Liu Fengjiao's lips curled into a mischievous smile.
“Your parents love you the most and believe everything you say. As long as you say the academy will start classes soon, they will definitely give you the money. As soon as we get the money, we will leave this town immediately.”
Chen Zhancai nodded in approval, "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I'll go talk to Mother in a couple of days and tell her that you and the children will have to endure this for a few more days."
Liu Fengjiao pursed her lips, her eyes filled with anxiety. "It'll be two more days. If the engagement falls through then, it'll be too late. Go tell them now."
"Isn't this a bit too hasty?" Chen Zhancai hesitated.
Chen Ruolan, who had been silent for a while, had a slightly cold expression. Her mother's words had reminded her.
If Chen Qingqing doesn't get married, what if her family gets desperate and tries to take advantage of her again?
She knew her parents' personalities; they would never separate from Old Man Chen and his wife because of her.
These two are like parasites; they won't stop until they've completely exploited the Chen family.
Seeing Chen Zhancai dawdling, Chen Ruolan couldn't help but complain, "Dad, just listen to my mother and hurry up and ask my grandma for money. Tomorrow we'll go to town to enjoy ourselves."
Suddenly, a knocking and banging sound came from the kitchen.
Liu Fengjiao rolled her eyes. "Zhancai, listen to this. The second wife throws dishes and bowls as soon as she does a little work, as if she's been wronged. If you ask me, we should move out as soon as possible. We're not going to put up with this nonsense with them!"
“They’re all too stingy. They’re destined to be farmers all their lives. Don’t worry, wife. I’ll go talk to Mother right now. As long as we get the money, we’ll go to town tomorrow morning.”
After Chen Zhancai finished speaking, he turned and left the house, went to the courtyard, and said to Old Mrs. Chen, who was enjoying the cool air,
"Mother, there's something I want to tell you."
"What is it? Tell me."
"Mother, the academy is about to start classes, and I plan to leave first thing tomorrow morning."
Old Mrs. Chen was taken aback, then lowered her head and thought for a moment. "Third son, isn't the summer vacation still half a month away? Why are you in such a hurry? Going to town will cost you more money. Why don't you leave in a few days?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Fengjiao, who was following closely behind, became anxious. She thought to herself, "This old man's memory is really good. No, if he stays in this house for another half a month, he'll drive me crazy."
Thinking of this, he quickly smiled and began to lie.
“Mother, how can you say we’re not in a hurry? Zhancai has made ample preparations this year. He made arrangements with the teachers at the academy before he came back. The teachers specifically instructed us to give him extra lessons in advance. If we don’t go, wouldn’t we be going against the teachers’ good intentions?”
Besides, our house is in constant chaos, with chickens howling and dogs barking. In such an environment, Zhanshan can't concentrate on his studies. Going home earlier would allow him to focus on his studies.
Old Mrs. Chen nodded repeatedly, “Third son’s wife, you’re right. I only knew to give the third son eggs to help his brain, how come I didn’t think of these things? The teacher at the academy is going to give Zhanshan special tutoring, so you should hurry over and take the half bag of millet from home to him as a token of our gratitude.”
Chen Zhancai looked puzzled. "Mother, didn't you say yesterday when we divided the family property that we had no food left? How come we still have half a bag of millet?"
Grandma Chen gestured for silence, looked around, and whispered, "This millet is something I secretly saved for you. Your older brothers don't know. I thought I'd give it to you whenever you left, but I didn't expect the teacher to give you special treatment. We should thank him!"
"I knew my mother loved me the most. When I pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, I will definitely take good care of my parents."
Grandma Chen's eyes filled with tears of gratitude. "Good, good, my son is so thoughtful."
"Mother, we won't give the millet to the teacher. We'll give him a few strings of cash after the imperial examination next year when I pass and become a scholar."
“My son is so thoughtful. In these times, nothing is more useful than money.”
Chen Zhancai chuckled inwardly. He wasn't reluctant to part with the millet, but rather felt ashamed. Who would send grain to the teacher? If he took it to the academy, his classmates would laugh their heads off.
No sooner had the two finished speaking than Old Man Chen and Chen Zhanliang returned from outside the courtyard carrying firewood.
Old Mrs. Chen hurriedly called out, "Old man, come here quickly."
Old Chen put down the firewood, pulled up a stool and sat down. "Old woman, what's the matter?"
"The third brother is going to study in town soon. Take that half bag of brown rice, the two catties of white flour, millet, and five eggs from the wooden cabinet in our house, and give them all to the third brother and the others."
Old Chen looked displeased. "Are you trying to empty the house? If you take everything, what will we eat at home?"
Grandma Chen raised her eyebrows and glared at him, "What do you want to eat? Zhancai needs to study to improve his brain. Don't we still have rice bran at home? We can mix it with coarse rice and it will last for a few months. Besides, you and Zhanliang have gathered a lot of firewood. We can sell it in the winter and exchange it for grain."
Old Chen sighed silently to himself. In the past, with his eldest brother around, he didn't have to do any of the heavy work of chopping firewood. He only had to tie up the chopped firewood and carry a small bundle down the mountain.
Now, things are really messed up. The second son doesn't do anything, and he's the one who chopped these two small bundles of firewood, which almost made his old back bend.
If the eldest son's family really doesn't come back in the future, let alone collect firewood to sell for money, they probably won't even have enough firewood to burn at home.
He looked helpless. "Old woman, stop being so biased. Now that you've driven Zhan Shan's family out, if they don't move back and keep selling firewood for money, you'll be starving!"
"What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean he won't come back? The little bit of rice I gave him won't last more than five days. If he doesn't come back to beg me in five days, I'll drown myself in my own urine."
Chen Zhanliang was somewhat displeased. "Mother, you are really biased. You are saving this millet to nourish the third son's brain but not sharing it with my eldest brother's family. I think you are deliberately trying to starve them to death."
"You're such a good brother to your eldest brother, standing up for him. If he had listened and married Qing'er off, would I have kicked him out? I'm doing this for the good of our family." Old Mrs. Chen retorted stubbornly, "So what if I'm biased? When your third brother achieves success in the future, won't you all benefit from his success?"
“That’s right, Second Brother, you’re being too petty. You’re fussing over such a small thing. You’re really short-sighted,” Chen Zhancai said with an arrogant air. “Just you wait. When I’m capable, I’ll pay you back double for this.”
Upon hearing this, Sun, who was cooking in the kitchen, angrily threw the firewood into the stove and strode out into the yard.
"Third brother, how dare you talk to your second brother like that? What do you mean by being petty? How are we being stingy? All the good food and drinks in the house over the years have ended up in your family's stomachs."
We're eating meager rations, and you not only don't appreciate it, but you even think we should be entitled to it. Don't you have any conscience at all?
Chen Zhancai's face froze, and a look of panic flashed in his eyes. "Second sister-in-law, I was just saying it casually, why are you getting angry?"
......
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
