Mrs. Hu was not satisfied with this courtyard at all. She said in a loud voice, "This place is not good. After all, we are landlords now, we also run a shop, and we are relatives of the General's Mansion. Living here and hanging out with the poor is not only a loss of face for the head of the family, but also a loss of face for Lord Chu."
It was already noon, and Chen Shi invited them to have lunch at a small restaurant and then went to see Chen Ming's house.
This house is relatively close to Houbei Street. It takes only a quarter of an hour to walk to Chen Shi's house and a quarter of an hour to walk to Wang Cheng's house. It is located between their two houses. If I buy it, Wang will be happy.
The house is relatively new, with three entrances, a back house, a screen wall, a main courtyard, wing rooms, and a back room. There are also rockery in the yard...
The price was not low, five hundred and eighty taels of silver. After a long negotiation, the lowest price was five hundred and thirty taels.
Chen Ming likes it very much, but the price is really a bit expensive.
While he was hesitating, Mrs. Hu covered her face with a handkerchief and started crying. She said, "Look, head of the family, you worked hard to support your brothers. Now they are successful and live in such a good house. But what about us? We can't even afford to live in the slums... Isn't it said that good people will be rewarded? Why doesn't God open his eyes..." She cried to Chen Ming and Chen Shi, "Second uncle, third uncle, why don't you touch your chest and think about it, how do you live such a good life? If I, the head of the family, hadn't returned home to farm and support you to go out to study, would you have such a good life? Now that you are better off, you should also thank your brother. Ah Fu bought a big yard for his uncle on a good road, and he should buy one for us..."
Old Lady Chen also felt sorry for her eldest son, but she felt that Mrs. Hu shouldn't bring up Chen Ahfu. The old lady had learned to be smart now, and knew that Ahfu was not a blood relative of hers, and it would be difficult to appease him if he offended her. Unlike Chen Ming and Chen Shi, no matter what, they were still connected.
She scolded, "What are you talking about? Why don't good people get rewarded? The second and third brothers have been pimping you out a lot, and Ah Fu has helped us a lot. You bought so much land, and now you want to buy a house in the city. Isn't it all because of their help?" Chen Ye also scolded Hu, "You stinky woman, if you keep talking nonsense, go back to the countryside. We now have more than a hundred acres of land, a shop in town, and shares in the restaurant. Second brother, third brother, and Ah Fu have all helped with these businesses."
Then he said to Chen Ming and Chen Shi, "Don't listen to your sister-in-law's nonsense. I will remember your kindness."
Chen Ming didn't dare to buy the house and said, "This house is good, but I don't have that much money. Forget it, I can't afford it. Let's go and buy it after I save more money."
Seeing that Chen Ming didn't want to buy a house, Chen Ye thought that he didn't need to be a city dweller. He said, "Then I will wait a little longer and buy a house after I save more money."
On the way home, the old lady thought to herself that the second son could definitely afford the house, but he was frightened by Mrs. Hu's crying and didn't dare to buy it.
The old lady felt that it was not easy for the second son to save up the 100 taels of private silver, and the second wife had given a lot to the first wife, so it would be inappropriate to ask the second son to pay more. After returning home, she had to ask the third son to pay more.
The third brother is living a very good life now. He has shares in the restaurant and the braised skewers. He is the head manager and needs to get monthly salary. Ah Yu is the second manager of the big restaurant in the capital and also needs to get monthly salary. They are so rich that they can support their elder brother with 40 or 50 taels of silver, so that the eldest brother can buy a house in a better location. Only when the eldest brother buys can the second brother buy one.
By that time, all three sons will have businesses in the capital city, and not only in Xiangluo Village, but even in the entire town, there won’t be a single family left.
She hopes that her three sons can live happily together and have a good life. Especially if the second and third sons are doing well, she will feel even more distressed for the eldest son who has contributed the most to the family.
After returning home, she called Chen Shi into her room and told him about how Chen Ming secretly gave the eldest brother 100 taels of private silver. She also said, "If your life is better, give your eldest brother another 40 or 50 taels of silver so that they can buy a better courtyard in the capital."
Chen Shi didn't expect his mother to let him spend so much money, so he said, "Mom, I earn more than my brother, but I spend more money. Now I'm short of money, not to mention taking money from Zhang, even all the savings in the family can't make that much."
The old lady didn't believe it and said unhappily, "The richer you are, the more stingy you are. In the past, you were so poor that you still knew to repair the house for your eldest brother's family, but now that you are the head shopkeeper, you are reluctant to spend even forty or fifty taels of silver. I am not only caring about your brother and not you. I think it was not easy for your eldest brother to raise you. Now that your life is better, you should also take care of them."
Chen Shi was a little angry, and said, "Isn't the money I gave to my eldest brother's family not enough? I borrowed money from them to build the yard, and I gave them another seventy taels of silver last year. My family is no better off than my second brother's family. My second brother and his family don't have much to spend money on, and Ah Fu often helps them out. But I can't do that. My son has grown up, and he's going to marry his daughter off this year, and I haven't paid back the debt I borrowed from my father-in-law's family. Ah Man's dowry has used up all my savings, and now I don't even have a box of silver left. I'm thinking of borrowing some from Ah Fu. I'll pay her back when the restaurant gets a profit."
Old Mrs. Chen was shocked and cursed, "What? You emptied out your family's savings to bring Ah-Man to her husband's family? Are you stupid? The old Yang family has plenty of money, why do you need to throw money into it? You have to rely on your own strength to handle the big bowl. How can you empty your family to buy a dowry for Ah-Man? No, I don't agree. It must be that Zhang who instigated you to do this. I want to have a good talk with her."
Chen Shi said angrily, "You also said that you should give as much as you can, so why do you keep asking for money from the brothers for my eldest brother? My second brother and I have given a lot, and my eldest brother is not short of money. He bought so much land this year. You love your son, and I love my daughter. I can borrow money to build a house for my eldest brother and let them become landlords, so why can't I borrow money to marry my daughter?"
At this point, the old lady knew that if she continued to ask for more, it would definitely affect the relationship between the brothers. If the second and third brothers were really angry, the eldest brother would suffer.
Then she calmed down and said, "Okay, I won't say anything more, and don't be angry. You did help your eldest brother a lot in the past, and I just asked for this because I want my sons to be able to live in the city. Your eldest brother doesn't know what I said. Forget it, you don't have to give it to me, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Then, he kept wiping his tears with a handkerchief.
Chen Shi saw his mother crying and heard Mrs. Hu's loud voice in the yard. He thought for a moment and said through gritted teeth, "Mom, I will give another 20 taels of silver to my eldest brother. My family really has no money, so I have to borrow 20 taels of silver from the restaurant and pay it back after the dividends are distributed at the end of the year. You talk to my eldest brother and sister-in-law and buy the house on Houxi Street. The money is enough to renovate the yard and buy furniture. They can live in the city without spending a penny. It is convenient to go in and out of the city, and things are much cheaper there..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
