As Wu Baoan registered the information, he loudly announced the news.
"Chen Erhu's gift: three eggs."
"Liang Fugui's congratulatory gift: five coins."
"Li Dahu's congratulatory gift: two catties of unpolished rice."
......
Chen Zhancai's brows furrowed more and more, and his smile disappeared. He had thought that the villagers who came to give gifts would give a lot of money in order to curry favor with him, so that he wouldn't have to worry about making a living and paying tuition for the provincial examination in the second half of the year.
The villagers brought gifts—two eggs here, two jin of flour there—and quite a few people gave money, but none of them gave large portions.
What's even more infuriating is that some people even brought a basket of yams as a gift.
He couldn't help but complain to Old Mrs. Chen in a low voice, "Mother, today is my big day, but they gave such a meager gift. It's obvious they don't respect me!"
“Son, you’re mistaken.” Old Mrs. Chen smiled dismissively. “You know, most of the villagers didn’t have much of a relationship with our family before. The fact that they came to give gifts shows that they’re eager to curry favor with us.”
"You're really quite content. Look at what those people give as gifts—either two eggs or two pounds of brown rice. Who does business like that?"
“Oh, my son, you should be grateful. That young woman’s family is so poor that the four of them share a single pair of pants and they can’t even have a full meal all year round. She still gave us two eggs. Just think how much face that is for our family.”
"I bet those two eggs are almost rotten by now," Chen Zhancai snorted in dissatisfaction. "I thought I could collect more gifts, but judging from the current situation, it would be good if I could just break even."
Old Mrs. Chen didn't think so. Privately, she and Old Mr. Chen had already done a detailed calculation. Although most families in the village were struggling, there were quite a few wealthy people. As long as they all came to give gifts, they could recoup their investment.
She smiled and waved her hand, "Don't worry, son, Mom guarantees you'll only make a profit, not a loss."
Recalling the joyous occasion of the eldest son's housewarming before the Lunar New Year, Chen Zhancai was deeply affected.
Why is it that when the eldest son moves, everyone in the village is overjoyed to give gifts, but when it comes to him, those peasants not only give a few broken eggs, but even the smiles on their faces seem so sarcastic, and they huddle together in twos and threes, muttering something to each other.
Chen Zhancai's blood boiled, his face darkening. "This isn't a gift; it's clearly an attempt to fob me off like a beggar. They don't respect me at all, otherwise they wouldn't have acted this way."
Before the Lunar New Year, the eldest son's family moved into a new house. They couldn't possibly just bring two eggs from one family and two pounds of rice from another; I heard the whole village went, and it was quite a scene.”
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Chen couldn't help but swallow hard. That brat invited everyone in the village to her new house, but she was the only one left out.
She wasn't invited, and she didn't want to join the fun anyway, but the aroma of meat wafting from Chen Qingqing's yard made her so hungry she couldn't sit still.
As the saying goes, "A fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal." I won't curse the person offering the gift; I'll just shamelessly accept the meal. Why not take advantage of it if it's free?
Having made up his mind, he took two eggs and went with Old Man Chen to freeload a meal.
As soon as she entered the gate, the scene before her almost made her green with envy. In all her years, she had never seen such a magnificent house.
She was filled with regret. If she had known that brat was so capable, she would never have separated from her family.
She wanted to make a scene and shamelessly win back the wealthy granddaughter who was so good at making money.
But she dared not. The thought of Chen Qingqing's cold face and the black-and-white document severing ties forced her to swallow the bitter pill.
Although no one paid them any attention, no one chased them away either.
Upon entering the banquet hall, she found the table laden with food, many of which she had never seen before: crispy chicken, braised pork knuckle with garlic sauce, stir-fried cabbage with large slices of pork, braised lion's head meatballs...
In short, there was a full range of chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Seeing all this, she was envious and almost cursed Chen Qingqing away in her heart.
My own grandmother is unfilial, yet she gives all this good food to strangers. She's such a fool.
What's even more infuriating is that not only did they treat her to a good meal, but they also refused to accept any gifts, causing her to smash the two rotten eggs in her pocket and leaving her smelling terrible.
The people sitting at the same table with her stared at her with wide, squinting eyes, as if she were something filthy.
However, she didn't care about those strange looks and told Old Man Chen to eat as much as he wanted.
The two of them ate heartily until their bellies were round and full.
Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he quietly slipped the roast chicken in front of him into his pocket before leading Old Man Chen home, completely satisfied.
But just as she stepped out of the gate, she couldn't hold back a burp, and with a "goo," a large mouthful of meat came out of her throat. Grandma Chen panicked and quickly reached out to catch it.
Looking at the meat that had been spat out, it seemed a waste to throw it away, so I stuffed it back into my mouth...
Thinking back now, Grandma Chen still feels a little unsatisfied, wishing she could have another banquet like that.
She shook her head and smiled, "Son, you really can't find fault with this. Before the New Year, that brat moved house. Although all the villagers went, she didn't accept a single penny of gifts from them. Instead, she let everyone eat as much as they wanted."
Chen Zhancai felt a little better after hearing this. "Are you telling the truth?"
"Why would I lie to you? I went too, intending to give two eggs as a gift, but they didn't accept any. I ended up smelling like rotten eggs all over."
As she spoke, Old Mrs. Chen glanced subconsciously towards the gate, and couldn't help but grin.
"Look who's here!"
Chen Zhancai was taken aback, and quickly looked up to see Chen Zhanshan and his family walking in from outside the gate. He curled his lip in disdain.
"These heartless bastards actually have the nerve to attend my wedding banquet! They're nothing but sycophants!"
"You can't say that! We're counting on this brat to make money this time!"
What do you mean by that?
"Oh my child, think about it carefully. That brat is now like a mouse biting a cat's tail, incredibly cunning. She's made a fortune!"
Our family is not what it used to be. Leaving aside whether she regrets separating from her family and cutting ties...
Logically speaking, you're now a scholar of high status and influence in our village; wouldn't she be eager to curry favor with us? How could she possibly give a small gift?
Chen Zhancai nodded repeatedly. Chen Qingqing's meager income was enough to feed him for a year, and now that he was a scholar, she would definitely be generous in order to get closer to him.
"Mother, how much silver do you think she'll give us?"
Old Mrs. Chen grinned and said, "I think she should give at least five taels of silver, and if she's a little more generous, she might give fifty taels."
......
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