Three poles in the sun.
The people blocking the entrance to the Chen family's house scattered in an instant.
Lin secretly rejoiced that she had written a document severing ties when the family was divided, otherwise, even if Qingya didn't want to get married, she would have been forcibly taken away by Butcher Li.
Chen Zhanshan remained completely unmoved by the situation of the elderly couple.
If my parents had a clear conscience, they wouldn't be in such a sorry state. They brought this upon themselves, so they have no one else to blame but themselves.
Seeing that Old Mrs. Chen was ashen-faced with fright, Chen Qingqing couldn't help but smile.
This is the consequence of your wickedness and lack of conscience.
Now that Chen Zhancai has taken all the silver, given the character of the couple, there's no reason for them to spit out what they've already eaten.
No matter how Old Mrs. Chen handles this matter, it will be enough to give her a hard time.
Chen Qingqing didn't want to worry about their family's troubles, so she turned around, picked up her basket, and prepared to go into the mountains to dig for ginseng.
"Sis, where are you going?" Chen Han asked hurriedly.
"I'll go and gather some more herbs; they'll be useful for treating Master Fan's illness in a couple of days."
"Sis, let me go with you!"
"You stay here with Mother, I can go by myself." Chen Qingqing didn't want to take him with her, and playfully pinched Chen Han's nose.
Madam Lin hurriedly said, "Xiao Han, don't cause trouble for your sister. Come with me to dig for wild vegetables later." After saying that, she didn't forget to tell Chen Qingqing, "Qing'er, don't go too far. Come back early."
"Yes, Mother, I know." Chen Qingqing slung her basket over her shoulder and headed towards Wolf Valley...
The Chen family's old house.
Old Mrs. Chen was restless and paced irritably around the room.
She was terrified by the fierce and brutal Li the butcher; she was scared to death.
We need to return the money quickly. If that beast throws another tantrum, tearing down houses and beating people, the Chen family will have no face to show in Nanshan Village...
Old Chen sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with his brows furrowed and his mind in turmoil.
He pressed his hand to his temples, muttering to himself, "What am I going to do? What should I do?"
Old Mrs. Chen glared at him impatiently, "You old fool, are you ever going to stop? Zhanliang went to find Lao San, didn't he? What are you still doing? If you were in charge of this household, you'd be driven crazy with worry."
"Don't talk nonsense. If I were in charge of this family, I would never let anyone block the door and cause trouble. Look at us now, the villagers are talking behind our backs and calling us inhuman."
"You don't know anything. Those peasants are just petty people. Let them curse if they want." Old Mrs. Chen spat. "If you ask me, they're just jealous and envious. Our third son is the only one in Nanshan Village who has passed the preliminary examination. Once he passes the county-level examination and becomes a provincial-level scholar, those peasants will be eager to curry favor with us."
Old Chen pursed his lips and waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, old woman, don't go around spreading these unfounded rumors. To be honest, I now think that the third son is really not cut out for studying."
He's failed the imperial examinations for over twenty years without passing. What does that mean? It means he's really not very bright. I think we should support him for another year, but if he still fails, we should stop wasting our time and let him go home to farm!
Old Mrs. Chen's eyes blazed with anger as she pointed at Old Mr. Chen, "What nonsense are you spouting? I think you're getting more and more senile as you get older. Your son is studying hard away from home, and you treat him like a good-for-nothing. What kind of father are you?"
"Alright, alright, old woman, don't get angry. Forget I said anything, okay?"
......
Chen Zhanliang entered the house under the scorching sun, his forehead covered in sweat. "Dad, Mom, I'm back."
Old Chen glanced behind him and asked, "Zhanliang, where's your third brother?"
"He'll be back soon." Chen Zhanliang wiped his sweat and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Old Mrs. Chen asked anxiously, "Zhanliang, did you bring the silver back?"
"I don't know, you can ask the third brother when he gets back."
Sun followed closely behind and came in. "Zhanliang, you must be exhausted. Are you hungry? I'll get you some dry food to tide you over."
Chen Zhanliang was panting heavily. "How could I not be tired? I was almost exhausted to the point of vomiting blood. My legs are killing me. I'm not hungry, though. Zhancai just gave us two meat buns."
“The third son’s family is doing well!” Sun gave Old Mrs. Chen a dissatisfied look, her tone somewhat unfriendly. “They’re still eating meat buns. They eat better in town than at home.”
Hearing Sun's sour words, Old Mrs. Chen sneered, "The third son needs to study, so it's only right that he eats a few buns to nourish his brain. Second son's wife, you're being a bit nosy!"
Sun immediately exploded, "I'm meddling! The house is in complete chaos, and the third son is acting like nothing's wrong. If he were even slightly sensible, he wouldn't have let Zhanliang come back first!"
"Something must have gotten in the way of the third brother. Zhanliang said he'll be back soon."
Chen Zhanliang shook his head and laughed, "Mother, you still don't know where I found my third son."
"Where could he be? Probably at the academy."
"Wrong, I found him in a very luxurious restaurant in town."
Grandma Chen was taken aback. "What happened? Where did the third son go to work as a shop assistant?"
Chen Zhanliang frowned upon hearing this and said with dissatisfaction, "Mother, you're really something. I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're always so cunning with us. How come you get confused when it comes to the third son?"
Old Chen, who had been listening intently, was getting impatient. "Second son, how dare you talk to your mother like that? Just say what you want to say. What on earth has the third son been up to?"
"What can you do at a restaurant? Eat, of course."
"How much would it cost to eat at that place?" Old Chen stared in surprise.
"How would I know?" Chen Zhanliang thought about it more and more on the way back and found it all very strange. There seemed to be only four chairs in the room, with no extra seats at all. How could there be other people there?
He felt this was no simple matter and that it was necessary to let his parents know.
"Father, Mother, you have no idea how grand that restaurant is. If you don't have money, you wouldn't dare go to a place like that."
When I saw the table full of food and drinks, my eyes almost popped out of my head. I never imagined there was so much delicious food in the world. It was truly an eye-opening experience.
Take that plate of braised pork knuckle, for example. It weighs at least two or three pounds, and it looks so oily and shiny. Just looking at it is enough to make your mouth water, let alone taking a bite.
And that fried fish, over a foot long and weighing four or five pounds, smelled incredibly delicious.
There were also chicks and large meatballs, a whole table full of them.
Sun listened intently, then hurriedly asked, "Zhanliang, there's so much delicious food, have you eaten?"
Chen Zhanliang shook his head. "I wanted to eat some, but the third brother and his wife said that it was prepared by the old scholar to help them with the exam questions, and we couldn't go overboard. They gave us two steamed buns and told me to come back first."
"Oh, you idiot! The third brother is a complete liar. You actually believe what he says? If I'm not mistaken, the third brother's whole family is still here, right?"
"Yes, they're all there."
"That's right, you must have been fooled by the third brother."
......
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