Chapter 15 Opportunity

Qian was so frightened by Mr. Zhou's fierce gaze that her whole body began to tremble.

She brought her son and nephew to grab the chicken without going through Grandpa Zhou and his wife. When she was at the riverside, she was embarrassed by Zhou Jin and his sister. She was so angry that she went back to complain to Zhou Wangye. Zhou Wangye, who was craving for meat, scolded her. She was so angry that she asked her son Zhou Huan to call Zhou Zhu and others, and tempted and threatened them to help her grab the chicken.

Originally, she thought that four boys would be enough to deal with Zhou Jin, not to mention that Zhou Zhu and the others were older than Zhou Jin. Then they could beat Zhou Jin up and take the chicken back. Then she could get rid of the embarrassment she had suffered by the river!

Even if Mr. Zhou found out about it later, she wasn't afraid. Qian had been married into the Zhou family for so many years and had gotten to know her father-in-law well. She knew that he was the best at calculating, and as long as it didn't damage his reputation and could benefit him, she would always turn a blind eye.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Jin kicked her son almost to death with just one kick! Her good stepson not only did not help, but also invited Mr. Zhou over with Zhou Zhu.

"Grandfather! I was beaten because I wanted to ask for chicken soup for you and grandma! You have to make the decision for us!" Zhou Huan, who was in Qian's arms, saw Grandpa Zhou coming and thought he had someone to rely on, so he couldn't help but shout.

Qian tried to cover his mouth but failed.

"Brother Huan, don't talk nonsense. Brother Jin has always been filial. How could he forget to give the chicken soup to grandparents?" Old Master Zhou didn't even look at Zhou Huan, but only spoke to Zhou Jin, "Right? Brother Jin?"

Zhou Jin pulled his hand out of his mother's tightly grip, patted his mother's arm to comfort her, and then continued Mr. Zhou's words with the same smile.

"Thank you for the compliment, Grandfather! It seems you're here to teach my cousins ​​a lesson? Haha, Grandfather, please don't punish them too harshly. Although they ganged up on me, a grandson, and they deserve a lesson, you always teach us to be kind to our brothers and respectful to our younger brothers. They can't act like older brothers, but I'm naturally magnanimous, so I won't argue with them!"

Mr. Zhou...

He hadn't expected Zhou Jin to misinterpret his words like that, pushing the blame back onto Zhou Huan and the others. He thought, this kid has not only grown in courage, but also in eloquence! He was so angry that his face sullenly tried to speak again, but was interrupted by Zhou Jin again...

"Grandfather, please don't be angry. I've long seen that it wasn't Grandpa and Grandma's intention for the four brothers to come and steal the chicken soup. It must have been the third and fourth brothers who were greedy and incompetent. Since they couldn't catch any prey themselves, they instigated the eldest brothers to come and steal the chicken soup I made for my younger siblings.

Grandpa and grandma have always loved us younger generations, how could they bear to see us grandchildren starving? So grandpa, don't worry! Your grandson will never misunderstand you! "

Mr. Zhou...

Zhou Jin: Haha, you tell me to respect the elderly and I tell you to love the young. Who’s afraid of who?!

Old Master Zhou really didn't expect Zhou Jin to say something like that to him. If he wasn't sure that the person standing in front of him was his fifth grandson, he would have suspected that this kid had been replaced by someone else!

The sophistication of these words was probably beyond his reach even when he was younger. It was even more sophisticated than his two sons who had already established families and careers! He couldn't help but feel a mixture of love and hate for this grandson in front of him, whom he had barely paid much attention to!

He thought to himself, if only he had discovered this child's talent before being exiled, he would have definitely trained him well and built a good relationship with him. Perhaps after being exiled to Liaodong, their family could rely on this child to rise again!

Unfortunately, he didn't see anything and let the old woman torture them. In the end, he abandoned them when Zheng was kidnapped by bandits, causing the boy to become alienated from them early on!

And now, even if he regretted and wanted to make amends, it's probably too late!

However, if Zheng had not been robbed and had not gone through such trials and tribulations, perhaps this kid would still be his somewhat cowardly grandson, or at least he would not have grown up so quickly!

Alas! It is really a matter of time and fate!

"Brother Jin, you have to know that no matter how strong a person is in this world, he can't survive without his clan. Our family is suffering now, and you can ignore it and think that no one can do anything to you.

But if one day you have the opportunity to escape this predicament and want to move up, as long as your family doesn't recognize you, no one in this world will recognize you!"

Old Master Zhou looked at Zhou Jin in front of him with mixed emotions, and spoke in a very sincere manner.

Zhou Jin knew that what Grandpa Zhou said was true. In this era, people without a clan would not be accepted by the world no matter whether they studied or practiced martial arts. Some people would rather die than be expelled from the clan, because once expelled from the clan, this person is destined to a life of wandering and hardship!

But if he were to swallow his anger and be controlled by others, that would not work!

"Grandfather, I will remember your teachings, but please don't scare me. You can't always say whatever you want. Our Zhou family is not just determined by your words!"

Zhou Jin still replied with a smile.

Seeing Zhou Jin's stubborn demeanor, unable to even hear his words of submission, Old Master Zhou was also a little angry. He was used to having the final say at home, and had never been so kind to any of his juniors. But this kid didn't fall for it! He immediately said angrily:

"Humph, is this how the teacher taught you to talk to your grandfather?! I may not be the clan leader, but I am still your grandfather. If you disobey me and are unfilial, I will beat you to death and I'm afraid the clan leader won't say anything!"

