To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Yun Yan was extremely astute and immediately realized that it was his wife and son who were causing trouble.

He didn't understand what Liu Yan was up to. Even if someone was exaggerating when praising their child, what was wrong with politely agreeing? Why embarrass her? This was the family his younger brother had chosen; was it so hard to show some respect?

His expression darkened slightly. "Xiaoshan, when adults are speaking, don't cause trouble."

Yun Xiaoshan wiggled her bottom. "No, I want my brother to teach me!"

Yun Xiaoshan is quite cunning; he's certain his father won't beat him in front of the guests!

The second sister was so embarrassed. What could her brother possibly know?

Wu Axiu didn't think anything of it. She knew that Lin Jiagui couldn't play chess, but Lin Jiagui was an educated person. Could he not even know how to solve this little kid's problem?

She looked at her son with a smug and expectant expression, "Jiagui, have your fortune told!" The smug look in her eyes seemed to say: Show off a bit, and you'll find a wife who's a high-ranking official in the capital!

The second sister glanced at it and knew that the other party was making things difficult for her; this was a question her brother couldn't answer at all! Did her mother really think this was a kindergarten question?

Should she step in and teach Yun Xiaoshan now? But wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting her brother's incompetence? Was her mother just bragging? What face would she have left? Besides, what if he really intended to make things difficult and said, "I don't want you to teach me, I want him to teach me"?

Yunqi's subsequent actions confirmed this.

Yunqi chuckled and said, "Come here, I'll teach you. Don't bother the guests."

Yun Xiaoshan, without even turning his head, retorted to his uncle, "I don't want you to teach me, I like my brother, and I want my brother to teach me!"

In this situation, only beating the child can turn things around...

Just then, Zhiyuan rushed over and ripped Yun Xiaoshan's book off, shouting, "I know! This question is worth zero!"

Yun Xiaoshan was stunned and looked up at his mother.

Liu Yan upstairs hadn't expected this either. Any adult in the house could have something to say if they went to talk to Yun Xiaoshan. She couldn't very well argue with a child, or Yun Yan would scold her to death. Besides, wouldn't she just look like the village woman downstairs?

Yun Xiaoshan didn't get a response from his mother, so he stared blankly at Zhiyuan and asked, "How do you know it's zero?"

"Isn't this obvious? Don't you know this? The teacher taught us!" Zhiyuan blurted out.

Yun Xiaoshan: ...

Yun Xiaoshan had no idea whether the teacher had taught it or not, and was completely confused.

Zhiyuan looked up at Liu Yan with a big smile on his face and was very polite. "Auntie, the teacher really did cover this question in class, and all of my classmates knew it!"

Liu Yan: ...

Liu Yan was so angry that she clenched her teeth.

What does that mean? Does it mean that everyone in the class knows the answer except Xiaoshan, making Xiaoshan seem stupid?

Liu Yan didn't care about saving face anymore and decided to have Zhiyuan explain the process directly.

To everyone's surprise, Zhiyuan raised his head again, smiled, and asked her, "Auntie, do you think my answer is correct? If not, could you please tell me where I went wrong?"

Liu Yan was outmaneuvered.

The ball was actually thrown back to her!

Actually, she doesn't know either...

She only completed junior high school...

In order to crush that boastful country bumpkin, she gave Yunqi's book to Yun Xiaoshan to make things difficult for him.

But even if she could, so what?

Ultimately, the ball has been passed to her! She'll be the one to judge right and wrong. If it's right, it elevates Zhiyuan; if it's wrong, she'll have to explain the problem, and her plan will fall through!

That brat from the Lin family ruined everything!

She kept a straight face, but was furious inside. All she could do was scold her son, "Xiaoshan! The elders are talking, why are you causing trouble? Come up here right now!"

Xiaoshan felt so wronged...

That's not where he wanted to go!

Why scold him?

The boy got upset and threw the book down. "You're the one who told me to ask! Why are you scolding me again?"

Liu Yan's face turned deathly pale. Seeing Yun Yan's gaze sweep over her, she could only deny it, "What nonsense are you spouting? I'll beat you up! I'll make you go ask your uncle!"

Upon hearing that he was going to get beaten up, Yun Xiaoshan became even more upset and burst into tears.

The Yun family suddenly became extremely lively.

Grandpa Yun was feeling uncomfortable and said to Yun Yan, "Weren't you going shopping? The child is bored staying at home, so take him out to play!"

Yun Yan quickly replied, "Okay."

The reproachful look was directed upstairs.

But the family of three still went out.

Grandpa Yun sincerely apologized to the Lin family, especially to his second sister and Zhiyuan, saying, "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I've made you suffer."

It was already very obvious, and the old man didn't want to hide it anymore. He felt very uncomfortable if his second sister and Zhiyuan were wronged.

Yunqi hurriedly said, "Grandpa, didn't we invite Zhiyuan to play chess? Come on over, I'm going to win money today!"

Grandpa Yun nodded, "Come on!"

An old woman and a young boy were playing chess. Wu Axiu and Lin Jiagui couldn't understand it, so Yunqi continued to talk to Wu Axiu and her son. Ermei was afraid that her mother would say something inappropriate, so she also sat down with them.

