Chapter 207: Xiao Xiao Laoyezi Chen's Scheme

Chen Jiefang assumed the old man felt he owed the Liu family, which was why he kept dwelling on the Liu family's affairs: "Dad, what Yan Shuang did was wrong, but didn't the Liu family also refuse to write a letter of forgiveness? The affection between the two families is spent, so let's not say who owes whom—let this matter be."

Chen Jianguo was clear on the situation between the two families, and he was actually somewhat dissatisfied with his own elder brother's attitude, but this matter had nothing to do with their second branch, so he didn't really want to get involved.

The old man was so angry he could barely catch his breath, which scared the three siblings into rushing forward—some patting his back, some smoothing his qi. Chen Cailan advised as she went: "Dad, the deed is already done. Even if we wanted to compensate now, the Liu family probably wouldn't accept it. Better to do as big brother said."

Chen Jianguo chimed in: "This whole thing was big sister-in-law's fault in the first place. It's only normal they won't write a letter of forgiveness. But there's no need for us to go running after them begging for forgiveness either—at the end of the day, it'll just be embarrassing for everyone and awkward for both families. My view is also that we should just do as big brother said."

The old man glared at his second son, then with great effort managed to write the names of his third grandson Weiping and his youngest grandson Weizhong above, and then connected them to the character Liu.

Looking at the characters on the page, pieced together from horizontal and vertical strokes, the three exchanged a glance, then looked back at the old man. Chen Cailan spoke first: "Dad, you're not thinking of having second brother's sons marry into the Liu family, are you?"

Chen Jianguo exploded at the words: "Dad, don't you dare dump this mess on our second branch. Putting aside whether my wife and two sons would agree, given the situation now, the Liu family probably hates our Chen family to the bone—how could they possibly agree?"

But the old man just stared at him, and the three of them understood—the old man really did mean exactly that.

Chen Jiefang was feeling a bit of schadenfreude at this point, but naturally he wouldn't show it.

Chen Jianguo kept waving his hands: "Don't look at me. Even setting aside my wife not agreeing, I myself won't agree. The Liu family did save your life, but that doesn't mean you have to marry their daughter, does it? If you feel you owe them, I'll make a trip in a few days, bring some money and gifts, lay things out clearly—call it the best we can do."

The old man, seeing his son didn't understand what he meant, got so anxious sweat broke out on his forehead, and he kept mumbling indistinctly, "Ah-ah-ah—"

Chen Cailan spoke up at this point: "Is there some other reason behind this? Why else would Dad insist on marrying into the Liu family?"

As she said this, she kept watching the old man's expression.

She saw a light in the old man's eyes.

The three siblings exchanged another glance, and the same thought flashed through their minds at once: So that's how it is.

They saw the old man, borrowing his daughter's hand for strength, heavily trace a few strokes over those two lines.

Chen Cailan looked at her second brother: "Second brother, even though I don't know the specific reason, I trust Dad wouldn't harm us. If he's insisting on tying our family to the Liu family, it must be a good thing. Why don't you consider it?"

After a long pause, Chen Jiefang said: "Weijun is definitely out of the question—he has a girlfriend, and although the two families haven't formally met, they've both already approved of the match. If we back out now, not only would Weijun be unwilling, it'd probably cause trouble for the family. If Dad really has to tie us to the Liu family, then we can only have Weizhong try to get to know that side."

Having caught on by now, Chen Jiefang's mind worked fast: "Dad, if you absolutely have to tie our family to the Liu family, how about marrying Weihong or Weifang into the Liu family? I recall the Liu family's eldest branch still has a son of marriageable age."

The moment those words left his mouth, he nearly sent the old man to his grave.

Chen Cailan had figured it out—her father only wanted to marry into the Liu family's second branch: "Big brother, stop butting in. Dad's intention couldn't be clearer—he only wants to marry into the Liu family's second branch."

At last there was someone who understood him, and the old man finally felt relieved.

Chen Jianguo's face was full of difficulty. He wanted to ask the reason clearly, but the old man had clearly overexerted himself and was now in a drowsy, half-asleep state. Moreover, he didn't think the old man, in his current condition, could write things out clearly. He could only say: "I can't make this decision alone—I have to go back and discuss it with my family."

As for Chen Jiefang, he now felt his family had missed out on some tremendous benefit, and for a moment his thoughts churned in a thousand directions, his mind a complete mess.