"I don't know why Grandfather has decided that his grandson is disobedient. My master did teach him to value filial piety, but he also taught him that true filial piety towards elders lies in accepting minor offenses and running away from major ones. If Grandfather doesn't explain why he's being unfilial, I can only go to the clan leader and ask for clarification. I absolutely cannot let Grandfather beat him to death. After all, the pain of his beatings is yours, isn't it?"

Zhou Jin had a smile on his face, but every word he said was more infuriating than the last.

Zhou Yu, who was listening to the noise silently on the side, thought that when it came to Yin and Yang, his brother was second to none and no one could be first.

Mr. Zhou also thought so at this time...

Was it because he didn't understand his grandson well enough, or was it because his personality had changed so much? Why did he always feel that this kid had become so strange? Not only had he become braver and smarter, but why had he become so shameless?!

For the moment, he really had no way to deal with this slippery grandson, but if he let him go, Mr. Zhou felt too aggrieved. Just when he was in a dilemma, he saw Li Mao coming with several yamen runners.

Li Mao looked curiously at the crying Qian mother and son on the ground and Zhou Yao and the others surrounding them, then at the angry Zheng and the constipated old man Zhou next to them, and then asked Zhou Jin:

"What happened? Did someone bully you?"

Doesn't it look like that? If someone gets bullied, shouldn't they be the ones crying and hugging each other?!

But based on his good impression of Zhou Jin, he still said something to Zhou Jin.

Seeing the official speaking so kindly to Zhou Jin and even trying to support him, the Qian family members were terrified, fearing that Zhou Jin would say something unfavorable to them. Even Mr. Zhou, who was standing by, became nervous...

"Haha, no, it's just that my cousins ​​are ignorant, and my grandfather is teaching them a lesson!"

Zhou Jin answered Li Mao with a smile, and deliberately asked Mr. Zhou beside him,

"Right? Grandfather!"

Mr. Zhou was so angry at this kid that he vomited blood, but he didn't dare to respond. He could only bow to Li Mao and say:

"Haha, the child is ignorant and makes a fool of himself!"

Afraid that Li Mao would not believe it, he quickly scolded Qian Shi beside him.

"Why don't you take your son back home quickly? What a disgrace!"

Qian didn't dare to say anything at this time. She quickly helped her son up and was about to leave. Zhou Yao, who was standing by, also wanted to follow her.

"Wait!" Li Mao suddenly said.

After hearing this, the three of them stopped in their tracks, their hearts tense, fearing that Li Mao would suddenly whip them with the whip.

Li Maocai was too lazy to beat them. In this hot weather, he would sweat all over if he beat them!

He casually pointed at Zhou Huan's ankle and said to Grandpa Zhou, "Since your two grandsons don't even obey the discipline of a grandfather like you, they are probably troublemakers. I think you should put ankle chains on them!"

Zhou Yao was wearing shackles, but Zhou Huan was only one month older than Zhou Jin, and like Zhou Jin, he was not shackled during the court beating.

After hearing this, Old Master Zhou wanted to say that he did have a troublesome grandson, but it wasn't Zhou Huan. However, how could he dare to speak now? He could only watch helplessly as Li Mao's yamen runners forced Zhou Huan to be shackled...

After dealing with Zhou Huan, Li Maocai told Zhou Yi the purpose of his visit.

"Alright, I came here just to tell you that tomorrow the boss is sending people to the city to buy food and supplies, and asked them to pick a few honest and responsible people to go with them. I recommended you, and the boss agreed. You should get ready, because you have to leave at the end of the morning hour tomorrow."

Zhou Jin didn't expect that what he had been looking forward to last night would come true today. The surprise came so quickly. He hurriedly bowed to Li Mao and said,

"I will remember your care for me. I won't express my gratitude, but if you have any orders in the future, I will obey you!"

"Haha, no problem, no problem. I knew you were a sensible guy. No wonder the boss likes you. Okay, get ready and come find me tomorrow morning."

Li Mao smiled and patted Zhou Jin's shoulder. He was worried that Zhou Jin was too young to know how difficult it was to go out, and that he would not bring anything with him. He leaned close to his ear and reminded him:

"If you want to bring something home, you have to bring this."

As he spoke, he made a gesture of money, knowing that their women had nothing now, and glanced at Mr. Zhou beside him.

"If you don't have it, ask your grandfather for it."

"Thank you for the advice, officer. I'll remember it!" Zhou Jin clasped his fists towards Li Mao again and expressed his gratitude.

"Come on, come find me tomorrow!" Li Mao patted his shoulder again before leaving with his men.

Mr. Zhou, who was standing by, was completely shocked when he saw all this. He originally thought that with the small gifts Zhou Jin sent, which were just some loaches and rabbits, the officials would be able to show him a good face.

He had been giving these officials a lot of money these days, and that was all he did to prevent his family from being whipped less!

But no one expected that Zhou Jin could get so familiar with these officials with that little bit of stuff, and have so much face in front of them, that even the runner Song liked him!

Zhou Jin watched Li Mao leave and turned around to glance at his adoptive grandfather, thinking, it's a good thing this person is here, so he doesn't have to look for him.

"Grandfather, can I have a moment with you?!"

Mr. Zhou...

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