Chapter 214: Losing My Son

Li's heart was pounding with fear, thinking it was all over, no hope, she had been thinking for nothing the whole morning. Oh, oh, this time she had even spent an extra hundred coins to make the moon cakes, but now she couldn't get it back.

Zhulan patted the lady's hand and said, "It's okay. You are young and can't stand being wronged."

Xuemei pursed her lips. She had never thought that her father's absence from the county would have such a big impact. She said worriedly, "Mom, it won't affect the marriage between the two families, will it?"

Zhulan said, "No, the county lord is a wise man."

Because the county magistrate was a sensible man, she was not worried at all that the marriage would fail.

Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it didn't turn yellow, she was fine. "Mom, don't you need to worry about Changlian?"

Why does she look at her mother without any intention of comforting her?

Zhu Lan waved her hands, "What Chang Lian needs now is to calm down. Once he calms down, he will take the initiative to look for your father."

She couldn't feel unconvinced. She could educate the children, but the ancient times did not allow her to show her knowledge, and Chang Lian would not seek comfort from her.

It was time for lunch. Zhou Shuren took Jiang Sheng out to eat. The father-in-law and son-in-law chatted for a long time. Jiang Sheng's face was no longer serious and a smile appeared on his face.

Zhulan pulled Zhou Shuren aside and whispered, "Changlian is back, and he's still bored in his room. Mingteng went to call him to eat, but he didn't respond."

Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows. Chang Lian was quite upset. "Leave the food for now and ignore him. Let's eat our own food."

The lunch table was very quiet. After being disappointed, Li no longer concealed Chang Lian's purpose. Everyone in the family knew what Chang Lian was doing and had mixed reactions.

Boss Zhou really didn't realize that Li was hiding something from him. He felt bad and suddenly realized that his silly wife had grown up and was no longer his silly wife. As for Chang Lian's setbacks, he thought it was normal. He really thought that he would have his father's abilities if he learned from his father. On the contrary, he thought that it was better to suffer setbacks sooner, as Chang Lian had been a little too much recently.

Zhou Laoer was full of contempt in his heart, thinking that Chang Lian hadn't even learned to walk yet he wanted to learn to run. He really thought it was easy for his father to have a respectable life outside. He was just being stupid and it was his own fault.

Changzhi just said "oh" and thought about how to comfort his third brother. His third brother has been very nice to him these days.

Xuemei thought that Chang Lian was naive. Jiang Sheng had his father's support outside, so he was still humble and it was common for him to make things difficult and get cheated when he was treated to a meal. However, this kid's luck was probably all used up in his engagement. This time his luck was really bad, as his father didn't go to the county. All the anger directed at his father in the past was taken out on Chang Lian. In addition, since a scholar's son could marry the daughter of the county lord, he was also an object of jealousy!

Xue Han is a little worried about her third brother. She hopes he won’t get so upset that he will never recover!

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were the calmest people.

After dinner, Jiang Sheng felt relieved and no longer thought about making money. He took advantage of his father-in-law's help to copy books and go to the county to help. In total, he saved 15 taels of silver. With the subsidies from his mother-in-law, even if he didn't make any money, he could study safely until the exam.

His father-in-law told him that his family would move to Pingzhou next year. Starting next year, he and his wife would no longer have to spend money on renting a house, and they would save on food by helping his father-in-law look after the fields. Plus, since his father-in-law would be going to Pingzhou next year, he would not have to spend extra money on taking the exam. With money in hand, he would have a place to stay and food to eat. As long as he passed the exam and had the fields registered under his name, he would make a lot of money a year!

Jiang Sheng was panicked when he came, but when he took his wife and children home, he felt at ease and had a bright future.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were going to rest. Not long after they lay down, there was a knock on the door. Zhulan opened her eyes and mouthed, "Chang Lian."

Zhou Shuren stood up and said, "Go to sleep. He is here to see me."

Zhulan, "Yes."

Zhou Shuren put on his shoes and opened the door. Chang Lian's clothes were wrinkled and his hands were bruised. This was self-torture. Zhou Shuren said in disgust, "What a loser."

Chang Lian put his hands behind his back in panic. His father got angry and said, "Dad, I was careless."

"Do you think I'm as easy to fool as your older brother?"

Chang Lian, "......."

He was obviously suppressing his anger, but his father's words made him want to laugh for some reason. He felt that his eldest brother had a really hard life, and his father could even pull his eldest brother out and poke at his heart!

Zhou Shuren sat in the main seat in the main hall. He felt thirsty after sleeping for a while. "Tell me, what bad words did you hear today?"

Zhou Shuren picked up the teapot and found that there was no tea in it. Worried about Zhulan waking up and having no water to drink, he stood up with the teapot in hand, "Wait a minute, I'll go get your mother a pot of water so she won't have a dry mouth when she wakes up. The fire was a little too strong at noon, and the kang was too hot, so the room is quite dry."

Chang Lian, "........"

He finally prepared himself mentally and was ready to say the difficult words, but his father was only worried about his mother having no water to drink. Well, he suddenly felt that his father's blow to him was the biggest. All the grievances he suffered in the county today were nothing. In his father's eyes, he must have picked them up. Oh yes, there was also his eldest brother, so there was someone to support the inexplicable balance.

Chang Lian had a strange expression on his face. How come he managed to pull his eldest brother out?

Zhou Shuren brought water into the room, made tea for himself, and brought back some snacks. "Okay, go ahead!"

Chang Lian, "............"

He suddenly didn't want to talk anymore! Dad, if you treat your own son like this, you will lose your own son. He obviously needs comfort, comfort!

Zhou Shuren poured some tea, "You don't want to talk? Then why did you come to me?"

Chang Lian had a wooden face. He didn't say anything, suspecting that his father would really take the tea and leave. "........Some people say that I am a gigolo and that my father is a flatterer. Chuchu's cousin negotiated with me about the recipe without Chuchu's knowledge and gave me twenty taels of silver as alms. And it was forced. Dad, I don't even have the right to stop selling it."

He really didn't care whether his father was a gigolo or not. He trusted his father inexplicably. He was angry and slandered his father for being a flatterer. He couldn't suppress his anger once he said it. In his heart, his father was great all these years. He argued with him a few times, but was met with more sarcasm!

Zhou Shuren looked at the anger in Chang Lian's eyes. He was indeed a child. Just a few words could make him really angry. "Actually, you are right. Your father did behave himself in a humble manner and flattered many people."

Chang Lian's eyes widened, "Dad, aren't you angry?"

Zhou Shuren drank his tea leisurely, "Today, Dad will teach you a lesson. Don't get angry over people who have nothing to do with you. It's not worth it. When you can remain calm in the face of sarcasm, you will be considered a master in socializing."

Chang Lian was dumbfounded, "You entered without changing your expression?"

He didn't throw any punches today. This was the result of a year of learning from his father, but his restraint was not even good enough to be considered an entry level move!

Zhou Shuren chuckled, "Yes, keeping a straight face is the beginning. You need to be able to distinguish useful words from sarcastic remarks. This is for beginners. If you can distinguish which words are truly sarcastic and which are out of jealousy, and analyze why they are sarcastic, why they are jealous, and what interests are involved behind them, then you have achieved a small success."

Chang Lian took a breath and asked, "Dad, what are the criteria for becoming a master?"