Jia Dongxu took a fierce gasp, the sound rattling like a broken gong with a deathbed wheeze. "Carry the loads... carry as many as you can... if you can't... then so be it! Starving... I... I accept that!" He broke into a violent fit of coughing. "Let your son... catch a breath, I'm... I'm about to be crushed to death, Ma... I'm about to be crushed to death..."
This final roar exhausted every ounce of his strength. He collapsed limply, only his shoulders and back twitching slightly with suppressed sobbing. Yet, on the very edge of total collapse, he suddenly jerked his head up. "Ma! If you... if you keep this up... making trouble for our family in the compound... in the alley..." He glared fixedly into the darkness, his teeth grinding audibly. "Don't blame your son... for being unfilial! Even if I have to carry the stigma of a lifetime... I'll go beg Director Wang, I'll go to the street office."
His voice was so hoarse he could barely force the words out, but the final syllables drove into the darkness like iron nails: "I'll send you... back to your... old home in the countryside!"
Chapter 50