"Please, I beg you, stop making trouble. Your daughter has already left home because of you. What else do you want?"
"You've already had a son. Can't you just be content? Think of it as accumulating merit for your son."
Shen Youshu looked at the woman yelling on the kang, feeling a pang in his heart.
His eldest daughter had been married off to a matchmaker across the river. She hadn't been back since.
One day, he secretly went to check on her during work. Fortunately, he heard from people along the way that his son-in-law was a doting husband. He treated his eldest daughter well, and she had given birth to a healthy baby boy for him.
He felt too ashamed to visit his son-in-law's house, or to face his eldest daughter. He could only steal a glance at his chubby grandson from outside the courtyard before shamefully returning.
It seemed his eldest daughter was lucky to have found a man who doted on her.
What about his second daughter?
His second daughter was a studious child. Even the teachers in the city said she was destined for university. He worked tirelessly, catching and selling fish, all to save up for her tuition.
That single man in his forties, who could be his sworn brother, wanting to marry his second daughter? Wasn't that like pushing his own second daughter into a fiery pit?
"Shen Youshu, stop being so hypocritical. You know perfectly well that that brat is at Chen's house. Why are you hiding it from me?"
"I risked my life to give your Shen family a strong son to continue the lineage, and this is how you treat me? Are you even a man?"
Luo Yuzhen pointed at their son by the bed. Shen Youshu opened his mouth, unable to retort.
His few daughters shivered behind the door, not daring to breathe.
Since their second sister left, they had been beaten many times. Before, their second sister used to protect them, but now there was no one.
Their father, after taking a couple of slaps himself, dared not utter a word, let alone protect them.
"Then what do you want? The whole village relies on Chen Yang to make money and live. We sell fish to Chen Yang's family for a living."
"If you're so capable, go ahead and offend Chen Yang now. Will this family still need to earn money and live in the future?"
Shen Youshu glanced at this short-sighted woman, wondering why she was so fixated on Chen Yang. How could their family possibly contend with him?
Didn't they see everyone in the village flocking to watch the commotion when someone bought a cow? Now, everyone in Shenjiaba Village was trying to curry favor with Chen Yang.
"He's rich and that's great. With his money, he can take advantage of my daughter? That's flesh and blood from me! Even a wealthy landlord takes three matches and four witnesses to marry a concubine!"
"I just can't swallow this. If he doesn't pay, he won't get my daughter for free!"
Luo Yuzhen was accustomed to being arrogant and overbearing at home, mostly because Shen Youshu listened to her in everything.
Most of the villagers adopted a "the less trouble, the better" attitude. Knowing Luo Yuzhen's temper, few people argued with her, which had fostered her dictatorial nature.
It was as if the heavens were first, and she was second; everyone had to obey her. The last time Chen Yang had cornered her and she gained no advantage, how could she not hold a grudge?
"You..."
Shen Youshu opened his mouth, looking at the furious Luo Yuzhen, and raised his hand as if to slap her.
"Shen Youshu, you've gotten brave! You dare to lay a hand on me!"
"Oh, my deceased, pitiful parents! Crawl out from beneath the earth and see! This is the son-in-law you chose for me! Our good son-in-law who married me off without a penny!"
"I gave him a son, and before I even finished my confinement, he wants to beat me for someone else! I don't want to live anymore! I'll just take the sole heir of the Shen family and go down to apologize to the ancestors of the Shen family."
With Luo Yuzhen's wails, Shen Youshu's hand, which had been raised to strike, began to tremble. In the end, he ruthlessly slapped himself twice.
"What a sin."
Helpless, Shen Youshu went to the corner to smoke his pipe. He had never been able to do anything about this Luo Yuzhen.
Seeing him like this, Luo Yuzhen became even more energized.
The thought of her second daughter living at Chen Yang's house made her want to rush over and demand a thousand or eight hundred yuan from him.
That ungrateful brat! She raised her to be so big, yet she was like a thankless wretch, willing to go to their house for free without even caring about her mother.
A worthless thing!
Lying on the bed, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Finally, she sat up.
This old woman wanted to go to Chen Yang's house and make a scene, preferably forcing Chen Yang to pay.
However, she remembered she was still in her confinement period and was reluctant to get out of bed.
It was the depths of winter outside, with icicles hanging. If she went out and caught a cold, what would happen to her?
She had finally given birth to a son. If she were to die, wouldn't the child be motherless?
Luo Yuzhen grew angrier with every thought, but she was unwilling to go out and be exposed to the cold. She could only yell and curse at Shen Youshu and her younger daughters at home.
Even the neighbors outside had long since kept their distance from her. Her words were treated as meaningless talk, and no one would bother listening to her.
And so, as every household joyfully prepared to welcome the New Year, Luo Yuzhen fell ill from anger.
And she was quite ill.
For several days, she suffered from chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dizziness.
She couldn't sleep well at night, and was exhausted by the child during the day. Her spirit waned instantly, and she even lacked the energy to curse.
However, this allowed her immediate neighbors to have a good New Year. During the festive season, they were finally spared from hearing inauspicious curses.
Chen Yang was unaware that bringing Shen Panti back had made Luo Yuzhen so angry that she developed a heart ailment. He was happily writing Spring Festival couplets for the villagers.
Shen Panti and Shen Rong were also helping him by holding the red paper and mixing the ink. Chen Yang's house was lively, with villagers coming to request couplets every day.
He had no time to pay attention to Luo Yuzhen. However, if he knew he had made Luo Yuzhen sick with anger, he would probably burst into laughter with joy.
This is what they call, a wicked person is best dealt with by another wicked person.
"Er Ni, Panti, writing characters is like being a person. Every stroke, every vertical line, must be straight and proper. Come, you've been watching me for so long, come and try your hand."
Since the minor New Year festival, Chen Yang had been writing thirty to forty couplets every day. This was exhausting him.
Don't think writing is easy. If you want to do it well, you need to concentrate. Writing for a whole day is no less tiring than doing a day of manual labor.
"Teacher Chen, my handwriting is not good enough. You do it, and I'll help you hold the paper."
When Shen Panti saw Chen Yang handing her a brush, she quickly waved her hands in refusal. She was happy these days, following Chen Yang to write couplets.
She found that the villagers didn't seem to gossip as much. They greeted her warmly, complimenting her and Shen Rong on becoming the village's first university students.
Of course, she knew it was all because of Teacher Chen. Everyone was counting on Teacher Chen to lead them to make money. She didn't know if anyone was gossiping behind her back, but at least no one said anything negative to her face; they all spoke kindly.
"What are you afraid of? If it's not written beautifully, we'll just stick it up ourselves."
"In life and in doing things, you must never be timid. You must have the courage to face difficulties. Only then will your path become smoother. The more you fear something, the more you dare not do it, and the more opportunities you will miss. So, don't be afraid. Do it first, and then talk about it if you make mistakes."
Chen Yang encouraged her. Due to her upbringing, Shen Panti's personality was still too self-deprecating. He needed to help her gain confidence.