Chapter 128: The Design Drawing Was Stolen
As he said this, his eyes darted around. "Brother," he began, "do you have any good money-making ideas you could share with your little brother? You have no idea, my tavern business is completely gone. My whole family is about to starve."
Zhao Chun continued, his voice growing more pitiful with each word, his performance utterly convincing.
Zhao Dong watched Zhao Chun’s performance, sneering inwardly. This so-called third brother of mine, he thought, is a ’purebred’ opportunist. He only ever comes over when he wants to get something out of us.
Once Zhao Chun had finished his tale of woe, Zhao Dong finally spoke. "Little Brother, what are you saying? Are you trying to make me look bad? I’m just a simple man; how could I possibly come up with any schemes to get rich? We were starving, truly desperate. It was your sister-in-law who, driven by hunger, managed to create a few recipes. We sold those and scraped together enough money to build this house."
As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed, launching into his own tale of poverty. "Ah, you know this, Third Brother. When the family property was divided, the courtyard we received was ancient, already battered and worn by wind and rain.
"It offered no warmth in winter and leaked whenever it rained. We adults could manage, but it was too hard on the children. As the saying goes, you can suffer yourself, but you can’t let your children suffer. That’s why I decided to build a couple of extra rooms, just so the children could live a bit more comfortably.
"Now that the house is almost built, we’re completely out of money. Taxes are due soon, and your sister-in-law and I have been losing sleep, worrying about how we’ll make it through the winter. Say, Third Brother, is your tavern hiring? Maybe you could let me work there for a few days as a short-term hand?"
This barrage of words from Zhao Dong left Zhao Chun speechless.
He was trying to play poor, but Zhao Dong was even better at it!
He knew perfectly well that when the family property was divided, his own mother had deliberately given Zhao Dong the most dilapidated courtyard. Now that Zhao Dong had laid it all bare in front of everyone, Zhao Chun felt a pang of guilt.
And at this point, looking at Zhao Dong’s emotional acting, he even began to doubt. Could it be that the medicinal vegetables really have nothing to do with my brother?
But that’s impossible! he thought. The information from Landlord Qin’s house can’t be wrong!