Chapter 20 Old Man Qian Is Actually Hypocritical!

After all—

Deep down, Old Man Qian knew if he really followed through with what Ertian wanted, then he would be breaking faith with Zhao Saihua.

He would be going back on his promise.

Forget how outsiders might see him—

The real problem was that this could stir resentment among Zhao’s sons, even trigger open conflict within the household.

Worse yet, Zhao Saihua might fly into a rage and demand a divorce.

But if he didn’t satisfy his daughter-in-law’s request, what if she got angry?

After all, even though Qianjia Village was wealthier than most, they were still a village. Compared to the city, they were nothing.

If his son’s city bride really put her foot down and called off the wedding, it would devastate him.

At that moment, Old Man Qian felt like he was caught in a wall with no exit—

whichever side he chose, trouble waited.

He weighed pros and cons, sweat beading on his forehead as he searched for a perfect solution.

But in the end, he decided to stand with his son.

He was already past fifty. Affairs between men and women no longer stirred him much—what mattered most was his children and grandchildren’s future.

In other words, between his son and Zhao Saihua, he chose his son.

Of course, he dared to treat Zhao this way because she had no real backing. She and her children relied on the Qian family’s wealth.

He thought:

Zhao’s two boys had no houses, no families of their own. They needed Qianjia’s high work-points and welfare. They couldn’t afford to leave.

As long as she didn’t break things off completely, he would still give them some scraps of support.

But if they did break things off, they would be back to the hunger and poverty of the past.

Qianjia was the richest in all of Lanshi.

So, in Old Man Qian’s mind, Zhao had every reason to stay.

He thought he had her in the palm of his hand.

Still, he made contingency plans.

If Zhao really refused to hand over the rooms and threatened divorce, he would side with his son and daughter-in-law without hesitation.

If she could stay, good.

If not, then let her leave!

Truthfully, in recent months, he’d grown dissatisfied with Zhao and her children.

Where exactly the dissatisfaction came from, he couldn’t say.

But Zhao had been picking more fights—skimping on meals, complaining about every penny spent.

He remembered back when they married.

Once, because they had so many gifts to give at weddings, she spent eighteen yuan out of a thirty-yuan monthly allowance just on gifts.

That month she didn’t ask him for more money, but quietly filled the gap with her own savings.

Back then, she never complained.

So why had she become so stingy now?

Or perhaps it wasn’t stinginess—her sons were grown now, and she was anxious.

She wanted property.

But giving property was his bottom line!

He was willing to grant her little favors, but nothing more.

He never truly regarded Zhao’s sons as his own.

To him, they didn’t even compare to his brother’s children.

As for Zhao’s kindness to his children, he saw that as only right.

He was the benefactor—shouldn’t she serve his family wholeheartedly?

In earlier years, he might have continued pretending affection, stringing her along.

But now, with Ertian’s wedding approaching, he put his son first.

So he confronted Zhao directly, tone sharp and final:

“Your eldest son is grown. Either you build him a mud-brick house, or he shares with his brother. Those two rooms—Ertian’s wife wants them back.”

Zhao was stunned.

She had never thought Old Man Qian would break his promise so brazenly.

Panic flashed across her heart.

She wasn’t ready for divorce.

So she softened, even tried to coax him:

“Qian-ge, so all those promises you made to me… they mean nothing now?”

“The promise is still there,” he said defensively, though he knew he was in the wrong. “But your eldest is grown. You must think of his future too.”

Zhao saw through him, but didn’t call him out.

Old Man Qian’s hypocrisy was plain.

His words twisted the truth—clearly breaking his word, yet pretending to act for her son’s good:

“If he has no house, who will marry him? You’ve saved money over the years. Better to use it to build him a house. Then he can find a wife more easily.”

Ha.

To cloak betrayal as kindness—how generous of him!

Zhao knew he had made up his mind.

“Fine. I’ll tell my son to give up the rooms,” she muttered bitterly.

Even though she had long expected this outcome, her heart still ached when it became real.

That night—

After Old Man Qian’s decree, she gathered her children.

A private council of her two sons and her married daughter Zhao Qianqian.

In a remarried family, there was rarely true unity.

So even the meeting place was chosen carefully—at Zeng Cheng’s home, far from Qian ears.

She even sent her son-in-law away:

“I need to discuss family matters with my children. You go for a walk.”

Zeng Cheng nodded. He didn’t belong in this fight anyway.

Old Man Qian had been his father’s comrade-in-arms, even his savior.

Zhao’s family were now his in-laws.

No matter which side he took, it would be awkward.

When Zhao Saihua revealed Ertian’s scheme to take their rooms, her anger flared at last.