Chapter 1581 - 1570: Honest Fool

Chapter 1581: Chapter 1570: Honest Fool

"Alright, you all are brothers, what’s the point of arguing?" Old Lady Wang frowned and said, "Eldest Ye, what’s going on? How come you haven’t made a single deal?"

Ye Dong remained silent, watching Ye Chun with eyes that seemed to be enjoying the spectacle. Ye Chun and Wang Hong were instantly infuriated.

"How do I know what’s going on in those women’s minds? They’re right at our doorstep but won’t buy," Ye Chun complained. "First, they pick at this and then dislike that, it’s an utter waste of my time."

Old Lady Wang immediately picked up on the problem: "Were you impatient when people were picking and negotiating?"

"Who told them to be so picky and choosy? They’re wasting my time; I end up visiting fewer villages and naturally can’t sell as much." Ye Chun defended himself boldly.

Old Lady Wang was infuriated: "Ask your wife how she usually buys things. She compares the goods, she picks and chooses, that’s normal when buying things! How can you be so impatient? Who will want to buy from you, a business without patience?"

Ye Chun glanced at his wife and found her nodding in agreement, suddenly feeling overwhelmed: "How could I know all that? Also, with all this picking and choosing, how much can I sell in a day?"

"Big Brother, didn’t you say you could handle it? Second Brother-in-law managed to build a fortune by being a trader, can’t you do the same? Who promised Second Sister and Second Brother-in-law so confidently back then?" Ye Dong sarcastically said again, seemingly enjoying Ye Chun’s discomfort.

"Fourth Brother, what do you mean by that? If you can’t help, at least don’t mock your brother. Who succeeds in business right away?" Wang Hong retaliated, displeased. "If you’re so idle, go take care of the farm work."

Ye Dong shook his head and said: "I’m destined for greater things; how can farming hold me back? Besides, don’t Mom and Dad help me? Why are you in such a hurry, elder sister-in-law?"

Why shouldn’t Wang Hong be anxious? She had originally thought having the elders with them would not only increase their share of the family wealth, but the father-in-law and mother-in-law could help with some work while they were still healthy. But in reality?

Because the fourth son was shameless, the parents-in-law had to help the fourth son instead. Their work hadn’t decreased at all, and she had to cook for this big family every day. The more her in-laws worked, the more they ate, which meant using resources from her family to subsidize the fourth son.

Yet she couldn’t complain, after all, her mother-in-law had a large sum of silver. If she upset her mother-in-law and it all went to the fourth son, wouldn’t she suffer a major loss?

Thus, Wang Hong usually looked at Ye Dong with dissatisfaction, always seizing the opportunity to say something, though without being too harsh, just poking a bit.

"You say you’re doing great things? You’ve been at it for years, yet nothing has come of it."

"I bloom late."

"By the time you do, will any good girl still be waiting for you?"

Wang Hong’s words struck a chord with Old Lady Wang. Her fourth son wasn’t getting any younger. When his elder brothers were twenty-one, they each had children, yet the fourth son’s marriage was still nowhere in sight.

She had tried to find a match for him through matchmakers, but the fourth son would either dislike a girl’s figure, her looks, or criticize her family’s conditions, saying she would surely financially support her family later. For this and that reason, even the matchmakers stopped bothering.

She was willing to believe her son would bloom late, but the older he got, the harder it was to arrange a marriage. Now with the family split, the fourth son was squandering his share of silver socializing. If she hadn’t held onto his wedding funds, it might have been spent already. Why couldn’t he be more considerate?

What worried her more was where to arrange the wedding house should the fourth son meet someone suitable. The house belonged to the eldest. She could persuade him to let the fourth son live there temporarily, but they couldn’t live there after marriage. Even if the eldest agreed, Wang Hong wouldn’t be happy. She and her husband were still with the eldest’s family, and they couldn’t upset Wang Hong completely. Yet, where would the money for building a new house come from?

"Elder sister-in-law, don’t worry about my matters; just go and prepare dinner. Although eldest brother didn’t sell anything, he at least tired himself out; he should eat something good to replenish his strength, right?"

Upon hearing Ye Dong’s words, Wang Hong felt even more uncomfortable because if she cooked something good, Ye Dong would eat a portion, and the food belonged to her husband’s family.

Wang Hong’s eyes immediately gleamed: "Mom, Ye Chun hasn’t made money; I don’t have money for good food. What should we do? How about just stir-frying some green vegetables and frying some tofu? Oh, it’s such a pity for Cong Hui and Cong Huang, studying so hard and ending up eating such things; it’s us parents being incompetent."

Listening to her sarcasm, Old Lady Wang felt a burst of annoyance. She reluctantly reached for a piece of broken silver from her waist and tossed it on the table: "Will this do? Use it to buy some meat."

Seeing the silver instantly lifted Wang Hong’s mood, she grinned and said, "Mom is generous; our family can only rely on Mom for meat."

"Such pettiness." Old Lady Wang cursed under her breath while watching Wang Hong’s retreating figure. Then she pulled Ye Dong’s hand and said, "Tell me, son, when do you plan on marrying? Listen to Mom, beauty isn’t everything; let’s find someone kind who can work and take care of you."

"That’s no good. If she’s not beautiful, I won’t even want to go home; why marry?" Ye Dong retorted.

"Which family doesn’t ask for a hefty dowry for a beautiful girl? She won’t want to work after marriage, and it’ll be you suffering, my son." Old Lady Wang pleaded earnestly.

But Ye Dong just wouldn’t listen. He thought he’d achieve great things someday, and wouldn’t settle on marriage. He dismissively replied: "Mom, don’t worry about it, marriage is my business."

"What kind of plan do you have? Stop wasting time with your friends! They’ll only scam you out of money."

"Mom, you don’t understand. We’re discussing big business, you won’t get it even if I tell you. I’ll go for a walk, be back for dinner."

Old Lady Wang called after him several times, but Ye Dong wouldn’t respond, leaving her sighing.

"Boss, weigh me a pound of meat, the fattier the better." Wang Hong cheerfully came to the village’s pork shop with the money, boldly buying a pound of meat.

"Oh, being so generous today. I saw Eldest Ye went out trading today; he must have made quite a bit?" The pork seller joked as he cut.

Wang Hong’s face turned awkward, mumbling, "It’s just starting, slowly but surely. Hey, how come there’s so much pork offal? Toss me a piece of liver?"

"No can do, someone ordered these. Don’t you know? These were ordered by Ye Laosan."

"Ye Laosan? Ye Qiu?" Wang Hong’s eyes widened.