As soon as Zi Qing went back to the house, Tian Shi was so angry that she wanted to follow her. The old man held her back and said, "Why are you holding me? Didn't you hear what she said? This is something a junior should say? Who does she think she is? Her parents didn't even dare speak to me like this, but she dares to be so presumptuous! Er Ni, why don't you go teach her a lesson instead of just watching your mother being bullied?"

  "Mother, Qing'er is right. If you hadn't schemed against her from the beginning, she wouldn't have let San Mao sign that contract. Clearly knowing San Mao's lazy nature, he can't handle the hardship and can't do anything. You still want him to go to the construction site, isn't it just to swindle some wages? Fortunately, Zi Qing thought of this beforehand, otherwise, who knows what would happen? Mother, don't blame Zi Qing either. It's already good that Zi Qing gave San Mao an opportunity." Zeng Rui Xiang argued.

  "Could it be that this girl He Zhongzi had planned ahead and was waiting for us here? She's really a wicked girl, even plotting against her own cousin. I don't know who she takes after, but she's really, really, really infuriating me to death!" Madam Tian's words became incoherent with rage.

  "Daughter, speaking of plotting, who is actually plotting against whom?" Zeng Rui Xiang's face sank as he asked.

  The old man sighed, pulled Tian's family and left. Zeng Rui Xiang entered the house, looked at Zi Qing, touched her head and said: "Child, try to understand your aunt a bit more, she hasn't had it easy all these years either."

  "Father, isn't it easy for her? And what about my mother? My grandmother is also too biased, she's been too much for several aunts. How can we say that we're supporting them and yet still have to suffer, where's the reason in that? Father, since Grandmother is so heartbroken over several aunts, why did she give out silver to let you and Uncle study back then?" Zi Qing asked the question that had been entangled in her mind for a long time, why not just save the silver directly for the dowry of several aunts.

  "This is a long story, when your old grandmother was alive, the family still had some foundation. Your grandfather was the only son of the old grandmother, and he also attended private school for a few days. Later, after marrying your grandmother, her personality... At home, she was also spoiled and didn't like to do things, couldn't serve her parents-in-law, so she wasn't very likable, it's said. The family property gradually moved to your aunt's house, and your uncle gradually became successful, possibly related to your old grandmother too. I and your father studied because your old grandmother allowed us to enter the school when she was still alive. Later, seeing that I had some talent, I gained the liking of the elderly, so they sent me to county school, which also spent all the remaining silver at home, causing your second aunt's illness not to be treated in time, leaving a root of disease. Your father gave up his studies and started looking for work in Anzhou city. After your old grandmother passed away, she entrusted your uncle to pay some tuition fees for me. Your grandmother, after many years as a daughter-in-law, naturally became more overbearing."

  Zeng Ruixiang's words were subtle, but Zi Qing understood them. It turned out that Tian Shi wanted to take back all the grievances she had suffered from her daughter-in-law. She blamed the old lady for giving the family property to her daughter, and since she didn't have any property to give, she took it out on her son. She bullied the two grandsons who were favored by the old lady, but unfortunately, the eldest son didn't pay attention to her. This mentality is really abnormal, even Shen Shi knew that what you don't want for yourself, don't impose on others. Tian Shi was completely twisted and didn't know how to find fault with herself.

  Zi Qing sighed and was speechless, fortunately she didn't have a mother-in-law.

  On this day, just thinking that there was nothing at home, Shen Shi wanted to go back to her mother's house in Bai Tang Village to take a look. Zeng Rui Xiang heard and said he would accompany her together, leaving Zi Qing and Zi Yu to watch the house. The two had just left for half an hour when Qiu Yu supported Tian Shi and Chun Yu over, Zi Qing saw them crying and saying that Er Mao was caught, wanting Zeng Rui Xiang to find someone to see if they could ransom Er Mao out?

  "Ah Po, Da Gu, my parents have probably gone to my maternal grandmother's house and won't be back until this afternoon. Why don't you look for someone else instead? But what was Er Mao's reason for being caught?" Zi Qing asked.

  Tian's family was too busy to care about Shen Zhen's scolding, and only blamed Zeng Rui Xiang for not staying at home and running to his mother-in-law's house. Now that something has happened in his own wife's family, he can't even be found.

  "Grandma, my dad and mom rarely go out, it's just not convenient. From New Year's to now, this is the first time my dad has gone to your house. If there's nothing else, you can go back first, I'll definitely tell them." Zi Qing was very annoyed by Tian Shi's complaint and drove her away on the spot.

  Tian was choked with rage and just about to erupt when Qiu Yu calmly recounted the events from start to finish.

