Chapter 58: Letter

When Sun’s mentioned Zhou Huaishan, Zhou Huaihai’s face darkened suddenly.

"Father, Mother, are we just going to let the second and third brothers continue their antics? They’ve completely ruined the family’s reputation!"

This younger brother really made him lose face. 

If it weren’t for Zhou Huaishan’s obsession with studying, and his repeated troublemaking, the family wouldn’t have ended up like this!

Today, they wouldn’t have been humiliated by Wang Qiang’s parents.

Zhou Huaihai was furious.

"What are we eating every day? Look at what they’re eating—these are dishes from the best restaurant in the county, Fushun Restaurant. These two dishes alone cost more than twenty taels!"

Old Zhou’s eyes widened in shock!

Two dishes, more than twenty taels?

The second son’s cart was loaded with half a cart of food!

How much did that cost!

Where did the second son get the money?

Sun’s eyes widened at Zhou Huaihai’s words, "What? These two dishes cost more than twenty taels? The second son’s cart was loaded with half a cart!"

"Half a cart?"

Wang and Zhou Huaishan both exclaimed in shock.

"No wonder the second brother wanted to split the family. It turns out he found a way to make money!" Zhou Huaihai gritted his teeth and snorted coldly, "I wondered why such a honest person suddenly changed his behavior—it turns out he’s got money now!"

Wang, envious, burst into tears.

"Poor Yuan, out there alone, not knowing what he eats every day."

Wang’s mention of Zhou Yuan made Sun shed tears of sympathy.

The second and third sons enjoy delicious food and drinks, yet her eldest grandson is suffering outside.

Slamming her thigh, Sun said, "Husband, this matter cannot be left as it is. We’ve all been fooled by the second and third sons!"

Old Zhou’s face was black, and he remained silent.

Sun anxiously pushed him, "Say something!"

Old Zhou replied harshly, "The handprints were stamped last night, what else can we do?"

Sun retorted, "Things are up to the people involved!"

Wang chimed in, "Yes, Mother is right. Things are up to the people involved."

To vent their anger, the family of four ate with vigor, turning their frustration into strength.

The result of the overeating was that, before they could even put down their bowls, the entire family was holding their stomachs.

However, there was only one outhouse.

With their stomachs churning, they couldn’t wait. Even holding back a fart felt like everything inside might come rushing out.

There was no choice.

Old Zhou went to the outhouse.

The remaining three, in the large courtyard of the Zhou family, each occupied a space.

Fortunately, it was dark, so they couldn’t see each other clearly.

"Mother, was there something in the dishes?" Wang had not yet fully removed her pants, everything came out, splattering her legs.

The mess was both disgusting and stinky, nearly making Wang faint.

Sun squatted on the ground, sweating from stomach pain.

"That damned little bastard, I knew she had bad intentions!"

Sun cursed through gritted teeth, completely forgetting how she obtained the dishes.

Anyway, she was convinced that it was Zhou Qing who had poisoned her.

Zhou Huaihai squatted on the ground, feeling utterly humiliated. "Mother, we can’t let this slide!"

In the outhouse, Old Zhou’s legs were so weak he almost fell into the pit.

Even a strong man can’t withstand three bouts of diarrhea.

Throughout the night, the Zhou family made four or five trips to the outhouse, and by morning, everyone’s legs were shaking.

Forget about finding trouble with Zhou Qing, the four of them had to lie in bed for three days to regain some strength.

On the fourth day, before Sun could confront Zhou Qing, a letter arrived from Zhou Yuan.

A letter from Zhou Yuan was naturally of utmost importance.

The four gathered around as Zhou Huaihai opened and read the letter.

After reading the letter, all four were stunned.

Zhou Yuan had gone on a study tour during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and on the way, he met the third miss of the Count of Duan kang’s household.

The third miss accidentally fell into the water while on a boat, and Zhou Yuan saved her in time.

Originally, the Count of Duan kang’s household wanted to reward Zhou Yuan with a large sum of money, but the third miss had taken a liking to Zhou Yuan and wanted to marry him.

Now, Zhou Yuan had gone to Capital with the third miss of the Count’s household.

In the letter, Zhou Yuan informed them that he would no longer participate in the imperial exams. The Count’s household would arrange a position for him in Capital.

Once he settled there and the marriage was confirmed, he would bring them to Capital.

In the letter, Zhou Yuan also included a silver note worth a thousand taels for Zhou Huaihai to buy a big house in the county, making it their new home.

After reading the letter, Wang and Sun embraced and cried with excitement.

"I knew Yuan was promising, but I didn’t expect him to have such an accomplishment."

"That’s the Count’s household! Our Yuan will be among the top people!"

Old Zhou also grinned broadly.

"Good, good, Yuan is really doing well!"

The cloud of gloom that had weighed on Old Zhou’s heart dispersed completely with Zhou Yuan’s letter.

The Zhou family had achieved something!

In Qingyang Village, or even in the whole Qinghe County, who could surpass the Zhou family?

Zhou Huaishan, excited, paced around, clutching the silver note.

"Father, we should go to the county today! Buying a house is important, but we need to look around more and compare."

Old Zhou nodded repeatedly, "Yes, we need to look around more and compare."

After speaking, Old Zhou glanced at Zhou Huaihai and Wang, "Now that Yuan is successful, the second and third sons..."

At the mention of the second and third sons, Wang’s face became anxious.

"Father, Yuan’s success is his own achievement. We’ve already split the family. Do you still expect Yuan to help them?"

In her agitation, her voice became harsh.

Sun added, "Husband, don’t be foolish. Don’t forget who was bedridden for three days and couldn’t get up! Who had to stamp handprints publicly? No one from the second and third sons will benefit from my grandson’s future!"

Old Zhou sighed.

"After all, we are still family."

Old Zhou didn’t want to split the family, he just wanted everything to be in order.

Zhou Huaihai said, "Father, don’t blame me for being ruthless. The second and third brothers have been outrageous. They’ve hurt us too much. Since they’ve done such things, don’t expect them to benefit from my son!"

Sun jumped off the bed.

"I’m going to find the clan leader now."

"Find the clan leader for what?"

Sun got out of bed and put on her shoes.

"With the second and third sons’ behavior, they’ll definitely drag down my eldest grandson in the future. I want to completely cut off ties with them and remove them from our Zhou family. From now on, whatever they do won’t affect my eldest grandson."

"You..."

Upon hearing about cutting off ties, Old Zhou’s face turned pale.

Zhou Huaihai interrupted Old Zhou, "I agree."

Wang got up as well, "I agree too. From now on, we go our separate ways. Just because we share the same surname doesn’t mean we’re the same family"

Seeing their attitude, Old Zhou, despite his reluctance, could only sigh heavily.

Zhou Huaihai knew Old Zhou’s thoughts and persuaded, "Father, if we keep the second and third brothers, they might try to harm Yuan since they see him succeeding. Without their interference, Yuan will only get better. Don’t you want Yuan to bring glory to the family?"

Wang added, "Yes, Father. What if Yuan comes back with a title in the future? Our Qingyang Village would have a plaque for the Zhou family. Isn’t that better than anything?"

The vision of a bright future dispelled the regrets in Old Zhou’s heart.

"Alright, alright. I’ll go with Huaihai to find the clan leader. You two stay at home and cook. Make a chicken stew."