For example, right now, he is earnestly advising:

"Mother, how much silver do you have left? Take it out, and I'll go to town to buy you clothes."

Hong only had a little over one tael left, and without money, she felt uneasy.

So, faced with her son's helplessness, she could only stubbornly say, "No! We really don't have a single penny left."

You only gave us twenty taels before, and this house has green tiles, tables and chairs, pots and pans.

After all that, there wasn't much money left to buy rice or flour, so where would there be any money left?

If we really had money, wouldn't your father and I buy more rice and flour?

Even if I don't buy rice or flour, can I at least buy cotton and a set of winter clothes for myself?

Qi Mingyu knew his mother well enough to see through her lie at a glance.

But before he could say anything, Zhuang Zilan, who was shivering from the cold and whose teeth were chattering, spoke up.

"Mingyu...I'm so cold..."

Meanwhile, Old Man Qi, who was wrapped in a quilt and sitting next to the brazier, was also putting pressure on them.

"Second brother, it's too cold today. Our clothes and blankets are too thin."

Now that you're back, hurry up and find a way to get us some winter clothes and a winter quilt.

You're going to take the imperial examination next year. Once you pass, won't everyone benefit from your success?

Since we're going to benefit from this anyway, it's only right that we collect some benefits in advance.

Go to the clan chief now and ask him to find a way to get you a thick quilt and warm clothes.

Otherwise, if something happens to your mother or me, you'll have to observe mourning and won't be able to take the imperial examinations..."

Upon hearing this, Qi Mingyu bit his cheek and clenched his fist into a tight fist, his hand hidden in his sleeve.

He never expected his parents to be so unreasonable.

When my older brother was alive, he was a very reasonable person and everything was fine.

Even after my older brother passed away, with the fish in the pond still around, everything is fine.

How did they become like this after these two left?

"Father, what do you mean by that? Are you asking me to use your lives, no, to threaten the clan chief by saying I can't participate in the autumn examination?"

Just so I could get him to get me a thick quilt and winter clothes?

Are you saying things because it's so cold that your brain has gone sluggish?

Zhuang Zilan, who was standing to the side, hated Hong Shi and Old Man Qi to the core, but now she needed to rely on them to make a living.

So when she heard Qi Mingyu say that, she scolded him with a hint of dissatisfaction: "Mingyu, how can you talk like that?"

Your parents are doing this for your own good. Even if you don't want to, you shouldn't talk to your father like that.

Listen to yourself, how hurtful were the things you just said?

It would have been better if Zhuang Zilan hadn't spoken, but as soon as she did, Qi Mingyu was reminded of Chi Yu.

If it weren't for the woman in front of him, he wouldn't be facing all these troubles right now.

Chiyu will handle these messy things at home.

Even if she can't solve it, the Chi family will help.

Moreover, even when he was freezing while studying at the county school, he could still wear a fine coat with excellent fur.

But what does he have now?

He owed a hundred taels of silver in debt, and when he got home, he had to face a bunch of unpleasant things. Even the winter clothes he was wearing were old.

This was made by Chi Yu last year, but it escaped disaster because it was placed in the county school.

However, last winter was nothing like this one, so when we made the fish, we didn't use any skin or fur.

It's just that the cotton filling is a little thicker than usual!

Thinking of this, he looked at Zhuang Zilan with some impatience and said:

“I didn’t say anything, why are you misunderstanding it like this, sister-in-law?”

What Dad said was wrong from the start!

Asking me to use his and my mother's lives to threaten the clan chief is a joke, isn't it?