Chapter 366: A Bowl of Water

Chapter 366: Chapter 366: A Bowl of Water

Yesterday morning, after breakfast, the four members of the Xu family began loading vats onto a flatbed cart.

They were halfway through when the eldest son, Xu Laisheng, and his wife, Mrs. Mao, showed up.

It was unclear where they had heard the rumor, but they came believing that the strange concoctions Xu Laifu had been messing with had finally found a buyer—a major one, at that—and that he had sold the entire lot!

The couple rushed over to see for themselves. Seeing the vats being loaded onto the cart, how could it be a lie?

Without another word, they held out their hands and demanded money from Xu Laifu.

But what money did the Xu family have left?

When the family property had been divided, the fields, the house, the grain, the livestock—everything that could be split was split. As the eldest branch of the family with two sons, they had received more than their fair share, never less.

Yet they were still not satisfied. Mrs. Mao would still come over and cause a scene from time to time.

She would claim the old couple had saved money their entire lives, so where was it? Why had they only been given a few taels of silver? It had to be because Mr. and Mrs. Xu were biased, favoring their second and youngest sons, treating their eldest as if he were some stray they’d picked up.

Mrs. Xu had been angered to the point of illness by her on several occasions.

In all fairness, the old couple had done their best to treat all their children equally.

If there had been any favoritism, it had been toward their eldest son in the past. Who wouldn’t dote on their firstborn son?

However, ever since their eldest got married, Mrs. Mao had constantly sowed discord, and he had gradually grown distant from his parents and brothers. In the end, he was the one who had even suggested splitting up the family.

"You keep accusing us of spending money on your second brother, but you, Eldest Son, search your heart and ask yourself: have you spent any less?

When you were thirteen, you cried and threw a fit, demanding to go to the county town to become an apprentice. You studied for four whole years without earning a single coin for this family. Every month, your father had to bring you spending money, and when he told you to be more frugal, you complained to high heaven.

What could we do? We had to scrape from our own mouths to support you. During those years, your two younger brothers never got a single new set of clothes. Don’t you have any self-awareness?

And what was the result? Just when you were about to finish your apprenticeship, you started hanging around with a bunch of hooligans and even gave your master’s son a severe beating.

We had to swallow our pride and go to their home to apologize. We didn’t even dare to wipe away the spit that landed on our faces. They forcefully threw us out, and in the end, we had to pay twenty-eight taels of silver just to settle the matter.

Our family’s savings were wiped out in an instant. Your two younger brothers could no longer afford their studies and had to drop out of school. If your father didn’t have a trade, our whole family would have been left with nothing to eat.

You never formally completed your apprenticeship, but you studied for three or four years. And what did you learn in all that time?

You were too proud for menial work but not skilled enough for anything better. You couldn’t hold down a job at any shop for long, and it was always someone else’s fault. You were never the problem, were you?

Your two younger brothers had already started earning money for the family, yet you were still asking me for more! Have you no shame?

The family worked to the bone for years, and our situation finally improved a little. Then you set your eyes on that woman from the Yu family and started clamoring to get married.

The Yu family saw how desperate you were and demanded a betrothal gift of over ten taels of silver, on top of building a separate house for you... Have you ever stopped to calculate how much all of that cost?

When your two sons were born, I cooked and did laundry for your wife, served her hand and foot, cared for her during her postpartum confinement, and washed dirty diapers. Did I ever complain? And what did we get for it? Not a single word of thanks. Instead, you act as if we, your elders, owe you something!

What in the world do your father and I owe you?

Eldest Son, think about it. Before you were married, you never gave this family a single coin. After you were married, every bit of money you earned went to your wife. How do you have the gall to ask us for money?

Our old bones might be able to withstand you mooching off us, but can we withstand you dragging your wife and children along to mooch off us too?

You and your wife claim your brother wasted the sorghum, and that I gave him all my private savings to spend.

Never mind that what your brother spent is just a drop in the bucket compared to what you’ve spent. Let me just ask you this: You are my son, but is he not? You’re allowed to spend our money, but he isn’t?

Your brothers aren’t even married yet! As their older brother, why can’t you spare a thought for them?

Fine, don’t think about them if you don’t want to. But you can’t stop your father and me from providing for them.

It’s our hard-earned money. We’ll give it to whichever son we please. We haven’t wronged anyone, and it’s none of your or your wife’s business.

You, on the other hand, Eldest Son, you’ve been bleeding your parents dry for years. If you have even an ounce of gratitude for us, then show some decency!"

This was what Mrs. Xu had said the first time Mrs. Mao had stormed over to cause a scene.

