Although Old Mrs. Qin had suffered from a stomach ailment before, her body was still quite robust from years of manual labor. She was already younger than Mr. Qin to begin with.
But Mr. Qin gave his wife a harsh scolding. He said, "With our third son around, do you think he'd let you go without food or drink?"
"Besides," he added, "don't you have to help our third son look after Xiao Tao?"
But after saying this, Mr. Qin probably thought of something else. In the end, he said, "If it really comes to that, just go to our eldest son. Would he and our second son really watch you fall by the wayside with no one to care for you in your old age?"
"If they did, they'd be utterly heartless!"
Mr. Qin arranged all his assets meticulously, giving everything to his youngest son. He washed his hands of everything else.
