Chapter 398 - 224 Disaster_2
Qian Dagui said, "My second brother acts without rules on normal days, always listening to Lady Tang. He should have hired a couple more workers long ago to lighten his load. Because Lady Tang feels reluctant to spend silver, he chose not to hire anyone, and works himself to the bone every day. Now, he doesn’t even bother to help his daughter and son-in-law, who he usually supports. Why should father go there? You are of such an age, a fall would be serious. Even if his household has suffered from the disaster this year, they wouldn’t be unable to carry on."
Old man Qian thought it was time for his second son to learn a lesson through hardship, so he didn’t go.
After ten days, when the heavy rain finally stopped, Lady Tang used her crutch to sneak back home to check the damage from the disaster. She heard that the family’s fish had mostly escaped from the lotus pond, and the crops in the field had also been seriously damaged. Moreover, her son had fallen and gotten hurt, and her husband was sick from overwork.
She cried bitterly, cursing as she wept, "The third branch is a pack of ingrates after all the work that their head of the household and Manhe did for them in past years. Now that our family is short-handed, they have so many people yet offer no help. And what about the eldest branch, with its many people and workers—why don’t they come to help?"
Qian Manhe said angrily, "Mother has offended everyone to death, yet blames the third branch for not helping. They helped our family so much before, but you not only didn’t appreciate it, you also had ill intentions. With such extreme actions, why should they help us now? Besides, my younger sister and her husband always come to our house for free meals; they never help, so why should the eldest branch do so? I’ve decided—our house is not the Benevolent Hall. My wife takes care of my parents, and there’s no reason for her to also look after my married sister and her family. Also, we will hire two more workers to ease father’s burden, as he is getting too old for such hard work."
"What? Hire more workers after the house has suffered a disaster? No, I don’t agree," Lady Tang shrieked.
It just so happened that Old man Qian came to the second branch with Old woman Qian and heard their mother and son’s conversation.