The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Chapter 640 Revisiting the Agreement

Du Mingxian's words seemed to open his eyes, and he instantly understood what she meant. "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right. All those things in the house were earned by myself, and I have a share of them. Why should they all be given to my older brother?"

"That's right." Seeing that she had said enough, Du Mingxian got up. "Father, you stay here for now, we'll be leaving now."

"Are you leaving already? Your father hasn't finished talking to you yet. How have you been these past few years? You and your son-in-law are dressed quite well. Did you have some opportunities and make a fortune while you were away?"

Du Mingxian found Du Youtian's face hilarious. "Dad, what are you saying? How could we possibly get rich if we go out? Neither of us is destined for that."

“It’s very dangerous to go out there. I almost lost my life. I finally came back and found that there was a mess at home. We need money for everything. My family is really struggling now. Father, you are only eating your fill and have no one to worry about. You must have saved up quite a bit. If you have any money, why don’t you share some with me?”

"Give me some, that'll do." She started to complain about being poor. "Putting everything else aside, you never loved me at all when I was little. Everything you had was always put others first. Even my cousin, who is a girl, is better off than me."

"Now that you finally realize that your own children are better than strangers, why don't you hurry up and give me some money? If you help me now, I will definitely take good care of you when we have money in the future, so don't worry, Father."

Du Youtian's original intention was simply to get some from his daughter, but no one expected her to say something like that, which was really infuriating.

“Your father isn’t someone who only has to eat his fill. I have your stepmother and the others behind me, and they need to eat too. There’s also your younger brother. Where would I get any money?”

Upon hearing Du Youtian's complaints about being poor, Du Mingxian was speechless. "Dad, you really break my heart. Not only do you not give me anything, but you also complain about being poor to me."

“It’s good that your youngest son was born. With you as his father, he can plan things out for him. When I was born, I helped with chores at home from the time I could remember. We’re both girls, but my cousin lives like a pampered young lady. Which girl in the village wouldn’t envy her?”

Hearing these sarcastic words, Du Youtian felt only embarrassment and not a trace of heartache. He even said, "Who told you two to be so lucky? Your cousin is a lucky woman, but you are not. The family's good life is all thanks to your cousin, so naturally everyone loves your cousin more."

Du Mingxian was too lazy to explain anything. "Father, let's not talk about anything else. I'm having a hard time making ends meet right now. If you don't take care of me, I won't come back."

"Don't." Du Youtian hadn't forgotten that his son-in-law was still a scholar. With a little more effort, it wasn't impossible for him to become an official. As long as his son-in-law became an official, his good days were just around the corner.

“Listen to me, it’s true that I’m having a tough time. But it’s not all just me. Your grandma also has her share. Let’s talk it over and go back to your grandma to ask her to give us back what belongs to us.”

Du Mingxian understood. They were trying to fool her like a fool, making her the one to take the lead and get the things back. But she was unlikely to get them; they would probably all end up with her half-brother whom she had never even met.

“Father, I am a married woman after all, and I have no right to ask for it. Although I call her Grandma, it would be improper for me to ask her for things. It would be more justifiable for me to ask you for things if I come back to you.”

“But if I can’t even get these things back from my own father, how can I ask my grandmother for them? Wouldn’t that be a joke?”

Du Youtian was furious, but Du Mingxian's words made a lot of sense, and he couldn't refute them for the time being.

"Dad, I'll be going now. There are still many things to do at home."

Seeing that Du Mingxian really didn't want to stay and wanted to say something excessive, but considering that her son-in-law, a scholar, was still there, she didn't dare to say anything and could only see her out.

“Your father is all alone now, so please come and visit him more often when you have free time. I was blinded by greed before and didn’t treat you well enough. I will treat you better from now on.”

Du Mingxian was about to leave when she heard this and couldn't help but retort, "Dad, how do you plan to treat me? I can't even make ends meet right now. When I ask you for something, you say you still have a son to support. When I say I'm leaving, you say you're all alone and pitiful."

"Father, you can't want my things without giving anything in return. It puts me in a difficult position. I'm a married man now."

