Li choked. The old man was right. If he didn't want a wife, his son might really be a bachelor for life because he had no money.
"How about we help out a little?"
Zhao Dayong looked at her with a deep look and said, "How do you suggest we help? The second son's family is no pushover either. If we give money to the eldest son, we have to give them some too. And then there's Sanzhuzi. That good-for-nothing will have a hard time getting married in the future. He goes out and messes around every day. Who would dare to entrust their daughter to him?"
"If we want to help him get married in the future, it will definitely cost a lot of money. Think about how little money we have, who can we help?"
Li remained silent, noting that they not only had to raise their child, but also their mother-in-law, who was the biggest expense.
"Could you please ask the third son to stop feeding his mother so well? We're all being dragged down by her. He can be as filial as he wants, but he shouldn't drag us into it."
Zhao Dayong thought so too.
"I'll talk to my older brother another day and see if we can stop taking care of our mother."
"This is all Sanzhu's fault. If it weren't for him, how would his mother be lying down? It makes us all afraid to speak loudly about her; we feel so guilty."
Li looked bitter. Yes, sometimes she thought she had really done something terrible, looking at all the things she had given birth to.
When I'm so tired, I just want to hang myself, at least that would end it all.
"Alright, stop thinking about other things. Dazhu is very decisive. He can worry about his own affairs. We'll just try our best to help his wife get medical treatment. That's already more than enough for him."
"He's all talk and no action, just a bunch of nonsense. Sometimes I don't understand, wasn't he very diligent when he was in school? Why has he become so lazy now?"
"Back then, I worked hard so that I wouldn't have to work in the future and could live a good life."
He admitted that he had failed in raising his children and had spoiled all three of them. Even his only hope, Erzhuzi, had become a spineless coward who did whatever his wife said.
But unfortunately, his wife wasn't one to take a loss lying down.
What a terrible thing!
Zhao Dawen was also very excited when he learned that Zhao Laosan had returned to the village. He wanted his eldest brother to go to the prefectural city with his third brother next year and wanted to stay at their house, hoping that Zhao Dawen could help look after him.
Studying in the prefectural city is definitely better than in the county town. His wife said he couldn't teach their son well, so after thinking it over, they decided to send their eldest son to the prefectural city ahead of schedule.
With little hope for the youngest son, the eldest son has become the family's hope.
"Big brother!"
"Why are you here?"
Upon seeing Zhao Dayong, Zhao Dawen's face fell. The two families had been living under the same roof for the past two years, and their relationship had become extremely strained.
Having no other choice, he gritted his teeth and moved.
Those two scoundrels in that family are ungrateful and dishonest; it's impossible for them to continue living together.
Left with no other choice, he bought a new plot of land and moved out. The relationship between the two families deteriorated to the point of no return, and they hardly had any contact with each other from then on.
Zhao Dayong thought he was too petty, that an uncle should be arguing with a child over trivial matters. Zhao Dawen also thought Zhao Dayong was mentally ill, unable to even manage his own child, and was aiding and abetting evil.
The two of them simply didn't get along and ignored each other.
Zhao Dayong was a little embarrassed. What did his brother mean? What did he mean by asking why he was here? Couldn't he have come?
"Big brother, you know that the third brother is back, right?"
"Know."
"My third brother is coming back this time, but he will definitely leave after the New Year. I don't know when he will come back next time."
so what?
Zhao Dawen was annoyed by people's unclear speech. "If you want to say something, just say it!" he thought, while Zhao Dayong remained silent.
"Brother, you know how much Mom spends in a year. I really don't think it's necessary. What do you think?"
Both our families, including the children, are quite slim, but look at my mother, she's gotten so fat!
"What do you want to say?"
"I think we can't continue to spoil our mother, and we can't give her so many things every year. We really can't afford it anymore. Don't you think so?"
"You want to talk to me?"
Zhao Dayong, his thoughts exposed, chuckled a few times, "You know my position is very awkward, I'm in the wrong for hurting my mother with Sanzhuzi."
But brother, I'm only thinking of you. Our two families are really struggling. We're not even as strong as our third brother's arm. We can't compete with him in terms of filial piety.
Let's just follow the village customs and give them whatever amount is due. What do you think?
The matter was settled while the third brother was still alive. It's too late to say anything after he's gone. He's a rich man; he can't compare himself to his poor brother in everything, can he?
Zhao Dawen had long felt that his mother was eating and drinking too much, but since no one had brought it up, he couldn't say anything.
Every time he gave his mother food, his wife would have a long face and told him several times that he couldn't give her any more.
The reason they've been obediently giving money and food these past two years is mainly because it was agreed upon beforehand that if they didn't, their mother would make a scene, since their son is ultimately pursuing the imperial examination path.
If the second child doesn't want to give it either, that's actually quite good.
“If the third brother wants to be filial, he can give more. The two of us will just do our best. Big brother, we can’t continue like this, it’s too tiring.”
"Second brother is right, we really can't compare to third brother. Alright, I'll keep this in mind. If it comes down to it, I'll call you and we'll go find third brother together."
Don't expect him to take the lead in this matter alone. Do you think he'll benefit from it? You're dreaming.
“Okay,” Zhao Dayong knew he couldn’t completely hide his identity when he arrived, but as long as his older brother was willing to go together, he had nothing to fear. “I’ll wait for your message, brother.”
When two people don't see eye to eye, they realize they have nothing left to say to each other after finishing their business.
"Brother, I have something to do at home, so I'll have to go now."
"Take care and don't bother seeing me off."
Zhao Dawen sneered as he watched his second brother's retreating figure. He thought, "Trying to scheme against me? Does he even deserve it?"
My second brother is really bad at managing the household. Look at how he's changed in the last two years; he's become like an old man.
In a few years, I'll look almost as old as my father.
People should still be kind.
After returning home, Zhao Dashu immediately packed his things and went to chat with his brothers, while Zhao Xiaoyu followed Song Shi to pack her things.
"Don't you rest for a while? You still have to go up the mountain with Xiao Lei to sweep the tombs this afternoon."
"I'm not tired. After we finish sweeping the graves this afternoon, I want to take Xiao Lei out hunting. It's been a long time since we've eaten wild game from the back mountain. It must be very plump."
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