  It turned out that Er Mao and his gang had lost money at the casino, so they reverted to their old ways and were caught on the spot. Coincidentally, there had been several thefts in Anzhou City recently, and after a few interrogations, the truth came to light, and both the culprits and the stolen goods were apprehended. What more was there to say? They were immediately thrown into prison.

  Ziying thought that just a few days ago, Ermao was still talking about something, but now he's been caught. On the first day of the month, his wife was still gloating, saying that Ermao had earned money to build a new house for her, but she didn't know how to discipline the child properly and didn't ask where the money came from. As Xiaojie said, foolish people are muddle-headed, what can they do now except cry?

  "Let's ask Uncle instead, he's on duty at the yamen entrance and knows more about what goes on inside than my father does," said Zi Qing.

  "He doesn't even care about his own parents, how can he care about my business? Even if I were to starve to death right in front of him, he wouldn't bat an eyelid or shed a single tear. His heart is made of stone." Chunyu retorted.

  Zi Qing listened and didn't say anything else, so she let them go back. Who knew that on this day, Shen Shi and Zeng Rui Xiang happened to stay in Bai Tang Village for a while longer? He Shi's body hadn't been well since the beginning of the year, and Shen Shi wanted to take her back home, but He Shi refused. Shen Shi could only frequently buy food and tonics to bring over, after all, the old lady was 68 this year. Shen Shi accompanied her mother for half a day, and when the sky was about to darken, the two of them returned home. Unexpectedly, before they had even warmed up their seats, Chun Yu and Tian Shi came again.

  "There's something going on at home and no one can be found anywhere, but all of you have the leisure to visit relatives and friends. Your nephew is even in big trouble, but none of you even ask about it." Madam Tian came up and started scolding while crying.

  Zeng Ruixiang looked at Zi Qing, and Zi Qing just told them what had happened. Zeng Ruixiang listened and said: "Mother, we just got home and didn't know about it yet. Yu Mei's mother is not feeling well, so she just went back to take a look. Besides, the nephew is in big trouble, isn't there still his parents? Can't Brother-in-law ask someone to inquire about the situation?"

  "He doesn't know any of this, he just stays at home sighing and complaining. The yamen in Anzhou City is not even open to him. He doesn't even have the money to ask about it. Son, why don't you go instead? If that's not possible, find your older brother. It would be better for you to look than for your sister's husband to look, and you know your older brother's temperament. He has never looked at your sister's husband with a straight eye."

  Zeng Ruixiang furrowed his brow, just about to utter a refusal, when Tian's wife burst into tears again, "Son, at this critical moment, with life and death hanging in the balance, you still won't take care of it? Can you bear to see your sister and mother heartbroken? Just listen to your mother's advice and go investigate first?"

  "Alright, for your mother's sake, I'll go find Big Brother tomorrow to ask about the situation. As for other matters, you all should handle them yourselves. However, I also have a condition: this trip will definitely incur some expenses, and it's impossible to get by without greasing palms at the yamen gate. Since Spring Jade's family doesn't have any money, let Brother-in-law and San Mao continue working at Zi Qing's place to offset their debt."

  Tian's expression softened a bit after hearing the first part, but then he heard that his elder nephew was going to do chores to pay off the debt, and his face turned gloomy again. He said: "It's not like it's someone outside the family, your own nephew is making some effort, isn't it what he should be doing? What's with the silver money? You're really something, actually telling your brother-in-law and San Mao to do hard labor to pay off the debt, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

  "Mother, when my sister was scheming against me at first, why didn't she say that she was afraid of being laughed at? I'm not doing this for anything else, but because I'm afraid that if we start this, in the future, whenever something happens at your house, you'll come to our door every three days or so to ask for favors. Father and mother have also said it: each family should live their own lives. In all these years, I've been fair to her too. Each person has their own destiny, don't blame others. I'm thinking about the children's future." Zeng Ruixiang explained.

  Chun Yu wiped away her tears and began to talk about the difficulties of their family's daily life. After Er Mao got into trouble, the family that had arranged for Guo Ying's marriage also came to demand a cancellation of the engagement. Their family was in a hurry to arrange another marriage for Guo Ying, but they couldn't find a good family and still had to prepare a dowry.

  Zeng Ruixiang listened absent-mindedly, without responding. Seeing Chunyu becoming more and more unbearable, saying that Ziqing asked outsiders to work, with an annual salary of over ten taels of silver, let alone Xiaoyu. Even Autumn Jade's husband could find a light job to do, but unfortunately, Sanmao had been working for almost a month, with hundreds of dollars in wages, and not a single cent was paid. Now she even wants to go work for free.

