Chen family
"Father, you can't just stand by and watch someone die!" Chen Shouxin said, somewhat agitated.
Chen Shouren said with a cold face, "Father, I have said long ago that my nephew is not cut out for studying. He can barely pass the preliminary examination, let alone become a scholar or a provincial graduate."
Chen Shouxin looked at his third brother with great anger and said, "Third brother, what do you mean by this? Saying such things at a time like this."
Chen Shouren retorted, not to be outdone, "Brother, Chen Jing's debt this time isn't just a few taels of silver, it's a hundred taels! We'll probably have to sell most of our land to raise that much money. But if we sell all our land, what will we eat? Brother, do you want your son to starve your whole family, your parents, to death?"
Chen Shouxin said dismissively, "It's not as serious as you say. One hundred taels isn't serious, sir. If you think it's not serious, then pay back the money to your son yourself. Don't come begging to your parents."
"Ah Jing is also your nephew. Are you just going to stand by and watch him get beaten to death? How can you be so heartless!"
Chen Shouren said with dissatisfaction, "Brother, your son has caused trouble that is going to drive your whole family to their deaths, and you're saying I'm heartless?"
Looking at his two sons arguing back and forth, Old Master Chen sighed and said, "Alright, stop arguing. Why don't we all get together and discuss it?"
Chen Shouxin said with a hint of annoyance, "Fourth Sister, really! You came to see Father with only two hundred coins."
Chen Shouxin was still somewhat intimidated by the butcher that Chen Chun'er had married, so he didn't dare to say it directly. He only said, "Father is ill, so I asked Chen Chun'er to come back and take a look."
As soon as Chen Chun'er returned, she was detained by the Chen family. The family asked her for money, but Chen Chun'er only brought two hundred coins with her. In the end, she gave them all to the Chen family in order to get away. Chen Shouxin felt that Chen Chun'er did it on purpose.
"Dad, do you really want to sell the land?" Chen Laosan asked.
Old Master Chen sighed and said, "Let's sell a few acres and look for millet."
Grandma Chen said excitedly, "Chen Xiaomi has plenty of money. If he's willing to help, we won't have to sell the land."
Grandpa Chen glared at the old lady and said, "Stop talking nonsense! Don't you know what kind of person Xiaomi is?"
"I can't live like this anymore. If he's unwilling to pay, I'll hang myself in front of his shop. I refuse to believe I can't teach him a lesson!" the old woman wailed.
Chen Shouxin nodded and quickly said, "That's right!"
On the issue of Chen Xiaomi, Chen Shouren and Chen Shouxin were still able to maintain their agreement. Chen Shouren really didn't want to pay Chen Jing this money, but his family couldn't really just stand by and watch him die. Moreover, even if Chen Jing died, given the way those who lent money would probably not let it go.
So, in the current situation, if Chen Xiaomi is willing to contribute more, then they can contribute less; if Chen Xiaomi contributes everything, that would be even better.
"Dad, what did Grandpa and Grandma say?" Chen He asked hurriedly as soon as he saw Chen Shouren enter the room.
Chen Shouren sighed and said, "Grandpa and Grandma are planning to protect A-Jing."
Chen He said unhappily, "Father, my eldest cousin has incurred a debt of one hundred taels of silver this time! A whole one hundred taels! The whole family works hard to farm, and we only earn a meager twenty-odd taels a year. My eldest cousin has suddenly incurred a debt of one hundred taels. What is the point of all their hard work?"
Chen Shouren sighed and said, "Your grandparents have no choice but to protect him. Your cousin borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates, and he can't refuse to pay it back. Even if your cousin dies, those people won't give up easily."
Chen He gritted his teeth, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.
The incident of Chen Jing being found at his doorstep and beaten up caused quite a stir.
Many villagers were curious about what trouble Chen Jing had gotten into that led to him being beaten up.
"It seems that Chen Jing borrowed one hundred taels of silver from someone."
"It is said that it was originally fifty taels, but with interest compounding, it grew to one hundred taels."
"The people in this town are so greedy! How did it get to a hundred taels in such a short time?"
"What on earth did Chen Jing do to accumulate so much debt? Has he become addicted to gambling? There's a gambler in the next village who doesn't care about his family. He took his parents' life savings to gamble, and his family was ruined!"
"Good heavens, we owe a hundred taels of silver! How are we going to pay it back?!"
"I heard that Chen Chun'er was also called back, probably hoping that Chun'er would help pay back some of it."
“Chen Chun’er has been married for so long, how can we expect her to pay for it?”
"We had no other choice, this is a hundred taels of silver!"
After the Chen family's incident, Tang felt a little better. The Chen and Lu families were originally prominent families in the village, and they had been secretly competing with each other. Recently, the Lu family had been having a lot of bad luck, while the Chen family had been doing well. Tang felt very bad about this. When she heard that Chen Jing had suddenly owed her one hundred taels of silver, Tang felt quite gloating.
The villagers' focus shifted from Lu Chengyu failing the exam to Chen Jing owing money.
"Cheng Yu, do you know why Chen Jing owes money?" Tang asked.
