Chapter 37 He deserved to be beaten, and it was the right thing to do.

Chapter 37 He deserved to be beaten, and it was the right thing to do.

"What did you say? You're going to adopt Wangzhou?" Du Li doubted her ears. "It's not like I can't afford to raise him. Why would I give my son to you?"

“It’s not a matter of whether you can afford to raise him or not. If Wangzhou were adopted by me, you and my second sister-in-law could go out and do business to make money.” Du Min said helplessly, “No one said you can’t afford to raise him, so why are you so angry?”

“My son isn’t even my son anymore, so what’s the use of us making more money? Or are we going to give you all the money we earn? You raise our son for us, and we’re grateful and offer you tributes? Hey! You really have a good idea. Your parents aren’t willingly supporting you anymore, so you’re going to find yourself another set of parents.” Du Li became angrier and angrier as she spoke.

Du Min's face darkened. "Watch your mouth. I've really been giving you too much face."

"Who's giving me face? I've been too lenient with you, letting you spout nonsense without any sense of hierarchy. I'm your brother; if you knew how to respect me even a little, you wouldn't have said such insulting things." Du Li's pent-up anger suddenly flared up.

"Don't point at me!" Du Min reached out and slapped the hand that was pointing at him.

Du Li was slapped on the hand, and without saying a word, he punched Du Min.

Du Min stumbled, his face flushed with anger, and stood up to demand, "You want to fight?"

"Fight? Who do you think you can beat? I'm the one who wants to beat you." Du Li put down the food box, rolled up his sleeves, took two steps forward, grabbed Du Min by the collar, dragged him to the bed and beat him.

"Let me go!" Du Min kicked him hard. "If you hit me again, I'll hate you!"

Du Li ignored him, grabbed a bamboo pillow and started hitting Du Min on the back, berating him as he did so: "I'll teach you to be so foul-mouthed! I'll teach you to look down on me! What are you so arrogant about? You've offended our parents, brothers, classmates, and friends, and even our teachers don't like you, yet you still hold your head high and act all high and mighty, not knowing who you are. You even hate me, I bring you food three times a day, rain or shine, and you don't appreciate it at all. It's one thing for you to look down on me, but you even look down on your sister-in-law and your nephew, are you even human? Do you have any humanity left?"

Du Min was being beaten and pressed down. He struggled with all his might, but when he got up, he was pressed down again. The pressure on him increased, and his sternum was about to be crushed.

"Brother! Second brother! Stop! You're going to make me vomit blood!" Du Min pleaded sensibly.

Upon hearing this, Du Li loosened his grip, and Du Min took the opportunity to roll to the right, freeing himself from the restraints. He quickly got up and ran towards the door.

Du Li threw the bamboo pillow in his hand, which hit Du Min on the head. Du Min lunged forward and his forehead hit the door panel. He was in so much pain that he squatted down, clutching his head.

Du Li panicked for a moment. He walked over and peeked out, just in time to bump into Du Min, who was glaring at him angrily. He spread his hands, and the panic in his heart disappeared instantly.

“If you glare at me again, I’ll hit you,” Du Li threatened.

Du Min was so angry he couldn't speak. He gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound. "You dare hit me?"

“I’m your brother, what’s there to be afraid of? You can’t kill me, can you?” Du Li had never hit anyone before, and his hands, hidden behind his back, were trembling, but he felt extremely satisfied. He warned, “If you continue to belittle my family, I’ll beat you up again.”

Du Min died unjustly, and he shouted angrily, "When did I ever belittle your family? If you don't know what's good for you, you should at least read a few more books! Do you understand what I mean? Isn't farming tiring? You toil in the fields for a living, but you don't earn any money, and you're busy all year round. You're busy transplanting and harvesting rice, and you want my second sister-in-law to suffer with you too? Does she want that? Have you thought about it? I'm doing this for your own good. I'm giving Wangzhou to me so you won't have to worry about his future and won't be restricted by his household registration! Do you understand? And I was just joking! Just joking!"

