After the Lu family made a fuss for a while, the old lady, though reluctant to spend the money, couldn't just leave the old man unattended, so she had no choice but to find him a doctor.
After examining Old Master Lu, the doctor shook his head helplessly.
Soon, the news that Grandpa Lu had become paralyzed spread throughout the village.
When the news reached Lu Lin's ears, he was quite surprised, but after thinking about it, he felt relieved.
Most people here are malnourished and overworked, resulting in very short lifespans. Many die in their forties, and living to sixty or seventy is considered a long life. Old Master Lu is not young either, so it's not surprising that he suffered a stroke and became paralyzed.
Unexpectedly, the old man became paralyzed.
Lu Lin stood with his hands behind his back, not particularly fond of the old man. Although the old lady was domineering and many things were her ideas, if the old man had been willing to say a few words for the original owner's father before, the original owner's father would not have died outside.
Chen Xiaomi pouted and said, "If I'm paralyzed, it'll be hard for me to work." From now on, I'll need someone to take care of me for everything, from eating and drinking to using the toilet.
The Lu family has just welcomed two new babies and is in a state of chaos. Now that the old man has fallen ill, things are likely to get complicated.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Life can always go on." Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; the Lu family still has some wealth, and there are plenty of people in the village who are having a harder time than the Lu family.
The old lady has a strong mental fortitude!
Lu Lin felt that the old lady always seemed cynical and world-weary, and she must be feeling terrible knowing that she had been deceived by the Li family. However, it was the old man who collapsed.
With the old man gone, Mrs. Tang was quite worried. Now, the only income the family could make came from the fields.
The harvest from the fields is enough to feed the children, but Lu Chengyu still needs to go to school, and now the old man needs to take medicine, so it's naturally not enough.
Wang was reluctant to spend the money, so after consulting a doctor, she found that the doctor didn't have any good solutions and sent the person away.
Lu Ming, staying in the room, said with some dissatisfaction, "Why did Cheng Yu fail the exam again? Didn't the registrar put in enough effort?"
Madam Tang sighed and said, "It seems that even the Registrar can't influence this exam."
"How could that be?" Lu Ming stood up excitedly. If it weren't for the fact that this daughter-in-law could help his son with the imperial examinations, he wouldn't have even looked at her.
Mrs. Tang said sullenly, "Her sister probably can't even speak up." After all, she was just a concubine.
Lu Ming said indignantly, "What bad luck."
Mrs. Tang sighed and said, "Look, the old man is sick again. What should we do?"
Lu Ming was also in a dilemma. There were other old men in the town who had the same illness, and their families had spent a lot of money but still couldn't cure it.
Lu Ming felt that since the disease was incurable anyway, it was better not to treat it. The cost of hiring a doctor was not low. However, this matter should be decided by his mother.
"It's all that sister-in-law's fault. If it weren't for her, the old man wouldn't have been so agitated." Madam Tang gritted her teeth. If the old man hadn't gotten sick, he could still help with some work at home. Now that he's paralyzed, he not only can't work, but he also needs someone to take care of him. This year, we'll probably have to hire a few more people to work in the fields.
Without spending this money, no one will be willing to work, and the harvest from the fields will be meager. Hiring more people will increase the expenses.
Lu Ming was also very angry. "My sister-in-law is indeed someone who doesn't know her place."
Looking at the old man lying on the bed, Wang cried out angrily, "Why is my life so miserable!" After the old man became paralyzed, he couldn't eat and needed to be fed. Wang also had to bathe and wipe his body. At first, it was okay, but after a while, Wang felt that she was not up to the task.
Wang wanted Tang to serve the old man, but Tang said it was against the rules.
"Look at the kind of daughter-in-law you married, she's utterly useless." Recently, whenever Wang was in a bad mood, she would seize the opportunity to scold Tang and the others.
"Mother, I've completely baffled myself."
"You didn't even bother to investigate this matter properly. You married a jinx who's here to bring me bad luck!" Madam Wang shouted at the top of her lungs.
At first, Wang was always mindful of the marriage with the registrar and was quite tolerant of Li Fangyue. Now, Wang has given up and is completely unscrupulous, knowing that Li Fangyue is in the next room.
They spent so much money to marry her, only to end up marrying a lowly woman's sister.
Before the spring examination, in order to pull some strings, Wang reluctantly took out some silver and asked Li Fangyue to do some favors. Thinking about the silver she had given away, Wang felt heartbroken with regret.
Li Fangyue has been getting a lot of criticism lately, but since she's in the wrong, she has no choice but to endure it.
Wang looked at Tang, feeling a surge of anger. "You knew all along, yet you kept it from me."
Madam Tang smiled awkwardly and said, "I didn't know either." Even if she was a concubine, as long as she could be spoken to, that would be fine. Who knew it wouldn't work at all?
Inside the courtyard.
"Grandma Chen, are you going to the countryside?" Lu Lin asked.
“Yes, Granny Li is dead. She’s been my neighbor for decades. I still have to go and see her,” Granny Shen said.
Granny Shen and the deceased Granny Li had a good relationship. Two mu of the land that Granny Shen rented out was rented to Granny Li's son.
Lu Lin nodded and said, "I can't refuse, so I'll have Qin Lang take you."
Grandma Shen shook her head and said, "No need, there's no need for such trouble."
Qin Lang quickly said, "It's no trouble at all, Grandma, just listen to Brother Lin, so that Achi won't worry."
