Chapter 4

The next morning, Song Zhehao got up early and stayed in the study for a long time. Tao Hui saw him writing something, but didn't know what he was writing.

During dinner, Tao Hui sent Wen Xiaoqiu to call Song Zhehao. Wen Xiaoqiu lifted the curtain of the study, and Song Zhehao looked up and smiled gently at her.

Wen Xiaoqiu asked, "What should I write?"

Song Zhehao said, "Something that can bring grandma back."

Wen Xiaoqiu was immediately surprised and asked, "Are you really going to bring grandma back?"

Song Zhehao nodded and said, "Grandma can only enjoy her old age if she lives with us."

Wen Xiaoqiu was so excited after hearing this that her two dimples looked even cuter when she smiled.

Song Zhehao was not surprised at Wen Xiaoqiu's reaction. After all, it was his grandmother who saved Wen Xiaoqiu from the fire, and Wen Xiaoqiu had always been grateful to her.

While eating, Tao Hui still looked worried. She was a little hesitant about the decision she made yesterday, and was also a little afraid that Uncle Tao's family would not agree.

Seeing Tao Hui's frown, Song Zhehao comforted her and said, "Mom, don't worry. I will definitely bring grandma back."

Hearing her son's caring words and seeing his determined gaze, Tao Hui felt relieved. She said, "Mom believes in you! You can even drive away a scoundrel like Tao Dazhu. What else do I have to worry about?"

After hearing this, Song Zhehao smiled at Tao Hui.

When Song Zhehao was leaving, Wen Xiaoqiu rushed over. At that time, they had not yet married, but were only engaged, and they still addressed each other as brother and sister.

Song Zhehao said, "Sister Xiaoqiu, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I will definitely be able to bring grandma back."

Wen Xiaoqiu still looked worried and stammered, "How about I go with you? If Tao Dazhu dares to mess around again, I'll fight him!"

When Tao Dazhu was mentioned, anger immediately appeared on Wen Xiaoqiu's pretty face.

It can be seen how much injustice Grandma Tao suffered when Wen Xiaoqiu lived in the Tao family.

After hearing Wen Xiaoqiu's concerns, Song Zhehao slowly smiled and said, "Don't worry about me! Since I can make Tao Dazhu leave in disgrace, I have a way to make him never dare to act so arrogantly again."

"Believe me, I'm the only man in the family. Protecting my family is what I should do. How can I let you take the lead?"

Hearing the unexpected concern, Wen Xiaoqiu was slightly surprised at first, and then her cheeks flushed.

I kept mumbling in my heart, Zhehao, why do you say that...

As early as when Wen Xiaoqiu came to Tao Hui's house, Grandma Tao had already explained the matter of "child bride" to Wen Xiaoqiu, saying that when Song Zhehao grew up a little more, she would marry Wen Xiaoqiu.

Therefore, Wen Xiaoqiu knew that she would eventually become Song Zhehao's wife.

However, when I first came to the Song family, Song Zhehao was less than ten years old. Naturally, there was no concept of "husband and wife" at that time. Song Zhehao was still a naive and childish boy, and I always treated him as my younger brother.

It was only about three years later, and Song Zhehao suddenly grew up rapidly. His original childish appearance with red lips and white teeth disappeared, and now he looks like a handsome and elegant young man.

If Song Zhehao had not come from a poor family, he would have looked like a wealthy young man from an official family if he had worn a silk robe.

Therefore, when Wen Xiaoqiu saw Song Zhehao's appearance had changed drastically, she felt a little strange in her heart, and it was difficult for her to face him in the unconcealed way of brother and sister as before. Now that Song Zhehao expressed his concern so calmly, it made Wen Xiaoqiu even more embarrassed.

Wen Xiaoqiu couldn't help but say to himself, Zhehao has really become a man.

Then he hurriedly turned around and said, "Be careful and come back early," and then went into the house.

Looking at Wen Xiaoqiu's slightly flustered back, Song Zhehao's delicate face smiled slightly.

######

Song Zhehao's prediction was correct. After Tao Dazhu returned home, he really made Grandma Tao angry.

When Song Zhehao arrived at Tao Dazhu's door, he heard an old, hoarse voice from the inner room cursing, "You're just too full! You stay in the house all day long, waiting for something bad to happen. You eat my food, live in my house, and yet you're always thinking about selling things outside. You're really raising a white wolf."

No need to guess, the person shouting and cursing in the room was Grandma Tao's uncle, Uncle Tao.

Uncle Tao has a son and a daughter. His daughter got married a long time ago. Because Uncle Tao's family is mean, she angered her son-in-law in his early years, and now he rarely interacts with his family.

The son was the unruly Tao Dazhui, who married a wife in his early years and later had two sons. Not long after, his wife died of illness. In addition, Uncle Tao lost his wife early in life, so all the members of the family were bachelors.

So, while Grandma Tao only had one bowl of rice to eat, she had to do all the housework at home, which was not as easy as outsiders imagined.

As soon as Song Zhehao entered the house, he saw Grandma Tao mending clothes outside the house, wiping her tears while mending.

Grandma Tao has become accustomed to the scolding from Uncle Tao's family. Every time she is scolded, she dares not cry in front of them, otherwise she will be criticized even more.

Song Zhehao walked to Grandma Tao and called out, "Grandma."

When Grandma Tao saw Song Zhehao, she was slightly surprised, then asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

After saying this, as if realizing something, she immediately wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "There's sand in my eyes, and I can't stop crying. I'm really getting less and less useful as I get older."

When Grandma Tao spoke, she kept her voice low and seemed a little afraid of the shouting and cursing in the room, for fear that the people in the inner room would know that Song Zhehao had come.

