"What do you want me to do?" Old Chen asked the poor scholar's sister-in-law, his face serious and his voice cold.

“Father-in-law, either let my brother-in-law drop out of school or we should separate the family! If one day he passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, I will have no complaints!” The poor scholar’s ​​sister-in-law said frankly, her face showing determination.

However, no one noticed that there was contempt for the poor scholar in her eyes!

There might have been some hope before, but now, just look at my brother-in-law's recent changes, and you'll know there's absolutely no chance!

Old Chen looked at his resolute eldest daughter-in-law and pondered for a moment.

The fourth son hasn't achieved anything yet, so it's best not to offend the other sons too much!

The eldest son himself also values ​​this! If the fourth son fails to pass the imperial examinations, the eldest son will have to support him in his old age!

With this in mind, Old Man Chen secretly made up his mind!

“Alright, let Shiwen… go down…” Old Man Chen looked at everyone in the room and was about to make his final decision when suddenly, a figure quickly entered the room!

"Father!" The poor scholar Chen Shiwen shouted to the old man Chen, his face showing anxiety and panic. His voice was unusually urgent!

It turns out that the poor scholar had been in a bad mood and out of sorts lately, and sometimes he would eat alone in his room!

The poor scholar in his room heard the argument that had just taken place in the main room!

After all, the rooms are not far apart and are not soundproof, so they can naturally know what is happening inside!

At first, the poor scholar was annoyed because they were discussing his own affairs, but he did not confront them because he had indeed spent a lot of his family's money.

But now it's clearly going in a direction that's not in his favor, and even the poor scholar can't sit still anymore!

He rushed out in a hurry!

"Dad, I can do it! Give me another chance, and I'll definitely succeed next time!"

"Dear brothers and sisters-in-law, Shiwen thanks you all for your previous assistance. I will definitely repay you all after I achieve success in my studies!"

After speaking to Old Man Chen, the poor scholar turned to his elder brother and sister-in-law standing to the side and pleaded earnestly with a determined look on his face and a voice full of sincerity.

"Brother-in-law, let's not talk about repaying you. The problem is that the family is really in dire straits right now. All the money we had before was used to give you travel expenses to take the exam in Jining Prefecture!"

"We don't have any savings left at home. The rest of the family will have to rely on the harvest from the land!"

"I really can't help you anymore!" The poor scholar's sister-in-law was about to agree when she was surprised that her brother-in-law had the nerve to stop her!

I was very annoyed with him!

It didn't look good on his face either.

He secretly grumbled to himself, "They really never stop trying to take advantage!"

Shameless!

Don't you have any idea how much of your family's money you've spent?

If someone really cared about their reputation, they wouldn't have come out!

"Yes, brother-in-law, we have more children at home now, and they're all grown up. We need more money now, so we can't do things the way we used to."

The poor scholar's third sister-in-law added, her face showing a helpless expression and her tone full of sorrow.

As for Chen's second daughter-in-law standing to the side, she kept her head down with a timid expression and did not speak.

However, the two people standing to the side didn't expect anything from this sister-in-law who couldn't utter a word even after being hit three times!

The poor scholar looked at the expressions of his two sisters-in-law and his brothers-in-law beside him, his heart churning!

They never said they were short of money before. They're only saying this now because they don't want to support my education anymore!

It's because I see that my current state isn't right that I'm choosing to give up on myself! What kind of excuse is that!

The poor scholar was furious inside, but he tried his best to appear gentle and kind on the surface! He just wanted to talk some more and see if things could return to the way they were before!

"Brother, sister-in-law, I will pass the imperial examination. Please give me some more time. I will prove myself!" the poor scholar continued, his voice tinged with both solemnity and panic.

"Forget it, we can't wait any longer! We also don't have the means to continue supporting your studies." The poor scholar's sister-in-law remained unmoved after hearing her brother-in-law's words!

His attitude was resolute and indifferent.

No one else nearby spoke up in rebuttal, and Old Man Chen, who was sitting in the superior position, didn't linger any longer.

He addressed the people in the room directly.

"The fourth child dropped out of school, and the family could no longer afford to send him to school!"

"Furthermore, the fourth brother must find work as soon as possible, and all the money he earns must be handed over to the public treasury! To make up for the expenses incurred before!" After making up his mind, Old Man Chen said coldly, his voice also carrying a hint of indifference.

Everyone around, except for the poor scholar, showed joy upon hearing what Old Man Chen said.

After all, with the money handed over by the poor scholar, the Chen family would be much better off!

As for the poor scholar, his face was gloomy. He coldly agreed and then returned to his room with a dejected look on his face.

When he sat down at the desk, his expression was gloomy and unreadable.

In fact, during this period, the poor scholar caught a cold in the examination room after returning, which caused him to not answer the questions well and ultimately fail the exam. He was very regretful!

I feel extremely depressed!

After all, it was quite easy for a poor scholar like me to obtain a place in the imperial examinations before!

After a few days of dejection, the poor scholar cheered himself up and comforted himself, saying that he would definitely do better next time!

Then, I opened the book and started reading!

However, the poor scholar suddenly found that the books he was once familiar with seemed strange, and he couldn't remember the content he had previously memorized!

At first, the poor scholar thought he had just caught a cold and comforted himself that he would recover in a couple of days!

However, in the following days, there was no sign of improvement whatsoever!

On the contrary, the poor scholar felt that his memories of his school days were becoming blurry and unclear!

Now, the poor scholar could no longer deceive himself that everything was alright!

After that, the poor scholar forced himself to read books!

Go away from memory!

Go and reminisce!

But it didn't work!

As the days went by, the poor scholar grew increasingly irritable!

Of course, the Chen family, who lived with the poor scholar day and night, also noticed the changes in him!

That's why we have this farce today!

Regardless, the other branches of the Chen family were happy at this time. After all, they no longer needed to spend a lot of money to support a scholar. If the whole family worked hard, it would be relatively easy to have enough to eat and wear!

There will still be some money left over to save!

As for the poor scholar's inner discontent, the other wives didn't care about it at this moment!

There was some possibility before, but now the hope is really slim!

So, that night, everyone except the poor scholar, Old Lady Li who felt some affection for him, and Old Man Chen who was lost in thought slept soundly!

Even in my dreams, I long for a better future!

Is it okay to eat meat again after three months?

Can the children in the family have steamed egg custard?

Could we save up enough money to demolish the house and rebuild it?

...