Chapter 91: The Old Lady Gets the Shortcut
Zhao Dashan stood still.
He thought of many things from the past, such as how his mother secretly subsidized the Cheng family before the family split up.
Later, after the family divided their property, my mother could rightfully take money to the Cheng family. Whenever someone from the Cheng family came, they would take away all the good things in the house.
During this time, with no members of the Cheng family appearing, their lives gradually improved. Whenever Zhao Dashan saw Old Mrs. Cheng, he had the feeling that their good days were about to be taken away.
Zhao Ergou, Zhao Sanniu, and Zhao Sidan also came out.
The four boys stood at the entrance of the main room, staring intently at the person in front of them.
Grandma Cheng was a little annoyed. What was wrong with these four little brats? They looked at their own grandmother as if she were an enemy.
"Oh, who's here?"
Cheng Wanwan walked in with a mocking expression.
She looked at her four sons and said, "How can you be so rude? Your grandmother came here this time to repay those eighteen taels of silver, right?"
She looked at Old Mrs. Cheng with a smile.
Old Mrs. Cheng was so angry she almost vomited blood. If she had money, why would she have come all this way to ask for tuition fees?
She said irritably, "Zhao'er's tuition fee for next month is due. Including the cost of writing materials, it's five taels of silver. Give it to me."
Instead of being angry, Cheng Wanwan laughed: "Cheng Zhao is going to study, and you want me to pay for it?"
Grandma Cheng insisted that she had money. Could it be that Cheng Zhao told the Cheng family about her doing small business at the entrance of the academy?
“You are his second aunt. You said you would support Zhao’er to pass the imperial examination. How can you go back on your word?” Old Madam Cheng said righteously. “I can understand if you can’t come up with five taels of silver, but then it’s two taels. You have to pay the tuition fee first.”
“It seems the old lady isn’t here to repay the money, so there’s no need for her to come into my house.” Cheng Wanwan stood at the gate of the courtyard. “I made it clear before that I, Cheng Wanwan, am completely severing ties with the Cheng family. I am a member of the Zhao family and have no further connection with the Cheng family.”
Old Mrs. Cheng stood in the doorway, biting her chin, and said, "Today, you must come up with two taels of silver, or I won't leave."
"If you don't want to leave, then I'll have someone carry you out."
Cheng Wanwan clapped her hands, and her four sons came out, while the five big men who were busy washing and cleaning the ice jelly seeds in the backyard also came out.
"Sister-in-law, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Grandma, just let me know if there's anything you need."
These five men, all big and burly, made Old Mrs. Cheng somewhat hesitant to act rashly just by standing in the courtyard.
Grandma Cheng couldn't understand why there were five grown men in her second daughter's house in broad daylight. What were these men doing at home?
She wanted to go in and see what was going on, but Cheng Wanwan was blocking the entrance, and four boys and five men were standing in the yard, so she couldn't get in at all.
She softened her tone and said, "I came here for two reasons. First, to pay your tuition. Second, I've arranged a marriage for you with a widower from our Chengjia Village. His family owns land and money. If you marry him, you can be the head of the household..."
Before he could finish speaking, the four boys got angry.
Not only did they take their family's good things, but they also wanted to marry off their mother.
Zhao Sanniu was the first to charge forward, like a little calf, crashing headfirst into Old Mrs. Cheng's waist and abdomen.
The old lady cried out and rolled to the ground.
"My mother will never remarry!" Zhao Sidan roared fiercely. "You're not my grandmother, I don't have a grandmother, and you're never allowed to come to our house again!"
Zhao Ergou said coldly, "My mother will no longer support Cheng Zhao's studies. Give up on that idea."
Zhao Dashan slammed the courtyard gate shut.
Then, Cheng Xiaocao's loud crying came through: "Waaah, Grandma, I'm scared..."
"Stop crying! I'm not dead!"
Grandma Cheng got up from the ground.
She pointed at Cheng Wanwan and cursed, "How could I have given birth to such a heartless little bitch like you? You dare to lay a hand on your own mother! You deserve to be struck by lightning! This is outrageous! This is really outrageous! Open the door! Open the door for me!"
The gate to the courtyard was just a few pieces of wood nailed together; it wasn't sturdy at all, and after being hit so hard, it was almost falling apart.
Cheng Wanwan said calmly, "Dashan, go and invite the patrol team over. Tell them that someone from Chengjia Village is causing trouble at our house, and ask the patrol team to kick them out."
Grandma Cheng had heard of the patrol team in Dahe Village. When she first came in, they questioned her for a while, but when they saw that she was an old woman with a child, they let her go.
Those people were all fierce and ruthless; if they really came, she wouldn't be able to resist.
Grandma Cheng clenched her teeth so tightly they almost broke. She picked up her wailing granddaughter and threw her into the yard, coldly saying, "I'll come and take Xiaocao away whenever you come up with two taels of silver."
She walked briskly out of the courtyard gate.
Cheng Xiaocao was about four or five years old. She was thrown into the yard, fell to the ground, sat in the mud and cried loudly. Her hands were covered in mud, which she then rubbed on her face, making her look dirty.
Cheng Wanwan looked at her coldly: "Your grandma hasn't gone far yet, you'd better hurry up and follow her, our family won't take care of you."
Cheng Xiaocao burst into tears. Of course, she didn't want to stay here alone, but when she looked up, she saw chickens and ducks all over the yard, and she couldn't help but lick her dirty lips.
If she could secretly catch a chicken and go back, Grandma would definitely praise her.
She stopped crying, stood up, and stared intently at the chicks and ducklings.
"What are you doing!" Zhao Sidan blocked her view. "Come on, I'll take you to chase after your grandma."
"I'm not going back!"
Cheng Xiaocao shook off Zhao Sidan's hand.
She blinked her big, watery eyes at Cheng Wanwan, "I can do chores, I can feed the chickens and ducks, please don't send me away, Auntie..."
Cheng Wanwan said coldly, "Dashan, take her back to Chengjia Village."
"No, I won't go!" Cheng Xiaocao grabbed Cheng Wanwan's leg. "Second Aunt, please don't send me away. Grandma will beat me to death if I go back. Second Aunt, please..."
Cheng Wanwan remained completely unmoved.
She didn't want to get involved in any of the Cheng family's messy affairs, and the four-year-old girl was not among her sympathies.
She said sternly, "If you stay here, you won't get anything to eat and will go hungry. If you can handle that, then stay."
She pried Cheng Xiaocao's hands off and went inside to busy herself.
Cheng Xiaocao took a step to follow him in, but Zhao Sidan stopped her: "You're not a member of the Zhao family, you can't go in. Just stand outside for me."
Zhao Ergou coldly said, "My mother has done enough for the Cheng family over the years. Don't try to force her to bow down."
Zhao Dashan's tone was more gentle: "Xiaocao, you should go back. It's not a pleasant feeling to go hungry."
Cheng Xiaocao remained silent.
If we go home, we can only drink wild vegetable soup. If we stay at my second aunt's house, we might be able to secretly catch a chicken to eat.
During this period, the Cheng family did indeed eat wild vegetable soup every day, just to save grain to exchange for money to pay Cheng Zhao's tuition fee for the next month, which was a full two taels of silver.
Grandma Cheng was furious when she got home after not receiving the money, but as soon as she reached her doorstep, she saw Cheng Zhao standing in the yard, and all her anger vanished instantly.
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