Chapter 3306 Zhou Bai Battle
Bai Shan went over first, intending to persuade the other party with reason first, and if that didn't work, then he would go to his father-in-law and uncles. If that still didn't work, he would try other means.
But the elders of the Bai family were very insistent, "Zhishan, this is your eldest son, how can he not take the Bai surname?"
"That's right. Even if you want to adopt a child, you should choose a child other than the eldest son. Besides, you only have one son now. He will have his surname when he is born. What if you don't have any more children in the future, or if you can't give birth to a son at all?"
Bai Shan: "...Uncle Wu is worrying too much. With Doctor Zhou here, I don't believe I can't give birth to a second son."
Everyone: “…”
Bai Shan said, "The second child inheriting the Xia family's ancestral sacrifice was agreed upon before our two families got engaged. A man cannot stand without trust, and my nephew does not want to be a traitor."
"Nonsense, I always thought the second child was the second son, this is your eldest son!"
"Of course, it doesn't matter whether the child is a girl or a boy," Bai Shan said. "If the second child is a girl, she will take the Xia surname and will inherit the Xia clan's ancestral worship, regardless of gender."
"You are... so stubborn. If this gets out, won't it disrupt the clan's rules and regulations?"
Someone thought for a moment and suggested, "Why not change Zhishan's eldest daughter's surname to Xia? That way, it wouldn't be considered a break of promise, right?"
Bai Shan's face darkened, and even Zheng, who had been sitting quietly by the side, became angry and said angrily, "My eldest sister is equally noble. We have already said that there is no distinction between men and women. Why are you uncles forcing me?"
"Since there's no distinction between male and female, why can't the eldest daughter take the Xia surname? It shows there is still a distinction."
Bai Shan said with a cold face, "Eighth Uncle, be careful with your words. I see no difference between my daughter and my son. If she had been agreed to take the surname Xia from the beginning, it would have been fine. But she is now Bai Jingxing. Suddenly, because of her brother, her name was changed to Xia Jingxing, then there is a difference. Eighth Uncle, are you trying to alienate our father-daughter relationship and their sister-brother relationship?"
He said unhappily, "In my opinion, this is the root of the family's chaos. Are my uncles really doing this for my own good?"
"What do you mean by that? Do you suspect us of ulterior motives? Fourth Aunt, does Zhishan resent the family?"
Madam Liu asked calmly, "Are you questioning whether I have taught my grandson well?"
Everyone choked. Madam Liu was the most senior among those present. With Bai Shan present, they really couldn't question her, unless someone of her seniority showed up, or...
Someone glanced at Bai Shan obscurely.
Or like a dozen or twenty years ago, when the head of the household was weak and had no one to rely on, generational hierarchy was useless.
Bai Shan felt that there was no progress in arguing any further, so he glanced covertly at the servants waiting beside him.
The servant quietly retreated, and soon Bai Erlang came up with Old Zhoutou, Zhou Dalang and Zhou Silang.
Old Zhou smiled and said, "So all the relatives are here. There are a lot of red eggs cooked in the kitchen at the back. They are all from my farm. They taste really good. I'll have someone send some up for you to try."
Zhou Silang held a basin in his hand and distributed red eggs to them enthusiastically, two for each person, without any partiality.
When Mrs. Bai saw the Zhou family coming, she suppressed her anger, forced a smile, took the eggs, and did not want to discuss the matter in front of them.
Old Zhou also stuffed two for Mr. Zhuang and Madam Liu, then sat down below Madam Liu and said with a smile, "Mother-in-law, I heard from Manbao that officials have some kind of home leave, right?"
Mrs. Liu held the red egg in her hand and replied "yes" with a smile.
Old Zhou said excitedly, "I wonder if the home visit leave will be long. If it is long enough, I want my uncle and Manbao to take the child to Shangzhou. The child inherited his grandmother's surname, so we must go to pay homage to her and tell them."
The Bai family's people couldn't sit still anymore and couldn't help but say, "The child's name has just been chosen. It hasn't been decided yet whether it will be Xia or Bai."
"Why haven't you decided yet? Didn't you say he'd be named Xia Mu?" Old Zhou immediately looked at Bai Shan, "Son-in-law, we agreed long ago that your second child would take the surname Xia. You can't go back on your word."
Zhou Silang also said: "Yes, brother-in-law, you are a scholar and an official, you must keep your word."
Bai Shan quickly responded "yes" humbly, then looked at the Bai family members hesitantly.
Master Bai Wu and the others remained silent. After a long while, someone muttered, "Then we can't let the eldest son take his surname."
Master Bai Wu then discussed with Old Zhou, "Master Zhou, this is Zhishan's eldest son. It's not easy to change his surname. How about waiting for the next child?"
"Yeah, yeah, they can still have children anyway, and the next child will be the same."
"Since they're all the same, why can't this one be used?" Old Zhou said, "We agreed before we got married that the second child would take the Xia surname. We said the same thing when I was pregnant. But you changed your mind after he was born. Who knows if you'll change your mind again when the next child is born?"
"Of course not. This is because of the special circumstances. He is the eldest son."
"I don't think so," Old Zhou looked at them suspiciously. "Are you reluctant to part with this child because he's so smart? But what if the next child is just as smart and also born exceptionally well? Wouldn't you be reluctant too?"
Everyone in the Bai family: ...
In the end, the hall became a battlefield between the Zhou and Bai families. Old Madam Liu and Bai Shan were completely useless and were left aside, unable to say a word.
The Bai family insisted that the child was the eldest son and could not have his surname; the Zhou family insisted on the promise they made when they got engaged, and asked them if they wanted to break the promise.
The Bai family couldn't openly say they were going to break their promise, after all, the Yu family had a bad reputation. If Bai Shan was willing to speak up at this time, it would be easy to deal with, but he also looked very determined, as if he would definitely keep his promise and not break it...
In the end, when the Bai family left, they were exhausted and angry.
"In the end, we were caught between a rock and a hard place."
"If this child really takes the surname Xia, it would be shameful for our Bai family. Even the eldest son has his surname. Wouldn't we become the laughing stock of our family?"
"Bai Shan is so lonely that he doesn't even care about the clan."
After seeing off all the guests, Old Zhou picked up his teacup and drank some water. After moistening his throat, he said, "In the capital, it's rare to talk so much in one day."
Bai Shan hurriedly poured him more tea and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for causing trouble to my father-in-law."
Old Zhou waved his hand to show he didn't mind. He frowned and said, "But I see they are very persistent. I'm afraid this won't be easy to handle."
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Will this affect you and Manbao? Actually, what they said is not wrong. After all, this is your eldest son. If it is really inconvenient, you can let the next child take the surname Xia."
Bai Shan shook his head, "Father-in-law, this is it. It wouldn't be good to change it to any other child."
Old Zhou was puzzled, "Why?"
(End of this chapter)
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