章 11: Chapter 10 Old Affairs of the Chens

After hearing the boy speak about what he knew of the three brothers Chen Ming, and recalling what Chen Ming had said in the evening, along with his supplement from his own imagination, Chen Afu knew something of the Chen family's past affairs.

The father of the three Chen siblings disliked toiling in the fields because it didn't earn them much money, so he followed a distant relative to do business. He made some money over ten years and gradually added over twenty acres of land to their property. He intended to retire after one last business trip, but unfortunately, he fell off a cliff and died on that journey. At that time, the eldest, Chen Ye was nine years old, the second child, Chen Ming was seven years old, and the youngest, Chen Shi was five years old.

Only women and children were left at home. Chen Ming's uncle and aunt had the idea of occupying their property. They moved to Chen Ye's home, intending to take over his fields, and drove the widow to remarry.

In the eyes of others, the uncle supposedly wants to help manage the family affairs because of the possible remarriage of the widow and the young age of the nephews. However, the widow vowed not to remarry, and the children, intelligent as they are, didn't want outsiders to intervene in their affairs, which is understandable too.

Although Chen Ye's uncle and aunt were strong and able, Chen Ye's home had only a widowed mother and orphaned child. The vast majority of the villagers believed that the final winner would be Chen Ye's uncle and aunt.

Chen Ye was a thoughtful teenager, and Mrs. Chen was not a weak woman; of course they would not let their property be taken away by others. After discussion between the two, they secretly sold four acres of land and used the twenty taels of silver they earned to send generous gifts to Junior Officer Gao's family and the more reputable members of their clan, asking them for help.

Those families inherently disliked the disreputable conduct of Chen Ye's uncle, and now that they had received such nice gifts, they helped the Chen widow and her child drive away the greedy uncle and kept the family property intact.

Taking this lesson to heart, at a young age, Chen Ye realized that his family must become stronger to avoid being bullied. He thought that toiling in the fields was not a career with potential, but felt that doing business like his father was too dangerous. He believed his two brothers were clever and showed promise in their studies. So he convinced Mrs. Chen to sell a few more acres to send his brothers to school. Chen Ye, who had previously been learning at a private school, stopped his studies. He didn't have the conditions to continue studying, and he couldn't concentrate on his studies.

Mrs. Chen was a woman who followed her husband when he was alive, and followed her son after her husband died, so she followed her son's arrangement.

After selling another four acres of land, there were still eighteen acres left in the family. From then on, Chen Ye and Mrs. Chen went to work in the fields early in the morning and returned home late at night. Unlike before, they didn't hire long-term workers to manage the lands. They only hired short-term help when both mother and son were too overwhelmed during the busiest farming periods.

Both Chen Ming and Chen Shi were sensible. Seeing their mother and brother working so hard, they were diligent in their studies. When Chen Ming turned thirteen, he became a child student and the teacher said he would surely become a scholar the next year. Unfortunately, he contracted a cold the second year, which later developed into tuberculosis. It nearly killed him, and he had to stop his education.

Chen Shi was not as academically inclined as Chen Ming, but he was astute and had a sweet tongue. Knowing that he could not achieve anything academically, he decided to take what he had learned so far and use it to his advantage. At the age of twelve, he left his studies, went to a shop in the county town to work as an assistant, then as an accountant. Later, he married the owner's daughter and opened his own shop in the capital city.

When Chen Ming turned eighteen, the Chen family formally divided their property. At that time, Chen Ming was seriously ill, and the money spent on his treatment was like running water. Chen Shi wanted to start a business in the capital city, which also required large amounts of money.

Mrs. Chen was torn between favouring Chen Ming and the potential burden of his illness on his brothers, so she proposed to divide the family. When the family was divided, the farms that belonged to Chen Ming were used for his treatment. If he could be cured, it would be a blessing; if not, it would not burden his two brothers.

