Chapter 221 A grand celebration
Seeing her third son's unhappy look, Old Mrs. Chen suddenly panicked, fearing that he would suffer any injustice.
Now that he has passed the examination and become a scholar, it has brought honor to the Chen family. If he gets upset because of the reward money and it affects the autumn provincial examination, wouldn’t that be a big taboo?
Old Mrs. Chen frowned, her eyes full of guilt.
"Son, it's all my fault. I didn't make adequate preparations. How about selling some food tomorrow and we can give you the reward later?"
When Chen Zhanliang heard that they had to sell grain again, his brows frowned slightly.
They have been eating rice bran dry food for more than a month. Now the cornmeal in the dry food is getting less and less, and it has reached the point where it is difficult to swallow. If they sell the little food they have, they will not be able to eat rice bran dry food in the future, let alone rice bran.
If that really happened, his wife would definitely make a fuss with him.
Chen Zhanliang knew that his wife was not to blame for this, but only his parents for being too indulgent to his third son. But as a son, what else could he do?
He couldn't agree to continue selling grain, not for himself but for Erbao's sake.
This winter, it’s a blessing that Dabao brought food to Erbao every now and then, otherwise, he would have become so thin.
Thinking of this, he immediately spoke up to stop her, "Mom, it's only March now, and the fields haven't been planted yet. What will we eat after we sell the grain?"
Old Mrs. Chen knew this too well. She sighed helplessly, "Zhanliang, I understand your concerns, but if your third brother passes the exam and passes it up like that, wouldn't it be embarrassing for our family?"
"Face is worth nothing. If it can't buy food or drink, we can't just save face and suffer in vain!"
"Yes, Zhan Liang is right. Zhan Cai's passing the imperial examination has brought honor to the Chen family. This is already amazing. Who in the village wouldn't envy him? Otherwise, let's just forget about the reward money!" Old man Chen also chimed in.
"No, no, we can't just let such a big happy event go like this." Old Mrs. Chen shook her head and waved her hands. "Zhancai, how about taking out some of Ruolan's betrothal money to help with the emergency? I'll pay you back after we sell the grain in the autumn. How about that?"
Chen Zhancai had his own plans and smiled slightly, "Mother, look at you, you are still so unfaithful to your son. Don't worry, I have asked Fengjiao to make all the preparations in advance, and the reward money is already prepared."
Chen Zhancai said as he waved his hand towards Liu Fengjiao, "Madam, give me the money."
Liu Fengjiao smiled and took out a purse from her pocket and handed it to Old Lady Chen, "Mother, take these for now and give them to us when you have more."
"My dear daughter-in-law, don't worry. Even if I sell the house or the land in the future, I will never take advantage of you."
Old Mrs. Chen took the purse and took a look at it with a smile. She was immediately surprised and delighted. "Fengjiao, you gave too much. Take it back quickly."
"Mom, take it first. I know you're short of money lately. Zhancai passing the imperial examination is a great joy for our family. We have to set up a few tables in a proper manner, so I took back the only ten taels of silver we have at home."
Although Liu Fengjiao said this, she felt very uncomfortable in her heart. You know, this money is indeed the only savings of their family.
Originally, Chen Ruolan had the betrothal money in her hands, but Chen Zhancai only knew how to eat, drink and have fun. He asked for money every now and then to eat and drink with his classmates, and would quarrel with her if she didn't give it.
There was no way out. Because she felt guilty towards Chen Zhancai about Wang Qichang's matter, she had to let him eat and drink as he pleased.
Although Wang Qichang is old, he is as strong as a calf and has endless energy. He calls her over every few days and tortures her all the time. Now her legs go weak when she sees a man.
In order to get rid of Wang Qichang's entanglement, he wanted to use money to sever the relationship and draw a clear line.
Wang Qichang looks like a decent person, but he is extremely dark inside. He accepted a hundred taels of silver from her but still kept pestering her. He is simply a bottomless pit that can never be filled.
The two of them squandered all the two hundred and fifty taels of silver.
These days she had been worried about getting rid of Wang Qichang, but her husband had worked hard and passed the imperial examination. With the status of a scholar's wife, Wang Qichang would surely not dare to do anything to her anymore...
Old Mrs. Chen weighed the purse in her hand and nodded happily.
"Feng Jiao, you are absolutely right. Zhan Cai has brought honor to our family. We must hold a grand ceremony to let everyone see that our Chen family is about to make a comeback."
Old Man Chen was also very happy. "Old lady, you are right. We should organize a good event. We should invite all the people in the village who have a good relationship with our family, as well as distant relatives, to come and celebrate together."
"Look at you, you are too petty. Can you be more broad-minded? Let me tell you, our Zhancai is now a scholar, and everyone is eager to find an opportunity to get close to us. So, we have to give them this opportunity. No matter how close or distant they are, everyone in the village must be invited."
"How much will it cost to invite them all?" Old man Chen widened his eyes in surprise.
Old Mrs. Chen frowned and rolled her eyes at him. "You are so stupid! How much can you spend on treating someone to a meal? Don't forget, they all brought gifts."
After she reminded him, Old Man Chen suddenly realized, "Yes, why didn't I think of that? We have contributed a lot to others in the past. The Zhao family gave two eggs, the Sun family gave two pounds of brown rice, the Li family gave a pound of fried cakes, and the old Wu family gave three copper coins. These people all owe us a favor. This time, we must make them pay it back no matter what."
"Your stupid brain has finally come to your senses. Let me tell you, this time our family will only make money and not lose money."
"That's right, this is a great opportunity for our family to make a fortune." As he spoke, a gleam of light flashed in the old man Chen's eyes. "Old woman, do you want to invite that damn girl?"
"Please, you must. We can't do without her!"
Old Mrs. Chen remembered the last time she stole bricks and was humiliated by Chen Qingqing in every way. She had always held a grudge against her. This time, she must let her know that she had offended someone she shouldn't have offended and got into big trouble.
Old Mrs. Chen curled her lips. "This time, I'm going to show that heartless girl that our Chen family is about to rise to prominence. I'm going to make her regret it, make her afraid, make her feel guilty, and make her rush to please me."
"You're absolutely right, old lady. That damned girl is such a jerk. We have to humiliate them this time." Old Man Chen said with a troubled look on his face. "We have good intentions, but what if they don't come?"
"This time they have to come whether they want to or not. It's not up to them."
"What do you mean?" Old man Chen was stunned.
Old Lady Chen sneered, "We don't need to intervene in this matter. Just leave it to Wu Baoan and it will be done."
"Leave it to Wu Baoan? Can he handle this matter?"
"You are like an old sow playing chess. Look at your stupid brain. Our Zhancai passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. That is an honor for the entire Nanshan Village. It is also an honor for the head of the village. It is also his job to help with the arrangements. Hurry up and find Wu Baoan. I will talk to him."
"Okay, okay, I'll go right away."
......
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