“Alright, then let me tell you a joke. Nobody knows if you can get a government position through the imperial examination, but Master Chen is already a sixth-rank official. He values ​​you. If you get married this year and have a son next year, and if you don’t pass the imperial examination in two years, he’ll adopt your son and send you to the palace to become a eunuch for wealth and status.” Du Li racked his brains to come up with an example, and he felt that it was very fitting.

Du Min was so angry that he picked up a bamboo pillow and rushed over to fight.

Du Li took the blow head-on, then twisted Du Min's arms, pinning him to the ground. He retorted, "I was just joking, why are you so angry?"

Du Min shouted angrily, "You dare let me go, you brute! I won't let you get away with this!"

Du Li slapped him on the head.

Du Min felt deeply humiliated. He secretly vowed that after today he would train his strength and fight back against every beating he had taken.

"Do you know you're wrong?" Du Li asked loudly.

Du Min did not answer.

Du Li turned around and sat on his back. "I'll let you up when you admit your mistake."

Du Min was so uncomfortable from being sat on that he could hardly breathe. He wisely gave in again: "I was wrong, get up."

Du Li didn't budge. He didn't want to make enemies with Du Min after all. He had already fought and vented his anger. He calmly continued what he had been saying: "Third brother, your second sister-in-law and I have treated you well, haven't we? You don't like bringing up the past, so I won't mention it. You are a scholar, you should be the most reasonable person, how could you have the idea of ​​adopting Wangzhou?"

“Just kidding,” Du Min argued.

“Even jokes are unacceptable. The fact that you made that joke shows that you have that thought. How dare you say that? Go stop someone on the street and tell them you want to adopt their son, and see if you don’t get slapped. You wouldn’t dare say such a thing in front of strangers, so how dare you say it in front of me? Adopt my son? How much do you look down on me? Do you think I can’t raise my son? Who gave you the right to raise him for me? How dare you?” Du Li questioned.

Du Min remained silent.

"You keep talking about arranging for me and your second sister-in-law to be registered as merchants. What's so great about being a merchant? If your second sister-in-law weren't a merchant, would she have stooped to marry into the Du family? Your parents constantly berate merchants at home for being lewd and lowly, and you look down on merchants too. You refused to go out to dinner with the Meng family, and now you want me to be registered as a merchant as well?"

Du Min closed his eyes, and the anger in his heart subsided.

“Wang Zhou is a person, not an object. You can’t just give him to him like that. You’re his uncle, have you ever thought about him? His own parents abandoned him for money and short-sightedly became a pair of lowly merchants. Will he be happy? What will he think when he grows up?” Du Li said helplessly, “Third brother, don’t grow up to be like your parents…”

"Alright, stop talking. I was wrong." Du Min admitted defeat wholeheartedly. "I misspoke."

Du Li got up from him.

Du Min lay on the ground and took a few deep breaths. He tried to get up, but then realized that his posture was not good, so he rolled over and lay flat on his back.

Du Li reached out his hand, and Du Min looked at him, raised his hand, and grabbed his hand.

Du Li pulled him up with force.

Du Min dusted himself off and, to ease the awkwardness, said, "Second Brother, you're quite eloquent. Every word you say makes sense. Did you learn it from my Second Sister-in-law?"

"I've always been like this. It's because you've always looked down on me, disregarded my words, and didn't listen to me properly that you haven't noticed," Du Li said self-deprecatingly.

Du Min looked embarrassed; he wanted to explain, but couldn't open his mouth.

“You’re not going to back down after this beating. You’ve always looked down on me because of your parents’ power since you were little,” Du Li continued.

"Don't bring up the past," Du Min said guiltily.

"After today, will today's matter become old grievances?" Du Li asked slyly.

Du Min: ...

Du Li packed up the food box, intending to leave.

"Don't tell my second sister-in-law about what happened today," Du Min demanded.

"Impossible." Du Li refused. "You want to scheme against her, and you expect me to help you keep it from her?"

"I didn't intend to scheme against you," Du Min denied.

