Upon hearing his wife's words, Chen Zhanliang slapped his forehead in regret. "Wife, you're right. The third brother and his wife told me to leave first. There must be something fishy going on. The third brother is a real scoundrel. I should have waited to see if he really invited the teacher to dinner."
Old Mrs. Chen curled her lip in displeasure, "Shut up! If you don't know, don't talk nonsense. Before the third son left, he said he wanted to ask the tutor to help him with the exam questions. It's just a meal, what's the big deal?"
Old Chen nodded, "Don't slander the third brother. He's not the kind of person who eats and drinks recklessly. I believe him."
Hearing them say that, Sun was so angry that she gritted her teeth. The favoritism shown by the old lady and her husband was like a thorn stuck in her heart.
Just as he was about to explode, he heard voices coming from outside the courtyard, "Father, Mother, I'm back."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Chen Zhancai walked in without batting an eye.
"My son, you're finally back!" Old Mrs. Chen greeted him with a beaming smile, taking Chen Zhancai's arm. "You must be exhausted. Come on, sit down and rest for a while. I'll get you some water to quench your thirst."
Seeing that Old Mrs. Chen's expression changed immediately, and she started serving tea and water, Chen Zhanliang became angry and frowned with displeasure.
"Mom, you can't be so biased. I'm your son too. Why do you treat me like a different person as soon as the third son comes back? You're so attentive, serving him tea and water. The treatment is so different. Anyone who didn't know better would think the third son is a guest in our family!"
Old Mrs. Chen glared at him fiercely, "Why are you so fussy? If you want a drink of water, go get it yourself. Don't you know that the third son has been weak since he was a child? It's more than ten miles from town to home. How can he walk such a long distance?"
Chen Zhanliang was panting heavily with anger. "Mother, are your eyes alright? Is the third son still weak? Can't you see he's the strongest in our family?"
Sun chimed in, dissatisfied, "That's right, he's big and strong, he doesn't look weak at all."
"Alright, enough talk," Old Man Chen said sternly, then looked at Chen Zhancai with a smile, "Son, you must be exhausted from the journey."
"Dad, I'm not tired." Chen Zhancai pretended to wipe away his sweat, feeling a little guilty. You see, he didn't walk back. He hired a horse-drawn carriage in town, sat down at the village entrance, and got off to walk home because he was worried about being seen by his family.
Old Chen was anxious and quickly asked, "Third son, you should know about our family's situation. Did you bring the money back?"
"Yes, third brother, hurry up and take out the money. Let me see how much we're short. Once we've gathered it, we'll send it to Butcher Li tomorrow." Old Mrs. Chen looked at Chen Zhancai with hopeful eyes, waiting for him to take out the money.
"I...I...I..." Chen Zhancai stammered for a long time, but couldn't come up with a coherent "I".
Chen Zhanliang sneered from the side, "Third brother, now that things are really bad, stop with the 'I-I-I' and just tell the truth!"
Old Mrs. Chen noticed that something was wrong with Chen Zhancai, and beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. "Third son, what's going on? Where's the money? How much did you bring back? Tell me quickly!"
"Mom, I... I have no money."
"What? No money?" Old Mrs. Chen panicked. "Third son, don't lie to your mother. That's fifty taels of silver. How could it be gone in just a few days?"
Old Chen also found it unbelievable, "Yes, our family needs money urgently right now, don't scare us!"
Chen Zhancai frowned, his tone somewhat displeased, "Are you guys ever going to stop? Why would I lie to you? It's just fifty taels of silver. Things in town are different from home; you have to spend money everywhere."
After deducting the cost of the academy and rent, plus miscellaneous living expenses, they weren't exactly broke. Fengjiao, for example, still had over ten taels of silver.
But that money represents several months' worth of living expenses. If I bring it back, what will we eat and drink in town?
Chen Zhanliang, his face grim, loudly rebuked, "Third brother, you are so insensible! The family scrimps and saves to support your education, but you keep spending more and more each year. This year you've gone even further, spending more than half of your money in less than ten days! You're trying to kill your parents!"
Sun was already furious. Her face darkened. "That's right. We're eating coarse food at home, while you're taking our money and eating and drinking at restaurants. If you had any conscience, you wouldn't do such a despicable thing."
Old Mrs. Chen's mind went blank for a moment and she almost collapsed. She steadied herself and said, "Zhancai, your monthly tuition is only two taels of silver. Even if you eat fine rice every day, two hundred coins a day for ten days would be enough. Add to that the two taels of silver for rent a year, and you'd have more than five taels of silver. What did you do with the remaining thirty-odd taels of silver? How come you only have a little over ten taels left?"
Old Chen stood there stunned as if struck by lightning, his heart sinking. Why were his third son's family's expenses increasing year by year? In just a few days, fifty taels of silver had been squandered.
He flew into a rage, "Zhancai, tell me the truth, what exactly did you do with the money?"
Chen Zhancai lowered his head, feeling guilty. He knew that if he didn't explain himself clearly today, his parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law would not let him off easily.
He suddenly raised his head, feigning a carefree and fearless expression, "Father, Mother, to tell you the truth, I asked the old tutor to predict the exam questions for me with those thirty taels of silver. He's 80% sure he'll get it right this time, and I'm absolutely confident I'll pass on my first try!"
If you insist on forcing me to give you money, then I'll go find the teacher right now and get the silver back.
But all my preparations over the past six months have been completely wasted, so don't expect me to bring glory to the Chen family.
Old Mrs. Chen's arrogance vanished instantly.
The third brother probably wasn't lying. After all, bribing the tutor would cost a lot of money. If he passed the imperial examination next year, the Chen family's ancestral graves would be filled with good fortune. Compared to that, his future was more important.
Old Chen suppressed his anger, hanging his head and remaining silent.
Seeing his parents remain silent, Chen Zhanliang immediately lost his temper. "Father, Mother, say something! Hurry up and let Zhancai bring the money back. Let's get past Butcher Li first!"
Sun was so anxious that her eyes turned red. "That's right, let's look at the present first. If the third son doesn't want the money, then we can marry his daughter Ruolan to Butcher Li."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhancai was so angry that his teeth were grinding together.
Chen Zhancai didn't take his two older brothers and sisters-in-law seriously at all. Seeing them constantly telling him not to study and even wanting to marry his daughter to Butcher Li, he was instantly enraged and stood up abruptly.
"Have you said enough? According to you, I'm not using the family's money to study, but to eat, drink, have fun, and live a carefree life."
Let me tell you, I, Chen Zhancai, have always been upright and honest. In town, I live frugally, trying to stretch every penny to the limit, all to save as much as possible.
But some money had to be spent. The old tutor who helped me with the exams knew our family wasn't well-off, so he gave me special treatment and only charged me half the fee.
But it still cost thirty taels of silver. Seeing that hard-earned money go to someone else hurt my heart and liver. I really couldn't bear it.
I know that money was earned through my parents' blood and sweat; it represented the hopes my whole family had for me.
At that time, I secretly vowed to myself that I would study diligently, pass the imperial examination at the lowest level, and bring honor to my ancestors.
Chen Zhancai acted as if he were truly moved, and even forced out a few tears when he got emotional.
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