Song Zhehao naturally understood Grandma Tao's worries. Uncle Tao's family didn't like them coming to visit Grandma Tao. Every time they came, they acted like they were debt collectors, with sullen faces.

Now, because of the "bracelet" incident, he is even less in a good mood.

In the past, they endured it because they were afraid that Grandma Tao would be wronged, but now Song Zhehao will no longer care about them.

Song Zhehao said loudly: "I came here because I thought you were old! This time I am not only here to see you, but I also plan to take you back to my home."

Song Zhehao spoke in a loud voice, which startled Grandma Tao a little. When the people in the room heard the voice, the shouting and cursing suddenly stopped, and then they stuck their heads out with unhappy expressions.

The man had gray hair, a mean face, and a sloppy and sour look.

He was none other than Uncle Tao.

Originally, Uncle Tao had always disliked Tao Hui's family. Yesterday, when he heard Tao Dazhu's complaints after returning home, he became even more angry with Song Zhehao, who had always been ignored by him.

I didn't look for him, but he came to me instead.

It's so abominable!

Uncle Tao glanced at Song Zhehao coldly and said in a mocking tone, "Hey! This filial grandson came to see grandma?"

Hearing the sarcasm in Uncle Tao's tone, Song Zhehao said calmly, "It's natural to see grandma. Do you have to choose the right time?"

"As for whether or not you're filial, if Grandma is doing well, there's no need to visit her often. And since Grandma lives in a den of wolves, why shouldn't I visit her?"

As soon as Song Zhehao said this, Uncle Tao was immediately furious.

In Uncle Tao's opinion, it was they who worked hard to support Grandma Tao, and it was they who helped their family to cultivate the land. Logically, Tao Hui should be grateful to them. He didn't expect that this kid, relying on the fact that he had read a few more years, would actually say such words to teach him a lesson?

Uncle Tao was furious, his face flushed instantly, and he said angrily: "Yo! Who are you talking to? I don't understand why our house has become a den of wolves? We have fulfilled the etiquette of supporting the elderly for you, how come this is what happened in the end?"

"You should explain it clearly to me. Don't think that everyone else is stupid and can lecture them at will just because you've studied for a few years."

Hearing the two people's tit-for-tat, Grandma Tao suddenly became anxious and hurriedly persuaded Song Zhehao not to speak anymore.

Song Zhehao patiently reassured his grandmother not to worry and said that he had ways to deal with it.

Then, Song Zhehao faced Uncle Tao and said without hesitation, "Don't bring up my studies for now! Since you said you're helping us support our elderly parents, let's figure out who owes whom."

"When my grandfather was alive, he had five houses, fifteen acres of good farmland, and all the necessary household items. Back then, you all lived separately. Your house only had two old rooms and a thatched hut for the kitchen. It leaked from above and the sides were drafty. There wasn't a single new thing in the house, and the farmland was only three acres of meager land."

"Later, my grandfather passed away, my grandmother was taken to your house, and my mother got married. Your yard suddenly doubled in size, and your house had eight rooms. It had everything a house should have, and you even had more than ten acres of land."

"Let's do some calculations. If one acre of land yields two dan of grain per year, that means fifteen acres yields thirty dan. I wonder how big a bowl my grandma would have to use to eat enough grain to fill a whole room in a year?"

"I know. If I say this, you'll definitely say that your hard work will reduce the amount of food you earn. Even the strongest laborers today can only get four dou of grain from one dan of grain. Even if my grandmother had a mouth as big as a basin, she could only eat one and a half dan of grain a year at most."

"Let's do some calculations. Thirty dan minus one and a half dan still equals twenty-eight and a half dan of grain. One dan equals ten dou, so twenty-eight and a half dan is two hundred and eighty-five dou of grain, enough to employ more than seventy strong laborers. How many laborers do you have in your family?"

"Let me ask again, is it your family that owes our family, or is it our family that owes your family?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Uncle Tao was immediately speechless.

Uncle Tao wanted to shut Song Zhehao up with his affection, but he didn't expect Song Zhehao to have a plan against him.

This time, Uncle Tao miscalculated.

Moreover, the door of Uncle Tao's house is the only way in and out of the village. The quarrel between the two was so loud that it attracted many villagers to watch.

Moreover, in this closed village, people have always lived a dull life. Once there is any disturbance in someone's house, the onlookers and those who come to mediate will trample on your doorstep.

However, things were a little different at Uncle Tao's house. His family had always been unpopular in the village, so when they saw a quarrel in his family, no one came to mediate.

The walls, the gates, and the yard were all crowded with people watching the fun. Uncle Tao knew very well that everyone in the village had said that his family had seized his brother's property. Now that Song Zhehao had caught it, wouldn't he be criticized by others in the future?

After thinking about it, Uncle Tao decided that he would fight Song Zhehao to the end this time. Wasn't it just a few more years of study for him?

If we start a fight, how can I, an old hand, lose to him?

Uncle Tao knew that he could not win the argument with him based on reason, after all, he was not right, so he could only argue with him based on his feelings.

Uncle Tao sat down on the ground, his expression of anger instantly transformed into one of grievance. His lips trembled as he cried out in a gentle, plaintive voice, "My dearest brother! You left too soon! As your brother, I loved you so much that I brought your widow home, raised your daughter, and married her off. I also worked hard to keep her company. I never thought that I would end up like this, with no one to show for it!"

"My dear brother! Come back to life and listen to those unkind words! They are so hurtful..."

Seeing Uncle Tao throwing a tantrum and crying, Song Zhehao let out a sneer of contempt...