However, he still had some sense left. Before leaving, he gave the crutch and the bag of food to Cierra to carry. He instructed her, “These are your things, so carry them yourself. Otherwise, if someone else eats them, you will cry.”
“Grandpa, why? Would that lady steal Cierra’s food?”
“No, but when we pass by her like this, it’s not good if we don’t give her anything, but if we give her… it’s also not good.”
Cierra was still young and didn’t understand what was wrong.
With wide eyes, she continued, “But my mommy said I should learn to share, and you like her, don’t you, Grandpa?”
Old Bray looked at the woman’s flashy jacket and long hair, revealing a rare shy expression.
“I do like her.”
“Since you like her, why don’t you share good things with her?”
Old Bray became clear-headed when it came to matters of money. He shook off the thoughts in his head and said seriously to Cierra, “Of course I can’t give her because she hasn’t agreed to marry me and become my wife. If I give her good things and she finishes them without taking responsibility, then I would lose out.”
Cierra scratched the back of her head. She didn’t know how other children’s parents interacted, but her father always gave good things to her and her mother first, even if he didn’t eat them.
Old Bray seemed different… but what he said made sense. That lady wasn’t his wife.
Naturally, she wouldn’t treat him as nicely as her father treated her mother.
Old Bray found it amusing to talk about these things with a little girl.
“Alright, my values are money first, love second.”
He did like that old lady, but he liked saving money more.
“Alright, little missy, you go back and wait for me. Your brother probably also came back with empty bottles. You and your brother can eat these things yourselves. The old man has an important matter to attend to!”
“Oh, okay.”
Cierra struggled to carry the crutch back to the courtyard. The things on her shoulder were too heavy, causing her to walk unsteadily.
She looked like a drunken little frog, ready to jump and fall into a pit at any moment.
Fortunately, at the next moment, her little brother came out in time and helped her take the crutch and plastic bag. He held her hand with a gentle smile.
Seeing the two little ones disappear, Old Bray awkwardly walked towards the woman and rubbed his hands, unsure of what to do.
“Um… Paisley, combing your hair?”
Paisley Church was was fifty-three years old and unmarried.
After hearing him call her name, Paisley gave him a disdainful look and squeezed the comb in her hand, making a creaking sound.
And in the next moment, the sandalwood comb turned into wood chips and fell to the ground in front of Old Bray.
Paisley looked at the messy-haired old man and hummed, “Your hair is the real mess, no… you barely have any hair. Get lost, don’t bother me.”
Once again scolded, Old Bray wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he extended his thick-skinned hand and quickly touched her hair.
“Paisley, don’t be so fierce. We’re old acquaintances, aren’t we?”
“Who is acquainted with you? Get lost!”
As she spoke, she picked up a small stool next to her and threatened him with it.
Worried, Old Bray said, “Don’t, don’t break it… this stool is made of expensive wood. It’s worth a lot. It would be such a waste if you broke it.”
Paisley saw his expression and felt satisfied, saying, “Really? Then I’m definitely going to break it!”
Crash!
The little chair immediately broke into pieces and scattered on the ground.
“Oh my god, the wood, it would sell for at least six figures. Paisley, you’ve gone too far…”
“Go on howling. My son is coming out soon, and he won’t be polite to you!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a black Mercedes slowly approached them. The car door opened, and a well-dressed middle-aged man got out of the car.
He appeared to be in his thirties, but looked much younger due to good maintenance.
He was wearing a black suit that wrapped around his tall figure. His fair and refined face was adorned with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, giving him the image of a businessman or successful person.
Finally, a little boy got out of the car as well.
He looked about seven or eight years old, wearing a white shirt and black suit pants. His short, flaxen hair complemented his delicate face.
He was incredibly cute.
When the man saw the two old people, a smile appeared on his face. He walked over, holding his son’s hand.
“Dad, Mom… why are you arguing again?”
Upon hearing this, Paisley got so angry that she smashed the second chair. “Shut up! You’re not allowed to call him ‘Dad’. Your father and I have been separated a long time ago. He’s not your father.”
Old Bray helplessly looked at the wood chips on the ground and averted his gaze, instead facing the little boy.
“Come here, Humberto, come to Grandpa.”
“Grandpa!”
Franco Church looked at his parents, who were still as incompatible as before, with a troubled expression.
“Mom, stop being mad at Dad. It’s been twenty years… I think it’s time for you to calm down.”
If his mother really wanted to leave his father, why would she buy a piece of land in this run-down and dirty place and build a courtyard there?
And his father was a playful old man. At seventy years old, he still played the game of chasing his wife, persistently proposing every day.
The key was that he didn’t bring anything when he proposed, just politely asking.
The words he said when proposing weren’t romantic at all; they sounded more like asking if she had eaten breakfast.
No wonder his mom would be angry.
Franco had come this time not only to visit his parents but also to persuade them to go back home with him.
They had plenty of money at home, so why did they want to live in this slum and suffer?
But Old Bray immediately refused him without any hesitation.
“No! You know I’m a hardworking person. If I go to your place, I’ll just eat and sleep. If I keep on like that, I fear I’ll turn useless.”
“Then I can find something for you to do, like playing chess in the park or exercising… you can do anything.”
“No, I like picking up garbage.”
This time, Franco was speechless. “Dad, if you want money, I can give you some…”
Before he finished speaking, Old Bray mocked him, “Do you think your money can compare to what I have in my hands? I like picking up garbage because it’s my hobby. Seeing discarded things turn into treasures and then using that money where it’s needed makes me happy.”
But he didn’t think about the fact that the news of the chairman of the Church Group picking up garbage had already spread. Everyone was talking and saying that Franco was an unfilial son, allowing his seventy-year-old father to go out and pick up garbage to make a living.
Because of this incident, his wife was so angry she went back to her parents’ house.