Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"What do you mean by not having that much silver? Could it be that I've misremembered?" the old lady asked, puzzled.

Although she doesn't manage the accounts, she still knows how much liquid capital the Meng family has, and even if there are discrepancies, they won't be too significant.

"You...you're not mistaken," Meng Qingchao replied tremblingly.

"Meng Qingchao, what exactly are you trying to say?" The old lady was somewhat angry, unable to understand Meng Qingchao's intentions.

“In the past two years, the grain harvest has been poor, and people who have no way to make a living have had to sell their land to make a living. My grandson bought some of it.” Meng Qingchao’s god agreed.

"How much did you buy?" The old lady couldn't contain her anger. She knew, of course, that the land was bought in Meng Qingchao's name and had nothing to do with the Meng family.

“Two hundred mu…” Meng Qingchao continued in his reply.

The old lady glared at him, but did not scold him excessively.

After all, buying land is considered acquiring property. Besides, two hundred acres of land would only cost around five thousand taels of silver. Meng Qingchao should still have more than twenty thousand taels of silver in hand, enough to buy grain.

"Hurry up and bring the remaining 25,000 taels." Seeing that Meng Qingchao still hadn't moved, the old lady's anger escalated.

"A batch of excellent stone materials arrived in Kyoto not long ago, and how could I, your grandson, miss it? So I bought some," Meng Qingchao said confidently.

Meng Qingchao is quite a talent to be able to talk about gambling on stones so confidently.

"How much did you make? Give me all of it, including the principal and interest!" the old lady asked eagerly.

In the jade gambling business, there are wins and losses. Since Meng Qingchao said that it was a batch of excellent stones, he probably made a profit.

"Ten thousand taels of silver, all gone!" Meng Qingchao said with a mournful face.

Upon hearing this, the old lady almost fainted. Ten thousand taels was no small sum, and Meng Qingchao had squandered it all.

"Go and bring the remaining 15,000 taels of silver," the old lady said weakly.

If you can close this deal with Jia Zhenzhen, earning tens of thousands of taels of silver will be easy.

"Where is the remaining 15,000 taels? A few days ago, my grandson got itchy fingers and went to the gambling den. He was about to win, but all 15,000 taels of silver are gone." Meng Qingchao finally laid his cards on the table, clearly prepared to give up entirely.

The old lady stumbled, and almost—well, not quite—fell to the ground.

He squandered not only 25,000 taels of silver, but also 25,000 taels that he didn't earn, totaling a full 50,000 taels.

"You unfilial son, I'll beat you to death!" Before the old lady could speak, Meng Yuanlin had already grabbed a leather whip in a fit of rage and lashed it hard across his body.

"They really went all out. Don't think you can get away with this." Lin Ping watched the father and son's performance with great interest.

He may not have known about Meng Qingchao's gambling on stones and money, but his purchase of land and fields was definitely approved by Meng Yuanlin.

This whole self-inflicted injury was a ploy to appease the old lady, hoping she would treat him leniently.

"Meng Yuanlin, what are you doing? He's my only grandson. Do you want to beat him to death?" the old lady said, her voice trembling.

Upon hearing this, Meng Qingge visibly trembled. Was Meng Qingfan not her grandson?

It seems that the old lady never really cared about the two siblings.

"Mother, don't stop me, I'm going to beat this unfilial son to death!" Meng Yuanlin said angrily.

"Enough! Money can be earned back, but a person you kill cannot be brought back to life. It's good that he learned his lesson this time, so he won't spend all his time gambling dens and gambling shops in the future," the old lady said casually.

Is this considered punishment?

Not only was Meng Qingge dissatisfied, but Lin Ping was also dissatisfied.

“Uncle, please don’t hit my cousin. He probably knows he was wrong,” Su Qingya also advised.

"That's right. Young people always make mistakes. Qingchao is already considered an obedient child."

A group of relatives also began to persuade Meng Yuanlin.

Despite their earnest persuasion, Meng Yuanlin reluctantly put down the whip and fiercely rebuked them, "If there's a next time, I'll break your legs."

"I know I was wrong," Meng Qingchao said perfunctorily, even glancing at Meng Qingge in secret.

It means that even if I make a huge mistake, I will not be punished, but if you make the slightest mistake, you will be stripped of your rights.

Meng Qingge gritted her teeth in anger, but had no way to punish Meng Qingchao.

As the saying goes, one hand cannot clap, let alone the fact that the old lady has already forgiven Meng Qingchao.

Judging from the current situation, she has become an outsider, a high-level employee of the Meng family.

"Excellent, that was a fantastic performance. I'd almost give you an Oscar." Lin Ping clapped his hands, stood in front of Meng Qingge, and said coldly, "Have you forgotten something?"

"Lin Wuqing, who do you think you are? This is a family matter of the Meng family. What right do you have to interfere?"

Immediately, someone stood up and criticized Lin Ping.

"You've misunderstood. I'm not going to punish Meng Qingchao." Lin Ping smiled faintly, but his eyes suddenly turned cold. "I'm going to punish everyone here."

"How dare you! What right do you have to punish us?" the Meng family retorted angrily.

"Why should I? Who just said they would kneel before me? Who said they would call me grandpa? Step forward, all of you. If you don't keep your promises, this matter will spread throughout the entire capital. How can a family that breaks its word have the face to stand in the capital?"

Lin Ping roared furiously, clearly enraged.

How can such a group of people have the nerve to bully Meng Qingge, a girl?

Even though they weren't engaged beforehand, Lin Ping still wanted to step in and help her vent her anger.

"I never expected to see such a good show, Madam Meng. If your Meng family doesn't do as this young man says, I, Jia Zhenzhen, will never do business with you again, and I will even fan the flames behind your back," Jia Zhenzhen said coldly, displaying an attitude of watching the drama unfold.

Lin Ping's words may not carry much weight, but they have no choice but to listen to Jia Zhenzhen.

Those who were just moments ago so arrogant and haughty instantly wilted, lowered their heads, and shrank back into their seats, not one daring to speak.

"Qingge, there's been some misunderstanding. Why don't you try to persuade Young Master Lin?" Meng Qingge's aunt said shamelessly.

Even a blind man could see that Lin Ping was there to help Meng Qingge. As long as she made a compromise, Lin Ping would definitely listen to her obediently.

Men are most afraid of women; if a woman is unhappy, she might make you sleep on the floor. So how could they not try to please her?

Meng Qingge suddenly burst out laughing; she truly found these relatives ridiculous.

It must be said that Lin Ping's approach was pleasing.

“Young Master Lin’s meaning is my meaning, so why should I advise him?” Meng Qingge said without any hesitation.

Since these relatives didn't treat her as a member of the Meng family, she didn't need to give them face.

You're shameless, aren't you? Then kneel down in front of Lin Ping and call him grandpa!

I felt incredibly relieved when I said those words.