"By the way, Father, did you really strain your back?"
Eldest Xu, upon getting approval for buying the necessities from Mr. Xu, was about to look for Mrs. Xu for the money when he remembered to care for his old father. "Would you like for me to get you some ointment for it?"
"Are you dumb?" Mr. Xu glared at his son. "Don't you know better whether or not I've injured my back?"
"How could I? But Father, you're physically strong and healthy despite your age. Otherwise, how would Mother be in her current state?"
When he heard his son dare to humiliate him, Mr. Xu jumped and immediately grabbed the feather duster. "You bastard, you're asking for a beating!"
"Father, be careful of your back! Your back!" Eldest Xu dashed towards the door and managed to dodge Mr. Xu's beatings.
...
Once their son had headed to town, Mr. and Mrs. Xu sat next to each other.
"Dear, what do you think? How long will we keep having to pretend?" Mr. Xu was starting to feel anxious.
"How would I know?" Mrs. Xu was also getting annoyed with it, as she rolled her eyes and said to her husband, "If it weren't for that box you brought back, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"How could you blame me for this? How could I have known what was inside that box?" Mr. Xu felt wronged.
In fact, it had been a fortunate turn of events for them, but why must they live such a tedious life?
"Right, you said that you twisted your back. Was it because you didn't want to be involved with the road building process?" Mrs. Xu looked at Mr. Xu, who was frowning. "If you really want the others to believe that you hurt your back, you should go get crutches."
"What?" When Mr. Wu heard his wife's words, his tone went three times higher. "Crutches?"
"Why are you screaming?" Mrs. Xu said and glared at him. "If you don't want to use them, are you still planning to go around telling others that you injured your back? Or, you could hide at home all day. You only have two options. Choose one!"
Mrs. Xu was the type who liked being clean-cut, and she would always do things quickly and straightforwardly.
Mr. Xu thought about it, and in the end, he decided to go with the crutches.
No matter what, he'd have to settle the problem in front of them first.
After getting the roads fixed, the weather would turn cold and it would be winter soon. By then, everyone would be hiding in their own houses and no one would know.
"Fine, I'll get my son to get me a pair of crutches!"
Mr. Xu stood up and started walking out of the room. However, after two steps, he started limping as if he had actually injured his back. He walked in an extremely odd manner.
Second Xu, who was talking to his wife, came running when he heard his father call for him. "Yes, Father?"
"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" Mr. Xu's eyes widened and he continued, "I, your father, have obviously injured my back, yet you need me to personally tell you this!"
"Father, did you really injure your back? Father, look at you. You're already of old age, but Mother is…"
Before Second Xu could finish his sentence, Mr. Xu was already embarrassed. "You bastard, what are you going on about?"
"Father, please don't. Be careful of your back. You should be easy on yourself!" Second Xu giggled and said, "Come, have a seat. You're already old now, and it's time for you to admit that."
As he happily chatted about it, Second Xu soon realised that there was something wrong with the look on his father's face.
"Father, take a good rest here. I will go to the woods now and make you a good pair of crutches."
With that, Second Xu dashed out of the courtyard.
The poor Mr. Xu, who was now pretending to be crippled, had the urge to murder (beat up his son), but his body was not allowing him to!