Filial piety is the most important virtue.
Qin Sheng had been thinking that he would never make friends with people who neglected their filial duties. If one didn’t care and respect his parents, then he would never be faithful to his friends.
One could hurt anyone for some reason, but not their own parents. Though parents might make mistakes or do the wrong thing out of kindness, they never intended to hurt their own children.
Qin Sheng was eager to do something for Lao Guo. One reason was that he grew up without parents and was always dying for the warmth of normal quality time with the family. For another, he was thinking about his relationship with Qin Changan.
Lao Guo’s daughter was beaten to the ground. She wanted to jump out and fight with Qin Sheng fiercely. But when she saw Qin Sheng take a plate as a weapon, she was scared into silence.
Lao Guo was in great pain when seeing that. After all, she was his own daughter. He wanted to persuade Qin Sheng to stop, but Qin Sheng had asked him not to stop him no matter what happened. Qin Sheng said that he would stop at the correct time. Lao Guo said nothing in the end. He thought about how his three children treated him in the previous years, and then his painful feelings faded away.
Qin Sheng asked Brother Long’s underling to help Lao Guo’s daughter up. He put down the plate and took a seat. He looked at them and said, “Hmph, do you know why I asked you here?”
Lao Guo’s son and daughter didn’t dare to speak. Qin Sheng said, “You know what you’ve done to Lao Guo. I’m here to say the right things for him. How could you do such things to such a good person? And this person is your father. Do you know what you’re doing? God has seen everything. Don’t you fear that you’ll be punished by God? Don’t you fear that your children will do the same thing to you?”
Lao Guo’s sons and daughter all lowered their heads, not daring to say a word. But Qin Sheng knew that they still didn’t regret what they had done. He had to try something else.
Qin Sheng suddenly shouted at them, “Kneel down, now!”
Lao Guo’s sons and daughter looked at each other, standing there and doing nothing. They didn’t want to obey Qin Sheng, but they were afraid of being beaten. Qin Sheng gave Guo Xiong, who had been taught a lesson, a glance. Guo Xiong was so scared that he kneeled down to the ground all of a sudden and said, “Lord, I’m sorry. I’ll do anything you want. Please.”
But the other two stayed still, looking at Guo Xiong with disdain. Qin Sheng sneered and said, “It seems that you need an extra lesson.”
Then, Qin Sheng gave Brother Long’s underlings a glance as a signal. They got the message and grabbed Lao Guo’s other son and daughter at once, beating them hard and forcing them on their knees.
“I’m not here to teach you a lesson with words, but with my fist. If you don’t reflect on your behavior, my lesson will continue until you do so,” Qin Sheng said firmly. Lao Guo’s sons and daughter were all like scaredy-cats and couldn’t help trembling. In this case, violence was louder than words.
Qin Sheng continued to say, “This is none of my business. But I’m grateful to Lao Guo for his years of effort on watching the grave for my mother. I cannot bear to see you doing such cruel things to a good person. Who do you think you are? You’re just like mice I can kill whenever I’d like to. You all have your own families. They’re your soft spot. I can do anything I want to punish you. If you don’t believe me, just ask Guo Xiong about his scars.”
They thought that Guo Xiong had been beaten because he was in debt due to gambling, now they knew the truth.
Guo Xiong gave in first. “No! I already know that I did the wrong thing to my father. No more, please! Believe me. I’ll treat my father well from now on. I won’t let him suffer anymore.”
“You shouldn’t say these thing to me,” Qin Sheng said with disdain.
Guo Xiong moved toward Lao Guo on his knees and said, “Dad, I know I’ve been wrong these years. Please forgive me. I’ll be good to you from now on. I promise to take good care of you.”
Guo Xiong was the rudest compared with his brother and sister, for he was a gangster. He got along with people from the underground and his brother and sister were harassed by those people often. But Guo Xiong totally gave in to Qin Sheng, let alone his brother and sister, who felt too embarrassed to beg for Qin Sheng’s mercy.
