C35 (1/2)
”Mother!” Zhang Gui Hua's face was flushed red from anger: ”My wife is a boor, she also doesn't have a wife with her, but my mother still wants to compare their hearts. Dao Xiang and my aunt are both only seven years old, but in my mother's eyes, Dao Xiang's granddaughters are never there.”
When Liu Qi heard this, he became furious. His old eyes turned red and he slammed the bowl on the table. ”Pa!” The chopsticks landed heavily on the table, then splashed into the rice soup on the table before quickly falling onto the ground along with the sticky rice soup.
”Against the heavens? Hmph, if you really have that kind of ability, then I really want to go against the heavens. ” Zhang Guihua retorted, then said, ”San Gui and I only get two sets of coarse clothes from working at home every year. Mother really loves San Gui, and after suffering so much for a year, we only get a few tens of pieces of cloth. Oh, I forgot to say, if mother insisted that my daughter was a money loser, then I would not agree to give her ten acres of fertile land as a dowry.”
Mrs Liu was so angry that her head was spinning. Those fertile lands were her dowry, how could she allow these shameless people to make the decision?
”Shut up, these are all my things. I'll do whatever I want.”
Liu Dao Xiang sneered when she heard this. As expected, the Liu family was used to living like princes, and had forgotten that their sons were all grown up.
It was a good thing that she had to make a good plan when the time came. She couldn't say all that Liu Qi said for nothing. Otherwise, it would be too lonely for her family to come back.
”Mom, lower your voice.” Liu Xiaolan was also shocked by her angry roar.
He immediately reached out and pulled own mother's sleeve.
Liu Qi lowered her head to look at Liu Xiaolan, and only then did she remember that there was a noble person staying in West Room.
Liu Dafu acted as if he did not see the farce on this table. At this point, he had already put down his cutlery, and only said a few words lightly: ”Third Young Master has worked hard these past few years, and in the future, every year, I will take five hundred coins from the family's money and give it to him. The children will gradually grow older, and I should prepare some dowry for them.
”This won't do, now that Wang Gui is studying in the private school in the town, the cost is too much. He needs at least one tael of silver a month, and he also needs to prepare some betrothal gifts. When he becomes an Elementary Scholar, the marriage wasn't something that he would talk about.”
When his youngest son passed the Elementary Scholar examination, he would only be eighteen years old. When that happened, it would be timely for him to do it himself, not to mention that Liu Wanggui looked a little more like her.
In this way, Mrs Liu was even more unwilling to part with the money for Liu Sangui's family.
”It's a deal, 500 gold coins a year.” Liu Dafu knew that this amount of money was still too little, but he knew his wife too well.
Liu Qi still wanted to retort, but Liu Dafu lifted his eyes and looked at her, ignoring her. He then turned to Liu San Gui and said, ”Tomorrow, I'll have to use more fertilizer on those dry lands.”
”Understood, Dad. When I go dig, I'll pick up two buckets of dung.” Liu Sanguan's voice was filled with gratitude.
He didn't think that he, his father, who wasn't in pain and his mother wasn't in love with him, would be able to gain an advantage from his wife's rage today.
Other than Liu Dao Xiang, no one in the family noticed Liu Qi's silence when she heard Liu Dafu's instructions.
Liu Dao Xiang felt that this was very abnormal, but she could not figure out the reason.
After Zhang Guihua had caused a ruckus with Liu Qi, she did not forget what she had to do. After the meal, Liu Qi did not even bother finding trouble with her.
Because of this, he hated her so much that his teeth itched.
That night, Liu Sanguan said to Zhang Guihua, ”Why did you suddenly start arguing with your mother? Sigh, I know that you are a heartbroken child, but if this news were to spread out, others would not say that your mother is bad, but that you are not filial, and that your mother and father's days in the neighboring village will also be sad.”
”If I don't make a fuss, will Daddy loosen up? The children are already so old, how can I let them dress themselves in rags all the time? You don't know, but when I saw the Li San-mei's pampered look, I felt very upset, and wanted to cry. I thought about how I had toiled at home with you for all these years only to earn some money for the children, and furthermore, to come back early today, it was all thanks to Dao Xiang's cleverness in finding ways to earn money. If not, just relying on me and her would require me to carry ten kilograms of fat on my back while walking with Chun Xiang for ten miles.
Liu Sangui recalled the changes in his family these days and felt that Zhang Guihua had done the right thing. It was just like the saint's cloud: filial piety was the first priority.