Du Youtian looked troubled and hadn't said anything when An'an started whimpering. Ling Silang, who had been ignoring everyone, reminded her from the side, "An'an is hungry."

Du Mingxian reached out and hugged her son. "Dad, that's enough. I'm leaving now."

"Okay, then you can go now. Come back more often when you have time."

"understood."

From beginning to end, the child was small, but held in someone's arms, so obviously, yet Du Youtian never asked a single question, as if he had never seen the child.

Du Mingxian knew what kind of person Du Youtian was, so she wasn't angry and remained calm. She would have been more worried if Du Youtian had been overly concerned about the child.

After leaving Du Youtian's sight, the two found a secluded spot and entered the space.

When An'an wakes up, she needs a diaper change and needs to be fed, so it's more convenient to go into the space.

After coaxing An'an to sleep, Ling Silang noticed that Du Mingxian was lost in thought. "What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about Widow Chen. Widow Chen must have left the Du family because we were out and about and there was no news from us, so she didn't want to stay in that house."

“My dad is the main worker in the family. Although my uncle sometimes goes to the fields, he does easy work, and sometimes he doesn’t go at all. The family’s land depends on my dad.”

"Unless something really bad happens, the old lady won't kick my father out of the house. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so heartless as to kick her son out."

Ling Silang chuckled, "Since Widow Chen was our spy planted in the Du family, now that we're back, whether or not to reactivate that spy is entirely up to you."

“We need to get started. With Widow Chen keeping an eye on things, my life will be a bit easier. My father… if he knew we were getting rich, he wouldn’t be any less of a worry. But as long as we have Widow Chen under our control, she’ll keep an eye on my father for us, which will save us a lot of trouble.”

"I previously said that Widow Chen's second son should come with me. If that's the case, then when we come back this time, we can let him come with me and start by running errands to get some training."

Du Mingxian asked, "Would you be willing to have someone like this by your side? After all, it's also for surveillance purposes."

“We’ve met that child, and he’s not bad. Besides, Widow Chen is a smart woman; she won’t do anything reckless.”

"Okay, then let's go visit Widow Chen in a bit."

She chose Widow Chen for three reasons. First, Widow Chen valued her children very much. As long as they could control Widow Chen, she was very resourceful and could definitely keep an eye on the Du family.

Secondly, the child in Widow Chen's widow's belly is not Du Youtian's. As her own daughter, she really wants to see how Du Youtian will react when he finds out that the child is not his son.

Three points, in their past lives... Widow Chen and Du Youtian got together at some point. It's true that Widow Chen was stirring things up behind the scenes, but the main focus is still on Du Youtian.

After she got married, she rarely went home. By the time she heard news from her parents' home again, her mother had already passed away.

Her mother's death must have been caused by something Du Youtian did behind the scenes, so she had no choice but to seek revenge.

The two agreed, glanced at the time, ate their meal in the space, and guessed that Widow Chen's family had already eaten before setting off for the Chen family.

Only Widow Chen's eldest daughter was at home; none of her other children were there.

The eldest daughter of the Chen family was quite surprised to see Du Mingxian and Ling Silang. "Are you here to see my mother?"

"Yes, your mother isn't home?"

“My mother went to the wild plum grove on the back hill to dig pig feed.”

Upon hearing the destination, Du Mingxian showed no intention of going in. "Then let's go find her."

Seeing Du Mingxian leave, Chen's eldest daughter hurriedly said, "Your little brother is at home, would you like to see him?"

"No need." Du Mingxian had no desire to see that child. In her previous life, that child was spoiled rotten and not very likable.

Du Mingxian knew Kaoshan Village very well. She had helped with chores since she was a child and knew exactly where there were plenty of wild vegetables, where it was fun to play, and where it was good to pick wild fruits.

Soon the two arrived at the wild plum grove and saw a figure digging for grass in the distance.

“I thought you would order my father to do these chores,” Du Mingxian said to Widow Chen’s back as she approached.

Widow Chen was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw Du Mingxian and Ling Silang. She was overjoyed, "You're back?" She looked them up and down several times. They were both alright now. She pointed to the swaddled baby in Ling Silang's arms, "Your... child?"