  Zeng Ruixiang was getting impatient, glared at Chunyu and said: "The matter of Zi Qing is the matter of Kang Ping, what have you done to these two children? You still have the nerve to want to live? What has San Mao done? The work he did hasn't even reached half, yet he wants wages? I give my parents 12 taels of silver every year, and they only spend a few taels on clothes, rice, and flour. They grow their own vegetables and raise chickens, so they don't need much money. Half of the remaining silver must have gone to your house. You're still not satisfied, you've never spent a single cent on my parents, and they even send things to your house, including vegetables from their garden. Do you think I really believe you can't take out some silver? Didn't you plan this all along to cheat me? When your own son got into trouble, you didn't think of asking someone to help, but instead thought of how to save money. Aren't you ashamed? Your sister-in-law has been supporting her family on her own for years without spending a single cent from me, and she's endured so much hardship. You can't see that? My children, Zi Qing and Zi Yu, still have to work in the fields themselves. What do your children do all day? If you keep nagging, I'll just ignore your family's troubles. Do you want to find someone else to help? Give me a straight answer, will you or won't you do it? If not, then go ask someone else yourself."

  Chun Yu was stunned because Zeng Rui Xiang rarely lost his temper, except for that time when Da Mao did something wrong, he had almost never scolded her in person and made things difficult for her. She had always thought that Zeng Rui Xiang wasn't a petty or cunning person, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to take these things from her natal family all those years. Tian Shi saw that Zeng Rui Xiang was losing his temper and knew it was pointless to try to placate him, so he quickly pulled Chun Yu away.

  The next day, soon after breakfast, the old man came with Yan Rendao and San Mao. Yan Rendao hung his head and said: "Second brother, Second Mao's affairs still need to rely on second brother for help. At home, there is indeed no money, I and San Mao will go to the construction site to do a few days of work."

  Zeng Ruixiang went into the house and discussed with Zi Qing. After thinking for a moment, Zi Qing said: "I heard Mr. Tong say that they are still clearing the mud, but they all went home to harvest wheat. Why not ask San Tang Shu to divide a small pond, let Auntie and San Mao take care of it, so as not to mix with others, and get nothing done. If this pond is not cleared, they will not be allowed to go home. Let them promise in front of Grandpa, and say that even if they can't finish, Lin Kangping will supervise."

  Zeng Ruixiang thought it was reasonable, and after a few people had discussed it, Zeng Ruixiang took Yan Renda to the construction site, explained what they needed to do, and then went to school to assign homework to the children. After thinking about it, he immediately hired a carriage and went to the city, where he found out from someone at the yamen that this time Er Mao had run into trouble, the newly appointed prefectural magistrate had just arrived and had encountered several cases of theft, and was using these few thieves as examples to establish his authority. The trial was quickly held, and no one could plead for leniency. Er Mao was sentenced to five years, and it was considered fortunate that he hadn't been exiled.

  Zeng Ruixiang listened and thought about it, still wanting to ask Zeng Ruizheng clearly. Who knew that Zeng Ruixiang waited outside for half a day, only to have the doorman deliver a message saying he wouldn't see him.

  Zeng Ruixiang didn't see Zeng Ruiqing's figure, so he got angry and wanted to rush in, but the gatekeeper stopped him. Zeng Ruixiang asked the gatekeeper to go in and pass on a message: "I only ask him one question and then leave. If he doesn't come out, I'll wait until his shift ends."

  Zeng Ruiqing finally came out, found a quiet place, stood three steps away from Zeng Ruixiang, looked at him and said: "If you want to ask something, hurry up and ask, I still have things to do."

  "I'm asking you one question: do you still consider me your brother, do you still acknowledge our parents, and do you still acknowledge the Zeng family?"

  "What's the difference between brothers and non-brothers, Zeng family or not Zeng family? I'll tell you, it's a pity that you're still a scholar. All the people in the world are one family, and within the four seas, everyone is a brother." Zeng Ruiqing said this and left first.

  "Where's your parents?" Zeng Ruiqing paused for a moment, without answering.

  Zeng Ruixiang could only turn around dejectedly. When he returned home, Chunyu began wailing again, and Tian Shi could only stand by, tears streaming down her face. The old man shouted loudly: "Enough! Your mother and I are not dead yet, what's the point of wailing? If you had this energy to cry, why didn't you do something earlier? From a young age, this child has never been on the right path, let you two take good care of him. Who listened? When I gave you money to build a house, did you ask where it came from? Now you have the energy to cry. He's only 23 years old after five years outside, and he can still learn well, marry a wife, and have children. Go home, May Day is just around the corner, isn't Gu Ying going to propose marriage? Don't go prepare, take good care of the younger children."

  "Where's that child's father? Still working on the construction site?" Chunyu asked.

  The old man looked at Zeng Rui Xiang and said: "I'll give him the task, you two work hard together, it's a bit tough, but before Dragon Boat Festival, it should be done."

  Zeng Ruixiang finished speaking and hurriedly bid farewell and went home.