Grandma Chen sighed helplessly. The old man's words made sense; filial piety wasn't something that could be just talked about.
She frowned and looked at Chen Zhancai, "Son, your father's words may be rough, but they make sense. Our family can't even afford rice bran anymore. Your parents have sacrificed so much for you, and now we're counting on you."
"What can I do? Even if I find a teaching job, I can't expect to get paid right away."
"You're right, what should we do?" Old Mrs. Chen slapped her thigh in anxiety.
Chen Zhancai was completely unaware of the difficulties faced by Old Man Chen and his wife. He had already made up his mind that he would go to town to find Liu Fengjiao first thing tomorrow morning. Since his son was working as a tutor for Wang Qizhang's family, Fengjiao would surely have some spare change so that he wouldn't go hungry.
After arriving in town, he would rest for a few days and then become a teacher at the academy, earning two taels of silver a month. With that money, he could rent a courtyard and support Fengjiao and Ruhua.
As for the old couple, he has more than one son, so he doesn't care whether they live or die!
He didn't care; he refused to believe that the first and second wives would just watch them starve to death.
Thinking of the first wife and the second wife, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he had an idea.
“Mother, doesn’t Chen Zhanliang give you and Father two hundred coins a year as a filial gift? Go ask him for it.”
Before Old Mrs. Chen could reply, Old Mr. Chen said irritably, "It's clearly written in the family division document that the two hundred coins will only be given close to the New Year. There are still more than half a year left. How can you expect us to ask for that?"
"Yes, it's clearly stated in the family division document that the second son's family will only give the money on the appointed day, and there are still several months to go!" Old Mrs. Chen said with a troubled expression.
In order to get rid of the old couple's nagging and leave Nanshan Village smoothly, Chen Zhancai shamelessly waved his hand and said, "We won't renege on our promise, we just want the money in advance. If they really don't give it to us, we'll ask for half a year's worth first. If that doesn't work, we can just write an IOU and that will settle it."
Will this work?
“Oh my goodness, we’re in a real crisis now. How will you know if you don’t try? I’ll write you an advance payment note right now. Go and ask Chen Zhanliang for the money.”
"Okay, alright, Mother will listen to you."
Chen Zhanshan's home.
When everyone learned of Chen Zhancai's plight, they all showed expressions of disappointment and frustration, as if he were a hopeless case.
"This guy is hopeless, he still has the nerve to come back, why don't we just have him beaten to death!" Chen Zhanliang couldn't help but curse.
Chen Qingqing also found it extremely ridiculous. This Chen Zhancai had an unusually thick skin, actually pretending to be a rich young master to swindle and do such a shameful thing. Fortunately, he did not succeed, otherwise he would have been a menace.
She just shook her head and smiled without saying anything; she didn't want to comment on things that didn't concern her.
Mrs. Sun frowned and said with some displeasure, "Dabao, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're really meddling in other people's business. How could you let that spendthrift son fill this huge hole!"
Da Bao sighed and tried to explain, "Mom, you didn't see it at the time. My third uncle was beaten until he knelt down and begged for mercy. If he had been sent to the government, he would never have come back. So I softened and paid off his debt."
"You, you are so foolish! Your sister Qingqing sent you to discuss business, not to do good deeds!" Madam Sun couldn't understand whether her son was stupid or not. That was sixty taels of silver! There were so many good things to do with it, why was he helping a spendthrift son!
Chen Zhanliang also frowned and sighed, "Yes, Dabao, your mother is right. Your third uncle deserves to suffer. He doesn't deserve any sympathy. You were indeed a bit reckless in what you did."
Before Da Bao could speak, Chen Zhanshan chimed in, "Zhanliang, Xiumei, you two shouldn't blame Da Bao. I thought the same as you at the time, not wanting Da Bao to get involved in this mess. But have you considered that if Lao San really doesn't come back, it's fine to spend some money at the old house, but when those two old folks start causing trouble, we can't handle them? Da Bao is thinking of you!"
Chen Zhanliang nodded repeatedly at these words, "How come I didn't think of these things? Those old couple are not ordinary people. If they really threw a tantrum, I would be really scared. Looking at it this way, Da Bao did the right thing."
“Yes, it’s worth the money for peace of mind, it brings peace of mind.” Madam Sun nodded repeatedly, but she was somewhat unwilling. “That’s sixty taels of silver, we can’t just give it away for nothing.”
Da Bao laughed and said, "Mother, with their current situation, how could they possibly pay it back? But don't worry, in case there's any trouble in the future, I had him write an IOU for sixty taels of silver."
Sun shook her head helplessly and said nothing more.
Chen Feng, who had remained silent, showed no interest in the topic and finally spoke up, "Other people's business is none of our concern. Let's talk about mine!"
"Brother Chen Feng, what's up?" Da Bao asked with a smile.
Sun said first, "Dabao, you don't know yet, your brother Chen Feng will be getting married soon."
"Really, Brother Chen Feng? This is a great occasion for our family!" Da Bao looked at Chen Feng with a smile on his face. "Where is the bride from? When are the wedding preparations?"
"It's not even close to being settled yet!" Chen Feng blushed, somewhat embarrassed. These days, Ruyi Tower's business was booming, so he wanted to get married to Cuihua. The two had already secretly discussed it and were just waiting for their families to propose to Wu Shiren.
Chen Feng has already discussed this matter with his family, and is just waiting for Chen Zhanshan to return and make a decision.
Chen Zhanshan had known about this for a long time and had a good impression of Wu Cuihua. However, Wu Shiren was no kind person. He did things just like his name suggested. To achieve his goals, he was simply inhuman. The thought of becoming in-laws with such a person made Chen Zhanshan feel uncomfortable all over.
Seeing that he was silent with his head down, Chen Feng quickly smiled and said, "Father, I came back this time to ask you and Mother to go to the Wu family to propose marriage."
Chen Zhanshan was a sensible man; he knew that some things couldn't be stopped, so it was better to let nature take its course. With this thought, he felt relieved and nodded with a smile, "Okay, when are we going?"
"Of course, the sooner the better."
Hearing Chen Feng say that, Chen Qingqing couldn't help but tease, "Big brother, how about we go now?"
Chen Feng glared at her reproachfully, "You little brat, are you trying to annoy me?"
"I wouldn't dare. I'm afraid my elder brother will be anxious. The sooner we settle things, the sooner we can bring our bride home."
"I, I, I was just saying it casually, it wasn't as urgent as you think." Chen Feng's face turned even redder, and he began to stammer.
Everyone burst into laughter upon seeing this...
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