“My son is in your hands, and you can take all the money we earn.” At this point, Du Li’s hands started itching again. He said bitterly, “You took Wangzhou as your son’s adoptive parents, and you took the money. If he becomes successful in the future, all the credit and fame will go to you. How can you be so calculating?”

"I didn't think that much about it." Du Minzhen felt wronged. He really hadn't thought about that aspect; it was just that the conversation flowed quickly and the thought suddenly came to mind.

“Second Brother, you’re overthinking it. I was just joking. I meant that if I got married, I could adopt Wangzhou, but I’m not married at all, so there’s no way I could adopt a son. Even if I were married now, I wouldn’t want to adopt a son.” Du Min retorted, “It was my fault for belittling you with that joke, and I apologize, but I don’t admit to any other crimes.”

Du Li ignored him, and he left with the food box.

Du Min punched the bed board, the force pulling on his back. He hissed in pain, only then realizing that his entire back ached. Du Lao Er really hit hard.

*

The Meng family.

Meng Qing waited for Du Li to return, but he never came back. She carried the child into the house and said, "Let's not wait for him, let's eat first."

"We've been waiting for so long, let's wait a little longer," said Meng's father. "Meng Chun, go out and greet him. I hope something has happened to your brother-in-law; he hasn't come back yet."

“What could possibly happen? He knows the way to the prefectural school better than I do, he won’t get lost.” Meng Chun said this, but his feet obediently walked out.

Meng Chun went out and crossed the bridge. He spotted a familiar figure at the ferry dock. Seeing Du Li disembark, he turned and went back.

"Serve the food, my brother-in-law is back." He went back to inform him first.

When Du Li entered the house, the food was already on the table. Meng Qing asked unhappily, "Why did you take so long? The family has been waiting for you to come back for dinner. The food has been reheated twice."

"We were delayed on the way," Du Li said without explanation. "Let's eat."

While picking up food, Meng Qing noticed several scratches on his right hand and cuts on his knuckles, and she glanced at him a few more times.

"Where did you get the injury on your hand? Did you get into a fight?" she asked.

Others looked over as well.

"No, my hand just brushed against the tree." Du Li withdrew her hand.

Others can usually tell the difference between scratches and abrasions. When Meng's parents saw that he wouldn't talk about it, they didn't press him further and left home quickly after finishing their meal.

"I'm going to get some supplies," Meng Chun said, and tactfully left.

"Can you talk now?" Meng Qing asked, leaning against the table, without rushing to clear the dishes.

“I beat up Du Min, and he joked that if he got married, he would adopt Wang Zhou and let us become merchants to do business and make money,” Du Li confessed. “I didn’t dare say it in front of my parents, for fear that the old couple would get angry.”

Meng Qing's spirits lifted. "He really said that?"

Du Li nodded and recounted the whole story. "I know he looks down on me. I thought that since I took care of him for three or four months, he should at least feel some gratitude, but he didn't at all. He still speaks to me without any restraint. Wang Zhou, a living, breathing child, is treated like a toy in his eyes, something to be given away without considering his feelings or our thoughts as his parents. I couldn't take it anymore, so I hit him. I should have hit him sooner; he became much more obedient after being beaten."

"He deserved it." Meng Qing felt relieved. "He deserved it this time. Luckily you did it, and you did the right thing."

Du Li breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that I didn't ruin your plans. I was just worried about ruining your plans."

“If he holds a grudge against us because of this, I’ll accept it,” Meng Qing said. “He’s penniless now, a poor scholar, and he’s not of much use to us. We don’t need to curry favor with him; he should be currying favor with us. I asked you to bring him food because he had no one to be close to, and I wanted him to be close to you. Since he doesn’t appreciate it, don’t bring him food anymore.”

Du Li nodded.

After that, Du Li and Meng Qing never went to the prefectural school again.

Du Li stayed at the Meng family's house until the end of September. He figured that the late rice harvest had been completed, so he packed his bags and prepared to go home.

