12dz Chapter 305 The Heartless and Unkind Father
Chapter 305 The Heartless and Unkind Father
Lin Qingchuan said with dissatisfaction, "They are selling two thousand catties of turmeric. We are already happy with the price of two coins. We are all on the same side, but you insist on making us lose money and pay three coins. We are not as understanding of the difficulties of doing business as outsiders.
If his father were an honest and easily satisfied person who was considerate of him, he might have been able to lower his expectations and offer two and a half coins. But his father was clearly insatiable and asked for three coins right off the bat. Even if he were given three coins, he would definitely feel cheated and want an even higher price.
Moreover, his father has never valued him and certainly won't keep his secret seriously. If word gets out that he gave his father three coins, the business will be impossible to continue.
"What did you say? I'm not as understanding as an outsider. You unfilial son, do you even respect your father? You've made a fortune in business. Don't even mention paying three coins to buy turmeric. You should at least give me a hundred or eighty taels of silver as a token of your respect."
One hundred and eighty taels of silver?
Lin Qingchuan looked up in disbelief at his father, who, despite his advanced age, did not appear old. He suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
He said with eyes full of disappointment, "Father, do you think it's easy for me to make money in business? You talk about a hundred or eighty taels of silver as easily as ten or eight coins. Do you know how we built this business? We work from dawn till dusk, braving wind and rain. Do you know how many hours we get up and go to bed?"
He choked up, tears welling in his eyes, but forced them back and continued, “We’ve severed ties, and the village head knows about it. If you want me to support you, then you shouldn’t interfere in our family affairs. Ten or eight taels a year is fine, but not now. Right now, we’re struggling to make ends meet with the money we’re using to buy turmeric. We even had to write IOUs to a lot of villagers today.”
When the second and third brothers heard that their eldest brother was willing to give their father ten or eight taels of silver a year, their eyes lit up. The third brother, in particular, had wild fantasies, as if the silver his eldest brother was going to give to their father was about to go into his pocket.
He thought that if his eldest brother gave their father ten taels of silver a year, then in ten years it would be one hundred and twenty taels. He could take it all back to Manager Zhang and let his youngest son go home first, so that he would never have to work as a waiter at Juxian Restaurant again.
Shen Xiaochuan grinned and chuckled.
The second and third brothers exchanged a glance, then quietly moved closer together and began to discuss in hushed tones.
"Third brother, eldest brother is willing to give father ten taels of silver a year. Ten taels of silver is equivalent to so much grain, enough to cover our family's expenses for several years."
In my opinion, we should be more polite to our elder brother in the future. If we continue to act like Dad, who is so disrespectful, and we anger our elder brother, he might really abandon us. We'll regret it then.
Besides, my elder brother has truly severed ties with us. He and the two girls have even changed their surnames, which clearly shows that he is determined to cut ties with us.
"And what Xiaotang just said is right. If we don't sell to our elder brother, we'll have to carry it to town to sell to Feng's Pharmacy. But the owner of Feng's Pharmacy is a swindler. These past few days, some villagers have gone to town to inquire, and he's only willing to offer one and a half coins. Not only will we break our backs carrying it there, but we'll also lose money. It's better to sell it to our elder brother quickly, get the money, and everyone will be relieved."
The third brother nodded vigorously and said, "Who says otherwise? I wouldn't carry a sack of turmeric to town to sell. My legs are about to break from walking empty-handed. Why would I carry a sack? Do you think you're going to die?"
Upon hearing the eldest brother's words that he would give his father ten taels of silver a year, the three brothers' expressions immediately improved, and their eyes became kinder.
Mr. Shen was somewhat dissatisfied. His eldest son had taken his wife and daughters with him when he went on business, including Shui Sheng and his mother. Their business was definitely not a small one, and since he was willing to give him ten taels of silver a year, it meant they could earn more.
He said in a deep voice, "Your mother died early, and it wasn't easy for me to raise you. Now that you've made a fortune in business, how can you even ask for ten taels of silver as a token of filial piety? Have you no conscience?"
Everyone was shocked, never expecting Mr. Shen to say such a thing.
The second and third sons said, "Dad, you'd better shut up, or you'll anger our eldest brother..."
Before the second and third sons could finish speaking, the youngest son chimed in, "Father is right, ten taels is too little, it should be at least a hundred or eighty taels."
Lin Qingchuan glared at the youngest son and sneered, "Then tell me, is this hundred or eighty taels of silver a tribute to our father or to you?"
These questions struck a nerve with Shen Xiaochuan, who replied defiantly, "Dangdang... of course it's to honor our father. We're brothers, why would you honor me?"
Lin Qingchuan sneered, "Yes, I'm only supporting our father. Can he spend all eight hundred and ten taels of silver a year? Or are you all spending it for him? I don't know that people need to spend money. Otherwise, before we separated the family, your sister-in-law and I worked from dawn till dusk every day, farming the crops in the fields, making tofu at home, and taking the eggs from the chickens to pay off debts in town. Why didn't our father and mother give us a single copper coin?"
This……
Shen Xiaochuan was speechless for a moment, and the second and third brothers also lowered their heads, blushing.
They thought to themselves that their parents had indeed gone too far back then. If they had given their eldest brother and sister-in-law a few copper coins a year to ease their brother's mind, he wouldn't have held a grudge. The fact that their eldest brother was unwilling to take them brothers into business but took Shuisheng with him was probably because he resented this matter.
They naturally blamed their parents for the incident.
Mr. Shen did not think those were his fault. He frowned and said unhappily, "It's all in the past. What's the point of bringing it up again? Do you think it's easy to support a large family? As long as you and your spouse have food and drink, that's enough. You, as the eldest brother, are so petty about taking a loss. I don't know where you got this narrow-mindedness from."
When a father is pointed out for his lack of kindness and compassion, he even tries to shift the blame.
Pooh!
shameless!
Lin Xiaotang said angrily, "If you keep bringing this up, it means the matter is not over yet. No one feels the pain unless the knife is stabbed in the body. My father, as the eldest brother, has to suffer and endure it. But you are the father, why don't you suffer some losses yourself?"
As Grandpa said, we're all family. We didn't ask you for money for the seeds when we planted the turmeric, so why don't you just let it go and give me the turmeric? Anyway, your sixteen acres of fertile land belong to my father's maternal grandparents. Giving it to you for free would be a bargain for you. If you want, you can plant two more rice crops and give us some of the harvest too. We're short on food, so we're all family. Let's be reasonable and not be petty."
Mr. Shen's face grew greener and greener as he listened, until finally he was so angry that smoke was coming out of his nostrils.
He roared, "You wish! You're so young and already so cunning, why don't you just fly to the moon?"
Lin Xiaotang feigned ignorance and said, "What? Go to heaven? I don't know how. How about Grandpa demonstrates how to go to heaven first, and I'll learn from you?"