Qin Sheng went on with his “lesson” and said, “I wanted to kill you as punishment. But you’re Lao Guo’s sons and daughter, so I’d like to give you another chance. Beijing is my place. As long as you’re in Beijing, I’ve endless ways to punish you. If you don’t want to let your families suffer for you, do what you should do. Or, if you want to call the police, for your information, the public security bureau is also my place.”
With Qin Sheng’s words, the two broke down. They were totally scared by Qin Sheng’s threats. The woman who had a sharp tongue just now burst into tears and moved over to Lao Guo on her knees. She cried and said, “Dad, forgive us. We were so wrong and let you suffer too much. We won’t do this anymore. I’m taking you home now. I’ll take good care of you. I promise.”
Lao Guo’s eldest son saw both his younger sister and brother give in. For fear of enduring Qin Sheng’s anguish alone, he gave in at once and also moved close to Lao Guo on his knees, crying out loud.
Qin Sheng had mixed feelings about what he had done. He was not sure if he had done the right thing, but he thought it was enough if Lao Guo could live a better life. After all, he couldn’t manipulate Lao Guo’s sons and daughter psychologically.
Qin Sheng, of course, would do something to guarantee it. He said, “If you think you only need to put on a show today, you’re quite wrong. From now on, I’ll appoint people to supervise your behavior. If you do anything wrong, I still have plenty of ‘lessons’ for you.”
“My Lord, we’ll definitely never do that.” Guo Xiong was very sincere when speaking because he was clear about Qin Sheng’s ability.
Qin Sheng was fed up with their noisy cries and said, “Stop here. Stand up. I’ll tell you what you should do.”
They stopped crying and stood up immediately for fear of being beaten.
“From now on, you should give Lao Guo 3,000 yuan per month for his daily use. It’s not too much for you. You should carry out your filial duties on festivals, his birthday, and other important days. If Lao Guo is unwilling to keep his job as a grave watcher, your three families should take turns to look after him.” Qin Sheng told him his idea then asked, “What’s your opinion?”
The three, though unwilling to obey, had no other choice but to answer, “We don’t have any opinions.”
Lao Guo thought that Qin Sheng wanted to fire him. He stood up trembling and said, “Xiao Qin, I’m not that old. I can still do this job. But can I quit when I’m sure I can’t anymore?”
Qin Sheng felt moved and said, “Lao Guo, I don’t intend to fire you. I’m just giving you the choice. If you want to do the job, then just do it.”
“That’ll be nice, nice.” Lao Guo felt relieved then. He had got used to living there, and it is difficult for elderly people to adapt themselves to a new environment.
Qin Sheng said something to comfort Lao Guo and then looked at Lao Guo’s children. “You heard his choice. You don’t have to look after him now, but you still have other things to do. If you fail to do those, you know what the result will be.”
“Of course. We shall.” They all promised.
Qin Sheng had done his part, and would see what the three people would do. He said, “All right. You can go now.”
The three people felt relieved and couldn’t wait to leave. Ironically, they spoke a lot to Qin Sheng and Lao Guo to flatter them out of fear before leaving. Their hypocritical acting was ridiculous.
Qin Sheng called Guo Xiong’s name when he was about to leave. Qin Sheng sneered and said, “Guo Xiong, I heard that you’re crazy about gambling. Those gambling-house owners in Huairou are all my friends. I’ll tell them that if any one of them sees you in their place, just break your leg. If they see you a second time, they’ll break your arm. If you like adventure, you can give it a try.”
“My Lord, I’ll never do that. Really.” Guo Xiong’s legs were weak due to fear.
Qin Sheng cursed, “F*ck off!”
Guo Xiong was so prompt to escape that he almost knocked into the wall.
When the three people left, Qin Sheng finished his business today. Qin Sheng walked up to Brother Long’s underlings and said, “Bros, thank you.”
“It’s OK. With pleasure,” the leader of those people said politely. They came to help because Qin Sheng was such a mysterious big shot that even their boss showed plenty of respect to him.