"Should I go back with you?" Meng Qing asked.

"Don't go back." Du Li refused without hesitation. He picked up Wang Zhou and kissed him, saying, "I have a plan. I'll tell you about it, and you can help me make a decision."

"Go ahead," Meng Qing said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“I plan to go back and buy a hundred chickens and ducks to raise in the mulberry fields. Under the pretext of watching over the chickens and ducks, I’ll build a hut in the mulberry fields and sleep there at night. It’s not cold yet, so I can sleep in the wooden hut without any problem. When it gets colder, I’ll turn the wooden hut into a mud-walled house. I’ll build one house this year and another next year. When you can’t live in the city anymore and come back to the village, you can move to the mulberry fields if you don’t want to live at home. We’ll raise more chickens and ducks in the mulberry fields, so you won’t have to work in the fields. You can just collect eggs, feed the chickens, and pick fruit to sell,” Du Li said.

Meng Qing wanted to laugh.

Du Li bent down to look at her. "What are you laughing at?"

Wangzhou, nestled in his arms, also peered at his mother.

Seeing the father and son making the same movements, Meng Qing burst into laughter. Wang Zhou immediately followed suit, swinging his arms, and the mother and son's eyes curved into crescents.

“I laugh at how much you’ve changed. I still remember back in late spring when I advised you to save up your savings, and you said fearfully that the law stipulated that one should not separate property while one’s parents are alive. It hasn’t even been half a year, and you’ve already decided to move out and live separately.” Meng Qing propped herself up on the bed, leaning back as she looked at him.

Du Li felt a little embarrassed and muttered, "I don't want to go back to that house. If I stay there, we'll have a fight every day."

He touched Wangzhou's face and said, "My parents don't like me, and they won't like this grandson either. My older brother and sister-in-law are also strange and sarcastic people. I don't want Wangzhou to grow up like I did when I was a child, surrounded by people who don't like him, listening to arguments and ridicule. There are many chickens and ducks raised in Sangtian. It's a bit dirty, but it's carefree. You can eat whatever you want and do whatever you want without anyone watching you."

“Okay, if I really can’t live in the city anymore, I’ll come back and raise chickens and ducks with you and take care of the fruit trees.” Meng Qing agreed, sitting on the foot of the bed with her arms crossed, and said, “Living a simple and peaceful life like this isn’t bad either.”

Du Li smiled but didn't say anything.

"What do you mean?" Meng Qing kicked him with her foot.

Du Li did not speak.

Meng Qing tickled his leg a couple of times with her toes, then looked up to meet his gaze, before glancing at Zhou.

Du Li's throat bobbed, he clenched his fist and said, "I'll go cook."

He quickly ran out, and when he came out the door, he found that he had also taken the child out. He went back in and put the child on the bed.

Meng Qing chuckled, and after he left, she burst into laughter.

Wang Zhou sat up, tilted his head back, and chuckled along.

"Silly boy, what are you so happy about?" Meng Qing kicked off her shoes, crossed her legs and lay on the bed, pushing Wang Zhou down with her arm, and gently rested her head on his stomach.

"Your father is going back, and our comfortable days are over," Meng Qing muttered. Du Li was energetic and hardworking. During the three months he was at the Meng family's house, she could come home to find food, didn't have to wash dishes or do laundry, had someone fetch her bathwater, and even had someone take the baby out to soothe her when she cried at night. She had tasted the life of a young mistress, and it was truly comfortable.

Wang Zhou couldn't understand anything.

Meng Qing got out of bed and put on her shoes. She carried Wangzhou out and said to the kitchen, "Wangzhou is older now. He can stay breastfed for two hours after one feeding. I'll bring him back to see you more often in the future."

“I’ll come instead. It’ll get cold in another month. The river is humid and windy. It will take you three or four hours to take him by boat, which will be too much of a hassle.” Du Li said without turning his head. As long as Meng Qing didn’t go back, he wouldn’t have to deal with his family’s dirty business.

“Okay, then you should come over often. Wangzhou will miss you,” Meng Qing said.