"Yes." He's much better than Du Youtian, who's blind; he spotted the child at a glance.

Widow Chen happily put down her sickle and took two steps forward. "Let me tidy up, shall we go home and talk?"

"Let's talk here. We'll just say a few words, it won't interfere with your work."

Widow Chen knew why Du Mingxian had come to see her, and without waiting for Du Mingxian to ask, she took the initiative to tell her.

"I was doing alright in the Du family during the year before you left home, but you know what kind of people they are. Old Mrs. Du always acted like a mother-in-law in front of me, and your aunt is no good either."

"I endured it all, but then... one day rumors started circulating that the son I gave birth to wasn't your father's." She glanced at him guiltily as she said this, but then remembered that Du Mingxian knew about it, so she felt less guilty.

“After your father came back, he asked me the same question. I didn’t tolerate it and we had a fight. I took the child and went home. When your father came to me, I was furious and told him that if he couldn’t come up with the money, he shouldn’t even think about seeing his son.”

“Your father said he really didn’t have any money, so I told him to go ask for it, and if he couldn’t get it, he should steal it. Anyway, your father has done a lot of the work for the Du family over the years. He should have taken more than his share in that family. Why should the eldest son’s family benefit from it all?”

“Your father listened, but it was all for the sake of seeing the child and going back to ask for money. He was scolded by your grandmother, so he started stealing. He stole the first time and then stole the next day.”

"After this happened three times in a row, your grandmother started making a fuss, and the villagers intervened and kicked your father out of the house."

“I have other children at home, and I don’t want them to be unhappy because of your dad moving in, so I told him that if he lives with me, people will say he’s a freeloader.”

“Your dad… believed it and said he wouldn’t live with us. Later, he moved to the place we live now.”

“He always volunteered to do the heavy work at home or in the fields. In the past, when he cooked for himself, I would sometimes give him some of the good food I made at home.”

“Sometimes he would bring the child over to visit, and sometimes when he missed the child, he would come to my house to see the child. That’s how it has been going on until now.”

Du Mingxian thought to herself that she had guessed right. If she hadn't angered Old Madam Du so much, she wouldn't have kicked her most capable son out.

"You're acting like this because you heard about the Ling family's situation and that we haven't been sending many messages home. You think something bad has happened to us outside, and that we're probably in grave danger, so you're probably not keeping most of the promises we made to you."

Seeing that Du Mingxian was being so frank, Widow Chen decided not to hide anything either. "That's right. I can't see you anymore, and you haven't fulfilled the promises you made to me. The school in your village is gone, and your Ling family isn't doing well either. So I'm also thinking of leaving the Du family."

“The Du family members themselves were making trouble, so I let them make even more trouble, and that’s how it turned out.”

She thought Du Mingxian would be angry, after all, Du Youtian was her father, and Ling Silang's status as a scholar was genuine. But Du Mingxian wasn't angry at all; instead, she asked with a smile.

"Some things did happen to you after you went out; you barely escaped with your lives. So, it would be dangerous for you to stay by Qian's side. Have you thought it through? Do you still want to continue our previous agreement?"

Without even considering it, Widow Chen said, "Of course, as long as you are willing, as long as you are willing to take my son with you, value him, and give him a good future, I am willing."

"But you need to think it through carefully, there are certain dangers in being with us."

"But as the saying goes, danger is accompanied by opportunity. If you want to get something, you have to give something first before you can get something in return."

Du Mingxian looked at this woman with new respect. "Okay, if you're willing, we agree. You can have your son come and stay with us in a couple of days, but he might just be running errands for us at first."

“It’s alright. The errand runner is following you closely. You are all very capable, and he can learn a lot from you. I can feel more at ease.”

"Remember what you said today."

“I know,” Widow Chen said very conscientiously. “Don’t worry about the Du family. I will find a way to get back together with your father and return to the Du family together. I will keep an eye on all of them and make sure they don’t cause you any trouble.”

Upon hearing this, Du Mingxian immediately thought of the Xu family's affairs. "You should know that my father went to the county to look for my mother, right? Why didn't you stop him?"