Chen Zhancai acted as if he were truly moved, and even forced out a few tears when he got emotional.
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Chen was deeply moved, her eyes filled with tears, and she stepped forward to grasp his hand.
"My son, my good son, I believe in you. You've really suffered all these years."
"Mother, no matter how much suffering or hardship I endure, I will still shine brightly. You and Father, rest assured, I guarantee I will pass the imperial examination next year."
"Good, good, good, you're truly a good son to your mother."
Grandma Chen raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of Chen Zhancai's eyes.
"Third son, others may not believe in you, but your mother does. Study hard in town and don't worry about things at home. As long as your mother is here, I will sell everything I own to support your education."
"Thank you, Mother. When I pass the imperial examinations, I will definitely take good care of you and make sure you enjoy endless wealth and honor."
Chen Zhancai's acting was so brilliant that even he felt disgusted. Oh well, it's not shameful to act spoiled in front of his parents just to have money to spend.
Seeing this, Chen Zhanliang felt nauseous and rolled his eyes in disgust.
"Third brother, you've been saying these things for over twenty years, each time with unwavering conviction, but all you've gotten in return is failure. Stop making empty promises; only your mother believes them. I'm sick of hearing them."
Sun chimed in, "Yes, Zhancai, our family used to be considered a wealthy household in Nanshan Village. We had surplus grain every year, an oxcart, and the best food."
"Throughout these years of supporting your education, look at the state our family has become! Don't you feel even a little bit guilty?"
Chen Zhancai remained silent.
Sun was telling the truth. His family used to be quite well-off, living in a brick and tile house. But ever since he married Liu, his expenses in town have increased, and his family property has been sold off one after another until they moved into their current thatched house.
Although he made empty promises every year, his parents liked to hear these things, so he naturally only said the nice things.
Besides, I've been working hard, but I just haven't had the luck to pass the exam, so I can't blame him for that!
"Alright, shut up, both of you." Old Man Chen shouted sternly, glanced at Chen Zhanliang and his wife, and sighed softly.
"Second son's wife, I know you've suffered all these years, it's all my fault. But don't worry, the third son said he'll definitely pass next year. If he still doesn't pass next year, I've decided to stop him from studying and let him come back to farm with you."
"Dad, why don't you trust your son?" Chen Zhancai almost jumped up on the spot. He said he would definitely pass, but he didn't say he wouldn't study if he failed. He didn't want to be a peasant.
"You old fool, what nonsense are you talking about? Why can't our third son pass the exam?" Old Mrs. Chen glared at Old Mr. Chen. "I believe our son will definitely pass the imperial examination next year."
Old Chen was henpecked, and when Old Mrs. Chen scolded him, he immediately shut up.
Chen Zhanliang frowned. "Whether we pass the exam or not, we'll talk about it next year. Right now, our family is in a real bind. The third son has spent all the money. If we don't scrape together fifty taels of silver, what will we do with Butcher Li?"
Sun also looked at him with disdain, "That's right, what good is talking about it? We've got a knife to our throats, let's think about how to solve the problem at hand!"
"Stop talking nonsense, you two. It's like Zhancai isn't worried at all. You're part of the family too. Don't just sit around doing nothing. Hurry up and think of a solution," Old Mrs. Chen said sternly.
Sun sneered, "Mother, are you out of your mind? I told you to keep some money, but you didn't listen and gave it all to the third son. Now you want to think of us? What do you expect Zhanliang and me to do?"
"That's right, you're the one who holds all the money in the house, and now you're asking us to come up with a solution? How can you even bring yourself to say that?" Chen Zhanliang said angrily, his words filled with resentment.
Feeling incredibly frustrated, Madam Sun retorted angrily, "It's not that there's no way, it just depends on whether you agree, Mother."
"What's the solution?" Old Mrs. Chen perked up.
Sun raised an eyebrow at Chen Zhancai and said slowly, "The solution is to have Ruolan from the third son's family marry Butcher Li. That way, we won't get into legal trouble, and we won't have to return the money."
"What?! Marry a pig butcher?" Old Mrs. Chen's face immediately turned extremely ugly. "What kind of terrible idea is this? My Ruolan is delicate, how can she marry a beast? This is just pushing her into a fire pit!"
Madam Sun also lost her temper and wouldn't tolerate her. She put her hands on her hips and said, "You really have no kind heart. You've been the good guy all along. How could you be so heartless as to marry Qing'er off to him, but not Ruolan? They're all the same. How can you treat them differently?"
I can see that you only care about Lao San's family. They are your precious darlings, the apple of your eye. We are just unwanted, unloved, and disliked weeds. We work ourselves to the bone, but it's not as good as a few kind words from others.
"Let me make this clear again: if the Chen family really gets into trouble, I won't take the blame for you. I'm going back to my parents' house tomorrow. Even if you fight like madmen, it has nothing to do with me."
"Oh, wife, let's talk this out, don't be angry!" Chen Zhanliang was anxious and grabbed Sun Shi. "You can't leave, what will I do if you leave?"
"Look at you, you look terrible. I was just saying it casually to scare them," Sun said in a low voice.
Old Mrs. Chen was so angry that she was panting and unable to speak.
Chen Zhancai gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred. "Second sister-in-law, how dare you talk to our mother like that? What she said was right. Ruolan is still young. She looks quite tall, but she still has the temper of a child and doesn't understand anything. How can she get married? Aren't you just insulting her?"
Besides, we're all family, we're in the same boat. If we get involved in a lawsuit, even if you run to the ends of the earth, the authorities will still bring you to justice.
"You, you, you, you're talking nonsense! I haven't broken the law, why are you arresting me?" Sun panicked. She was afraid of getting into trouble with the authorities. If she really went to that place, she would be skinned alive, if not killed.
Old Chen's head was throbbing from the noise, and he couldn't help but shout, "All of you, shut up! Instead of wasting your time, think about what to do!"
"What can we do? There's nothing we can do anyway," Chen Zhanliang scoffed.
Chen Zhancai smiled dismissively, "Look how worried you are. It's just fifty taels of silver, is it really that difficult?"
"Third brother, what do you mean by that?" Old Chen couldn't help but ask. "Have you come up with a solution? Tell me quickly."
“Father, don’t worry. Things are already like this. Even if you and Mother are anxious to death, we still won’t be able to get any money!” Chen Zhancai said seriously. “In my opinion, there is only one way to get out of our current predicament, and that is to sell the land.”
Old Chen was taken aback, then quickly waved his hand, "No, no, we only have a little over ten mu of land. If we sell it, what will our whole family eat? That would be a disaster!"
"Father, what are you saying? I didn't mean for you to sell all the land. Just pick a few acres of good land and sell them for fifty taels of silver. The rest of the land will be enough for us to eat!"
"Nonsense! This land has been passed down from our ancestors generation after generation. How can we sell it for money? That would be a waste of a family's wealth!" Old Chen frowned and pounded his head.
......
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