Chapter 767 - 395: Fathers Retreat, Sons Take the Stage

Chapter 767: Chapter 395: Fathers Retreat, Sons Take the Stage

After breakfast, someone came calling. They said the village chief was summoning everyone to the ancestral hall.

Huai Zi hmphed, then went next door to get Qingmu, and they headed into the village together.

Normally, village matters were discussed at gatherings in the evening. But it was only the end of the second lunar month, so there wasn’t much farm work. Only the Zhang family and the Zheng Family were a bit busier from tending to their reclaimed wasteland, but who cared about that? Since the Zheng Family and the others had been held up yesterday afternoon, it was decided the discussion would continue this morning.

Originally, they had planned to ignore the Zheng Family—once the village made a decision, did they really think Zheng Changhe would dare to defy it? But then the Zheng Family didn’t show up. Neither did the Zhang family. And then Zhao San’s family and the Liu Family were also absent. At that point, they didn’t dare make a decision rashly. After all, those three families had all produced a Scholar.

For some reason, everyone seemed a bit anxious. When Qingmu and Huai Zi arrived at the village ancestral hall, the side room was already filled with people. Li Gengtian sat upright at one side of the large, square table at the head of the room. The rest, a crowd of farmers like Sun Jinshan and Li Gengdi, were scattered on seats below. Only Li Mingtang and a few other village elders were invited to sit to Li Gengtian’s right due to their high seniority.

When Li Gengtian saw Qingmu and Huai Zi, he couldn’t help but freeze, a flicker of unease in his heart. ’Why isn’t it Zheng Changhe and Zhang Dashuan who’ve come?’

Qingmu stepped forward with a smile and said respectfully to Li Gengtian, "Uncle Li, my father isn’t feeling well, so I’ve come in his place."

Li Gengtian scrutinized him, gave a slight nod, then turned to look at Zhang Huai.

Huai Zi said with a grin, "My dad said all the arguing yesterday gave him a headache, so he couldn’t come either. As his son, I had no choice but to come."

Li Gengtian faltered. The corner of his mouth twitched twice, but in the end, he said nothing. Li Mingtang, sitting beside him, snorted. "Who’d believe such a ridiculous lie? Do you think the old men are useless now, so you..."

Huai Zi and Qingmu were each finding a stool to sit on when they heard this. Qingmu slammed his stool hard onto the floor. With a sharp CRACK, one of its legs snapped.

Everyone stared at him in shock. Li Gengtian quickly demanded, "Qingmu, what do you think you’re doing?"

The loud noise startled Li Mingtang, and having his words cut off made him fly into a rage. He pointed a trembling finger at Qingmu. "You... you... How dare you act like that toward an elder! You uncultured brute..."

Li Gengtian quickly cut him off. "Third Uncle!"

Everyone thought Qingmu was about to explode. But instead, he just smiled faintly at Li Mingtang and said, "Whether the old men are useless or not is a matter for my Zheng Family and the Zhang family. You needn’t trouble yourself over it, Third Grand-uncle. And for the record, the Zheng Family’s upbringing is excellent. We don’t backstab people, nor do we do ungrateful things." His words nearly made Li Mingtang keel over with rage. But Qingmu just kicked the broken stool and said to Huai Zi with a laugh, "This stool isn’t very sturdy. One touch and its leg broke."

Huai Zi brought him another stool and said nonchalantly, "If it’s broken, just get another one." Then he sat down obediently.

The people in the room looked at each other, wondering what on earth these two brothers-in-law were up to.

Li Mingtang was about to jump up and curse them out, but a sharp glare from Li Gengtian stopped him. His nephew, Li Gengdi, also gave him a tug, pulling him back into his seat. Only then did he stay quiet.

Just then, more people arrived from outside. The brothers Liu Dashun, Liu Ershun, and Liu Sanshun walked in together. The brothers had already divided their household and each managed their own affairs, so Li Gengtian wasn’t surprised to see them all. Still, he asked, "Dashun, where’s your father?"

Liu Dashun didn’t speak, but Liu Sanshun answered with a smile, "Uncle Li, my dad’s not feeling too well today. He asked me to speak for him."

Li Gengtian froze. ’Not feeling well either? What a coincidence.’

The Liu Family brothers had just sat down when Zhao San strode in. He let out a "HAHA" and said, "Is anyone still missing? I thought I was late!" He found a stool next to Qingmu and Zhang Huai and sat down.

Huai Zi joked, "Third Uncle, what’s your hurry? It’s not like they’re handing out silver. If they were, you’d probably have rushed here in the middle of the night."

Liu Sanshun and Liu Ershun joined in the laughter, and for a moment, the room grew lively.

After that, Li Gengtian and the others could only watch, dumbfounded, as one young man after another entered the room. Their excuses were all over the place: either their father was sick, had gone out, or had guests at home.

Li Changxing said to him with a grin, "First Uncle, my father-in-law said his in-laws have come to visit and he’s tied up. He wants me to speak for him. My words are his words." His father-in-law was Old Cheng, and his wife was Zhuzi.

Li Changming and Li Changliang came in together. Li Changliang said with a stern face, "My dad’s busy. I’m making the decisions for my family today." His father was Li Laoda.