Chapter 714 - 368: Disregarding Right and Wrong (Part 2)

Chapter 714: Chapter 368: Disregarding Right and Wrong (Part 2)

Juhua said softly, "Go to the kitchen and tell my mother to pack up a meal and take it to Father and the others in the fields. Tell them there’s no need to come back. You take your meal to the west room to eat, too. Don’t go into the main hall, and just ignore them. I’ll eat later."

Pu Pao nodded and went to the kitchen to tell He.

’You can’t give people like that an inch,’ she thought. ’They eat our food and then give us grief. That grain won’t go bad just sitting in storage, so why on earth should we serve it to them?’

In the main hall, Huai Zi was silent for a moment before taking the lead. "Great-grandfather, if there’s nothing else, I need to get back to the fields. It’s getting colder every day, and we can’t afford to delay the harvest. Since the family is so busy, I won’t be asking you all to stay for a meal..."

Great-grandfather’s eyes widened in fury. "Are you trying to kick us out?"

Huai Zi’s face was a stony mask. "Does Great-grandfather think we should abandon our fieldwork, let the grain rot in the fields, and sit here shooting the breeze with you? Even if our ancestors were to climb out of their graves this very minute, seeing that it’s the height of the harvest, they would tell us to put the grain first!"

Grandpa Wu, who had been silent all this time, saw the anger rising in Zhang Huai and cut in, "That’s still no way to speak to an elder!"

Zhang Huai stared at him, enunciating every word. "If you want to be called an elder, then you should act like one and earn people’s respect. For more than a decade, you paid us no mind. The moment you show up, you demand I divorce my wife and take a concubine. You come to our door raising a fuss time and again, completely ignoring our hard work while the crops wait in the fields to be brought in. All you care about is venting your own anger. Is that what an elder does? We farmers fear nothing more than having no harvest. To plant the grain and then treat it so lightly at the last moment... I fear even Heaven itself would not permit it!"

The men were struck dumb. Who would dare to disregard the crops? Who would dare say it was fine not to bring in the harvest? You’d be drowned in spit for saying such a thing.

After a long silence, Great-grandfather finally waved a hand. "Go on, get back to your work. We don’t need you to entertain us. We’ll just sit here and wait for your father."

Zhang Huai was enraged. He turned, grabbed a small stool, slammed it down in the middle of the hall, and sat, planting himself there like a nail. "Since Great-grandfather clearly has no respect for us and is determined to make a scene," he said grimly, "then I’ll indulge you. Go on, Great-grandfather, say what you have to say. Let’s hear what other brilliant ideas you’ve come up with."

Great-grandfather was taken aback. "Who said anything about making a scene?"

Huai Zi shot back, "If you’re not here to make a scene, then why are you waiting for my father? Is there something you can’t say to me that you absolutely must say to him, Great-grandfather? My family is running ourselves ragged, we don’t even have time to eat, and you’re all just sitting here specifically to cause us trouble?"

Seventh Grandfather snorted. "Running yourselves ragged? You’ve got one hiding in her room and another, an outsider, being supported in the west room. You and your father sure have a fine way of managing the family budget!"

Huai Zi whipped his head around to glare at him. "Meddling in my family’s business again! Does Seventh Grandfather think you should be invited to run our household? In that case, where were you all this time? We never saw hide nor hair of you before. So why are you sticking your nose in now?"

As for why? Did he even have to ask?

Even with his airs of authority, Great-grandfather couldn’t take it anymore. The truth was, he didn’t want to sever ties with this branch of the family; he just wanted Zhang Dashuan and his son to respect them as elders. But the more they argued, the more rigid the situation became. He had lost all face as an elder, and there was no point in posturing any longer. Furious, he rose to his feet. "Let’s go! Their family has a scholar now. We’re clearly not good enough for them. Let’s not stay here and make a fool of ourselves."

But Zhang Huai wouldn’t let him distort the truth. "We did show you respect, as is proper. Even though you ignored us for over ten years, didn’t we serve you good food and wine at the full moon celebration? But some people have no regard for a scholar’s family. They demand a man divorce his wife and take a concubine, and when he refuses, they throw their weight around as elders to bully him, not even letting him get his farm work done in peace."

So angry he couldn’t even manage a retort, Great-grandfather simply lowered his head and stormed out of the courtyard.

He felt he couldn’t win an argument against the boy. ’He did study for two years, after all,’ he thought. ’He has some learning in him, and his words are different. He beat me at every turn. He’s nothing like my own grandsons. When they see me, they’re like mice before a cat—they don’t even dare to fart.’ He never stopped to consider, however, just who had made his grandsons that way.

With him gone, Grandpa Wu and Seventh Grandfather had no choice but to beat a retreat and follow. Zhang Huai, his face grim, escorted them out of the courtyard. He watched until they disappeared into the distance before turning back.

Great-grandfather walked a good long way, not stopping until the willow grove completely obscured the Zhang’s courtyard. Only then did he turn and berate Grandpa Wu. "This is all because of that old woman of yours! Telling him to divorce his wife and take a concubine, just like that. Is that something an elder should say? If she wanted to marry off her granddaughter, what has she been doing all this time?"

He was bursting with anger and had nowhere to direct it, so he unleashed it on Grandpa Wu. ’It was Fifth Brother and his wife who offended their nephew’s family,’ he thought. ’What did it have to do with me? I just came all this way to get an earful for nothing.’

Grandpa Wu retorted angrily, "If he doesn’t want to divorce her, then he doesn’t have to! No one said he absolutely must. My wife was just trying to scare off the Zheng Family. That wretched girl ruined her health giving birth. Are we wrong for offering to give him a daughter for free to help him produce a son? Hmph! I refuse to believe he doesn’t want it. You think he doesn’t get tired of looking at that ugly woman all day? Who does he think he’s fooling with this act?"

A thought sparked in Great-grandfather’s mind. He shot Grandpa Wu a look. "That’s their family’s business. Didn’t you notice? That Huai Zi absolutely hates it when people meddle in his affairs."

He suddenly realized how foolish Fifth Granny had been. ’How could she bring it up so directly?’ he thought. ’If she had just taken her granddaughter to visit the Zhang family a few more times, or better yet, found an excuse for her to stay with them for a while... Huai Zi is a young man in his prime. Even if he wasn’t bothered by his ugly wife, he wouldn’t be able to resist having a pretty girl hanging around. They might not have had to do a thing; he might have come begging for her himself.’

The more he considered it, the more he liked the idea. He decided he would go home and have his own wife find an opportunity to go chat with He. First, it would smooth things over; they couldn’t afford to let this family tie be broken. Second, the scheme that Grandpa Wu bungled, he might just pull off without even trying.

At this thought, his steps grew much lighter, and the vexation from earlier suddenly dissipated. He glanced at Grandpa Wu and Seventh Grandfather beside him, but didn’t say a word as he strode off. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote with recommendation tickets or monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)