coobybook Chapter 5 Adding fuel to the fire
Chapter 5 Adding fuel to the fire
"Back then, when you married into the Lin family, you should have acted like a son-in-law. You received six large brick houses and sixteen acres of fertile land from the Lin family, but after your first wife passed away, you immediately changed your surname back to Shen. Less than half a year later, you married your childhood sweetheart. Did he ever think of the Lin family or your first wife even a little bit?"
"Dad, do you know what he calls this kind of behavior?"
Shen Qingchuan and Liu Shi were somewhat puzzled and asked in unison, "What should we call you?"
Guihua Village is located at the foot of the mountain. The village is small, and the complicated matter of Mr. Shen marrying into the Lin family after his wife's death and remarrying was truly unprecedented.
Shen Qingchuan and Liu Feng'er were honest and quiet people. They worked hard from dawn till dusk every day and never had any farm work to do. They never gossiped with their neighbors. In addition, the Shen family had many male members and Mr. Shen was a scholar, so no one would gossip in front of them and cause trouble.
Therefore, the honest and kind-hearted couple never thought there was anything wrong with their family.
Helplessly, Shen Xiaotang explained to her illiterate parents, "Your grandfather took over your maternal grandfather's land and house, changed your surname back to Shen, and remarried after your wife's death. That's called 'eating up someone who has no descendants'!"
“You always thought you were stupid, which is why I didn’t let you study. But when you delivered eggs and tofu to the restaurant in town, you never made a mistake in the accounts or the money you paid. You can do this even though you can’t read. If you could read and write, you would definitely be no worse than your uncles.”
Shen Qingchuan's face turned pale after hearing this.
While he was helping people repair houses in town, he overheard other workers discussing the matter of "eating the children of the deceased," but he only heard the words "eating the children of the deceased" and the workers' sarcastic remarks, and he couldn't connect any of them to his own family.
Could it be that her father really is the one who eats up the family fortune that his daughter and the world talk about?
"Tang'er, how did you know about 'eating the childless'?"
Shen Xiaotang blinked her innocent and harmless bright eyes, "I heard the adults in the village talking about it. They think I'm a child and don't understand."
In fact, she had never heard anyone gossip about her. Those opportunists were counting on her grandfather to take good care of their sons and grandsons at the school, so how could they possibly have a word to say about her, an insignificant girl?
In the past, Shen Qingchuan had never doubted his father's intentions. Although his stepmother was somewhat biased, how could a stepmother not favor her own son? He only thought that his father was just spoiling his stepmother and turning a blind eye to it.
Hearing the phrase "eating the property of the childless" from his daughter today seemed to have opened his dull mind, instantly filling him with a thousand thoughts.
With mixed feelings, he said in a deep voice, "When I go to town tomorrow to deliver the tofu and eggs, I'll ask Mr. Lu, the accountant at the restaurant. He's very knowledgeable and kind, and he might be able to help us out."
Shen Xiaotang knew that her father didn't completely believe what a young girl like her said, but he was willing to find someone knowledgeable and knowledgeable to verify it the next day, which meant he took it to heart.
That alone is enough!
Having listened patiently all along, Madam Liu grasped the key point and asked in a low voice, "Tang'er, you just said that it wasn't because your father was stupid that your grandfather wouldn't let him study. Then why is that?"
"The master has a childhood sweetheart but still married into the family. It's obvious that he's eating what's in his bowl while eyeing what's in the pot. He'll marry another childhood sweetheart as soon as his first wife passes away. Isn't changing his father's surname back to Shen just to get rid of the status of being a son-in-law?"
He was not only a scholar but also a teacher, yet he refused to teach his father to read and suppressed him in every way. Wasn't it because he was afraid that his father would become too powerful and difficult to control?
Furthermore, if Second Aunt and Sister Yinxiu were truly dedicated to embroidering and sewing skirts, and Third Aunt were weaving cloth, why wouldn't they teach Mother to do it too?
