Hearing what Old Mrs. Chen said, Sun was so angry that she gritted her teeth. "Mother, don't threaten us with Da Bao and Er Bao's marriages all the time."
To put it bluntly, the third son has questionable character. Before he even passed the imperial examinations and became a scholar, he started living the life of an official.
Now I understand. He doesn't care about our lives at all; otherwise, why would he come up with such a wasteful and terrible idea?
"If he actually passes the exam one day, he'll be so arrogant he'll be strutting around like a mile a minute. Forget about us benefiting from it, he won't even bother with you."
"Don't spout nonsense! Zhancai is the most filial child. When have you ever seen her talk back to me? Even if he were begging for food, he would give his mother the first bite." Old Mrs. Chen was so angry that she was panting heavily.
Madam Sun snorted coldly, "Mother, being filial isn't just about words; it requires actions, understand?"
“That’s right, we’ll talk about whether the third son is filial or not later.” Chen Zhanliang glared at Chen Zhancai with dissatisfaction. “I just want to know, our family didn’t have a single penny left to support his studies, but he not only had money to ride in a carriage, but also lied to us and said he walked back. Does he think we’re fools?”
Even if he wanted to get back as quickly as possible, it would have been normal for him to hire a carriage. But why wouldn't he let me ride back too? Doesn't he know how tiring it is for me to walk?
Old Mrs. Chen felt a little guilty and turned to look at Chen Zhancai. "Third son, what exactly happened? Explain yourself quickly. Why didn't you let your second brother come back in the car with you? Why did you make the driver wait at the village entrance?"
"Yes, Zhancai, you clearly came back by carriage, so why did you say you walked back?" Old Man Chen wondered as well.
Seeing his parents looking at him suspiciously, Chen Zhancai panicked. His mind raced, and he had to come up with a convincing excuse quickly, or he would be exposed.
"I...I...I..."
Seeing him stammering, Madam Sun chuckled softly, "Third son, hurry up and tell the truth. Do you think that if you take the carriage back, your parents will say that you're wasting money and don't know how to manage money? What's the big deal? It's just a few coins. Your parents don't care at all."
Chen Zhancai wasn't stupid; he wouldn't take the bait. If he were to admit it, it wouldn't just be a matter of a few coins; it would be a matter of his character.
His eyes darted around, an idea struck him, and without batting an eye, he began to tell a lie.
“Father, Mother, I originally planned to walk back, but the teacher knew that our home was not close to the town, and he was worried that I would get heatstroke, so he suggested that I take a car back.”
But I had no money and was too embarrassed to say so. While I was hesitating, the old teacher noticed my predicament and personally hired a carriage for me so that I could hurry back to school after finishing my family business.
I wanted my second brother to come back with me, but I haven't seen him anywhere along the way!
Hearing his words, Chen Zhanliang looked resentful and said, "I came back via a back path, how could you possibly have seen me?"
"I see." Old Mrs. Chen nodded in sudden understanding, completely believing Chen Zhancai's words.
"You silly child, since the teacher hired the carriage for you, it would have been much better to just deliver it to your doorstep. Look at the mess you've made, you almost got into a fight and caused such a big misunderstanding."
"I knew it! The third son wouldn't be willing to spend money on a bus ride." Old Chen smiled.
"Third brother, I have to criticize you for what happened today. You were wrong to do it. Since the teacher meant so well, you should have just come back by carriage openly and honestly."
When the villagers saw the tall, imposing horse, they thought, "How impressive! Not only do you look good, but we all feel proud too, don't you think?"
"Yes, yes, Father is right. I didn't think things through enough and was worried that it would cause a misunderstanding, so I took it upon myself to get off at the village entrance."
Chen Zhancai breathed a sigh of relief, the weight on his heart finally lifted. Luckily, he was quick-witted and managed to cover up the lie.
Chen Zhanliang grimaced as he listened, "Dad, Mom, are you alright? Third Brother is obviously lying. Why don't you use your brains and think about it? How big of a face do you think Third Brother has? Who does he think he is? Would the old master hire a carriage for him? He's just spouting nonsense!"
"Shut up!" Old Mrs. Chen scolded sharply. "Second son, are you ever going to stop? Why are you always targeting the third son? What do you mean he is some big shot? Didn't you hear what the third son just said? The teacher thinks highly of him and values him greatly. He has high hopes for him."
What's wrong with the old man hiring a carriage for him? What's impossible about it? Tell me.
"Fine, fine, Mom, don't glare at me. I won't say anything, okay?" Chen Zhanliang was furious and wanted to curse. Having such biased parents was the worst luck imaginable.
Old Mrs. Chen rolled her eyes at him, then looked at Chen Zhancai and said, "Son, since you're in such a hurry to go back to your studies, then hurry up and leave. Don't keep the driver waiting."
"Third son, you should hurry up and go, don't let it interfere with your studies." Old Chen waved his hand.
"Father, Mother, I'm off then." Chen Zhancai didn't want to waste any more time, so he got into the carriage and urged the driver, "Hurry up and go."
Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Old Mrs. Chen didn't forget to loudly remind him, "Third son, don't suffer. Buy whatever you want to eat."
Mrs. Sun looked annoyed. "Alright, Mother, he just ate a big pork knuckle today. What else do you want him to eat?"
"I'm just being polite!"
"You're so polite with the third brother, but when will you ever be polite to me? Take the eggs out of the cupboard and let me have a taste."
Old Mrs. Chen curled her lip, "Why are you eating eggs? Don't you know you should save them to sell for money!"
Sun snorted coldly, "Sell it for money? That's like a mouse saving food for a cat. You can save it for your youngest son."
“So what if I’m saving it for my third son? It’s all so that he can bring honor to our Chen family and lead us to a better life. I’m doing all this for the good of our family, so don’t be ungrateful.”
"I don't know if it's for our family's good, but I do know that we're barely surviving because of the third son's misdeeds. You can keep saving those few worthless eggs if you want, I don't care. You should be thinking about how to clean up your youngest son's mess!"
After saying that, Sun raised her head to Chen Zhanliang and said, "Let's go, let's not worry about this mess and go back inside."
Seeing her second son and his wife enter the house, Old Mrs. Chen stomped her feet in anger, saying, "These two unfilial children can't be relied on at all."
Old Chen waved his hand, "Old woman, don't be angry. Let's quickly discuss which piece of land is suitable to sell."
"What's there to discuss? What's there to discuss? Just sell those four acres of sandy land west of the village."
"Yes, that's what I meant too. In bad years, the sandy land yields very few grains."
"Yes, that's right. It's so tiring to farm every year. Selling it will save us a lot of trouble." Old Mrs. Chen sighed. "Old man, let's go talk to Wu Baoan tomorrow and see who wants to buy the land. It would be best to get the money back tomorrow, otherwise I won't feel at ease."
Old Chen nodded with lingering fear, "You're right. We'll go find Matchmaker Zhao tomorrow and return the money. We can't let that beast come to our house and cause trouble again, or I'll lose my life."
After discussing it, Mr. and Mrs. Chen finally smiled...
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