The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 187

 

| TBBOTOF | 187

After Wei Zhonghong left the large house, she went straight home. As soon as she came out of the house, she saw Wu Hong, whose eyes were red.

She stopped him.

Wu Hong wiped his face and said, "I don't want to live at home anymore. I want to move out."

"Why?" Wei Zhonghong was startled and quickly asked, "What happened?"

"My sister-in-law said I'm already seventeen, that it's time for me to get married. She introduced me to her younger sister from her mother's side and told me to hurry up and get married. She also said that since I can earn money now, I should give more for the bride price, so her sister doesn't lose out." Wu Hong's face turned red in anger. "She even said I should pay for the ducks immediately, so I don't delay Brother Dong's plans."

Wei Zhonghong's face darkened. She patted Wu Hong's shoulder and said, "Come, let's go to your mother’s room."

She grabbed Wu Hong by the wrist and started pulling him back, shouting as she went, "Liu Shi! Get out here! I haven’t even said anything yet, and you're already eyeing the few coins your brother-in-law is earning! Do you have no shame?!"

Liu Shi was inside, nursing her child. Hearing her mother-in-law's yelling, she didn't panic. She set the clothes aside and came out holding the baby.

"Mother, what did I say wrong? I was just being considerate!"

"You were being considerate? There's no need for your 'kindness.' Let me tell you straight, from now on, our family won't be giving you money for household expenses anymore. If you've got money, you'll manage, if not, you'll go hungry," Wei Zhonghong sneered as she saw Liu Shi's face gradually change with her words. "I've worked hard for so many years, and I'm done taking care of you all. If you as sons and daughters-in-law want to give me money as filial piety, I'll take it. If not, I don't care. We're not splitting the family, but don't expect me to hand out any more money."

Her voice was loud, and her shouting brought everyone else in the house out.

It was cold, and the ground was frozen, so the men of the family were all at home.

Wu Shouye and Wu Shouxin, the two brothers, heard what their mother said and looked upset, each glaring at their own wives.

Wei Shi frowned and gently said, "Mother, don't say things in anger."

"I'm not speaking out of anger; I've thought it through," Wei Zhonghong coldly laughed and glanced at her. 

Then she pointed at Wu Hong. "Ah Hong has been busy lately, making a good amount of money selling braised offal. Soon, he'll be leaving to travel for business with Dongzi, so he won't be home much.

You two, as his older brothers, better put more effort into working the fields, or we won't have much harvest to sell each year. If that's the case, no one will have money to spend. Your father is getting older, and after spring, I don't plan on letting him work in the fields anymore—it's too tiring."

Wu Shouye's face twisted in a momentary grimace.

Wu Shouxin didn't look much better than his brother.

Wei Zhonghong wasn't finished and continued, "You two can just take care of your share of the land. I'm not an unreasonable mother. I've raised you both for so many years, and asking you to help with the farming isn't too much, right?

You can't expect to eat and drink for free and still take money, can you? What I say goes—our family won't split up. Isn't it better to live together, lively and bustling? But from now on, you'll wash your own clothes and take care of your own things. My back and waist are too sore to do it anymore."

"Oh, and as for the pigs and chickens in this house, I raised them. If you want to eat, you'll have to buy them with coins. I won't charge much, just a couple of coins cheaper than the market price. It'll save you a trip."

"As for the business with Dongzi, Ah Hong will continue handling it. Xu Ge’er said that it's only because of his good relationship with me that our family is able to make money from this. He's got your back, and however many cured ducks you can make, he'll buy them all. I'll help you with the work, but you'll have to pay me for it. Even between mother and son, we need to keep clear accounts. I can't just work for free, can I?"

Wu Hong widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at his mother. 

What was going on?

Just a few days ago, he'd watched his mother get so angry at his two sisters-in-law that her face had turned pale. But today, after going out once, it was like she'd unlocked some hidden power—her words were fierce and intimidating.

"Mother, what's happened to you?" He couldn't help but ask.

