Chapter 7: The Heart of a Small Person

Chen Yougui said with a playful smile, "Wife, what's wrong? Your husband has won another two taels of silver." After saying this, he took out a few pieces of broken silver from his bosom. Chen Jiujin opened his hand, which was as large as a winnowing basket, and snatched the silver with one hand, while the other hand was spread out in front of his chest, saying, "Hand it over."

Chen Yougui is also a very astute person; upon hearing his wife, he immediately sensed that there was more to her words. "So what do you suggest we do?"

Haha, brothers and sisters-in-law, you have arrived. Please, take a seat. Have some tea, have some tea. Chen Youfu stood up to brew tea for them

"You fool, your elder brother is already fifty-five this year; how many more years can he live?" Chen Jiujin scolded, pointing at Chen Yougui's nose.

Chen Youfu had just returned from outside, bringing back a variety of food for the Tian family, and had prepared some egg and rice soup for his son. At this time, the sky had already darkened, and a knocking sound, resembling "he tu shu pa pa," came from outside the courtyard door. Chen Yougui and his wife pushed the door and entered.

Chen Jiujin angrily scolded, "You deadbeat only know how to squander money outside all day and never come home. Your elder brother has just had a son today. What good is it for you to win a few taels of silver out there?"

"You usually act so shrewdly. Your elder brother has done so much business, and the Chen family in Chenjiazhuang has the most. If they had no heirs and he were to die, then his estate would be ours. Now, I truly doubt whether he will live to see his son grow up. As long as Chen Youfu and his wife are dead, can that kid even keep the family fortune?" After saying this, both Chen Yougui and his wife wore sinister smiles.

Chen Yougui took out one or two silver coins from his pocket and handed them to Chen Jiujin. Chen Jiujin raised his hand and gave Chen Yougui a resounding slap, causing Chen Yougui, who weighed less than a hundred jin and had barely three liang of flesh on him, to spin around in place in a dizzying manner.

Therefore, if someone else has a son, Chen Yougui secretly resents it. Today, upon hearing Chen Jiujin mention that his elder brother has had a son, he was so furious that he went straight back to his room and lay down on the bed. Seeing Chen Yougui in such a miserable state, Chen Jiujin lifted him up from the bed as if he were picking up a chick. "You deadbeat, what are you going to do now that your elder brother has a son?"

Let's go visit your elder brother's house and take a look at that child who was born with a radiant glow. The two of them then went out through the door

What can I do if he has a son?" Chen Yougui replied weakly

Chen Yougui, the cousin of Chen Youfu, often gambles in Lin'an City, sometimes not returning for two or three days. As soon as he steps through the door, he is met with a barrage of scolding from his wife, Chen Jiujin: "You rascal, you finally know to come back! There has been a major incident at home." Chen Jiujin is the only daughter of Chen Tu, the butcher from Chenjia Village, who named her after her birth weight of nine jin.

This statement truly struck a chord with Chen Yougui. Chen Yougui and Chen Jiujin had only one daughter, named Chen Zhaodi, with the nickname Nizi. She was quite unattractive, with a turned-up nose, slanted eyes, and a face full of pockmarks. In Chenjiacun, when children cried, adults would use Nizi to scare them, and the children would immediately stop crying. It was one thing for Nizi to be unattractive, but she also inherited her mother's willful and fierce nature, and her heart was not kind. Thus, a saying circulated in Chenjiacun: "Better to spend a lifetime wielding a light and a book stick than to cast a glance at Nizi." Furthermore, the Chen family had a very bad reputation in Chenjiacun. Although Chen Yougui and his wife owned land, they were always too lazy to farm it and ended up selling off their few acres. Every day, they gambled in Chenjiacun, and due to their poor gambling habits, they would leave when they won money and default when they lost. Now, no one in Chenjiacun was willing to gamble with them.

Although Chen Jiujin is a woman, she is renowned for her fierce demeanor in Chen Family Village, standing less than five feet tall yet weighing two hundred pounds. She particularly enjoys wearing bright red and purple clothing and is fond of applying makeup. The people of Chen Family Village refer to her behind her back as "Mother Nightshade" and "A Living Pig." However, these remarks can only be made in whispers, for if she were to overhear, she would block the door of the offender and curse them for three days and nights.

Haha, congratulations to the elder brother. Chen Youhe entered the room and raised his eyes to see a dark, grim-looking ruler hanging on the door frame of the outer room, and suddenly felt a chill in his heart as if something had struck him.

It is ready, it is ready. Call Chen Mengsheng to write the characters Qingzhu. Hehe

Elder brother, is this the Ba Zi that was measured by someone?

Chen Jiujin said with a smile: "Congratulations, elder brother and sister-in-law. I will go see my precious nephew. Elder brother, has the name for my nephew, who was surrounded by a red glow when I had that incident, been decided yet?"

Thus, the young woman remained at home until she was in her twenties, yet no one came to propose marriage. A woman of age should not be kept at home, for prolonged stay may lead to misfortune. In the end, Chen Yougui entrusted a matchmaker with the willingness to offer twenty taels of silver to marry off his daughter, believing that under such generous rewards, brave suitors would emerge. Outside Chen's village, there was a lame man named Yang Laoliu who sold pancakes; he was indeed willing, likely motivated by the twenty taels of silver. Ultimately, the young woman was married off in her earlier years.