the stool with one leg on the ground and the other resting on the seat. Being barked at by Old Man Yang, he leisurely set down his teacup, wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth, and said nonchalantly, "If you ask me, there's nothing to treat! For a family like ours, what would we use to treat it? Even Uncle Fu said that even if those wealthy masters encountered such a thing, there would only be a forty percent chance of success. Only forty percent!"

(End of Chapter)