Qin Sheng gave the leader 2,000 yuan and said, “This is for my thanks. You deserve a feast on my treat. Don’t refuse it or I’ll feel disappointed.”
The leader had no choice but to accept. He admired Qin Sheng’s sophistication and had learned a lot. He expressed his gratitude and then left with other underlings.
The people all left, except for Qin Sheng and Lao Guo. Qin Sheng took a deep breath and said, “It’s all right now. Lao Guo, it’s time to have supper. We just have it here, OK?”
At this moment, Lao Guo kneeled on the ground suddenly and said with tears, “Little Qin, thank you, thank you.”
Lao Guo was kowtowing to Qin Sheng. Qin Sheng was scared and helped him up. “Lao Guo, what are you doing? You’re making me feel awkward. I have to thank you. You’ve watched over my mother’s grave all these years. I must do something for you.”
Meanwhile, Lao Guo, as if he heard nothing, kept speaking to express his gratitude.
Qin Sheng had mixed feelings. He had just said something very easy, but was thanked by someone who was much older than him. It was too much for him.
Of course he had no idea how much he had done for Lao Guo, who had been wronged for decades.
Lao Guo’s problem was handled, so Qin Sheng and Lao Guo both went back to their regular lives. Since the Chinese New Year was coming, Lao Guo made some preparations for a celebration. He cleaned his room and the yard, and did some decoration for the atmosphere of the New Year.
Two days before the Chinese New Year, Qin Sheng came to visit his mother’s grave and stayed there for a long time. When he went back, Lao Guo had made lunch for them. Qin Sheng smiled and flattered Lao Guo’s cooking, but Lao Guo just lowered his head and said nothing.
That was because Qin Sheng had stayed here for a month and was leaving today. This one month was the best time in Lao Guo’s life, and he was sad about Qin Sheng’s leaving. But he knew that Qin Sheng had to leave someday. Qin Sheng was destined to be a big shot in the outside world.
After lunch, Qin Ran drove here to take Qin Sheng away. She couldn’t wait anymore. This one month was particularly long for her. She finished her job and then came to get Qin Sheng immediately.
“Have you packed up everything?” Qin Ran saw Qin Sheng, finding that his skin had become rough. She felt worried and held his hand.
Qin Sheng checked his leather suitcase and bag. He giggled and said, “I don’t have much. Everything’s done.”
“Let’s go,” Qin Ran said and took Qin Sheng’s luggage.
There were only two days before the Chinese New Year. They had a very tight schedule; they would fly to Xi’an tomorrow, to Beijing the day after tomorrow, to Shanghai three days later, and so on. Everything had been arranged perfectly.
When all the luggage was put in the trunk, Qin Ran found something wrong and asked, “Where’s Uncle Guo?”
“In his room,” Qin Sheng said.
Qin Ran was unpleased. “Why didn’t he come and see you off?”
Qin Sheng said nothing. He knew why Lao Guo didn’t come. Lao Guo was sad about his leaving and he was also sad about being separated from Lao Guo. He said loudly, “Lao Guo, I’m leaving. Where are you?”
But Lao Guo still stayed in his room and said nothing at all.
“Lao Guo, don’t be too sad. I’ll come back to see you often. Take care of yourself when I’m not here.” Qin Sheng continued to say.
But Lao Guo still stayed in the room.
Qin Sheng sighed. He wouldn’t go into the room to say goodbye to Lao Guo because he knew that it would make Lao Guo even sadder.
At this time, Qin Ran understood the situation, but she didn’t expect that only one month was enough to build such a close relationship between Qin Sheng and Lao Guo.
“Sis, let’s go,” Qin Sheng said with a sigh.
They looked at each other and got in the car slowly. Qin Ran started the car and beeped a few times. They waited for several seconds but nothing happened, so they just left.
Hearing the sound of the car fading away, Lao Guo, a 60-year-old man, cried like a young child in his room.