Chapter 385: Help (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Madam Liu-Zhao and the others nodded with red faces. What he said was true. Almost every family in the village had children who died prematurely. Only the Liu family was lucky enough to escape that fate. Firstly, Liu Daqian and the others didn’t stinge when it came to feeding their pregnant daughter-in-law. Secondly, whenever the children fell sick, no matter how poor they were, they were willing to hire a doctor to buy medicine for them. That was how the Liu children survived.

The few daughters-in-law also knew that the four elders were so willing because many of their own children had died prematurely, so their hearts ached. Not to mention anything else, there was a six-year-old brother between Liu Ting and Liu Zhuang, which meant Liu Zhuang was considered the third child. However, there were actually two other children who had died before Liu Zhuang. But because they had died in their infancy, they were not given a ranking in the family.

“I don’t have much ability, so the best I can manage is to keep you from starving. It’s impossible for us to send you to read and learn skills. Forget about your father and uncle, even if they have the talent, it’s too late. Your big brother is not bad, but he’s already grown up and set, so it’s impossible for him to study and take the exams now. But do you know how hard he works?”

Liu Daqian looked at Liu Lun. “Ah Lun, tell us since you live with him.”

Blushing, Liu Lun said, “Big Brother reads under the moonlight even in winter.”

“As our family doesn’t have the money to order too much lamp oil, he studies outside on a freezing winter day.” Liu Daqian’s eyes were slightly moist as he said, “If you work half as hard as him, I have nothing to say even if you don’t have the talent. But why are you complaining you can’t do it before you even start working hard?”

The three children lowered their heads in shame.

“If you finish your studies, you might be even more glorious than your big brother in the future. You can eat meat every other day and wear new clothes every year. You won’t have to work in the fields with your back facing the sky, yet earn little money. If the heavens don’t give you face, you might not even be able to pay taxes. If you don’t finish your studies, you can only be like your father and uncle in the future. No, you’ll be even worse off than them. Now, your Cousin Ah Ling is taking care of your father on account of me and your second great-uncle, these two old farts. After we die and the relationship between the two families fades, this help might be gone.”

The children were a little terrified. Liu Daqian looked into their eyes and said, “So, children, don’t leave your fate in the hands of others. You have to hold onto some of it yourself. And now, your cousin is giving you a chance to control the other half of your fate.”

The expressions on Liu Lun, Liu Yang, and Liu Ying’s faces gradually became firm. They knelt down and said, “Grandpa, don’t worry. We will definitely study hard and learn how to read. Then, we will grasp the other half of our fate.”

Liu Yang and Liu Ying nodded fiercely.

Liu Daqian smiled in satisfaction, and the Liu family’s daughters-in-law heaved a sigh of relief.

Liu Ying hesitated for a moment before asking the question in his heart, “Eldest Great-uncle, since we only grasp half of our fate, what about the other half?”

His mother, Madam Liu-Sun, glared at her son. Liu Yuan was stunned for a moment before he laughed and rubbed his son’s hair with his big hand. “Good question.”

Then, his face turned cold. “Of course, the other half is in the hands of the Imperial Court and the heavens.”

The children opened their mouths wide and exclaimed, “So the heavens are also in charge of our lives.”

Liu Yuan rolled his eyes. “What’s there to be proud of? If you don’t grasp the other half of your fate, God can casually point at you and you’ll lose your life. If you can control half of it, you might even be able to fight with God for your life.”

The children’s eyes lit up. Fighting with God for their lives? Just hearing this sounded very exciting.

“Don’t forget that this is a chance given to you by your Cousin Ah Ling.” Liu Daqian took the opportunity to educate them: “The descendants of our Liu family have never been ungrateful. I don’t ask you to repay your cousins, but remember not to cause trouble for them. This is the most basic thing, understand?”

Liu Lun jumped up and said, “I know, I know. We have to repay kindness. Just like what Second Great-uncle said about Han Xin, who repaid the gratitude of a meal with a thousand taels of gold.”

Liu Daqian nodded with a straight face. “Han Xin repaid so much for a mere meal. Tell me, how much good food has your cousin treated you since you were young?”