Wei Zhonghong let out a mocking laugh, looking at her sons and daughters-in-law, who had been frightened into silence after just a few sharp words. She waved her hand dismissively. "What's happened to me? I've just figured it out, that's all. Why waste time getting angry over useless things?

I'm the mother here; am I really going to let my daughters-in-law walk all over me? If they don't want to contribute money, fine, they don't have to. You've already put your money in, and Xuge said he'd buy each cured duck for eighty coins. Do the math: three hundred ducks! Just think how much money you'll make in one go."

Wu Hong's eyes lit up instantly. His mother hadn't mentioned before how much they'd get for the ducks. He'd guessed it would be around thirty coins each, at most.

Who would have thought it was eighty?!

He couldn't resist glancing at his brothers and their wives, whose faces were filled with shock, just as he'd expected.

The frustration that had been building up in Wu Hong vanished in an instant. He felt a surge of satisfaction and asked eagerly, "Really? It's really eighty coins?"

"Of course it's real. When has Xu Ge’er ever lied? I just spoke with him earlier. He even agreed to wait a few extra days for us to deliver the ducks, and he's already started drying his batch.

So get ready. But don't dry them at home—who knows if some rat might sneak out in the middle of the night and ruin them all. I'll help you find an empty house in the village. We’ll rent it and use it specifically for curing and drying ducks. And we'll get a couple of big dogs to guard the place. Anyone with bad intentions who tries to mess with us will get bitten!" 

Wei Zhonghong’s face was filled with determination, her words sharp and forceful as she spoke, even gritting her teeth at the end.

Liu Shi no longer had the energy to comfort the child in her arms. The thought that three hundred ducks could bring in twenty taels of silver left her in disbelief. If they had invested in one hundred ducks themselves, they could have earned at least seven or eight taels!

That was seven or eight taels of silver, earned with barely any effort!

Regret? They regretted it so much that their guts were tied in knots!

It wasn’t just Wu Hong who regretted it—Wei Shi also felt the same. She couldn’t help but silently blame Wei Zhonghong for deliberately not telling them the price for selling the ducks, making them think there wasn’t much profit.

That’s why, when the mother-in-law suggested each family buy a hundred ducks, she didn’t think to contribute any money.

Wei Shi tugged at Wu Shouxin’s arm and gave him a look, signaling for him to say something soft to their mother.

But Wu Shouxin ignored her. When their mother had initially asked for the money to buy ducks, proposing that each of the three brothers buy a hundred ducks, he and his elder brother had agreed.

After all, their mother had given them money here and there over the years—not a huge amount, but definitely enough to afford a hundred ducks.

Who would’ve thought that his wife would be so unwilling? She came up with all kinds of excuses and refused to give any money.

Wu Shouxin could still remember his mother’s expression from that moment, and he would remember it for the rest of his life.

Since they already said they wouldn't buy or get involved, why even bother speaking up again? There's no point in inviting another round of criticism from his mother.

What's more, Wu Shouxin was a thin-skinned person by nature, and he knew that if his mother hadn't angered her, she wouldn't have said those things just now.

Though it sounded like they weren't splitting the family, it was actually worse than splitting. From now on, they could live their lives however they wanted. His mother had decided not to help them at all anymore.

Thinking about this, he looked coldly at his wife: "From now on, you’ll have to handle the kids, do the laundry, cook, and take care of the house all by yourself. If you don't raise a couple of chickens, you might not even have meat to eat. When the time comes, don’t complain about being tired."

He sneered, "I'll be working in the fields most of the time, so I won't be around much. You figure it out."

After speaking, he walked up to Wei Zhonghong and lowered his head in apology, "Mother, I'm sorry. Your son is unfilial and incapable, and you've had to suffer these past few days."

Wei Zhonghong nodded and said, "It's alright. I know the pain in your heart. It's only now that I've realized it myself—no matter which part of the old Wei family we're talking about, the root is always the same. Some things will never change."

