Chapter 178: Smashing the Door
Wang Yongzhu brought Old Granny Zhang some hot water to wash her face, and comforted her, "Mother, it’s okay, father probably just drank too much. Once he sobers up tomorrow, we’ll talk to him, and he won’t be so impulsive."
"How can your father be so muddled, don’t we as parents know what kind of temperament our second son has? I see that this official-obsessed temperament of his is just like your father’s! What’s wrong with being a peasant family? As long as you have land, the heavens won’t let a hard-working man starve! Insisting on becoming an official without even seeing if one is cut out for it!" Old Granny Zhang nagged as she clung to Wang Yongzhu.
What could Wang Yongzhu say? She guessed that this obsession with becoming an official is embedded in every parent who wishes their child to become successful. Wang Laozhu’s greatest success in life would be if his son could become a Scholar, and if he could become an official, then his life would be complete.
Seeing there was hope, how could he let it go.
For now, Wang Yongzhu could only try to persuade Old Granny Zhang, "As long as we all refuse, and you don’t hand over the land deeds, father can’t do anything, can he? Could he really go over your head and sell the house and land? I think father got muddled from drinking today, he’ll definitely regret it when he’s sober tomorrow. Mother, you shouldn’t be angry either, getting upset over the second brother isn’t worth it. At times like this, we can’t afford to get angry; truly, if anger led us to misfortune, no one would pity us."
These words reminded Old Granny Zhang, who wiped her face with her sleeve and dried her tears, "You’re right! I won’t fall for this! If they made me ill with anger, with your father’s muddled mind, if I’m not watching over him, who knows, he might really ruin this family!"
After saying this, she perked up, washing her face while muttering, "Now in the house, only your mother and you are the ones with sense, a room full of fools! Swayed by a few words from the second son, without even considering what they’re made of. As soon as they hear ’official’, their very bones feel lighter by three taels. Even if the second son somehow manages to luck into some dog’s fart of an Adviser’s post?"
"Adviser, it’s somewhat like a Master, running errands and giving advice behind the scenes to the County Official," Wang Yongzhu explained carefully to Old Granny Zhang.
"Ptui, what adviser? Nothing but a lackey! Watching others eat while you look on, standing while others sit! That’s just paying to be servants to others, eating depending on others’ faces! And they think they have the better deal! They say it’s easy to officiate with connections in the court, but our family has only one who has studied and gone out, the Qian Family are just small-time traders, what connections could they have? The moment there’s trouble, he’ll surely be the first one thrown under the bus, and by then it might be the end for the whole family. Hearing about earning so much Silver a year makes everyone’s eyes turn green, but they don’t think about whether the Silver will even fall into our hands. Those old folks from the Qian Family are born of money, would they just watch the Silver and not reach out? They’re all so thoughtless..."