"See that, Brother Chen? This is the power those rich people talk about. We may not have money, but having this is more powerful than being rich. This is just one meal. You know, there will be many more benefits in the future." The two wanted to curry favor with him and take advantage of his influence.
"Hehe, I never expected it to feel like this. I used to only see the stewards of those landlords bossing people around, and we peasants were always treated as inferior. Now, are they afraid of me too?"
"Tch, so what if he's a landlord's steward? Believe it or not, those landlords treat you with utmost respect, let alone their stewards. Even if you made him kneel down and kowtow in front of you, he wouldn't dare to object."
"Great! My life, Chen Lizhong's life, has begun!" Chen Lizhong shouted wildly in his heart. Thinking of the respectful looks of these people, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
With a desire to test the waters, the three of them went to several restaurants in succession. Upon hearing that he was the county magistrate's brother-in-law, they dared not neglect him.
"Father, Mother, what are you doing?" Chen Lizhong asked when he saw his parents working in the yard after he had ordered some good wine and food from the restaurant to take home.
“What else can we do? We’ve paid off all the debts in the house, and your sisters aren’t home anymore. We won’t have to spend any money to get you two married. We’re planning to grow some vegetables to sell. What are you carrying? Did you go gambling again?” Du was still quite angry with her son.
If he hadn't been gambling with people all the time, his family wouldn't be in this situation.
"Mother, don't worry this time, I really didn't gamble. Here, this is some fresh food I brought back from the restaurant. We don't usually get to eat this. Come and try it." He placed the food on the table and said excitedly.
"What have you been doing again? Why are you bringing so much food? Did someone deliver leftovers from a restaurant?" Madam Du was clearly skeptical.
"Mom, what are you saying? Look for yourself. It's all fresh, delicious food that no one has ever eaten before. I didn't gamble; it was a gift from someone."
"Who gave it to you? Why would someone be so kind?" The two expressed their disbelief.
"Let me tell you, Magpie married the county magistrate, and that's incredibly useful. Everyone respects me when they hear my sister married the county magistrate. What are these meals compared to that? The people at the restaurant said I won't have to pay for meals there anymore, since I'm the county magistrate's brother-in-law." He sat down with a proud look on his face.
"Really? Brother, I'm also the county magistrate's brother-in-law, so does that mean I can eat out for free too?" Chen Lixiao asked, stepping forward when he heard about this good thing.
"Of course, but you need to let people know your identity. Then you won't have to worry about not having a good life in the future. People will still be able to give us gifts, and we won't need to do any business."
“Really? But we’ve never even met the county magistrate. How can we expect to get their favor? They’re not stupid.” The eldest son was a bit more knowledgeable than his two sons.
"Father, doesn't Mother often go to see the magpies? We can go with her. As for whether we've seen the county magistrate, do you think those people would dare to go to the county magistrate and ask?"
Chen Lizhong's encouragement was indeed very effective. Within a few days, people at Xichun's stall were talking about the Chen family.
“Miss Chen, you are also from Taoyuan Village, and you are also surnamed Chen. What is your relationship with the county magistrate’s brother-in-law?” Curious people came to Xichun to inquire.
"Our two families used to be relatives, but we haven't been in contact for a long time, and we have nothing to do with them." Xi Chun clarified the relationship in front of everyone. The Chen family is really becoming more and more outrageous. Fortunately, they have severed ties, otherwise, with their behavior, they might have been in big trouble one day.
"Oh, I was wondering why we hadn't seen any of their family members come to eat here." Hearing this, everyone understood and, considering the Chen family's behavior, they had some idea of what was going on.
"Give me a fried chicken, and I only want meat for the cold pot skewers. Bring me twenty skewers first, and hurry up." Just then, a man, followed by a lackey, walked up to Xi Chun's stall and said to Xi Chun in a nasty tone.
When Xi Chun looked up, she saw Chen Lixiao. His expression was extremely arrogant, a look she had never seen before. The lackey following behind him was Chen Liren, the son of Chen Lixiao's uncle. When Chen Liren saw Xi Chun, he remembered her ruthlessness from back then.
"Ninety coins in total." Xi Chun saw that there were two people and did not refuse, but the smile on her face obviously faded.
"You want money? Ask any shop on the street, who dares to say they're taking money? Don't you know who I am?" Chen Lixiao didn't expect to run into a wall on the second day. Seeing the looks in the eyes of the people around him, he immediately felt that Chen Xichun was not giving him any face.
"How could I not recognize you? You're Chen Lixiao from Taoyuan Village." Xichun wasn't intimidated by him; she just wanted to see what kind of wicked scheme he was up to.
"Don't you know I'm the county magistrate's brother-in-law? With a stall like yours, one word from me is worth a hundred words from you. Hurry up, or we brothers will tear your stall down." Chen Lixiao had learned the trick of using someone else's power from his brother.
"Oh, so you're the county magistrate's brother-in-law. May I ask when you got married? None of us in the village have heard of this." Xi Chun asked, seeing his reaction. The surrounding diners thought Xi Chun was really bold, but little did they know that she was doing this on purpose, wanting people to see that the Chen family was bullying them in business because of the county magistrate's power.
That way, if something goes wrong in the future, it will be easier to distance myself from the situation and avoid implicating her.
"Hmph, you just wait, I'll have my brother teach you a lesson." Chen Lixiao noticed that everyone around him was snickering and he wasn't getting the respect he deserved. He wanted to sabotage things, but unfortunately, everyone was staring at him with deadpan eyes. He was afraid that if a fight broke out, the two of them wouldn't be able to beat so many of them.
"Second brother, let's go find eldest brother." Chen Liren was a little scared when he saw Xichun's expressionless face.
The two slunk away, much to the delight of the remaining diners. In the entire street, only Miss Chen dared to provoke them; for the past few days, everyone had been afraid to cross their brow.
“Miss Chen, you must be careful. I think they’re going to get reinforcements. You should be more tolerant when necessary. Things will naturally get easier when the magistrate’s term is over.” Some diners who were more familiar with Xichun advised her.
"As you all saw today, they're the ones who bullied me. I severed ties with their family back then because my mother and I suffered endless bullying from them since I was little. When my father was seriously ill, their father, as his own brother, didn't even bother to visit me, let alone help me. Now they've cut off all contact, yet they still come to bully a woman like me. I simply can't swallow this insult," Xichun said, feigning sadness and grief.
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