Chapter 39 Father-in-law and Son-in-law

Shao Diandian didn't recognize him at first glance, only vaguely feeling he looked familiar. Not taking it to heart, she brushed past him with a sleepy, half-awake Shao Erdan.

The other party probably hadn't expected to be so completely ignored by the siblings. He frowned and snapped, "Shao Daya! Shao Erdan!"

Huh?

Someone who actually knew their names? Were they really acquainted?

Shao Diandian stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "Who are you?"

Shao Erdan rubbed his eyes, looked closely, and froze. "Eldest Cousin?"

Old Man Shao was an orphan with no siblings. The only person who could be called Eldest Cousin was the scholar from the Chen family.

What was his name again?

Brother Hao? Brother Yuan?

It was no wonder Shao Diandian couldn't remember clearly, as the original owner had very little interaction with this eldest cousin. Even when they occasionally crossed paths, the eldest cousin hardly ever spoke to her.

Chen Haoyuan looked at the two of them with clear displeasure. "Why are you two here?"

Shao Erdan opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Chen Haoyuan's gaze shifted back to Shao Diandian's face, carrying a hint of undisguised disgust and hostility.

"Did you come to look for me?" he asked.

What on earth was this guy talking about?

Shao Diandian looked at Shao Erdan beside her with a blank expression, signaling that she had no idea what show this eldest cousin was putting on.

"Am I close with him?" she whispered.

Shao Erdan blocked his mouth with his hand and lowered his voice. "You used to have a crush on Eldest Cousin, don't you remember? You even gave him a sachet, but he didn't want it."

"Wasn't I into Liu Tongsheng?"

"Liu Tongsheng came later."

Shao Diandian: "..."

As the siblings whispered to each other, Chen Haoyuan's frown deepened.

Shao Diandian secretly clenched her chubby little fists.

—Just how many guys had the original owner fallen for? And these scattered, fragmented memories were genuinely inconvenient.

Chen Haoyuan said coldly, "I've heard about you and Liu Tongsheng."

His words carried a hidden meaning. After pondering for a moment, Shao Diandian finally understood what he was insinuating.

He thought she couldn't marry Liu Tongsheng, and thus had come to chase after him again.

Wait, didn't Chen Feng and Mrs. Huang tell him after returning to the village that she now had a handsome young husband like Wei Ting?

Even though Chen Haoyuan was a scholar with clean-featured good looks, he still paled significantly in comparison to Wei Ting, didn't he?

Shao Diandian glanced at the bundle in his hand and understood instantly.

Chen Haoyuan lived at the academy and only got one day off every ten days. Today was his day off, so he had no idea that Chen Feng and his wife had gone to make a scene at the Shao household.

Shao Diandian chuckled. "Who said I came looking for you?"

Were scholars in ancient times always this stuck-up? Liu Tongsheng was like that, and so was Chen Haoyuan—each one acting as if their noses were pointed straight up at the sky!

Chen Haoyuan said with lofty detachment, "You'd better not have! Besides, the academy is not a place for people like you. Honestly tend to your fields in the countryside and stop coming out to make a fool of yourselves!"

"What kind of people are we supposed to be?" Shao Erdan retorted, feeling indignant.

Ever since Shao Diandian had a falling out with the Chen family, he didn't seem as intimidated by them as before.

"What kind of people you are, you know best in your hearts." Chen Haoyuan dusted off his immaculate sleeve.

The implication was crystal clear—two dirt-scratching peasants, a couple of unprincipled bullies, who might soil the sacred grounds of scholars!

"I've said all I have to say, take care of yourselves!"

With that, Chen Haoyuan flicked his sleeve and walked away.

Shao Erdan watched his retreating figure, scratched his head, and muttered, "Sis, why do I suddenly feel like beating him up?"

Shao Diandian: "Then go beat him up."

Shao Erdan shrank back timidly. "...I don't dare."

The last time their aunt and uncle came to the house, he told their father about it the next day. Their father didn't say a single word after hearing it, just silently walked back into his room.

He couldn't quite gauge their father's attitude toward the Chen family.

"Let's go," Shao Diandian said.

"Sis, aren't you angry?" Shao Erdan hurried to keep up.

Shao Diandian said airily, "What's there to be angry about? Does he get to define what kind of people we are just because he says so? You're still young. You'll meet plenty of people like this in the future, and if you let every single one of them get to you, you'll exhaust yourself. Unless they infringe upon your actual interests, don't waste energy on internal friction."

What cake? What friction?

Shao Erdan scratched his head. "Sis, are you going to make new pastries? Is it Erdan cake?"

Shao Diandian: "..."

Shao Diandian ignored him, but Shao Erdan picked up the previous topic on his own. "Sis, when you first set your sights on Liu Tongsheng, I knew it was because he was a scholar too. Deep down... you were actually still attached to Eldest Cousin."

Shao Diandian replied, "I'm not attached to him anymore, so I couldn't care less what he thinks of me."

She only cared about silver—more, more, and even more silver!

Shao Erdan nodded earnestly. "That's true, you have a brother-in-law now! Brother-in-law looks way better than both of them combined!"

While Shao Diandian had remained utterly unbothered when labeled by Chen Haoyuan, simply hearing Wei Ting's name made her face turn dark as she clenched her little fists!

Why was it that guy again?

So infuriating!

--

Today, Wei Ting was once again dragged away by Old Man Shao to learn farming from Mrs. Qian.

His stitches had been removed, but he still couldn't exert too much force, so Old Man Shao remained the primary laborer.

Looking at the vegetable patch that had once again been thoroughly wrecked, Mrs. Qian clenched her fists and trembled all over with rage!

Old Man Shao rubbed his nose sheepishly. "You were the one who told me to pick them..."

Mrs. Qian gritted her teeth. "Do you call that picking? That's uprooting!"

Uprooting them completely by the roots!

Old Man Shao muttered, "You said I could pull them..."

"Scallions, you can pull! Who told you to pull the garlic sprouts too?!"

Mrs. Qian was so furious her chest ached!

Heavens and earth, please let this fellow go extort someone else! Just stop making him learn how to farm!

When he extorted money, he only took a few copper coins, but learning to farm was going to ruin half an acre of her crops!

"You come here!"

Mrs. Qian said to Wei Ting in exasperation.

Wei Ting sighed, leaning on his crutch as he limped over.

Today, there were even more villagers watching than yesterday, with people coming over even from the neighboring village.

They came to watch the wicked Shao bully farm, and also to catch a glimpse of the wicked Shao family's pretty young husband.

"Auntie Qian, have a sip of water first." Wei Ting borrowed flowers to present to Buddha, handing a bowl of water from Mrs. Qian's own basket to her.

Mrs. Qian took the bowl and drank a mouthful, her anger subsiding slightly.

She pointed at the various green plants on the ground and asked Wei Ting, "Do you recognize what all these are?"

"Scallions, garlic sprouts, chives, spring onions, radish greens, and coriander." Wei Ting named them one by one from left to right.

"Mhm." Mrs. Qian was very satisfied.

She glared at Shao Kang and said, "Young people really do have quick minds, they learn the moment they're taught! Unlike certain people who still can't tell scallions and garlic sprouts apart after a hundred times!"

The wicked Shao had made a fool of himself again!

The villagers were practically dying of laughter!

Shao Kang rolled his eyes, and with lightning speed, swiftly rearranged the positions of the vegetables.

He raised an eyebrow at Wei Ting. "Now, do you still recognize them?"

Wei Ting: "..."

Such a good father-in-law and son-in-law, why must they torment each other so?