The children lowered their heads in embarrassment.

Liu Ting hurriedly said, “Although I’m telling you to study hard, don’t work too hard. Your cousin said that you have to do everything within your means, but learning how to read is the most basic. Our family isn’t asking you to take the Imperial Examination. We’re just asking you to learn all the words first before learning craftsmanship. If you master a craft, you’ll have the capital to live. In the future, if your Cousin Bowen and Bosi encounter any trouble, you must reach out and help them. Do you understand?”

Liu Ting remembered what Mu Yangling had said. She told them not to give the children too much pressure, or it would backfire.

After the children agreed, Liu Daqian waved them out. The three daughters-in-law happily followed the children out. They had never dreamed that their kids could go out to study and learn skills.

Only the four elders and the two brothers, Liu Ting and Liu Yuan, were left in the room. Liu Daqian turned around and asked his younger brother, “Ah Xuan is already 22 years old. When do you plan to arrange a marriage for him?”

Liu Erqian said in shame, “I searched a few nearby villages. Since it’s not difficult to find out about our family’s situation, everyone knows that our foundation is not strong. In addition, Ah Xuan is in the army, so no one is willing to marry him.”

Liu Daqian pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s find a suitable girl first. Her character and family background are what’s most important. If she has a good character and her parents are passable, let’s propose marriage. If they ask for more costly betrothal gifts, our two families will pool our money together. Everyone can see how our daughter-in-laws live. At least our Liu family is not a family that tortures our daughter-in-law. If she’s willing, she can marry over. If she’s not, we’ll go elsewhere. If our two families pool our money together, we’ll definitely be able to come up with a decent betrothal gift.” Stunned, Liu Erqian asked, “Big Brother, why are you in such a hurry?”

Liu Daqian glanced at his younger brother and said, “Don’t you know Ah Ling’s personality? That child isn’t afraid of helping us, but she’s afraid that the clan will find trouble with her. In any case, Ah Xuan is no longer young. Even if we puff ourselves up, we have to let outsiders think that our Liu family’s foundation isn’t that weak. Also, after finding the academy, leak the news that half of the money for the children to go to school comes from Ah Lang and the other half is borrowed from Eldest Sister. No need to go into specifics, just reveal enough for them to get the meaning. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Xingzhou Prefecture to look for Eldest Sister.”

Liu Erqian’s eyes lit up. Smiling, he said, “That’s a good idea. The clansmen can’t go to Big Sister.”

Liu Daqian nodded with a smile.

Back then, when their eldest sister was newly widowed and bullied by her husband’s family, the clan did not stand up for her. Other than them, she had never interacted with the rest of the clan in the past few years. The clan would be too embarrassed to visit her. If they claimed the money came from her, certainly no one would dare to find trouble with her. However, they still had to let their eldest sister know about this.

“As for Little Sister-in-law…” Eldest Great-aunt Liu hesitated and said, “Will she look for her? Don’t end up attracting trouble to her.”

Liu Erqian and his youngest sister had the worst relationship. Hearing this, he snorted and said, “How dare she! See if I’ll kill her if she does.”

Second Great-aunt Liu snorted. Liu Daqian glared at his brother and said, “We brothers aren’t dead. Suppressing her won’t be a problem.”

Great-aunt agreed to Liu Daqian’s suggestion without thinking. She even said, “If you don’t have enough money, I still have some here.”

Liu Daqian shook his head. “There’s no need for your money. Ah Ling will take care of that. Our family is doing fine now, too.” How could Liu Daqian really want her money when his eldest sister only had two granddaughters?

Great-aunt didn’t mention it again. After sending Liu Daqian off, she smiled happily, causing Mu Yangling and the children to look over frequently. Great-aunt went forward to hug Kejia and lovingly pulled her into her arms. “Darling, your big sister has finally avenged me.”

Mu Yangling was puzzled. “Great-aunt, what did I do?”

Great-aunt laughed and waved her hand. “It’s nothing. Just let me be secretly gleeful.”

This was the first time Mu Yangling and Xiulan had seen Great-aunt smile so happily. Although they were curious, they didn’t probe further..