The following story is from the Qing Dynasty Xiejian notes novel "Yizhilu", which has been slightly changed when translated.
There is a family in a certain place, the husband Xie Gong died early, the wife Wang did not remarry, and one person raised two sons. The eldest is called Xie Wen, and the second is called Xie Wu. To tell the truth, orphans and widows are not easy, young widows do not say, but also to pull two sons, much stronger than many men.
It is said that the dragon has nine sons, which are different, and this statement really makes sense. Brothers of the same father and mother, the mother's education is not biased, but Xie Wen and Xie Wu have completely different personalities. As an older brother, Xie Wen was humble and courteous, and very filial to his mother; while Xie Wu was arrogant and narrow-minded, and had many small calculations of his own.
When the two brothers grew up, they lived together because they were not married. However, Xie Wen found that his younger brother Xie Wu had secretly saved money, and he withheld the family's money, sold some things, and then became his own money, regardless of the difficulties of his mother and brother's life. Xie Wen wanted to say it several times, but he was afraid of a bad reputation and his brother's retaliation, so he didn't say it.
Later, Wang also found out that Xie Wu was secretly hiding money and said a few words to him. Unexpectedly, Xie Wu directly rebuked his mother, saying that he planned for himself, and also scolded his mother as an old and immortal thing. Sometimes, Xie Wu was eager to beat his mother and often did disobedience, which was really a big filial piety. And there are many such things.
Xie Wu saved a lot of money, so he proposed to split up the family and said that he would also occupy the land for himself. Xie Wen was very angry, so he said: It is okay to separate the family, but the acres of land must be reserved for me, I will use it to take care of my mother, and when my mother dies, I will divide it equally with you. Xie Wu said: The old mother takes turns to raise, what money do you want? In this way, the land was all going to Be xie wu.
Within a few days, The Xie Wutuo people said kisses and married a daughter-in-law. His daughter-in-law was the same person as him, and she was not filial to her mother-in-law at all, and she wished that her mother-in-law would die immediately.
Speaking of the eldest brother Xie Wen, originally there was no money in the family, Xie Wu secretly saved a lot, and now most of the family's things have been divided by him, so the boss Xie Wen is even poorer. But he would rather starve himself than let his mother starve, but fortunately he could do something and make some money, so he would not be frozen and starved.
However, when Xie Wu took care of his mother, he was not as good as his brother. He saved a lot of money, and divided most of the family property, and there was no shortage of good food in the family. However, the things given to my mother were greens, and I still didn't have enough to eat, and I only had two meals a day. Mother ate for a few days, did not say anything, sometimes she is not hungry, can not eat, Xie Wu also scolded her: is it that the food is not delicious? Such a dish, the boss may not give you two meals a day, you are not satisfied!
The mother was very angry, but dared to be angry and did not dare to speak, but she cried quietly when there was no one.
Soon, it was his brother Xie Wen's turn to adopt his mother. However, at this time, Xie Wen's family did not have a single grain of rice, let alone two meals a day, that is, not a single meal. No way, Xie Wen knelt down and prostrated his head, and said to his mother: Mother, I really have no money, it is better that you first go to my brother's house for a few days, wait for me to earn some money, take you over immediately, and then make up for it, so that it is fair for my brother, how do you see?
The mother could understand the eldest son and agreed. Xie Wen wanted to send her back, but she refused, saying that her brothers would inevitably quarrel when they met, so she faltered and returned to Xie Wu's house alone.
When Xie Wu saw that his mother had returned again, he asked her what was going on, and his mother told him about his brother's difficulties, and repeatedly stressed that he would live for a few days first, and when his brother slowed down, he would pick himself up, and he would stay here for a few more days, and when he was old, he would live for a few more days, which was also very fair.
The mother thought that the younger son would agree, but Xie Wu refused on the spot, saying: I don't agree to this, Xie Wen has no money, that is his own problem, you follow him to suffer and starve, this is also your life, what does it have to do with me? He's him, I'm me, I've been separated from him, and now it's his turn, you have to follow him, that's the rule.
Hearing this, my mother sighed and said: Well, I will stay here for one more day, and then I will live in your brother's place for two more days, twice to compensate you, three times, this is always OKAY, right? At this point, she couldn't help but cry. Who does not know whether Xie Wu is still unwilling, saying: You feel fair, but I feel unfair. It's as if I lend you money for use and then give it back to me in a few days, which is good for you, but what good is it for me? The money I lent out didn't go up in interest!
The old mother almost died of anger, but there was no way, she could only continue to plead, she was almost begging Xie Wu, said: Otherwise, I will not go to your house, but your brother's family really has no food, and when your family is ready to cook, I will eat a bowl on the line, after eating I will go back to your brother's house, and then let your brother return the food I have eaten to you later.
Unexpectedly, Xie Wu was even more unhappy when he heard this, saying: Old things, I can raise you, give you two bites of food, you can steal the music, and you still want to take advantage. You have always said that Xie Wen has no money and no food, so if he doesn't give you food, I should give you food for free? Why do you hurt him and not me? Let me waste food, let him Xie Wen save money, you still think so beautiful, I don't agree to this, no one says it's useless.
My mother, who had been hungry for half a day, couldn't bear it any longer, crying and saying, "I'm not hurting your brother, I'm just so hungry that I want to eat." Xie Wu was not distressed at all, and said loudly: Old thing, since you are hungry, then hurry up and go to his house to eat, I should not raise you now, even if my food is given to beggars and dogs, it will not be eaten for you.
Her mother was so hungry that she wanted to go in and eat a bite of food, but she was too old to walk, and she couldn't help but glance at Xie Wu's kitchen. In the kitchen, Xie Wu's daughter-in-law was cooking, and found that her mother-in-law looked at the pot, and the daughter-in-law hurriedly covered the lid of the pot, afraid that her mother-in-law would rush in to grab food.
At this time, Xie Wu began to shout and scold Xie Wen, telling him to hurry up and take the old things away. Xie Wen went out and did not hear, and after his mother heard it, she could not bear it any longer, and while wiping her tears, she dragged her body and moved back to Xie Wen's house.
Just out of the courtyard of the Xie Wu family, only to see the clear sky just now, suddenly there was a thunder, one after another, it sounded very terrifying. Suddenly there was a thunderclap behind her, and the mother turned to look, only to see that Xie Wu's family had been struck by thunder, fortunately, Xie Wu and his daughter-in-law were safe and sound, and the surrounding houses, courtyard walls, and trees were all lying on the ground, and they were still burning, but Xie Wu and his daughter-in-law were standing, frightened and trembling.
The old mother breathed a sigh of relief, xie wu and his daughter-in-law wanted to run, but the thunder god's anger did not subside. Only to see a lightning bolt in the sky come down, split in two, and directly split Xie Wu and his daughter-in-law in a different place, seeing that they could not live. Immediately after, another explosion of thunder fell, and the bodies of Xie Wu and his daughter-in-law were directly smashed and dissipated.