Du Li said "Oh," and a smile appeared on his lips. She must miss him too!

After lunch, Du Li took her luggage and boarded the boat back.

He arrived at the perfect time, encountering officials collecting grain and silk taxes as he entered the village. The officials had just arrived and were still at the village entrance. The village chief greeted him and arranged for his son to go door-to-door to inform the villagers.

"Huh? Li boy? It's you. I almost didn't recognize you." The village chief looked Du Li up and down, and clicked his tongue in amazement: "You've gained weight and look like a completely different person. You're even more handsome than your third brother."

Du Li couldn't help but laugh. "I'm as dark as if I've been smeared with soot, what's so handsome about me?"

The village chief chuckled twice and changed the subject, asking, "You came back alone? Didn't your wife come back? Your third brother hasn't been back for a long time either."

“Now that it’s getting cooler, Du Min is willing to go outside the academy to get his meals, so my wife will bring them to him. I can free up some time to come back and help out.” Du Li lied as soon as he got back, “Eighth Master, you’re busy, I’m going back.”

The Du family was busy in the granary. The three men in the family, aged twenty-one to under sixty, had to pay six shi of grain tax. Du Ming was busy husking rice grains, complaining, "That scoundrel of a second son didn't do any work in planting this year, and we still have to pay two shi of grain tax on his behalf."

"Was I not home when you were transplanting rice seedlings in the spring? Or was I not home when you were harvesting early rice?" Du Li heard this as she approached.

Du Ming was startled. He glanced back and remained silent.

"Stop talking nonsense?" Du Li said, then picked up his luggage and walked away. The door to the south room was still locked, the gaps in the doorway were blocked with rice husks, and the door was covered with a thick layer of dust, indicating that no one had been inside.

Du Ming glared outside and complained, "Why didn't he come back sooner or later? The rice in the fields has already been harvested, and now he's back."

Mr. Du clicked his tongue and said, "Shut up, don't start arguing again."

"Am I afraid of him?" Du Ming said, feeling frustrated.

Mr. Du ignored him and went out to ask, "Second son, why are you back at this hour? Has the matter with your third brother settled down?"

"It's settled down. From now on, his second sister-in-law will deliver the meals, and I'll come back to do the chores." Du Li changed into old clothes and came out. He saw Jinshu and asked, "Jinshu hasn't gone to elementary school yet?"

“I went last month when it was a little cooler, and today is my ten-day holiday,” said Mr. Du. He looked at Du Li several times, and this son in front of him was really a stranger to him.

Du Li was about to go help at the granary when his mother came out from the east wing and called him away, "You came back alone? Your third brother didn't come back? Is he still angry?"

"I don't know if she's angry or not since she didn't come back," Du Li said.

"He's heartless and doesn't even care about his parents," said Mrs. Du, both angry and disappointed.

"Go about your business, and don't ask questions you shouldn't ask." Father Du knew at a glance that his wife was asking about their third son, but he remained firm: "No matter how tough he is, he'll come back for the New Year. I'll teach him a lesson then."

Du Li was too lazy to listen to them. He went into the granary, picked up a sack of rice, and went out first.

The villagers who were paying their grain tax gathered at the village entrance, and Du Li took this opportunity to inquire if anyone had chicks or ducklings.

As darkness fell, torches were lit at the village entrance, and villagers lined up to deliver grain, silk, and cotton.

"Head of household?" the constable asked.

"Old Du, I have three sons. My eldest son is twenty-eight years old, my second son is twenty-two years old, and my youngest son is eighteen years old. My youngest son is still studying at the prefectural school in the city. He is not yet an adult," Old Du said loudly.

The bailiff didn't react much. He flipped through the household register and shouted loudly, "Three adult males and six shi of grain, one household and two zhang of silk and three liang of cotton."

Old Du was a little disappointed.

"Oh! This is my second cousin? I thought he was a guest from somewhere. Your father-in-law's cooking is quite good. I've been in the Du family for five or six years, and you've always been thin and bony, I've never seen you gain weight." Sister-in-law Yun peeked over to Du Li.