It was a heartfelt speech. Anyone with a shred of shame or conscience would have been mortified, even if they weren’t moved.

Xu Laisheng had actually wanted to drop the matter, but Mrs. Mao was behind him, pushing him and forbidding him from backing down.

"Even if we don’t think about ourselves, we have to think about Da Wa and Er Wa! We need this money to save up for their education and future marriages! They’re your parents’ own flesh-and-blood grandsons. They can’t just care about their sons and ignore their grandsons, can they?"

Xu Laisheng’s wavering resolve hardened once more under Mrs. Mao’s incessant nagging.

He stubbornly insisted that the family’s money was meant to be shared among the three brothers—their parents had said so themselves. But, he claimed, their share had been diverted to the second brother, which was why they had received so little when the family split. So they weren’t asking their parents for the money; they were asking their brother.

And just like that, a debt was placed on Xu Laifu’s head.

Eldest Xu and his wife had pushed to split the family in the first place because Xu Laifu’s brewing experiments were like a bottomless pit for money, and they were afraid of being dragged down with him.

After the split, they kept a close watch, eager to see if his venture would ever turn a profit.

From the latter half of last year to the latter half of this year, countless materials had been wasted, but finally, there was a batch ready to be opened.

They watched day after day. But whatever Xu Laifu carried to the city in the morning, he brought back in the evening. Not a single bottle sold.

A few days ago, he had come back empty-handed, but it turned out his goods had been trampled and smashed by a wealthy family’s horse. ℯℯ𝑙.

Mrs. Mao had hounded him, asking if he’d been compensated. Xu Laifu wasn’t an idiot; he retorted, asking her if she’d ever seen a rich family pay compensation for an accident they caused.

After a round of indirect curses, Mrs. Mao retreated in defeat.

Now, seeing all the vats about to be hauled away, she was determined not to let the matter rest until she had money in her hands.

Xu Laifu had chosen the second option Ji Huan offered. The goods hadn’t been sold yet, so where would he get any money?

But Mrs. Mao refused to believe it. ’Someone ordering so many vats at once wouldn’t pay a deposit?’

She planned to get her hands on that deposit first and worry about the rest later.

Xu Laifu explained that he had consigned the goods to someone else to sell. If they didn’t sell, he wouldn’t get a single coin, and there was certainly no deposit.

Mrs. Mao refused to listen and started throwing another tantrum.

She ran to the main gate, clapping her hands and shouting at the top of her lungs, calling for all the villagers to come and see how her parents-in-law were favoring their second son.

The villagers all knew what kind of people Mr. and Mrs. Xu were and despised Mrs. Mao’s behavior. Unfortunately, people love a good spectacle, and the truth of the matter wasn’t always so important.

Having their family’s dirty laundry aired in public and being gawked at time and again made Mrs. Xu feel faint with anger and shame.

But Mrs. Mao felt no shame. She was a practical woman; as long as she got her money, nothing else mattered.

Convinced the money was hidden somewhere in the house, she insisted on searching it.

What right did she have to do that? Naturally, Mr. and Mrs. Xu refused.

However, Xu Laifu stopped his parents, telling them to let her search. She wouldn’t find anything, and it would only ruin her own reputation.

Mrs. Mao dragged Xu Laisheng inside and searched for half the day, only to find a few strings of loose coins.

She didn’t believe that was all there was and began to suspect the money was hidden on their persons. But she couldn’t very well frisk her own parents-in-law.

Xu Laifu took the initiative and turned out his own pockets, as well as those of his parents and younger brother, for her to inspect.

Seeing there was truly no silver, Mrs. Mao was utterly disappointed.

"I told you not to mess with this stuff from the beginning, but you refused to listen! And look at you now, you can’t even give it away for free. I don’t care! You have to give us our share today! Whether you sell it later or not is your business. We won’t ask for a second thing from you ever again."

Mrs. Xu was so furious she nearly fell over backward. "When we split the family, we put all the money on the table and divided it! Where is this share we supposedly owe you? You’re a daughter-in-law, yet you come here every day to harass your husband’s parents! Have you no shame at all!"

Mrs. Mao tuned out the first part of the tirade, but the last sentence came through loud and clear.

She immediately flew into a rage, putting on a full performance with wailing, shrieking, and theatrics. Xu Laisheng couldn’t calm her down. Growing desperate, he bent down, grabbed a brick, and smashed it against the nearest vat.

"Say something, Second Brother! Stop hiding behind Mom and Dad and letting them fight your battles! Don’t push me!"

A large hole was smashed into the vat. A dark, reddish-brown liquid gushed out, pooling on the ground in an instant. It was too late to save any of it.