QTIMP -Chapter 258 Character Persona – Vicious (Part 21)

“The sewer is connected to the street’s wastewater system, so there’s no chance of any bad smell reaching you. Besides, there’s no backyard here. Otherwise, I would’ve built it there instead.”

Wen Luo parked the bicycle by the side and carried a large cloth bag into the house.

The main room, which also served as the living room, was furnished with a large European-style sofa and a coffee table.

Instead of a tea set, the coffee table held a thermos flask and enamel mugs.

The cream-colored furniture made the entire room feel brighter.

When Si Qiu entered the east bedroom, she found the same cream-colored European-style bed, topped with a soft mattress and light-colored bedding.

“Should we pay a visit to the neighbors?”

She wasn’t actually ignorant of social etiquette. She understood these courtesies perfectly well.

Lan Qing rubbed her head.

“Wen Luo and I have already prepared everything. After dinner, we’ll take some gifts and visit the four neighboring households.”

Seeing that Si Qiu made no move to dodge his touch, he naturally took her hand and led her outside.

He had heard Wen Luo carrying dishes out.

As they walked, he continued introducing the families living nearby.

The house closest to the alley entrance belonged to an elderly couple surnamed Yang. Old Mr. Yang worked at a collection station and was raising a pair of twin grandsons who were eight or nine years old and currently attending school.

Their son and daughter-in-law were both in the military and stationed elsewhere.

The second household belonged to the Weng family.

The Weng couple had five children. Mr. Weng worked at the Public Security Bureau. Their eldest child worked at a shoe factory, while Weng Yan, the second child, was currently a first-year high school student.

Next door was the Wang family, a household of nine.

The elderly couple lived together with their son, daughter-in-law, and five children.

Both Old Mr. Wang and the Wang family’s son worked at the lumber mill, while their eldest son was also employed at the Public Security Bureau.

Then came the Zhou family, which lived right beside Si Qiu’s house.

The Zhou family’s situation was somewhat complicated.

Both husband and wife were teachers, yet of their four daughters, only the eldest remained at home.

The other three daughters had been sent back to the countryside.

Meanwhile, they were raising the three sons of the husband’s elder brother and younger brother in the city instead.

The innermost house belonged to Si Qiu.

It could be said that none of the families in this alley were truly struggling financially. Even the Zhou family, which had the hardest time among them, had largely brought it upon themselves.

When people’s lives improved, their manners generally improved as well.

So apart from the Zhou family’s children being a little mischievous, everyone else was easy to get along with.

On top of that, the courtyard walls along this row of houses stood over two meters high, and directly across from the five homes was the wall of the local police station.

Their safety was therefore well guaranteed.

After finishing dinner and making the rounds, Si Qiu felt even more satisfied with the house.

Once the two men left, she changed clothes and returned to the dormitory building of the machinery factory.

When the neighbors greeted her, she did not brush them off as she usually did.

Instead, she chatted with them quite enthusiastically.

“Qiuqiu, is it true that your parents are paralyzed? They can’t move at all?”

Si Qiu didn’t seem bothered. Seeing everyone around her perk up their ears to listen, she replied in a moderate voice:

“Not completely unable to move. My mother can still raise her arms a little.”

As soon as she said that, a wave of sympathetic sighs arose.

“Ah! That’s too miserable!”

“Exactly! They must be suffering terribly!”

Someone else edged closer and asked,

“I heard your twin brother and sister inherited their jobs. Doesn’t that mean caring for your parents has fallen on you?”

Si Qiu pulled a sheet of paper from her small handbag and shook it twice, unfolding it.

“Actually, no. The factory leaders are reasonable people. They had a contract drafted stating that whoever takes over the job is responsible for caring for the parents. Furthermore, until the parents pass away, that job cannot be transferred to anyone else. As for me, I’ve already found a job of my own. Naturally, I don’t need my parents’ positions, nor do I need to live at home. And by the same logic, I don’t need to take care of them either.”

The crowd all wore expressions of disapproval. While what she said was technically reasonable, it completely contradicted the spirit of the times.

But Si Qiu didn’t care about their opinions. Her goal was simply to spread the story.

With a sigh, she said, “Isn’t that just how it is? The leaders of the Machinery Factory were worried that the two old… two patients wouldn’t be properly cared for. So they specifically assigned me to supervise the two people at home and make sure they’re taking good care of them. As their biological daughter, what can I say? I’ll just have to come by after work every day.”

She folded up the document, put it back into her bag, and headed toward her family’s room.

She knocked several times before the door finally opened.

Just two days ago, the brother and sister had still looked neat and polished in their work uniforms. After only a single day, however, both of them looked utterly dejected.

The moment the door opened, a foul odor drifted out.

Si Qiu immediately covered her nose with a handkerchief.

“What are you two doing in here, incubating eggs? Open the doors and windows and let some air in! It’s the middle of summer—this room is practically turning rancid. Can’t you smell it? Forget sick people. Even a healthy person would get sick staying in a room like this.”

With a dark expression, Si Xi opened the doors and windows.

Only after the room had aired out for quite a while did Si Qiu step inside.

“Where’s Fifth Brother? Why isn’t he home?”

At that moment, Si Bei emerged from the room carrying a soaked mattress. As soon as he appeared, a strong stench of urine followed him out.

Si Qiu couldn’t help gagging a few times.

“What’s wrong with you two? They’ve wet the bed this badly. Did neither of you come back at noon to change them? You’re being far too careless!”

The people gathered at the doorway to watch the spectacle immediately began whispering among themselves. The siblings’ expressions darkened even further.

There had only been a short lunch break. They had to rush home, cook, eat, and feed the two bedridden elders. How could they possibly find time to bathe them or change their clothes?

In the end, they had simply stripped the old couple naked and left them lying on the bed.

But even that couldn’t prevent the two of them from urinating and defecating.

After work, the siblings hurried home once more.

After all, many people at the factory already knew about their situation. If they failed to take proper care of the old couple, they would become the target of endless criticism.

Standing by the window, Si Qiu began directing them.

She ordered them to replace the old couple’s bedding with clean, dry sheets. She sent Si Bei to wash and clean the two elders before washing the urine-soaked clothes and bedding.

She instructed Si Xi to clean up the room and then prepare dinner.

“No matter what, the old couple still have grain rations assigned to them. They’re bedridden, don’t digest food well, and don’t eat much. From now on, add more refined grain when you cook. They’re your own parents. The job and the house were both handed over to you. Don’t act like ungrateful ingrates.”

As she directed them around, she continued scolding the pair.

In short, the worse their lives became, the better she felt.

She watched as they fed the old couple their meal.

When Mother Si shot her a grateful look, Si Qiu sneered inwardly.

Grateful?

Grateful for what?

Grateful that she was allowing them to live a little longer and suffer a little longer?

Mother Si’s condition was actually slightly better than Father Si’s. She could still shift her body a little, so she experienced the hunger and the misery of lying in a wet bed more acutely than anyone.

She hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning.

At noon, food had merely been shoved into her mouth a few times in haste, accompanied by Si Xi’s curses.

When they changed her soaked bedding that evening, Si Xi had even pinched her several times.

She felt that if Si Qiu hadn’t shown up, she probably wouldn’t have gotten any dinner at all.