Chapter 11: The Old Stories of the Chen Family

Listening to the little boy’s account of what she knew about the three Chen brothers and recalling what Chen Ming had mentioned the night before, combined with her own imagination, Chen Feng learned about some of the past events of the Chen family.

The father of the three Chen brothers, dissatisfied with the meager earnings from working the land, followed a distant relative to engage in business. Over ten years, he managed to earn some money and gradually acquired over twenty-six acres of land. He intended to retire from business after one last trip, but tragically, he fell off a cliff and died during that journey. At the time, the eldest, Chen Ye, was nine years old, the second, Chen Ming, was seven, and the youngest, Chen Shi, was five.

With only the widow and her children left in the family, Chen Ming’s second uncle and aunt harbored intentions of seizing their family’s property. They moved the family to Chen Ye’s house and even attempted to take over their land, pressuring the widow to remarry.

To onlookers, the second uncle’s excuse that the widow might remarry and he wanted to help manage the household seemed reasonable. However, the determined widow refused to remarry, and the intelligent children were not willing to let relatives take charge, which was also reasonable.

However, the second uncle and his wife were in their prime, while Chen Ye’s family consisted of a widow and orphans. The majority of the villagers believed that the second uncle’s family would ultimately triumph.

Despite being young, Chen Ye had his own ideas, and Mrs. Chen was not a weak woman. Naturally, they were not going to allow their property to be seized. After discussing, they secretly sold four acres of land, used the proceeds to give substantial gifts to the influential families in the village, seeking their assistance in protecting the widow and her children from the uncle’s attempts to seize the family’s estate.

These families had already looked down upon the second uncle’s despicable behavior and, upon receiving the gifts, helped drive the uncle, who sought to seize the widow and her nephews’ property, away, thus safeguarding the family’s estate.

Through this experience, young Chen Ye realized that their family had to become stronger to avoid being bullied. He believed that mere farming was not enough for development, and engaging in business, like his father, was too perilous. He thought his two younger brothers were intelligent and had the potential for scholarly pursuits. Consequently, he convinced his mother to sell more land to support the younger brothers’ education, despite himself having dropped out of school. He lacked the means and the ability to continue his studies.

Mrs. Chen was the kind of woman who followed her husband and then her son. She complied with her first born son’s arrangements.

Selling another four acres, the family was left with eighteen acres. From then on, Chen Ye and Mrs. Chen worked in the fields from dawn till dusk, without hiring laborers as they had done before, only seeking short-term help during peak farming seasons when they couldn’t manage alone.

Seeing their mother and brother toil so hard, Chen Ming and Chen Shi, both sensible, devoted themselves to their studies. Chen Ming attained the title of “Tong Sheng” at the age of thirteen, and the teacher predicted he would achieve the status of “Xiu Cai” the following year. However, he fell seriously ill the next year, first contracting a severe cold, which developed into consumption, nearly claiming his life and preventing him from continuing his education.

Chen Shi couldn’t study like Chen Ming, but he was astute and eloquent, realizing that what he had learned was sufficient for his needs. At the age of twelve, he ceased his studies, worked as an assistant in a shop in the county town, and later became an accountant. Eventually, he married the daughter of a local family and established his own shop in the prefectural city.

When Chen Ming turned eighteen, the Chen family officially divided their assets. Chen Ming was gravely ill at the time, and the medical expenses were draining their finances, while Chen Shi needed a substantial sum to start his career in the prefectural city.

Feeling torn, Mrs. Chen was distressed for her second son, but she didn’t want him to burden his brothers alone, so she proposed the division of the family assets. According to the division, the land belonging to Chen Ming will be used for his treatment. If he recovered, it would be a blessing; if not, it wouldn’t affect his brothers.

They had a courtyard and eighteen acres of land remaining. The majority was given to the eldest brother’s family, with an additional acre given due to Mrs. Chen’s old age and Chen Ye’s hard work. The remaining fifteen acres were shared among the three brothers’ families, each receiving five acres.

After the family division, Chen Ye helped Chen Ming sell an acre of land. Chen Ye and Chen Shi privately added a couple of extra taels and bought the small courtyard where Chen Ming’s family now resides.

Soon after the division, Chen Ye and his mother heard that the Wang family’s daughter, who had been sold as a child bride to the neighboring town’s Chen family, had been sent back by her mother-in-law. They knew that the Wang girl was a lucky star, as it was her entry into the Chen family that had improved the health of the ailing Mr. Chen. Moreover, she had learned excellent embroidery skills from Mr. Chen’s mother, and by marrying her, she could help cover the expenses for Chen Ming’s treatment.

Though the Wang woman had been married once before, it was uncertain whether she would agree to marry a sickly lad like Chen Ming. Nonetheless, Chen Ye and his mother went to speak to her in person, and unexpectedly, they succeeded.

This turned out to be the wisest decision made by Chen Ye and his mother.

Upon entering the Chen family, Wang not only improved Chen Ming’s health and worked hard to earn money for his treatment, but also gave birth to a daughter prematurely seven months later, and a son a few years after. Although the daughter was mentally disabled, the son was obedient and sensible, but unfortunately, he later became limp.

The above were the things Chen Feng had heard and imagined, and she was still unaware of more secretive matters.

Wang’s mother was a stepmother and agreed to marry off Wang for a dowry of ten taels, provided by the Chen family. With Chen Ming’s condition, they couldn’t afford ten taels. The four acres of land they had left were their lifeline and they couldn’t dare to sell it as a dowry.

As the mother and son left the village crestfallen, Wang caught up with them. She revealed that she had the ten taels given by his previous husband Mr. Chen of the Chen family of the neighboring village, and was willing to use it as a dowry to marry into the Chen family of Chen Ming, but…

After a long discussion in hushed tones, they finally reached an agreement. From a hidden pocket in her sleeve, Wang produced a ten-tael banknote and handed it to Chen’s mother. The following day, the matchmaker was invited to propose the marriage, and three days later, Wang was carried in a bridal sedan to Chen Ming’s courtyard.

Chen Feng thought that Chen’s mother was still a good mother, genuinely planning for her three sons. Each of the sons had different lives now, but they were all living to the best of their abilities. If it were another village woman, their lives would definitely not be as good as in her family.

Chen Ye and Chen Shi were also good brothers, especially Chen Ye, who had vision and determination, knew how to care for his brothers appropriately, and wouldn’t let his own life suffer.

Mother Chen and her eldest son had done well to reach this point, genuinely planning for Chen Ming and Chen Feng. Although they didn’t like her and her foster son, they still tolerated, because Wang takes care of Chen Ming and them.

However, that old aunt, Mrs. Hu, was too demanding. With Chen Ming being gravely ill and the whole family, except Wang, being weak and infirm, where would they find the money to honor her? Moreover, they could honor Chen’s mother and be grateful to Chen Ye, but to honor her? Who did she think she was?

And that Mr. Chen, well, his surname is also Chen! He was probably the biological father of this body, right? According to the little boy, Wang’s history as a child bride to Mr. Chen is not a secret.

She asked again, “Does Dabao know Mr. Chen?”

The little boy’s big eyes rolled around, and he whispered, “Mom, you can only ask your son. Never ask Grandpa and Grandma.”

Did she really think her mother was a fool? Chen Feng smiled and nodded, saying, “Mom knows.”