Chapter 681: Chapter 681: Something’s Up
Growing up in the village, knowing that if you don’t have a son, you’ll be looked down upon and bullied.
It’s probably the same for He Chao and Mrs. Hong.
Even if you’re wealthy, you’d still be despised.
Since he was young, his grandmother told him that the more successful a man is, the more he wants a son. Now that He Chao has achieved great merits, he surely wants a son even more.
He harbored the hope of inheriting the ready-made family assets, thinking his adoption would be smooth.
But what was happening before his eyes was beyond his expectations.
Fortunately, the topic finally came to adoption, and Zhu Zi decided to seize every opportunity.
He couldn’t believe that Mrs. Hong wasn’t afraid of having no one to take care of her in old age, didn’t want a son, wasn’t worried about having no one to offer incense after death...
"I wasn’t willing at first, but considering that both my fourth uncle and I have the surname He, I can’t let fourth uncle be looked down upon, so I agreed to be your son."
Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin pursed their lips, saying it sounded nice.
Agreed to be someone else’s son? Who agreed to whom?
Not even a word written in the deal, yet he’s already making threats.
The whole family has no decent person.
"My mother went through great hardship to give birth to me and raised me up, now giving me to you for free to take care of your old age."
"Fourth Aunt, you disrespected my mother, so I won’t be your son."
Zhu Zi decided to retreat to advance, trying to hold Mrs. Hong in his grip.
Tong Huaqiong and Mrs. Hong exchanged a smile.
Is this kid out of his mind?
Who’s he blatantly threatening?
As soon as Zhu Zi spoke, his mother’s face turned green.
Her three foolish children, is this the time to show off?
She swallowed her pride when Mrs. Hong scolded her, why’s her child jumping out now?
The silver-haired woman tugged at Zhu Zi.
"Well, nephew’s wife, about this Zhu Zi kid..."
Mrs. Hong interrupted, "He Chao and I don’t lack a son, we never planned to recognize someone else’s child as ours."
To put it bluntly, when we’re old and pass away, He Chao has so many apprentices trained during his time as a shopkeeper to handle our affairs.
Tong Huaqiong muttered, "Anyone eager to be someone else’s son doesn’t have good intentions. Fortunately, this child held back, knowing who his real parents are."
Zhu Zi was stunned.
Mrs. Hong doesn’t want a son?
How could that be?
"How can a family be without a son? Even if Fourth Uncle agrees, Third Grandpa and Third Grandma won’t rest easy underground."
"Without a son, how will you manage when you’re old and have no back-up?"
"Eventually, your family property won’t be inherited and will fall into others’ hands."
"Without a son, there’s no one to offer incense after death, you can’t reincarnate."
Zhu Zi, in excitement, expressed all he understood about not having a son.
Mrs. Hong’s face remained calm, not responding to Zhu Zi at all.
In short, if she didn’t agree, Zhu Zi couldn’t be adopted.
It’s their worry, not hers.
At this time, the middle-aged daughter-in-law standing behind Uncle He spoke up.
"Zhu Zi, your fourth aunt going along with your wish not to let you be adopted, shouldn’t you be happy? Why are you losing your cool?"
The middle-aged daughter-in-law is Uncle He’s son’s wife, and indeed Li Mingxiu’s second aunt’s cousin, Mrs. Zhang. Her husband ranks first in He Chao’s generation in the clan, so He Chao has to call her cousin-in-law.
Cousin-in-law Mrs. Zhang secretly reveled as the first son of the second house got shut down.
She and Mrs. Qian weren’t real sister-in-laws by blood, their husbands were only cousins.
"I said adopting this wouldn’t work, who doesn’t know a child that old being adopted won’t grow attached, it’s just eyeing the family property. You think people are fools, but our fourth sister isn’t."
"I say Second Brother and Sister-in-law, what’s the use of having so many sons. To your sons, money smells better than poor parents. Sister-in-law, tell me, how many times has Zhu Zi despised your poverty and wanted to recognize others as his parents?"