Wu Hong almost burst out laughing.

The root of the old Wei family?

The root of being obsessed with money!

To put it bluntly, and without sounding too ungrateful, his mother loved money just as much. But where she excelled was being clear sighted—she wouldn't let her greed show so blatantly!

Wei Shi's expression changed multiple times, and her eyes turned red.

Liu Shi also turned red with urgency and shouted, "Mother, you can’t do this! If you do, how are we supposed to live?"

"Why can't you live? When I was with your father, we had nothing, yet we still managed. Don’t worry, you won’t starve." Wei Zhonghong waved her hand dismissively and smiled at her. "Rest assured, your children are still a part of the Wu family. I won’t let them go hungry."

Her implication was clear: she wouldn’t let the little ones starve, but as for the adults, whether they went hungry or not was none of her concern.

At that moment, Wu Qiang, who had been inside the house all this time, finally opened the door and came out.

Wei Zhonghong folded her arms across her chest and looked at her husband, "What do you say, husband?"

Wu Qiang glanced around at everyone in the courtyard, nodded with a serious expression, and said, "What your mother says is right. Sounds good to me." 

After that, he motioned to his wife, "Hong’er, let’s go back inside and rest a bit. Don’t catch a cold."

Satisfied, Wei Zhonghong walked over to Wu Qiang, linked her arm with his, and asked him, "Is there still a jar of sorghum wine that Xu Ge’er sent us a while ago? Later, I’ll kill a chicken, and we can have stir-fried chicken and some wine." 

She then turned to Wu Hong and asked, "Ah Hong, do you want some? If you do, pay up—five copper coins."

Wu Hong nodded, "Yes, of course I want some. Mother, I’ll pay, and you can make an extra portion for me with each meal."

Having said that, he followed his parents inside.

The rest of the people looked at each other in silence, but there was nothing they could do.

Their father had spoken, so there was no chance of turning things around.

Wu Shouxin sneered and said to his wife, "Why are you just standing there? Isn’t it time to make lunch? Good thing we have several stoves in the house; otherwise, we’d all have to wait in line to cook."

After saying this, he walked off without even exchanging a glance with his elder brother.

Wei Shi’s face flushed red from the criticism of her husband, but she didn’t dare talk back. After all, at the heart of this issue, it was their fault. 

Now, she could only take it one step at a time. Seeing her husband return to the house, she quickly followed behind him.

Liu Shi was so angry that she stomped her foot, then turned to Wu Shouye and complained bitterly, "How could your mother do this?"

"Why not? She’s always been the one managing the family’s money. If she doesn’t want to give you any, what can you do about it? Don’t we still have land to farm? You won’t starve." 

Wu Shouye, who rarely directed his frustration at his wife, couldn’t hold back and snapped at her, "If you hadn’t been there nagging and making a fuss, would Mother have gotten mad enough to cut us off? Well, now it’s done, and you don’t have to worry about anything anymore."

With that, he flung his hand in frustration, snorted, and went back inside.

"I was only thinking about our family!" Liu Shi sobbed, tears streaming down her face in frustration.

Wu Shouye nodded and said sarcastically, "Isn’t that right? You’re carefully guarding your few measly things—let’s see what you can achieve. Meanwhile, fourth brother has gone off with Dongzi to make money. Aren’t you envious? He’s earning twenty taels!"

Liu Shi gritted her teeth, dissatisfied, "How can it be like this?"

"How can it not be? Haven't you figured out Dongzi and Xu Ge’er characters after two years? Do you dare to go against them? Believe it or not, Dongzi could knock half your life out of you with one slap. He wouldn’t care if you’re a woman." Wu Shouye finished speaking and pointed towards the kitchen. "Go cook, I’m hungry."

Fuming, Liu Shi hugged her child tightly, and stormed past him into the house. "Let whoever wants to cook do it. I’m not doing it. If we’re hungry, so be it!"

Wu Shouye glared at her, "I think you need a good beating!"

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