Chapter 132: Favoritism
First, Bai Zepei, then Bai Ruozhu, Bai Yihong, Lin Ping’er, and Bai Zehao were all taken aback. What is going on with these siblings? Why are they so agreeable today?
Bai Yibo also stopped crying, his face wearing a smug smile, saying: "Er Lang, you still know how to show filial piety even after becoming a Scholar. You care for your grandparents, which is commendable, truly commendable." Bai Ruozhu, who was clearly in agreement, was completely ignored by him, as if she hadn’t spoken at all.
Bai Ruozhu simply didn’t bother with him, hastily motioning to her parents and elder brother. The three of them understood the message and, although somewhat unwilling, didn’t voice any objections.
Bai Yibo was very satisfied, the thought of not having to labor in the fields tomorrow made him extremely happy. He also treated Bai Yihong very nicely, patting his shoulder and saying: "Er Lang, I knew you were decent. I will go and inform our parents first, so they don’t worry. You must come early tomorrow morning."
Bai Yihong nodded in deep agony. He didn’t want to do this at all.
When Bai Yibo left in high spirits, Bai Yihong quickly called his family back into the house, anxiously asking, "How could you all agree to this? What on earth is going on?"
Lin Ping’er was so anxious that she felt like she was about to explode, "Our own crops are just going to rot in the fields?"
Bai Zepei suddenly broke from his usual cold demeanor, walking over to Lin Ping’er’s side and began to massage her shoulders.
"Mother, calm down. Uncle used the family card right outside our door just now. Many people in the village heard it. If we don’t go help our grandparents, it would be our fault, and we might even be labeled as unfilial." He began to explain patiently.
Bai Ruozhu thought it was interesting to see her second brother like this. A grounded second brother was more endearing.
Bai Zehao asked Bai Yihong to sit down, and began to massage his shoulders. Bai Yihong and his wife were somewhat elderly; after working in the field all day, they were tired. They began to enjoy the massage from their two sons.
Bai Ruozhu looked at Little Dengdeng playing in the basket in the corner, expressing her longing: When can this little guy give me a shoulder massage?
"Let them say what they want. We are exhausted living this way, burdened for a lifetime." Lin Ping’er said resentfully.
Bai Ruozhu then poured a cup of tea for each of her parents, smiling and saying, "Now that Er Lang is a Scholar, he is in the spotlight. We can’t let others take advantage of this situation to cause trouble for him, right? Since we can’t avoid it anyway, we might as well do it more gracefully, so that no one can fault us."
"Yes, my younger sister and I are on the same page." Bai Zepei nodded his head in approval. His little sister was certainly quick-witted.
"So we’re really not going to take care of our own land?" Bai Yihong asked worryingly. Those crops in the fields were nurtured by him waking up early and working late. Now that it was time to harvest, he was told to give them up. How could he bear it?
Bai Ruozhu thought for a moment and said: "We will hire people with money, then the whole family will go to the old mansion’s land. If we can’t hire strong laborers in the village or nearby villages, we will go to the town to find some, even if we have to spend a little more money."
Bai Yihong knew that hired help couldn’t be as meticulous as himself. But there was no other choice, so he sighed in frustration.
The next morning, Bai Ruozhu’s family got up early, ate hand-grabbed pancakes, and went to the old mansion.
"Later, you guys just say you haven’t had breakfast and see what my grandma has to say." Bai Ruozhu quietly came up with a mischievous plan.
Lin Ping’er cast her a reproachful look, "Isn’t it obvious? You’re intentionally trying to annoy your grandmother?"
Bai Ruozhu giggled twice, "Anyway, we are the ones doing all the hard work, can’t we take a little interest?"
The whole family laughed, deciding to listen to Bai Ruozhu, and really claim they hadn’t eaten breakfast.
As expected, when they reached the old mansion, the old lady was startled by the sound of the door and asked when she opened the door: "Why are you here so early? I haven’t finished cooking the meal yet."
"The eldest brother asked us to come early. We got up before dawn." Bai Yihong answered honestly. After he finished speaking, he glanced into the yard. Only the old lady, old man, and Bai Ruolan were up. Wang was yawning and walking outside, but the other people were not seen, obviously they hadn’t got up yet.
The old lady’s face fell, "So early, have you had breakfast? I hadn’t prepared much."
"Didn’t the eldest brother ask us to come early to help in the fields? Mother didn’t you forget to prepare our breakfast?" Lin Ping’er asked on purpose.
"You should have informed your elder brother to convey your message earlier! At this old age of mine, I still have to get up before dawn and serve you, cook for you, what am I, indebted to you? If this gets out, people will say that you are unfilial!" The old lady was clearly upset about having to prepare an extra meal and started yelling.
Lin Ping’er snorted disdainfully. Look, as expected, Bai Ruozhu was right, the old lady was really stingy.
The old man, who originally intended to pretend to be asleep, thought this was unreasonable, so he yelled from the main hall: "Old two has come to help early in the morning. You should at least make them some porridge, don’t let people gossip."
The old lady said reluctantly: "I’ve cooked the porridge, but there’s not much left, it’s too late to cook more, who asked them to come so early without informing?"
The old man sighed heavily, "I won’t eat, you give mine to those who are working in the fields."
Who would dare to make the old man go hungry and take his food?
"Grandpa, we won’t eat. As long as you are well fed, that’s enough." Er Lang said aloud, then he went to the wall to pick up the tools and said, "Grandpa, we should leave now, it’s getting late. We’ll let eldest brother and third brother come and help as well. It’s the busiest time of the agricultural season and they are still sleeping, it doesn’t look good if this gets out."
Helping out in the old mansion means using the old mansion’s tools. Bai Yihong and others also picked up the tools and were about to leave, but the old man started coughing and said: "Let third brother go in a while, you can assign him some tasks."
"What about my eldest uncle?" Bai Zehao couldn’t help but ask.
The old man hesitated a bit, "Your eldest uncle is not in good health, he just became a scholar, didn’t he? He’s not good at field work. If he goes, it won’t really help much, it will just cause him to lose face."
Bai Zehao didn’t like what he heard, he didn’t go out, but went directly to the main hall and said: "Grandpa, my second brother is also a Scholar, and he’s top of his class. Second brother is still working in the field. According to what you’re saying, he is losing face, so he shouldn’t work in the field either right?"
The old man choked on his words, he was just worried for his eldest son. Recently, Bai Yibo’s temples had been graying. The old man wasn’t fully gray-haired himself, how could he not worry about it?
"You think you can boss me around because you are helping out a bit? If you don’t want to, then don’t. Why do you always target your eldest uncle? I know you bear grudges because he spoke out of line when he was drunk. But didn’t he apologize already? There is no overnight hatred among family, why are you learning this pettiness from somewhere?" The old man pointed at Bai Zehao and began yelling.