Seeing this, Chen Zhanliang couldn't help but say, "Mother, my father is right. Not everyone can dig up ginseng. In my opinion, we shouldn't bother. We should rest at home instead."
"No way! That brat managed to dig it up, why can't you? You must have just looked in the wrong place." Old Mrs. Chen was so envious and jealous that she wouldn't listen to any advice and was determined to dig up the ginseng.
Old Chen glared at her fiercely, "If you're so capable, go up the mountain and dig it yourself. Don't stay at home ordering around your stupid son. I can't do it."
"You old fool, have I been too kind to you?" Old Mrs. Chen instantly bristled, pointing her finger at Old Mr. Chen's nose. "I'll say it again, are you going or not?"
Old Chen stubbornly refused, saying, "I won't go. You can talk all you want, but I won't go."
"Mother, it's so hot. I'm drenched in sweat with every little movement. Father and I have searched everywhere we could, but there really isn't any ginseng on the mountain." Chen Zhanliang wiped his sweat and complained, "I know you're anxious, but you can't treat me like an ox. I climbed the mountain half the night yesterday, and you made me go into the mountain again early this morning. Are you even my real mother? If this keeps up, I'll be exhausted to death."
Sun hurriedly wiped his sweat and said, "Mother, my father is right. If ginseng were so easy to dig, there would be no poor people in our Nanshan Village."
Old Mrs. Chen understood this perfectly well, but the family's remaining food was running low, and they didn't have a single penny in their pockets. If things continued like this, the family would go hungry before the autumn harvest.
In the past, the eldest son would occasionally go to town to do some manual labor. Although he didn't earn much, he would give the money he earned to her to manage. Although he never had a lot of money in his pocket, he always had some small change. Occasionally, when the family ran out of food, it would be enough to tide him over.
Now look what's happened, my pockets are completely empty, not a single penny left. If I had known this would happen, I should have set aside a few hundred coins for my third son when he went to study in town, just in case.
"If we're not going up the mountain, then we're not going up the mountain." Old Mrs. Chen sighed helplessly and said in a conciliatory tone, "Zhanliang, why don't you go to the dock in town and find some work to do, earn a few copper coins to buy some grain, otherwise our family will soon be starving."
Chen Zhanliang was stunned. After paying the taxes last year, there was enough grain left to last until this year's autumn harvest. It was distributed to the eldest son's family, but they didn't get a single grain of real food. They were just given half a bag of rice bran to appease them. He didn't believe that there was no grain in the house.
"Mother, we should have plenty of food. How could we not have enough to eat?"
“That’s right! After paying the taxes last year, we had enough grain left to last until the autumn harvest. There are still two months until the harvest, so how could we be short of grain?” Madam Sun raised her voice excitedly.
Old Mrs. Chen twitched the corners of her mouth, glanced at Old Mr. Chen, and said, "Old man, you tell me."
"What kind of mess have you made? I told you a long time ago not to covet the grain, but you wouldn't listen. Now that there's no grain, you're panicking. Where were you before? You've made a mess of this yourself, I don't care."
"Mother, what happened? Where is our grain?" Chen Zhanliang pressed.
Old Mrs. Chen looked guilty. "Second son, listen to me. Last winter, your third brother didn't have money to buy writing materials, so I gave him grain to exchange for money. I originally thought that by marrying Qing'er off this year, I could get more dowry and grain, but I didn't expect to separate the eldest son's family. I made a wrong move, which led to this situation. In the end, it's all that heartless brat's fault."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun flew into a rage. "Mother, food is the lifeblood of our family! How can you be so irresponsible? What will we do now that we have no food?"
"That's right, you're so biased. You always remember your youngest son, it's like I was adopted." Chen Zhanliang roared indignantly.
Grandma Chen whispered, "Don't worry, Mother has a way. I won't let you go hungry."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhanliang rolled his eyes and said nothing more.
The group fell silent, the atmosphere inexplicably oppressive.
"Father, Mother, I'm back."
Hearing the shouts, Old Man Chen was overjoyed, "Zhancai is back!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Zhancai and his wife walked into the house with their two children.
Just moments ago, Old Mrs. Chen had a distressed expression, but now she was all smiles. She quickly stood up to greet them, "Oh, my dear sons, what brings you back? Come on, sit down and rest for a while. What brings you back today?"
Chen Zhancai shook his head and smiled, "Mother, Ruolan missed you and asked me to bring her back so she can stay with you for a few days."
Grandma Chen beamed with joy, "My Ruolan is so filial. She missed her grandma after only a few days away. She's such a sensible and good child, unlike that brat next door, who's a heartless bastard."
Chen Ruolan's eyes widened suddenly, and she grabbed her hair like a madwoman, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Shut up! Who are you calling a dog? You're the dog!"
Old Mrs. Chen was startled.
Old Chen was completely dumbfounded and stood there stunned.
Chen Zhanliang stared blankly at Sun Shi beside him. "Wife, who is this girl calling a dog?"
"It sounds like she's cursing!" Madam Sun said to Liu Fengjiao, who was standing to the side, "Third son's wife, what's wrong with Ruolan? How dare she curse like that?"
"Yes, this child seems a bit off. Is he possessed?" Chen Zhanliang chimed in.
After a long while, Old Mrs. Chen finally came to her senses. She glanced at Chen Ruolan, who was pulling her hair, and felt a little annoyed. "Third son's wife, who is Ruolan taking her anger out on?"
Liu Fengjiao frowned and shook her head. "Mother, you said some harsh words just now, which is why Ruolan reacted so strongly."
"Harsh words? I didn't say anything else!" Old Mrs. Chen looked bewildered. "I just said that the brat next door is a heartless bastard, I didn't say anything else!"
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ruolan interrupted him sharply, "Are you ever going to stop? You're the dog, shut up!"
"What happened to this child? I didn't say anything!" Old Mrs. Chen was so frightened that her face turned pale. She looked at Chen Zhancai, who was silent, and asked, "Third son, what's wrong with this child?"
Chen Zhancai glanced at Liu Fengjiao, "You should tell our mother right away!"
“Okay, I’ll tell you.” Liu Fengjiao then recounted the bet she made with Chen Qingqing yesterday about crawling like a dog. She then added with a pitiful expression, “After Ruolan returned home, she didn’t dare to go out, afraid that people would laugh at her behind her back. Now, as soon as the word ‘dog’ is mentioned, Ruolan can’t stand it. She feels that it’s an insult to her and that she’s being called a dog.”
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Chen gritted her teeth and couldn't help but curse, "That brainless brat dared to humiliate my Ruolan like that! I think she's tired of living. No, I have to settle the score with her."
"Alright, old woman, just shut up!" Old Chen stopped her. "A bet's a bet, why are you trying to settle scores with them? You haven't even vented your anger, and you've only made a mess of things. What's the point?"
Sun felt a surge of satisfaction. "Serves them right! They have no conscience and look down on people. Now they know how formidable Qing'er is!"
She smiled faintly, "Mother, my father is right, so just bear with it!"
“Yes, Mother, it takes two to tango. We won’t be in the right no matter where we go to complain, so let’s not cause trouble for them.” Chen Zhanliang agreed wholeheartedly.
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