Chapter 223

The morning sun was rising.

The cry of a baby pierced the morning light.

The Su residence.

The midwife walked out of the delivery room, smiling happily, "Congratulations, it's a boy, both mother and child are safe."

"Reward! A heavy reward!" Chen Guanlou bypassed the Su family members and was the first to shout out. On the spot, he untied a money bag from his waist, which was bulging and filled with copper coins, and handed it to the midwife.

The midwife took the money bag, smiling until her teeth couldn't be seen.

Chen Guanlou was happy, happier than if he had become a father himself. Yesterday, upon learning that his eldest sister Chen Xiaolan had gone into labor and the child was about to be born, he took silver and specifically ran to the bank to exchange it for several money bags of copper coins, specifically for rewarding and celebrating.

The brother-in-law was the first to offer a reward, and the pressure instantly fell on the Su family members.

Don't look at the midwife smiling; there was a sense of pressure in her smile. The brother-in-law had made his move; if the Su family didn't show something, it would be a disgrace to speak of it. Let's see if the Su family wants face or not.

Brother-in-law Su:...

He was both happy and excited; he had a son, after being married for several years, he finally had a son. Seeing the midwife look over, he came back to his senses, yes, yes, yes, must give a reward, must give a heavy reward!

"Give the reward silver!" Brother-in-law Su was very straightforward and was about to take out silver. Mother Su suddenly gave a light cough, startling Brother-in-law Su, causing his hand to pause, and he looked over blankly.

Mother Su was extremely angry at this moment, her anger even overshadowing the joy of adding a new member to the family. What was Chen Guanlou showing off for? Relying on having a few stinking coins, he actually snatched the lead in rewarding the midwife before the Su family. Rewarding is rewarding, why reward a whole money bag of copper coins? That must be at least three or four taels of silver.

As the husband's family, the Su family couldn't give less than the daughter-in-law's natal family; the reward silver must be more than Chen Guanlou's.

Having to take out money made Mother Su's heart ache instantly. Her previous good impression of Chen Guanlou vanished instantly, leaving only disgust and irritation; what kind of trouble was he causing? It was the Su family adding a member, not the Chen family; why was the one surnamed Chen taking the lead? Look at him showing off.

The midwife stared at Brother-in-law Su's hand holding the silver; seeing him hesitate for a long time, her smile was almost unable to be maintained.

It was Su Dacheng who decisively stood out to maintain the Su family's dignity, "Reward! A heavy reward! The second daughter-in-law has added a member to the Su family; this is a great merit, must be heavily rewarded."

With Su Dacheng, the head of the household, speaking, even Mother Su didn't dare to oppose him to his face, and could only watch helplessly as the second son took out a handful of broken silver, at least three or four taels, and rewarded it to the midwife.

The midwife earned nearly ten taels of reward silver in one go, more than she usually earned in a month, and she smiled until her teeth couldn't be seen; she had truly made a fortune today.

"Thank you, Master, the Master has made a fortune and added a member, great wealth and prosperity. The mother cannot be left alone, so I will go in first. I will bring the child out for everyone to see in a while."

"You must take good care of my sister; you cannot let her suffer from any postpartum illnesses," Chen Guanlou said loudly.

"Rest assured, young master, everything is on me; I guarantee to take care of the mother properly." The midwife was beaming with joy; she knew in her heart that today's income was all thanks to Chen Guanlou. If Chen Guanlou hadn't been the first to reward, according to general rules, she would have at most received a few hundred coins as a reward.

With Mother Su's stinginess, she was afraid that even five hundred coins would be a bit uncertain.

It was still young master Chen Guanlou who was generous, forcing the Su family to bleed heavily.

The eldest daughter-in-law of the Su family on the side had eyes red with envy. When she gave birth to her son, she only gave the midwife a reward of four hundred coins. The sister-in-law giving birth to a child wasn't that precious, so why give a reward of three or four taels? This gap... no, it must be compensated to her.

Mother Su watched helplessly as her own money was sent out, her heart aching with anger; three or four taels was enough to set up ten or so banquet tables, eating well and fully.

She used the excuse of a headache from staying up all night to return to her room to rest. Behind people's backs, she cursed Chen Guanlou and cursed Chen Xiaolan.

