Chapter 164: If You Dare, Don’t Run; If You Dare, Don’t Chase

His face twisted into a grimace, eyes blazing with fury. At that moment, he wished he could beat the unfilial son before him to death—after all, that was a guaranteed lifetime job, a "stable" life secured forever.

“Father-in-law, don’t act rashly!”

“Grandpa, please don’t hit Dad,” Lin Jiayin and Huanhuan cried out in fear, Huanhuan even bursting into tears.

In a critical instant, Chen Huajiang disarmed the old man barehanded. With his left hand, he pushed aside the carrying pole; with his right, he grasped the old man's wrist and with a swift shake, seized the pole from him.

“You—you unfilial son dare to fight back!”

“Come on, hit me on the head then!” Chen Jingen grew even more furious, pointing at his own head and shouting.

Chen Huajiang dared not retaliate; he simply threw the carrying pole out the door.

“I said, enough! Can you listen to what I have to say—”

Before he could finish, Chen Jingen grabbed the chair he had earlier smashed down and swung it at his son again.

Chen Huajiang had no choice but to circle around the round table once more.

“Put the chair down!”

“Don’t run!”

“Am I stupid? Should I just stand here and let you smash me?”

“You unfilial son, if you’ve got guts, don’t run!”

“If you’ve got guts, don’t chase me!”

“If you’ve got guts, keep running!”

The two circled the table—one running, the other chasing.

“Stop, please stop!”

“Why make such a fuss? Stop it now!”

By then, a crowd had gathered at the doorway—neighbors from nearby streets craning their necks to watch the commotion.

Chen Huajiang’s mother, Wang Xinhong, hurried in from outside. Seeing father and son chasing each other in the hall, she was instantly pale with fright and rushed inside.

She first hugged Chen Jingen tightly, then shouted to Chen Huajiang, “Run now!”

“You—let go of me!” Chen Jingen fumed.

“A doting mother spoils her child. Look what he’s become because of you—he’s even been fired from the factory!”

---

Chen Jingen struggled and angrily threw the chair at Chen Huajiang again.

This time, Chen Huajiang was prepared. He caught the chair steadily with both hands and set it aside.

Wang Xinhong released her grip, staring at her son in surprise. In a sharp tone, she asked, “What!? You were fired from the factory?”

“Fired from the Chen family’s factory!”

“How did it come to this? I always thought he wasn’t the stable type—losing a guaranteed job is just typical. Tsk tsk.”

“I remember how proud he used to be, telling everyone he was a worker at the Red Flag Factory.”

The neighbors outside, upon hearing that Chen Huajiang had been fired, buzzed with gossip, whispering amongst themselves.

“Old Chen, calm down.”

“Exactly, Huajiang got fired, didn’t he? You can’t really mean to kill him over this!”

Two middle-aged men strode in, blocking Chen Jingen and loudly trying to reason with him.

These men, Chen Xinshui and Wu Dashan, were good friends of Chen Jingen and often socialized together.

When such incidents happen, others might watch for entertainment, but these two stepped in to prevent things from escalating.

“How could it come to this? How?”

Wang Xinhong looked deeply worried and puzzled, grabbing Chen Huajiang’s arm and pleading anxiously. Her eyes showed a mixture of frustration and maternal concern.

But soon, she changed her tone, patting his arm to comfort him: “It’s not a big deal. You got fired, so what? I’ll talk to your uncle and see if you can learn to cook and get a job at the township canteen. Isn’t that more stable than the factory?”

“And being a cook is better than a worker. During famines, some workers didn’t even have enough to eat, but I never heard of cooks starving.”

Chen Huajiang smiled; both generations were like this—his father stubborn and concerned with face, his mother always thinking of him, turning even bad news into something hopeful.

“Mom, don’t worry. It’s a small matter. I’m running a restaurant now—I can make a living just fine.”

He patted his mother’s hand reassuringly.

“All right, all right, disperse now.”

“Everyone, disperse.”

Seeing the family’s mood settle, Chen Xinshui and Wu Dashan left, scattering the curious neighbors.

Chen Jingen’s face darkened as he went to close the door, plunging the room into darkness until the lights had to be turned on.

“You just keep acting out! Let’s see how long you can keep this up!”

“If it weren’t for Jiayin and Huanhuan here, I’d have beaten you to death today.”

“You ruined a perfectly good guaranteed job. I think you’re destined to be a farmer for the rest of your life.”

Still seething, Chen Jingen cursed Chen Huajiang while taking deep drags from a cigarette.

---

In the village, the popular cigarettes were mostly the cheap “Da Jiang” brand without filters.

Chen Huajiang opened his mouth, intending a sharp retort, but closed it again.

In truth, deep down, both he and the old man had forgiven each other, but both were proud and unwilling to admit defeat verbally.

He could understand his father’s anger.

In this day and age, being a factory worker was akin to a civil servant in later times. If someone lost a civil servant's position, how could their parents not be upset?

“Dad, the factory hasn’t paid wages for months. We almost ran out of food at home.”

“Even if the factory hadn’t fired me, I would have left. I can’t let my family starve to death.”

“Besides, I’m doing well now—running my own restaurant, making a few thousand yuan a month. Isn’t that better than factory work? Here, have a cigarette.”

Chen Huajiang decided to soften his stance this time, as things hadn’t yet reached the point of total estrangement. He handed his father a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes.

“Talk big all you want. A few thousand a month? That’s just play money.”

“Take it back—I don’t need your cigarettes. Don’t even know where you got these.”

Chen Jingen hesitated, then sneered.

A few thousand a month? No way.

He earned barely twenty yuan a year farming; if his son really made thousands annually, he might reluctantly believe it.

Thousands a month? Humph, he thought Chen Huajiang was trying to fool him.

“You’re talking nonsense. A few thousand a month? You—”

“Enough, Mom believes it. Let’s just say you’re making thousands a month. I’ll go make dinner now.”

Wang Xinhong rolled her eyes but changed her tone, not wanting to hurt her son’s pride.

Chen Huajiang shrugged, knowing his parents found such things hard to believe.

“I’ll go see Grandma now. Ermao, don’t lean outside—bring the gifts inside.”

He stood up and said this, then shot a glance at his wife, Lin Jiayin, before heading out.

Some things, no matter how much the person involved explains, parents just won’t believe.

But with Lin Jiayin, at least his words carried more weight.

Lin Jiayin understood this well and nodded slightly.

After Chen Huajiang left, Lin Jiayin finally explained the situation to her father-in-law.