As a result, Grandpa Yun and Zhiyuan finally had some alone time together.

Grandpa Yun looked at Zhiyuan and suddenly asked him, "Explain the solution to that problem to me?"

Zhiyuan was pondering his strategy when he was suddenly asked this question, and the chess piece fell out of his hand.

Looking up, he saw Grandpa Yun looking at him wisely.

Zhiyuan lowered his head, adopting an attitude of admitting his mistake, "I...I don't know how."

"So you'd say it equals zero?" Old Master Yun asked with a smile.

"I was just talking nonsense..." Zhiyuan said honestly in front of the old man.

"Why are you talking nonsense?" The old man deliberately frowned.

Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment, then told the whole story: "Brother Lin doesn't know anything. Grandma was just bragging. I was afraid he wouldn't be able to answer. In that situation, it seemed like no one's words mattered, so I rushed to talk nonsense. I'm just a kid, so it's okay for me to talk nonsense. Whoever says I'm wrong can just say the correct thing."

After saying that, she said dejectedly, "Grandpa, I'm sorry, I may have made Xiaoshan's mother angry."

Grandpa Yun didn't care about that, and only asked, "Are you very protective of your brother from the Lin family?"

Zhiyuan remained silent, shook his head, and showed no intention of defending him.

The old man had weathered many storms in his life and met countless people. He could tell what kind of person someone was at a glance. How could he not see that Wu Axiu and Lin Jiagui were not the same as the Lin Qingyun sisters? "Then why did you help him?"

Zhiyuan glanced at the old man and said, "Family scandals should not be aired in public. I don't want to see Sister Qingyun embarrassed."

The old man laughed, "You've got quite a sense of the big picture. What? You're part of the same family as Qingyun, but not with me?"

Zhiyuan scratched his head, unsure of what to say.

Actually, he likes his grandfather, but he doesn't like coming to his grandfather's house.

He can treat his grandfather as family, but his grandfather's home is not his home.

For example, when Sister Qingyun came here today, he didn't really want to come, but he came anyway because he thought about how his grandfather was looking forward to seeing him.

"Grandpa," he suddenly said, "do you feel lonely living here?"

The old man was taken aback by his question and couldn't help but ask, "Does a child know what loneliness is?"

“Why wouldn’t you know? Being alone, with no one to play with, is lonely.” Zhiyuan’s explanation was childlike. “It’s what the book says.”

The old man was both amused and exasperated. Which book defined "loneliness" like that? Is it that having no one to play with means being lonely? "Why would you think that? I have three grandchildren and great-grandchildren here, so many people in my family, why would you think I'm lonely?"

Zhiyuan tilted his head. "Because, although there are many people here, you are not familiar with them. When I first came to Uncle Gu's house, I felt the same way. Although there are many people in Gu Family Village, I am different from them. No one plays with me. It was the same at Uncle Gu's house. There are my grandparents and my mother. At that time, I hadn't called her 'Mom' yet. But I was an outsider, not from this family. I just felt lonely until later when my mother was nice to me, and then I met you."

The old man pondered for a moment, then patted Zhiyuan's head. "Let's play chess."

The Lin family had lunch at the Yun family's house. The old man then took Zhiyuan out for another two hours. He originally wanted to invite them to stay for dinner, but the second sister insisted on going back.

The old man then decided not to keep them any longer.

Just as the Lin family was about to leave, Yun Yan and the other two returned.

Liu Yan had obviously argued with Yun Yan outside. When she saw them return, she barely greeted them, then went inside and took out two things, giving them to Wu Axiu, saying, "Since it's your first time visiting our house, we don't have anything good to give you back. Take these, it's just a token."

Wu Axiu was flattered and quickly accepted the gift, thanking the seller profusely.

Yun Yan's expression changed, and he gave Yun Qi a wink.

Yunqi immediately understood, nodded to his brother, and saw the Lin family out.

As soon as the door closed, Yun Yan questioned Liu Yan, "Liu Yan, what exactly do you mean?"

"What did I do wrong? You asked me to treat you with courtesy, didn't I do that? I gave you gifts and said nice things, what more do you want from me?" After saying that, Liu Yan turned around and fetched a bucket of water.

The bucket was half full of water and smelled of disinfectant.

Liu Yan was seen wiping the area where the Lin family had sat with a cloth soaked in disinfectant.

Yun Yan immediately lost her temper, "Liu Yan, that's enough!"

Liu Yan continued to rub vigorously.

Yun Yan snatched the cloth from her hand and threw it away. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? I think the place where country folk sit is dirty! I don't want germs that could make Xiaoshan sick!" Liu Yan said angrily.

Upon hearing this, Yun Yan flew into a rage. "I'm also from the countryside! My Yun family's roots are in the countryside! Are you trying to wipe me out or my ancestors?"

Liu Yan was stunned and dared not speak.

Yun Yan continued, "So what if they're from the countryside? Do you think you can just dismiss them like that? Giving away things we don't want to them, aren't you ashamed?"

"What's so shameful about this? Even the worst stuff we have is better than the garbage they brought!" Liu Yan pointed at the pastries Lin Qingyun brought. "What are these things? Will they make me sick? I dare not eat them; I'll have to throw them away!"