Du Li smiled and called out, "Sister-in-law Yun."

"Is your wife back yet? I'll chat with her another day."

“No, she’s still in the city bringing food to my third brother,” Du Li explained patiently.

"That's true, the child is older now, she can leave home and go out on her own," said Sister Yun.

“No, that’s not it. My father-in-law has a lot of family members, so there’s no shortage of people to take care of the children. Wangzhou is also well-behaved, and Qingniang has always been able to go out and deliver meals to my third brother. Before, it was hot, and my third brother didn’t want to go out to get meals, and women weren’t allowed to go into the prefectural school, so I had to go three times a day to deliver them to him. Recently, the weather has cooled down, and he’s willing to go out to get meals, so Qingniang takes over delivering them. I come back and look for some work to earn more money to make up for the wages I paid for hiring people to plant and harvest rice this year.” Du Li skillfully recounted the lie he had made up in his heart. He took the opportunity to ask, “Sister-in-law Yun, do you have any newly hatched chicks or ducklings? Two to three months old is fine. I’d like to buy a lot and raise them in the mulberry fields. I can sell them at the end of the year and get some money.”

Sister-in-law Yun thought to herself that Du Min was really pampered and spoiled, but since her second uncle's family was willing to dote on her, she couldn't say anything.

"There are eighteen chicks, hatched in June. The two mother hens laid their eggs outside, and the chicks were brought back after they hatched. They're exactly two or three months old. If you want to buy them, you can take them," said Sister Yun.

Du Li noted it down and then went to ask others. When he returned after asking around, he found that everyone in his family had left. When he went home, the family was already sitting in the main hall eating.

Du Li suddenly lost his appetite, so he scooped up some water and went back to his room to wash up and go to sleep.

“Your father isn’t in the room.” Meng Chun, holding Wang Zhou, pushed open the bedroom door. “Look, there’s no one in the room.”

Wang Zhou cried out twice, but no one answered from inside the house. He then pointed outside with his hand.

Meng Chun carried him out and followed the direction he pointed to to the front yard. There was no one in the chicken coop or the donkey shed.

Wang Zhou exclaimed "Ah!" and pointed to the gate, wanting to go out.

"Sister! Wangzhou is going out to find his father! What should we do?" Meng Chun asked loudly.

Meng Qing washed her hands, then came out and took the chubby boy from her, saying, "Your father has gone back, but he'll be back in a few days."

Wang Zhou stubbornly pointed to the gate, still wanting to go out.

Meng Qing and Meng Chun could only carry him out.

“He probably thought my brother-in-law had gone to deliver food to his third uncle and hadn’t come back yet,” Meng Chun said.

Meng Qing nodded and smiled, "I wonder if your brother-in-law misses Wang Zhou, and if he secretly sheds tears under the covers at night."

Meng Chun laughed, "Given my brother-in-law's personality, this is actually quite possible."

"Sister, what happened to my brother-in-law's hand injury the other day? Did he have a conflict with Du Min?" he asked curiously.

"You guessed it? He beat up Du Min, and the injury on his hand was from Du Min scratching him." Meng Qing's smile faded. She didn't hide it from Meng Chun and said, "Du Min has a heart of gold. He tentatively said that if he got married, he would give Wangzhou to him for adoption, and your brother-in-law and I could get registered as merchants and do business freely."

“做他娘的青天白日梦，他当望舟是我姐夫？没人心疼没人爱，能胡乱送人。”孟春气得破口大骂，他越想越气，气得使劲踹石头，“太气人了，气得我想请人套麻袋揍他。姐，我们明天去找他，我非要骂他一顿。”

Wang Zhou looked down at his uncle, and Meng Qing took the opportunity to hand the chubby boy to Meng Chun to hug.

"No need to look for him, he'll come to apologize." Meng Qing figured Du Min wouldn't have much money left, so she wouldn't send him any. With his intelligence, he'd know what to do.