Lu Chengyu said cautiously, "He might have gone astray."
Tang asked with some suspicion, "A crooked path?"
Lu Chengyu nodded and said, "I heard that someone was secretly selling the spring exam questions before the exam. This scam has happened before, and people fall for it every time. Chen Jing probably believed what others said and bought fake exam questions."
Two years ago, Lu Chengyu encountered a similar situation. He had a classmate who was mediocre in his studies but loved to show off. After getting drunk one time, the classmate claimed that he was destined to pass the imperial examination with flying colors and, if he was lucky, even become the top scholar.
Lu Chengyu found the man's boasting amusing and, after getting information out of his classmate, learned that the man had bought exam papers. Although Lu Chengyu scoffed at his classmate's behavior, he secretly checked the exam papers his classmate had bought, believing it was better to be safe than sorry.
After entering the examination room, Lu Chengyu discovered that the test questions his classmate had bought were completely irrelevant. After leaving the examination room, Lu Chengyu found that his classmate was somewhat agitated and was cursing. When others asked him questions, he gave vague answers.
His classmate bought fake exam questions but didn't dare to make a fuss. He swallowed the bitter pill in silence. The family was wealthy and powerful, and although fifty taels was a lot, it didn't hurt him too much.
Lu Chengyu discovered that every year someone seems to be secretly selling "exam papers," which is an old trick, but every year students still fall for it.
When Lu Chengyu heard that Chen Jing owed fifty taels and then rolled over another one hundred taels, he suspected that Chen Jing had fallen into a trap.
Upon hearing Lu Chengyu's conjecture, Madam Tang couldn't help but feel a little smug, thinking that Chen Jing was just a delusional person who wanted to use underhanded methods to pass the imperial examinations. Madam Tang completely forgot that Lu Chengyu's marriage to Li Fangyue was not without good intentions either.
"The Chen family is probably in trouble this time." Madam Tang shook her head and thought to herself: The Chen family will probably have to sell the land this time. During this period, it seems that many people in the village have made some money by building kang beds and making embroidery. If the Chen family wants to sell the land, I wonder which family will get the land.
Chen Jing lay on the bed, feeling somewhat apprehensive, and secretly cursed the person who sold him the test questions.
"Dad, when are Grandpa and Grandma going to pay me back the money?"
Chen Jing was really badly beaten two days ago, and the thought of those people chopping off his hands filled him with fear.
"Your grandparents are trying to find a solution, but your third uncle keeps making things difficult for you." Because of Chen Jing's debt, the conflict between the eldest and third branches of the family has been quite deep recently.
A surge of hatred flashed through Chen Jing's mind. Chen Shouren's inaction only fueled Chen Jing's anger.
"Why didn't you do a proper investigation before buying fake exam papers?" That's a full fifty taels of silver! Although Old Master Chen felt sorry for his son, he was also furious that his son had incurred such a large debt.
Chen Jing's face darkened. The person who sold him the exam papers had said that he had a powerful background and would never have sold them if he wasn't short of money. The person had also painted a rosy picture of the future for him, which had swayed him.
Chen Jing's purchase of the exam papers was also related to Lu Chengyu. Because Lu Chengyu married Li Fangyue, many people in the village thought that Lu Chengyu was almost certain to pass the imperial examination. When Chen Jing learned that there were exam papers, he thought to himself, "If I pass the exam and Lu Chengyu doesn't, how glorious I will be!"
In the end, neither he nor Lu Chengyu passed the exam.
Old Master Chen looked at Chen Jing, sighed, and said, "That's a hundred taels!" Old Master Chen was just a countryman who toiled in the fields, and a hundred taels was an astronomical sum for him. However, there was nothing he could do in the current situation.
Grandma Chen sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), sobbing softly.
Old Master Chen looked at Madam Li and said, "Alright, stop crying."
The old lady said somewhat angrily, "That's a hundred taels!"
"Sell the land."
The old lady said somewhat excitedly, "How can you just sell land like that?" The Lu family had been selling land for some time, and Old Mrs. Chen had been gloating over it, but she never expected that it would be her family's turn so soon.
"What can we do if we don't sell the land?" the old man sighed.
The old woman felt as if everything went dark. One hundred taels of silver would have to be sold for at least ten acres of land. If they sold all that land, they would become poor households in the village.
The old man said sullenly, "How could Ah Jing be so reckless as to cause such a mess?"
The old man always thought Chen Jing was the most quick-witted. If anyone in the family could rise above others, it would definitely be Chen Jing. Therefore, he always favored the eldest son's family. Even when the second son died and the eldest son wanted to sell the vegetables, he acquiesced. He never expected that Chen Jing would cause him such a big mess.
Even so, he couldn't just leave it alone. The old man had heard a lot of people talking about Chen Xiaomi in the village recently.
Chen Xiaomi now works in town. Many families in the village make money by making embroidery for Huaxia Trading Company, so they have a very high opinion of Chen Xiaomi. Seeing his grandsons, who had separated from the family early, living a good life, Grandpa Chen couldn't quite describe how he felt.
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