Everyone at the table fell silent. It's better to arrive at the right time than early; Auntie certainly knows how to pick her moment. How did she even know their city's address?
"Let them in."
Looking at the table full of food, I sighed. Before I even started eating, this uninvited guest arrived. I don't know if I'll be able to enjoy the meal properly today.
"Xiaoyu, your aunt is here?"
"It should be."
"Your grandma?"
All Zhao Dashu could think of was that his mother was dying. Otherwise, why would his sister-in-law come all the way to the prefectural city? Why would she come all this way in such cold weather?
"I don't think so. If Grandma is sick, she'll at most send someone to deliver a message. They'll definitely have to stay with Grandma, right? They definitely won't come by themselves."
"You're right, so what are they here for?"
Zhao Xiaoyu shrugged. "I don't know, I'll ask later."
"Damn it, I'm rarely this happy, and they come to my door before I've even had a meal. I must have owed them something in my past life!" Zhao Dashu cursed as he got up, and the others followed suit.
They didn't understand why Wang had come. The city was so far from the village, and the travel expenses must have been considerable.
Pear Blossom held two meat buns in her hands, while the child in Xiao Lei's arms also held a steamed bun and ate it.
Song thought the gatekeeper must have misheard and it couldn't possibly be Wang.
As soon as they entered the main room, they heard Wang's sobbing voice, "Third brother, I've finally found you!"
Zhao Dashu: ... "Sister-in-law, I'm not lost. I've been in the prefectural city the whole time. What do you want with me?"
She's talking as if he hasn't been home for ten or twenty years. What's she up to?
Upon hearing the voice, everyone agreed that it was indeed Wang.
"What brings you to the prefectural city?"
Besides Wang, her beloved youngest son also came along.
Zhao Dashu couldn't understand why they were here.
"Third brother, do you know where your eldest brother and the others are? They haven't been home since they came to the prefectural city with you after the New Year!"
Wang's voice was trembling with sobs. "That bastard Zhao Dawen! He said he brought his son to the prefectural city to take the exam, but not only did his son fail to become a scholar, he also refused to go home."
Not only did he not come home, but he also stopped sending her the money he earned from copying books each month. With no income at home, and taking most of the family's money with him when he left, how were they supposed to survive?
Most importantly, she had someone send three letters urging Zhao Dawen to come home, but the scoundrel simply ignored them and didn't even reply. They didn't know if the letters hadn't arrived or what.
For more than half a year, apart from receiving one letter saying that he would accompany his eldest son to study in the prefectural city, there was no further news.
So, after the autumn harvest was over and all the housework was done, she took her youngest son to the prefectural city to find someone. Mainly, she was worried that if something happened to the father and son, they wouldn't know what to do.
They didn't know how their eldest son was doing in the prefectural city; they only knew that he hadn't passed the imperial examination and had to stay at the prefectural city academy to continue his studies.
"What?" Zhao Dashu jumped up from his stool in surprise. "Big brother didn't go back to the village? The scholar finished the exam a long time ago, why didn't he go back? Has some little vixen bewitched him and he can't bear to go home?"
Wang's face turned ashen, and everyone present was reminded of Xiao Hong from before. Wang gritted her teeth, thinking that if that bastard dared to settle down in the city, she would cripple him.
Zhao Dawen better not pressure her!
Zhao Dashu felt that his sister-in-law's face clearly showed murderous intent. What did she just say?
"Sister-in-law, I remember my brother said he would go home after the exam, why didn't he go home? Did something happen on the way?"
Wang glared at Zhao Dashu, "He wrote that he plans to stay in the prefectural city to take care of the eldest son, so he won't be coming home."
"What kind of care is his older brother giving him while he's studying at the academy? He can't cook or do laundry, it's obvious he doesn't want to go home!"
Zhao Xiaoyu silently watched her father, who was stirring up trouble. He was angry because he hadn't gotten his meal earlier, and now he wasn't making things easy for his aunt either.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
