Chen Family Old Courtyard.
Liu Fengjiao was so frustrated by the domineering Old Madam Chen that her head was about to explode.
In the past, when she returned to the countryside, she would use the excuse of taking care of Chen Zhancai's studies, so she didn't have to serve her parents-in-law, cook, or feed the chickens and ducks.
These tasks were naturally done by Lin and Sun in turns.
Who knew that this year, Old Mrs. Chen would go mad, separating the family of her most capable eldest son and even writing a letter severing ties with them.
Now she's being asked to do housework all day, along with that boorish woman, Mrs. Sun. It's infuriating!
She used to accompany Chen Zhancai to study in the town. Although the conditions were not good, they still hired a housekeeper to take care of the housework. She was pampered and never lifted a finger.
Now her delicate hands have become rough, and her face is tanned. She no longer resembles the future wife of a scholar.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) rubbing her temples, sulking.
Chen Ruolan was idly playing with a thimble in a basket on the kang (a heated brick bed), when suddenly the thimble wheel was thrown to the ground.
She immediately looked down and said unhappily, "Mom, when are we going back to town? We eat coarse rice every day, it's so tough it's hurting my throat. I don't want to eat that stuff again."
Liu Fengjiao was already in a bad mood, and hearing her daughter's complaints, she said irritably,
"What's the rush? Just bear with it. Once your father's academy starts, we'll move back to town."
"Endure, endure, endure, when will this end? If the academy never holds classes, are we going to have to live here forever?"
"Back in town, we had meat every meal, but now, after eating brown rice for over ten days, I'm getting acid reflux. I've had enough of this miserable life."
Liu Fengjiao sighed softly, "You child, you haven't been eating as well as you've been these days, but we haven't been shortchanging you. Your grandma always gives you special meals, and she gives you all the eggs in the house. Why are you still not satisfied?"
Although she comforted Chen Ruolan with these words, she was already extremely annoyed with herself.
The ground was covered in chicken droppings, flies were swarming everywhere, and there was a stench in the air; it was nauseating.
Anyone with a little money would want to live here.
But right now I don't have a single penny to my name. Renting a room in town and eating out will cost money.
It's all that brat's fault. If she hadn't refused the marriage proposal, the four of them might already be in town by now.
At that moment, she had a thought of strangling Chen Qingqing, completely unaware that her family were the truly greedy ones.
Chen Ruolan curled her lip, her face full of disdain, "Mom, you still think those broken eggs are something good? They make my burps smell like chicken poop. Now I feel nauseous just looking at eggs. They're disgusting. I want to eat refined rice, white flour buns, and stir-fries and stews from restaurants."
Chen Zhancai frowned, slammed the book in his hand onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and shouted angrily.
“Shut up! You’re getting more and more ridiculous. You even look down on eggs. What kind of world is this? In the whole Nanshan Village, only our family can afford to eat eggs. Everyone else is reluctant to eat them and saves them to sell for money. And you say that eggs don’t taste good? You’re really ungrateful for your good fortune.”
Chen Ruolan's eyes were red and swollen with grievance, and her voice was trembling with tears.
“When Dad was on leave from farming, didn’t we live in the town?”
Why did I have to come back to this godforsaken place this year? There's nothing here in this run-down village. I just want to go back to town.
When Chen Zhancai saw his daughter crying, his heart clenched instantly. "Alright, Ruolan, don't cry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have said such harsh words."
But you know, this year has been bad; we have no surplus grain to sell, and your grandparents can't come up with that much money. If we don't stay here, do you really want to wander the streets as a beggar with your father?"
“Daughter doesn’t want to.” Chen Ruolan shook her head vigorously. “Father, doesn’t my grandmother have fifty taels of silver? She’ll give it to you sooner or later. Go ask for it. Once we have the money, we can go to town.”
Liu Fengjiao nodded in agreement, "Zhancai, I think Ruolan is right. Actually, I've had enough of this kind of life. You guys are lucky, you can eat and drink whatever you want. But I have to take turns with my second sister-in-law to do housework and take care of such a big family. Look how rough my hands are."
Seeing the pitiful look in his wife and daughter's eyes, Chen Zhancai felt extremely irritated. He spoke in a conciliatory tone...
“I know the food and lodging are good in town, but the problem is we don’t have any money. Just bear with it a little longer. In a few days, your uncle’s family will be unable to make a living outside and will naturally come back to beg your grandmother to take them in. When that time comes, as long as we send that brat to Butcher Li’s house, we can go back to town and eat and drink well, okay?”
A glint flashed in Liu Fengjiao's eyes. "Zhancai, to avoid any unforeseen complications, I think we should leave as soon as possible, the sooner the better."
"What do you mean by that?" Chen Zhanshan asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Are you stupid? Your mother has fifty taels of silver right now. That money came from selling Qingya. But your mother is a senile old fool. She has separated from the family and cut off all ties with the eldest son’s family. I think this marriage will fall through sooner or later. When that happens, your mother will have to send the silver back to Butcher Li. So you have to get the money out of here as soon as possible.”
Chen Zhancai shook his head and smiled indifferently, "Fengjiao, you're overthinking it. Our mother is a shrewd person among shrewd people. She wouldn't be absolutely certain that she could kick the eldest son's family out."
These days, with only half a bag of rice bran, how many days do you think the eldest son can last?
So don't worry, that fifty taels of silver will be ours sooner or later.
Liu Fengjiao initially thought the same way, but ever since her eldest son's family moved out, she has never felt at ease.
If Chen Zhanshan stubbornly refuses to marry Qingyatou to Li the butcher, then all our efforts will be in vain!
She stomped her foot in anger, "You bookworm, have you gone stupid from reading too much? You can't even use your brain! Use your brain and think about it!"
As the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry. What if the eldest son's family would rather starve than admit their mistake and bow down to their mother?
Or what if the eldest brother, leaning on a wooden stick, leads his family to flee famine?
Have you thought about these things? If things go wrong, not only will you lose your money, but you won't even be able to get into school.
Chen Zhancai slapped his thigh, looking belatedly enlightened, "You're right, how come I didn't think of that!"
“You are oblivious to everything around you and only study the classics. You would never think of these things. Only a virtuous wife and loving mother like me would think of such things so thoroughly.”
Chen Zhancai felt that he really couldn't delay any longer. If he returned the fifty taels of silver, there would be no hope of getting it back, but he was in a dilemma.
"What you said is all correct, but how can I ask our mother for this?"
...
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