Mrs. Zhang has no sons, only two daughters.
Mrs. Qian and her husband wanted to adopt a son into the main house to seize the property.
Back then, when choosing a child, young Zhu Zi jumped out wanting to be the child of the main house, even claiming everything of the main house as his.
Mrs. Zhang steadfastly refused, then married a son-in-law into the family, making Zhu Zi give up.
"This cousin-in-law speaks reasonably," Mrs. Zhao whispered to Aunt Qin.
Aunt Qin pursed her lips and softly said, "You’ll see soon enough, she’s quite the sly one."
To think that Li Mingxiu was sold to Manager He as a concubine, without her provocation, Aunt Qin would never believe it.
Despite being somewhat related, standing right there, Mrs. Zhang pretended Aunt Qin was a stranger.
"I’ve no sons in this life, only two daughters, and this Zhu Zi just wanted to recognize me and my husband as his parents, claiming our family property as his. Naturally, I couldn’t accept this wolf’s ambitious creature."
"This time he wants to play tricks on you and Fourth Brother, but thankfully you weren’t deceived."
"Fourth Sister, you must, like me, only recognize the one that crawls out of your own belly. Even if it isn’t, it still must be your husband’s seed."
Aunt Qin nudged towards Mrs. Zhao, indicating she should listen as her true intentions were revealed.
"In my opinion, Fourth Brother isn’t old, you have money, why not take a concubine to have a child. After it’s born, raise it at your side like your own, isn’t that better than an ungrateful wolf fed halfway?"
Mrs. Hong couldn’t help but look at Mrs. Zhang.
This so-called cousin-in-law, inciting Li Mingxiu’s second aunt to make her Li Mingxiu He Chao’s concubine.
If she hadn’t known, she’d have thought this gentle-looking woman was truly concerned for her.
This family really has no good people.
The words sound pretty, but the deeds are filthy enough.
Mrs. Hong nodded, Mrs. Zhang saw this and couldn’t help but feel smug, thinking her method was good.
Little did she know about the niece through the cousin, as long as she convinced Mrs. Hong, she could have her cousin send Li Mingxiu in.
By then, she could also gain some benefits from it.
At this moment, second cousin-in-law Mrs. Qian wished to rip apart cousin-in-law Mrs. Zhang.
She also had a ruthless trick to sting the other party, so she said, "A hen that doesn’t lay eggs just envies others for having sons. You’re married into the family, but is your so-called grandson’s surname He? People usually return to their ancestral roots by the third generation, but you’re not even in one generation yet you’ve returned. You want to pass your grandson to Fourth Brother as a grandson, but that grandson’s not surnamed He, unqualified."
Mrs. Zhang indeed stomped her foot in anger, retaliating, "Wretch, you can lay eggs, but only if what you lay can hatch a chick, then it counts as skill."
Previously Mrs. Zhang didn’t have the confidence to scold Mrs. Qian, but now she did.
Mrs. Qian’s eldest son six years ago married but had no children, divorced, and a year after remarrying still showed no signs of children, while the divorced wife remarried and got pregnant within a year.
Who can or cannot conceive is clear.
According to Mrs. Zhang, this seedless situation appears in a cluster.
The eldest doesn’t have any, she doesn’t believe the second, third, or fourth will.
So, she scolds with righteous indignation.
Mrs. Qian’s face was pale with anger, she turned to Uncle He and said, "Uncle, you be the judge."
"You shut up. Can’t have a son yet you feel justified."
"You slandered Zhu Zi, and cursed your sister-in-law, do you have any manners of the main family eldest grandson’s wife?"
Uncle He listened to his daughter-in-law and niece-in-law’s quarrel and couldn’t help but reprimand his eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhang.
Tong Huaqiong, Mrs. Hong, and Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin looked between Uncle He and the silver-haired woman with a meaningful smile.
This old man, really, instead of siding with his daughter-in-law, he staunchly defended his niece-in-law.
Something’s going on!
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