This time, both Shen Qingchuan and Liu Shi remained silent.
Because they began to think that what their eldest daughter said made sense!
Seeing that her parents remained silent, Shen Xiaotang immediately added more firewood to the fire.
"Logically speaking, the inheritance left by Father's maternal grandfather should be inherited by Father. The six brick and tile houses and the sixteen acres of fertile land in front of us should belong to our eldest son's family. If Father had continued to be his son-in-law, he would have had the right to dispose of these things. But he has long since abandoned his status as a son-in-law."
If the first wife were still alive, the stepmother would only be considered a mistress or concubine; even if she were a secondary wife, she wouldn't be allowed to manage the household.
This time, Liu understood. "Yes, Tang'er is right. When I married your father, your maternal grandmother told me that with the principal wife in the house, any woman who enters the household is a concubine, and any woman secretly kept outside is an mistress. But your grandmother is your grandfather's second wife, so it makes sense for her to be the head of the household."
“It is indeed reasonable for the second wife to be in charge, but the land and property belong to Father’s maternal grandfather. Now, the food and drink of the entire Shen family are all earned by you and Father through hard work. Our eldest son’s family has not received a single copper coin. The tuition fees from the grandfather, the second son’s family’s embroidery work, and the third son’s family’s weaving have not been used for our eldest son’s family’s benefit. So, whose family do you think stepmother is in charge of?”
Liu was speechless after hearing this.
Whether it's embroidery or weaving, it's more lucrative than farm work, cutting pig feed, or feeding pigs. If the whole family were truly working together to earn money to supplement their income, why would they all avoid her?
Upon hearing her eldest daughter's explanation, Liu suddenly realized what was happening, and a surge of anger rose within her.
"No wonder the room was so dark. The two sisters-in-law from the second and third wives preferred to stay inside rather than come out to cook. They were afraid I would steal their skills. So your grandfather deliberately didn't teach your father to read just to control us and make us work like slaves for this whole family?"
Yes, those two are the ultimate examples of people who are so overly pampered that they practically kill their parents and force them into a miserable life!
“Mother, you’ve finally figured it out. Look at Aunt Chunhua next door and Sister-in-law Cui Nong in the east end. They both have daughters but no sons yet. Their parents-in-law are anxious and urging them every day. You and Father only have two daughters, Xiaoyu and me. Have Grandpa and Stepmother ever urged you to have sons?”
I didn't urge them!
When the topic of her son came up, Liu couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. Since marrying into the family, she had given birth to two daughters in a row, and her belly hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy. She felt very guilty for not being able to give her husband a son so that he could go to school.
"It's all my fault for being useless. If I had given you a younger brother, he could have studied and learned to read, and had the opportunity to pass the imperial examinations and bring honor to our ancestors."
Shen Xiaotang was speechless and continued to persuade, "Mother, I'm not saying this because you didn't give us a younger brother. Grandfather wouldn't let Father study or learn to read. Even if you gave us a younger brother, he would only follow in Father's footsteps and continue to be manipulated and exploited."
I'm saying all this to make you understand that Grandpa didn't let Dad study because he was the first wife's son, and Grandpa didn't expect our eldest branch of the family to give him a grandson!
"Huh? Then why is that?"
"Of course it's his pride that's at play. He's so concerned about his reputation. He finally passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. Even though his family's fortunes have declined to the point of being unable to make ends meet, he still doesn't want to touch any farm work. He's focused on raising his children and grandchildren to become top scholars and get official positions to improve their family's standing. With such a strong sense of self-worth, how could marrying into the Lin family not cause him any resentment?"
"His father's existence is proof of his marriage into the family. If his father becomes literate and successful, and as the eldest son, takes over the Shen family, wouldn't that be a slap in his face?"
She didn't want to be so blunt and hurt her father, but now that she had brought it up, she had to give him a good beating this time!