Chapter 768 - 395: The Fathers Retreat, The Sons Take the Stage

Chapter 768: Chapter 395: The Fathers Retreat, The Sons Take the Stage

Sun Jinshan was taken aback and looked toward his son-in-law, Li Changliang, but Li Changliang completely ignored him.

Li Changming also said, "My father-in-law sprained his ankle. I’m speaking on his behalf." His father-in-law was Qin.

Zhou Xiaonian said, "My dad went to my aunt’s house with my uncle." His father was Zhou Baozhu.

Zhou Xiaoman said, "My dad went to my aunt’s house too, with my second uncle." His father was Shorty Zhou, Zhou Baozhu’s older brother.

Huang Xiaodun said, "My dad’s chronic leg pain is acting up, so he went to the market to see Doctor Qin." His father was Huang Dagunzi.

The others all had their own explanations as well.

Finally, Big Mouth Zhao arrived, huffing and puffing. He grabbed a stool, sat down commandingly in the center of the group, and looked around. "So, are we going to get started or what?" he asked. "Let’s finish up so we can get back to work. It’s the busy season, you drag everyone out here, and you’re not even feeding us. Isn’t this just a waste of time?"

Li Gengtian was so angry his mouth twitched. He wanted to scold him but held his tongue. ’Today is just too strange,’ he thought. ’None of the fathers showed up, only their sons. Did Qingmu and Huai Zi orchestrate this?’

’What are these kids trying to do? No, that’s not right. They’re all married with their own children now. You can’t call them kids anymore. They’re grown men.’

’Sigh... I suppose I really am getting old!’

Zhao San laughed heartily. "Big Mouth, come to my place for lunch. Your Third Aunt is stewing some pig’s trotters with pickled vegetables. By the time we head back, they’ll be perfectly tender. All that rich gravy will be perfect over rice."

Hearing this, Li Changxing quickly chimed in, "I’m coming too! My Zhuzi went back to her parents’ house, and my mom went to my grandma’s. I’ve got nowhere to eat!"

Liu Sanshun pursed his lips. "You having nowhere to eat has got nothing to do with Third Uncle. If we all show up at his house, will there be anything left of those pig’s trotters?"

"HAHAHA!" The crowd roared with laughter.

Li Gengtian coughed forcefully. The crowd immediately fell silent and turned to look at him, waiting for him to speak. Li Gengdi glanced worriedly at his brother, observing the group of young farmers. Sun Jinshan and the other elders also sat up straight, on high alert.

Li Gengtian felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He shot a dark look at Qingmu and Huai Zi. ’They must be the ones behind this,’ he thought, ’gathering this whole crowd of young upstarts. They even managed to pull over people from the second branch of the Li Family. The outcome of today’s meeting is already clear. Fine. It’s not like I wanted to make things difficult for the Zheng Family anyway. I might as well go along with it and do them a favor.’

Just as he was about to speak, Li Mingtang cut in. He was absolutely furious with these people. Anyone who wasn’t a complete idiot could see that Qingmu and Huai Zi had colluded with this group.

"Changming! Changliang! What do you two think you’re doing? Do you think your father is old and useless now? Are you still part of the Li Family? Why are you siding with outsiders against your own?"

Li Changliang stepped in front of his brother and said in a low, serious voice, "My brother and I are being filial to our father by trying to save him worry and grief, lest he be goaded by others and used as a pawn. Third Grand-uncle, you say we’re siding with outsiders, but I’m afraid I can’t accept that charge."

Afraid they would start an endless argument, Li Gengtian quickly cut him off. "Enough of that! Let’s get to the matter at hand!"

Li Changliang stood up. "First Uncle, I *am* talking about the matter at hand. This is all just about one child coming to school, so why make such a relentless fuss? We’ve been arguing for days, wasting time and getting worked up for nothing. If word of this gets out, won’t people laugh at us? Say the people of Qingnan Village have forgotten common decency? We can’t have forgotten how Uncle Zheng treated all of us in years past, can we?"

Big Mouth Zhao immediately chimed in, "How could we forget? If it weren’t for those two workshops, most of us would’ve probably had to sell our land by now."

Sun Jinshan said in a grave voice, "Aren’t we talking about the schooling issue? Why bring up the workshops? This isn’t about the Zheng Family specifically. It’s about all outsiders. Everyone’s relatives will be treated the same. We set a rule, and then no one can complain, right?"

Quite a few people murmured in agreement, saying it wasn’t aimed at the Zheng Family, but was just about establishing a rule for everyone to follow.

No one wanted to cause a direct confrontation, and besides, the situation today was a bit strange, which made those men grow timid.

Li Changliang said angrily, "Rules? Laishou was accepted by Mr. Zhou himself! He’s already been studying for half a year! Are you saying Mr. Zhou’s words are just hot air?"

Everyone’s expression changed at his words. Even though Mr. Zhou was gone, no one dared to show him disrespect.

"And how have everyone’s relatives not been treated the same? Didn’t you all bring your own nephews to him last year? It’s just that Mr. Zhou didn’t choose them! Do I really have to spell it out for you? Have you no shame? If you want to find an excuse to kick out Qingmu’s cousin, you should take a good look at yourselves and ask if you even have a conscience! In any case, I could never do something so shameless."

Sun Jinshan’s face turned purple with rage. He thought his son-in-law had gone completely mad, shaming him in front of so many people. For a moment, he was so angry he trembled.

Liu Sanshun said, "There’s no reason to kick Qingmu’s cousin out or make him pay silver. Anyone already studying in the school should follow the old rules. The new rules can only apply to students who come later. Otherwise, are we going to start digging up things from years ago and deciding on them all over again?"

Zhao San nodded. "That’s exactly what I mean. You have to be reasonable about things. If past arrangements no longer count, wouldn’t everything fall into chaos?"

Big Mouth Zhao rolled his eyes and bellowed, "I don’t care about any of that! I can’t make heads or tails of all this reasoning. All I know is that with how much Qingmu’s family has helped all of us, we shouldn’t say a word even if he brought several kids to study here, let alone just one. To do otherwise would be just plain ungrateful!"

Zhou Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaonian voiced their agreement, the three Liu brothers nodded one after another, and Huang Xiaodun and the others all said they couldn’t do something that would have people cursing them behind their backs.

Li Changming, who was a bit older, stood up and spoke earnestly to Li Gengtian. "First Uncle, we can’t control what other people think or do, but we brothers will not abandon our basic principles. I won’t go on about how we should be grateful to Qingmu—those are just easy words to say—but the simple fact is his cousin is already studying in the school. These new rules have nothing to do with him. They’re completely irrelevant."