Could Chen Guanlou not know Mother Su's temper? He knew it very well!

He did it on purpose, to stand up for his eldest sister and take the lead for her. Even if Mother Su was angry, she had to endure it for him. This was the first shot of the counterattack for his eldest sister.

His eldest sister had a son, and with him, this brother, as her backing, she no longer had any weaknesses; why should she continue to be low and submissive, acting as that bullied little daughter-in-law?

Brother-in-law Su clearly didn't realize this point; he was just happily laughing, as happy as a two-hundred-pound fat man.

Su Dacheng was old and cunning, looking deeply at Chen Guanlou, "Brother Lou has stayed up all night with us; stay for a meal in a while."

"Uncle Su is too polite! It's unfortunate today; I still have to go to the office to serve. When the 'washing of the third day' comes, I will definitely come to drink at the banquet."

"Alright, then the 'washing of the third day.' Brother Lou has made something of himself now; your sister is happy for you, you've finally made it out."

"Uncle Su is right; these years, thanks to Uncle Su's care."

"We are all relatives; don't say such distant words."

On the day of the 'washing of the third day,' Chen Guanlou arrived at the Su residence early.

He sent a longevity lock to his newborn nephew, made of silver, and a pair of small copper bells, crafted from pure gold. Besides his nephew, he also prepared a gift for Yaya, a pair of pure gold bracelets.

He just liked sending gold and silver. For a petit-bourgeois family, sending jade, porcelain, or calligraphy and paintings wasn't appropriate; the tone didn't match, and he was worried about thieves coveting them. Gold and silver were different, hard currency; if they were short of money one day, they could be spent directly as silver. Unlike jade, porcelain, or calligraphy and paintings, which would still be exploited by a pawnshop.

He also prepared various medicinal herbs for his eldest sister Chen Xiaolan to nourish her body, all of which were top-quality medicinal herbs. He even thickened his face to beg for ten or so slices of century-old ginseng from the Hou Fu, owing a huge favor.

Ginseng is often heard of but rarely seen. Ordinary medicinal herb shops couldn't buy it even with money without some connections, and even if they could buy it, it was only twenty or thirty-year-old stock. Any ginseng over fifty years old was bought by wealthy families at the first opportunity. Besides the hobby of buying land and setting up businesses, wealthy families also liked to collect various precious and rare medicinal herbs.

Top-quality ginseng was basically impossible to circulate among the common people, and many medicinal herb shops didn't even have stock. The monopoly of scarce resources permeated every industry.

Besides medicinal herbs, he also sent his eldest sister Chen Xiaolan a hundred-tael silver envelope, which shocked Chen Xiaolan on the spot.

Because she was in postpartum confinement, it was inconvenient to see guests. The brother and sister spoke through a screen.

Chen Xiaolan held her head, covered tightly, and sat leaning against the head of the bed. Her body was recovering very well.

"Why are you sending me silver? Take it back quickly."

"There's no reason to take back a gift that has been sent out. Eldest sister, rest assured and accept it; I'm not short of this bit of silver. The key is for you to take good care of your body. If you want to eat anything, just take the money and buy it; if the money is not enough, I'll send you another bag of silver tomorrow."

"You have money now, and you're showing off. And sending me silver tomorrow; I'm not a lady from a wealthy family, where would I spend so much money?"

"Money is a person's courage; with money in hand, the heart is not panicked. Eldest sister, from now on, you don't have to suffer anyone's anger."

Chen Xiaolan burst into laughter, "You, you just use silver to smash people when you care about them. Rest assured, I'm not a weak character. Before, I was low and submissive, acting as a bullied little daughter-in-law, that was because we didn't have enough confidence; having been married for so many years and only having Yaya, a daughter, it was inevitable to feel guilty. Now that I have a son, my back is straighter than anyone else's; if anyone gives me a cold look again, I'll flip the table directly."

"Good! Eldest sister should have been like this long ago!" Chen Guanlou was extremely happy; he was afraid that his eldest sister had become accustomed to being bullied and had developed a character of yielding in everything. One step back, step by step back, yielding for a lifetime, living too stifled.