Thinking of Chen Chi, Granny Chen smiled and said, "Alright then."
As soon as Granny Shen returned to the countryside, she was surrounded by the villagers. Granny Shen had rented out all her land in the countryside and was rarely seen in town, which made the villagers feel quite amazed.
"Grandma Chen, I heard that two new female workers have joined the shop. I hope it hasn't affected you."
Granny Shen nodded and said, "I did hire two people, but it didn't affect me." A few months ago, Lu Lin bought two maids with indentures. Granny Shen guessed that the villagers didn't know the inside story and thought that the two women were people Lu Lin had hired.
"Grandma Chen, you look much more energetic!"
Grandma Shen smiled and said, "Not at all, not at all."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the conversation suddenly turned to the Lu family.
"Grandma Chen, the Lu family has been arguing a lot lately. I heard Grandma Wang constantly berating her granddaughter-in-law as a good-for-nothing."
"This old lady has no sense of propriety when it comes to her words. Doesn't she care about offending the registrar, Lu Chengyu? She failed the exam again this time. The old lady is probably just angry."
"Well, when it comes to taking the imperial examinations, you still have to rely on your own abilities; connections are useless."
"Lu Chengyu has taken the exam many times. The Tang family always guarantees that he will pass, but he never does. Is he really capable?"
"This exam!"
Granny Shen wasn't very clear about what had happened to the Lu family recently, but she had long known that Lin Xiuer's sister was just a concubine. Listening to the villagers' gloating, Granny Shen guessed that the old master of the Lu family probably knew that Li Ru was just a concubine, which was why he had suddenly fallen ill from anger.
"The Lu family has been having a tough time lately!"
"Yes, it seems like they're going to sell land again."
"Why are they selling land again? Once it's sold, can't they just buy it back?"
Granny Shen frowned, thinking to herself: The Lu family is really doing something terrible. They're selling land again. The more land they sell, the poorer they become. In the future, they'll probably just be an ordinary family.
"Are you selling land again? How many acres are you selling?" Granny Shen asked.
"It seems to be about two mu."
Lin Xiuer hid in her room, feeling very depressed.
Lin Xiuer had been waiting for the right opportunity to expose Li Fangyue. After waiting and waiting, the opportunity finally came, but unexpectedly, the old man suddenly fell ill. With the old man ill, there was one less person to do the work and one more person to take medicine, making life difficult again.
Lin Xiuer looked at Lu An and asked, "So, did you say you wanted to buy the land?"
"The village head said that Mother's asking price is too high, and I'm afraid no one will take it on in the short term," Lu An said.
Lin Xiuer said sullenly, "It doesn't necessarily have to be selling land. We just need to increase our income. Cheng Yu is a scholar, so let him copy books. I heard that copying books can earn a lot of money. He's been taking the exam for so long and still hasn't passed. If this continues, our family won't be able to afford to support him."
There are not many literate people here, and books are very expensive. Therefore, many students from poor families rely on copying books to supplement their family income, which can provide them with a decent source of income.
Lu An thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid Cheng Yu won't agree."
Lin Xiuer said disdainfully, "The family has spent so much money on him and his wife, he has no right to act high and mighty. The family is in such a state, does he still want to act like a young master? He doesn't even know if he has the life to live like that."
"I'll go talk to my mother about it," Lu An said.
Lu An couldn't figure out what the old lady meant. His mother doted on her eldest grandson, Lu Chengyu, the most. No matter how difficult things were at home, she couldn't bear to let Lu Chengyu go hungry. But now the situation was different. The family's money was almost gone, and Lu Chengyu was unwilling to earn money, so the family had to keep selling land.
When Tang told Lu Chengyu about the book copying incident, Lu Chengyu was so angry that he vomited blood.
Lu An suggested that the old lady let Lu Chengyu copy books to earn money, and Wang Shi immediately agreed. In Wang Shi's opinion, copying books could both review what she had learned and learn something new, and also earn some money, so there was nothing wrong with it.
Having failed the imperial examination again, Lu Chengyu was already in a bad mood. Because of the rumors circulating in the village lately, Lu Chengyu was too lazy to go out. But he didn't expect that he would find it difficult to have peace and quiet even at home.
Lu Chengyu was very proud, and in his opinion, copying books was something only good-for-nothing students would do.
The competition among students was also very serious. Students who made money by copying books were seen as poor by their classmates. Therefore, many students made money by copying books in a secretive manner.
Lu Chengyu never expected that she would fall to this state, and that her grandmother would even agree to it.
As soon as Lu An spoke, without much persuasion, Wang agreed. Although Wang loved her eldest grandson, she was really angry at the eldest son's family. Wang did not expect that Lu Chengyu's wife was actually a fraud. The family had sold several acres of land after marrying this girl. Every time Wang saw Li Fangyue, she wanted to strangle her.
Mrs. Tang looked at her son helplessly and said, "This son, there's really nothing else we can do right now."
Recently, Tang has been going out and has heard many villagers compare Lu Chengyu and Lu Lin. Some say that Lu Lin has been entrusted with important responsibilities by a big boss and can now stand on his own, while Lu Chengyu has grown up but can't earn money or pass the imperial examination. It seems that Lu Lin is more promising now.
Mrs. Tang was furious. In her eyes, Lu Lin wasn't even worthy of carrying her son's shoes, but in the eyes of the villagers, he was the more successful one.
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