The family had a courtyard and sixteen acres of land left. The courtyard and an extra acre of land were given to the eldest son's family, not only because Mrs. Chen needed them to take care of her in her old age, but also because of Chen Ye's hard work. The remaining fifteen acres of land were divided equally among the three brothers, each family receiving five acres.

Chen Ye first helped Chen Ming sell an acre of land. Chen Ye and Chen Shi privately added one to two taels of silver each to buy the small courtyard where Chen Ming's family now lives.

Just after the family division, Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye heard that the Wang family's daughter, who had been married off to Mr. Chen's family in the neighboring town as a child bride, had been rejected by her mother-in-law and sent back home. They knew that Mrs. Wang was a lucky star. She was the one who had turned things around for Mr. Chen's seriously ill father. Moreover, she had learned exquisite embroidery skills from Mr. Chen's mother. If they married her, they would be able to afford Chen Ming's treatment.

Although Mrs. Wang had been married once, it was not certain whether she would be willing to marry Chen Ming, a sick man. Nonetheless, Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye personally visited her to propose the marriage. Unbelievably, they succeeded.

This was another smart decision made by Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye.

Once Mrs. Wang became part of the Chen family, she not only "revitalized" Chen Ming and worked diligently to earn money for his treatment, but seven months later she also gave premature birth to a daughter due to an accident. A few years later, she gave birth to a son. Although the daughter was mentally disabled, the son was clever and sensible. What a pity that he eventually became lame.

The above is what Chen Afu heard and supplemented with her imagination. There were still more secret things she didn't know.

Mrs. Wang's mother, who was her stepmother, said that as long as the Chen family could come up with ten taels of silver as a betrothal gift, she would immediately marry Mrs. Wang to them. Chen Ming was already seriously ill, how could he find ten taels of silver? The remaining four acres of farmland were the capital for his future survival and recovery, and he was definitely not willing to sell it for a betrothal gift.

When Mrs. Chen and her son walked out of the village dejectedly, Mrs. Wang pursued them. She said she had ten taels of silver given to her by Mr. Chen, and she was willing to use this money as a betrothal gift to marry into the Chen family. However, there was a condition...

After a long whispered consultation, they finally reached an agreement. Mrs. Wang took out a silver note of ten taels from the lining of her clothes and handed it to Mrs. Chen. The next day, the Chens hired a matchmaker to propose a marriage. Because Chen Ming was critically ill, three days later, Mrs. Wang was carried into Chen Ming's courtyard in a sedan chair.

Chen Afu thought that Mrs. Chen was a good mother who genuinely cared for her three sons.-life. Each of the three sons live different lives now, but each was doing the best they could given their circumstances. If another village woman had been in her place, the family's life certainly wouldn't have been as good as hers.

Both Chen Ye and Chen Shi served as good brothers, especially Chen Ye. He had vision and sturdy resolution. He knew how to love his brothers appropriately, but he would not let his own life be unbearable.

It wasn't bad for Mrs. Chen and Chen Ye to come this far, at least they truly cared for Chen Ming and Chen Alu. Even though they disliked her and Dabao, they still tolerated Mrs. Wang supporting them.

Mrs. Hu, however, was out of line. Chen Ming was critically ill, and aside from Mrs. Wang, the family members were all physically weak or disabled. Where would they get the extra money to show respect to her? Moreover, it would be acceptable to respect Mrs. Chen and show gratitude to Chen Ye, but to respect Mrs. Hu? Who does she think she is?

As for that Mr. Chen... uh, he also has the last name Chen! He is probably the biological father of this body? Judging by the boy's implication, it's not a secret that Mrs. Wang served as Mr. Chen's child bride.

She asked again, "Does Dabao know about — Mr. Chen?"

The boy's big eyes rolled around, and he whispered, "Mother, you can only ask your son about this, but never ask grandpa or grandma."

Do you really think I'm a fool? Chen Afu smiled and nodded, saying, "Mother knows."

.........

Thanks for your various supports, thank you! Thank you for the red envelope from Keppra, thank you very much!

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