Chapter 1585 - 1574: Honest Fool

Chapter 1585: Chapter 1574: Honest Fool

When Wang Hong heard her husband say that, she immediately thought of the smell she’d caught that day at Ye Qiu’s home. Could that have been braised dishes? No wonder it smelled so good. No wonder the butcher said he’d wrapped up all the pig offal—turns out they’d secretly started this kind of business behind their own family’s back!

Thinking of this, Wang Hong got furious, feeling that Ye Qiu and Niu Xue Mei as a couple were guarding against her, that they just wanted to quietly make a fortune.

Even though the family’s split, they’re still brothers, still one family—not like Ye Xia who’s already married off and belongs to someone else’s household. How can Ye Qiu and his wife be so stupid?

No, she had to snatch this business.

Old Lady Wang and her son and daughter‑in‑law went straight to Ye Qiu’s home, only to find that there wasn’t a single candle burning in the thatched house. As soon as they stepped into the yard, they saw the doors were all locked. Either they hadn’t come back yet, or no one had lived there for days.

"Mom, their pigs, dogs, and chickens and ducks are all gone. They must have moved out long ago." Wang Hong walked a lap around front and back and said.

Her eyes were red, clearly eaten up with jealousy: "Such a big thing and they didn’t say a word to us—that’s treating us like outsiders. Mom, Ye Qiu and his wife must have made a big fortune, otherwise how could they move out so fast?"

"Could the third son be blaming me over the split? But it was his woman who brought up splitting the family first, wasn’t it? And the division was done according to the rules—what’s he angry about? When something good comes along, instead of thinking of his own brothers he goes to help outsiders. Are outsiders going to take care of him in his old age and bury him?" Ye Chun said, holding in his anger, wishing Old Lady Wang would speak up for him right now and grab all of Ye Qiu’s business.

"Shut up." Old Lady Wang glared at the couple. "If back when the third was sick you two had shown even a bit of concern and taken some care of him, do you think he’d have found a way and not thought of his big brother?"

Ye Chun’s face went green from the scolding. Good thing he hadn’t said what was in his heart—if we’re talking fault and heartlessness, wasn’t the most heartless one back then his own mother? The third was her own flesh‑and‑blood son, and when she saw he was failing she wouldn’t even hire a doctor. He shivered at the thought: if the one dying of illness had been him, would his mother have chosen to save him?

Right now Ye Chun actually couldn’t give himself a definite answer, because he knew his mother loved him, but she loved Silver just as much, so he couldn’t judge.

One thing he could decide, though, was that he would make sure to save up more Silver for himself from now on. The money he earned in future couldn’t all be handed over to his mother. What if at a critical moment she refused to take it out? What if she took the money to subsidize the Fourth? That would be regret beyond remedy.

"Mom, the third’s matter isn’t my fault alone. But I think tomorrow we can go together and admit our mistake to him. What kind of family holds grudges overnight? Everyone being rich together is true wealth, isn’t it? He’s alone out there fighting by himself—if he gets bullied, there’s no one to help him. Tomorrow let’s talk things over properly with the third." Ye Chun said this whole spiel that sounded quite profound, and felt especially knowledgeable at that moment.

"Mm, what you’re saying isn’t wrong." Old Lady Wang nodded. "Since that’s the case, get up early tomorrow. You, as the Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt, buy something for the two children to take over."

"Buy things for two little girls?" Wang Hong raised her voice, clearly very unwilling.

Old Lady Wang sneered: "You want something from someone else’s family and you can’t even bear this little bit? Is that how you do business?"

Wang Hong’s expression turned ugly. She mumbled, "Aren’t they just two girls? They’ll be married off sooner or later—what pastries do they need to eat?"

"Well, you’re already married into our family now, so from now on don’t go back to your mother’s house, and don’t bring anything to them."

At that, Wang Hong fell silent, thinking she’d just buy the cheapest things she could find tomorrow.

Ye Qiu had long known that his doing business couldn’t be kept from his parents for too long; he just hadn’t expected them to come looking so fast, and even more so that they’d righteously demand he hand over part of the business to the eldest and the Fourth.

In fact, when Ye Chun and Wang Hong heard Old Lady Wang say they had to cut the Fourth a slice too, they were furious as well. They were the ones buying things, they were the ones going to apologize—why should the Fourth get a free bargain? They didn’t dare talk back to Old Lady Wang; they could only hope Ye Qiu would refuse.

But Ye Qiu refused completely. Ye Qiu wouldn’t help anyone. Why should he hand the business to Ye Chun and Ye Dong?

"Mom, Big Brother, Elder Sister‑in‑law, have you all forgotten what was said when we split the family?" He looked at the crowd with a blank face. "Back when I was sick, I couldn’t speak, but that didn’t mean my Divine Sense was unclear. Mom, you directly gave up on me. And Big Brother, as my own brother, even the neighbors all came to see me when I was ill—what about you and Elder Sister‑in‑law? Did either of you help me with a single thing?"

"So you’re holding a grudge against me now?" Ye Chun said, face dark.

Ye Qiu’s tone was cutting: "Am I not supposed to hold a grudge? You call this brotherhood? A brother who only ever thinks of squeezing me and never once thinks of helping me?"

"When did I ever squeeze you? Don’t talk nonsense."

"Never? Back before the split, with all that work at home, how much did you and Elder Sister‑in‑law actually do? But whose money was mostly used to keep that household running? Mom wouldn’t hire a doctor for me, and you tacitly agreed to let me die, didn’t you? After the split my health was shot, moving house was such a hassle. The neighbors all came to help—did you? Big Brother, how do you have the nerve now to ask me to hand over a profitable business to you?"

Ye Chun’s face flushed bright red. "We’re brothers, blood brothers whose bones may break but tendons still hold. You don’t have a son—won’t it be my son who has to support you in your old age and bury you?"

"I once thought we were brothers too. I once thought I should raise Cong Hui and Cong Huang so they’d be filial to me in future. But then I realized I was wrong. For what Xue Mei and I have given, you’ve never had an ounce of gratitude. Your son not only bullies my daughter, you yourself stand by and watch me die. And now you say your son will support Xue Mei and me in old age? Big Brother, are you joking?"

Ye Chun was struck speechless by Ye Qiu’s words. He’d never known his third brother had acquired such a sharp tongue.

"Elder Sister‑in‑law, do you still remember what you said the day you left my place? You said we’d wait and see, said I’d better not count on those two nephews in future. Do you remember what your goal was that day in coming to my house? To make Xue Mei and me keep working for you for free? It’s hard to believe people who did such things to me are actually my own Big Brother and Elder Sister‑in‑law."

At that, Wang Hong also remembered that day. Just thinking about it made her face burn, and she regretted it terribly. If she’d known how things would be now, why had she said such spiteful words back then?

"That was all said in anger. I only thought Mom told me to come find you—if I didn’t go, Mom would blame me again. Of course I’d be scared and angry," Wang Hong said awkwardly, dumping all the responsibility onto her mother‑in‑law.

Old Lady Wang glared at her eldest daughter‑in‑law, never imagining she’d publicly accuse her like this!