The road to wealth of a peasant widow

During this period, Chen Cui and Chen Dahe drove a ox cart in and out of the village and back to the county town. Although they tried to avoid people every time, they were always seen a few times, and the news slowly spread in the village.

Liu Youliang was originally a wealthy man in the village. As his second son, Liu Eryong's status in the family could not be compared with that of his elder brother, but when he went out, people still gave him some respect because of his father. In addition, Liu Eryong himself was honest and capable, and he had a good relationship with people in the village.

But because Liu Eryong was determined to separate from his parents, he had already become an outcast in the village. Many people thought he was unfilial, and that he was willing to die for a woman and made his parents so angry.

The elders in the village were afraid that their children and grandchildren would follow their example and disobey their parents, so they told their sons not to associate with people like Liu Eryong who were not very decent. As a result, many people who used to be on good terms with him gradually stopped associating with him.

In fact, everyone knew that the reason Liu Eryong split up the family was because of his eldest brother, as the lives of the two families were so different.

Since the separation, Liu Eryong and his eldest brother's family have almost broken off. When the two meet on the road, they don't talk much. To be precise, when Liu Wende greeted Liu Eryong, the other party ignored him. Liu Wende could only sigh and shake his head helplessly.

After seeing this, many people felt that Liu Eryong was more ignorant.

Liu Wende and his son are the few educated people in the village. They both work in the county town, so they are naturally very respectable.

Everyone's attitude towards them was also slightly flattering. Liu Eryong actually ignored such a promising brother and insisted on separating. He was really confused.

People always flatter the powerful and look down on the weak. Liu Wende and his son will only get better and better in the future, while Liu Eryong drags his sick wife and several children to live in a remote and dilapidated house. The two sides are in opposition, and it will naturally become clear who is superior and who is inferior.

Now the two families are in a situation of subtle opposition. In order to show that they are on Liu Wende's side, many people consciously draw an invisible line between themselves and Liu Eryong.

Therefore, since the separation, Liu Eryong's family has become marginalized figures in the village. Except for a very few people, everyone's attitude towards him is scrutiny and criticism. They think that their family is unsociable. Even the children will be rejected by other children when they go out to play.

This was the situation when Liu Eryong was alive. After Liu Eryong's death, many people believed that this was the retribution for his unfilial behavior towards his parents. Otherwise, how could Eryong be the only one who died when so many people were doing labor service together?

The villagers felt that their whole family was unlucky and kept their distance from them.

The family was left with only a widow and several immature children, and their situation was even worse than before.

Moreover, even if Liu Eryong died, there was no sign that the Liu family's old house would take care of them, so it seemed impossible to repair it.

Therefore, after Liu Eryong was buried, their family's status in the village became even more embarrassing.

Don't think that people in rural areas are simple and honest. They are the best at looking down on others. A disadvantaged family like this one is destined to be bullied and looked down upon in the village.

The reason why they haven't been bullied yet is because Liu Eryong just passed away and it hasn't been a hundred days yet. They haven't gone out much, so the bullying is not very obvious.

But Chen Cui saw the situation clearly and guessed what might happen next, so she was eager to work hard to make money and change the current situation of her family.

The Liu family's old house naturally also received the news that Chen Cui and Chen Dahe were driving ox carts in and out.

Old Zhou was cursing at home, saying that Chen Cui was not a faithful wife, and that she did not stay at home to observe mourning. Instead, she ran out every day and did some shameful things.

If Liu Youliang hadn't stopped her, she would have gone to Chen Cui's house and cursed her.

"What nonsense are you talking about? People have already said that the one with Chen is Changping's uncle. You are making up stories to give her a bad reputation and let others gossip about her. How will it benefit our family?"

Liu Youliang was very angry. Ever since Eryong passed away, the old woman had become even more unreasonable than before. She did things without knowing right from wrong, and she didn't do serious work. She just thought about nonsense all day long.

He gave his wife a lecture, telling her not to ask about the second wife's affairs anymore and not to care about anything she heard, as he had his own plans in mind.

He knew Chen's character and knew she would never do anything that would bring disgrace to the family. Now he didn't have the heart to care about these things because there were more important things to worry about at home.

His cow has been sick for several days. It kept crying in the middle of the night and refused to eat the grass and only drank water. Its eyes were red.

He spent money to call a veterinarian in town to see him, but the medicine he received didn't work. He kept getting thinner day by day, and now his skeleton was showing.

The veterinarian was at a loss as to what to do. He said the cow was probably dead and told him to sell it quickly or wait for it to die and then kill it for the meat.

Liu Youliang couldn't sleep at night because he was worried about the grain. He had bought the cow seven or eight years ago. It was docile and obedient, worked diligently, and never kicked its hind legs. He relied on it to cultivate more than ten acres of land.

Now that the cow is so sick, it is about to become skin and bones. He wants to sell it. Firstly, he is reluctant to do so and wants to wait and see if there is any improvement. Secondly, the cow will not be sold at a good price in this condition and he will feel sad when the time comes.

Well, let's wait for Wende to come back in a few days and discuss with him what to do.

Because it was cold in winter and the family's cows were sick, they couldn't drive the ox cart to pick them up, so Liu Wende and his son hadn't returned to the county town for more than a month.

But in two days it would be November 16th, which was Mrs. Zhou's 55th birthday, and these two people would definitely come back to celebrate.

Now Liu Youliang relies more and more on his eldest son. He always consults his eldest son before making a decision. As for the gossip about his second son's wife's family told by the old woman, he just ignores it and forgets it.

He knew his second son's financial situation. Based on the little money he gave to him when the family property was divided, he calculated that the second son's family would not last long.

He would wait for them to spend all their money and come to him for begging, and then he would teach his second daughter-in-law and grandchildren how to behave.

Chen Cui didn't know what Liu Youliang was planning, and was still wondering why there had been no response from the old house until now.

Of course, she was not expecting the old house to cause trouble. It would be better if they did not take any action. Her charcoal-burning business was now in full swing, and she did not want any complications at this juncture.

Ever since Chen's father and son returned home and communicated with their respective wives, the family has become busy and they are also working hard for the charcoal burning business.

The next day was the day to deliver coal to the city, so Chen Dahe took Chen Shangen with him and went into the county town.

The old man was worried and wanted to see it with his own eyes. When he saw his son greet the grocery store owner familiarly and drive the ox cart to the backyard as if he knew the place well, he realized that his son had gone to the grocery store and was in a good mood.

After the shop assistant unloaded the charcoal, weighed it and calculated the price, they got five taels of silver and three hundred copper coins.

Looking at the heavy silver and copper coins, Chen Shangen's heart suddenly became hot.