coobybook Chapter 88 If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too!
Chapter 88 If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too!
It was already dark, and the family still hadn't eaten!
She was too lazy to continue arguing with these two disrespectful old people.
"Grandpa, Grandma, you've all eaten your fill, but we're still starving. What's the matter? Tell us quickly, it's getting late. But you really can't use the mule cart."
Mr. Shen brought his wife and three grandsons with him. They didn't come specifically for the mule cart; the children had heard that their eldest son was selling roasted sweet potatoes and were a little tempted, so he and his wife came.
I mainly want to try it.
However, he was annoyed because his grandsons and his wife had just asked to use a mule cart and were refused, and that unfilial brat had even made fun of them!
Since they had already separated, he and his wife wouldn't gain anything by continuing their angry argument, so he suppressed his anger and backed down.
"Qingchuan, if I hadn't heard from the villagers that you were selling roasted sweet potatoes in town, I wouldn't have known. Now that we've separated from the family, you've become too independent and won't even tell your father about your business, is that it?"
Shen Qingchuan had a blank expression, but he felt a little uneasy.
So, his father has come to interrogate him?
Even though they've separated their businesses, does he still have to report everything he does, just like before?
How could that be?
“Dad, this isn’t a big business, so I didn’t say anything. I was just thinking that there’s not much work to do in town lately, and we’re just sitting at home doing nothing. I thought I’d sell some roasted sweet potatoes and earn whatever I can. We’ve separated the family now, and we’ll have a lot of expenses in the future. We need to buy oil and salt, and we can’t just ask you and Mom for money when we’re short of cash, can we?”
Mr. Shen's dark face, which had not yet regained its composure, froze instantly again.
When did his eldest son become so eloquent?
How is he supposed to respond?
You can't exactly ask him for money, can you? He already gave us several taels of silver when we split the family property; he has no money to give us more!
However, he couldn't just say no directly, lest he appear too cold-hearted as a father.
If I don't want to tell him, then I won't tell him.
Anyway, his family was poor when he was a child, and he ate sweet potato flour buns for many years. He was already tired of it.
But after not eating it for so many years, I suddenly really want to try it again.
He kept a straight face, but softened his tone slightly.
“You two are capable. Whether you farm or sell roasted sweet potatoes, you’ll always be able to save money. Your family is small, so you don’t spend much money throughout the year, unlike your younger brothers and nephews who have to study and take exams. They have many expenses. As the eldest brother and sister-in-law, don’t just think about yourselves. If you can help each other out, you should. Do you understand?”
Shen Qingchuan fell silent.
Liu remained silent.
The atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment!
A sneer appeared on Shen Xiaotang's lips. She thought to herself, "My grandfather really has a good plan. He said that my parents can save money and that our family of four won't spend much money. Isn't his implication that my parents have money and shouldn't ask for more?"
If you don't want it, then don't. But you still brainwash your parents, thinking that they should help your uncle and several cousins.
Why does what he said sound so shameless and disgusting?
Seeing that his eldest son and his wife remained silent, Mr. Shen felt a little annoyed, but he didn't show it on the spot, assuming they had tacitly agreed.
"Alright, it's getting dark, we should go now. Pack a bag of the sweet potatoes you planted for your younger brother and the children to try, so they can remember how good you are as their elder brother and uncle."
Shen Xiaotang almost laughed in anger after hearing this. She had just said such harsh words, and he still dared to ask for sweet potatoes?
Since they came to ask for sweet potatoes, why are they speaking so aggressively? It's because their parents have been weak for so many years and spoiled them!
However, they are elders after all. We can refuse to let them use the mule cart, but we really can't refuse to give them even a single sweet potato.
Shen Qingchuan expressionlessly found a burlap sack, filled it up, not completely full, but still quite a lot, enough for his whole family to eat in ten or eight meals!
Sun's face broke into a smile again as she reached out and took the bag from behind her back.
Mr. Shen glanced at the mule cart before walking out with his hands behind his back.
The sweet potatoes were in hand, and the grandsons, craving them, were eager to get home so their grandmother could roast them for them. They immediately followed her out.
Throughout the entire ordeal, no one praised the eldest son and his wife once. When they asked for sweet potatoes, it was as if the eldest son and his wife owed them something. None of the grandsons thanked their uncle and aunt either.
Shen Xiaotang thought to herself: If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too!
That whole family is no good; they have no sense of gratitude whatsoever!
Shen Qingchuan and Liu Shi saw them off at the door, while Shen Xiaotang held her younger sister's hand and didn't even leave the house.
Those grandfathers and stepmothers don't deserve her respect!
Life is neither too long nor too short. She has many things to do and absolutely cannot afford to waste time on internal conflicts.
Those who show favoritism to the extreme will not gain your approval or respect even if you give them your life!
After seeing the two large Buddha statues off, Shen Qingchuan and the Liu couple breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and went home, locking the door.
My good mood for the day is ruined!
The couple unloaded the truck, took a large basin of pig's trotters off, and placed it next to the well.
Shen Xiaotang sighed, "Luckily, when we were making the mule cart, I asked my father to make one with a canopy, and we surrounded it with some mats. We also covered the pig's trotters with coarse linen. My stepmother almost saw it. If they had seen it and found out that we were making braised pig's trotters to sell, they probably wouldn't have let it go today!"
"Yes, given your grandfather and stepmother's personalities, they don't care whether we have enough orders or not; they'll just take a few by force." Liu felt the same way and secretly rejoiced that they hadn't discovered it.
Shen Qingchuan's expression, however, was somewhat solemn.
"Perhaps they will soon find out that our braised meat smells too strong and the neighbors can definitely smell it. We're not home during the day, so I don't know if the neighbors are talking about it."
Yes!
After a long silence, Shen Xiaotang finally said, "When we have more spare money, we can buy a few more braised snacks for them to try. But if they know we can make money, they will definitely continue to ask us to help them. I don't want our family to work ourselves to the bone to support them anymore, only to end up benefiting their whole family!"
There are no secrets in this world. It's not scary if they find out; it's just a matter of occasionally giving them a few to eat. It's only right for a father to give his grandfather a few. What's scary is the endless trouble that will follow.
The couple sighed. Who told them to be stuck with a biased father and stepmother?
Shen Qingchuan said, "There's no other way, let's just take it one step at a time!"
There's a way!
Shen Xiaotang had a flash of inspiration and immediately came up with a good idea.
"Father, Mother, I have a plan!"
The couple's eyes widened, and they asked in unison, "What method?"
Shen Xiaotang didn't keep her in suspense and immediately said, "My original plan was to buy a house in town once we saved enough money, but these past few days we've been running back and forth between home, town, and county, and we have to rush back every night. It's too time-consuming and disruptive. How about we rent a small house in town? That way, after we finish braising the pig's trotters, we can deliver them to the restaurant immediately. The pig's trotters will be fresh, and it will be convenient for us!"
Rent a house?
The couple had never thought about this issue before.
Shen Qingchuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Tang'er, we only finished building the house a few months ago. Is it really okay to rent a house in town? Besides, where would we get the extra money to rent a house?"