Chapter 171: Reborn in the 90s: The Tyrant Flower Chapter 171 Miserable State

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Chai Mi fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, not wanting to hear her father Chai Youqing pity Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong any longer.

Are those two old things worth pitying?

Not worth it in the slightest!

If she couldn't bear to see villains get their comeuppance, Chai Mi might as well put on a black robe and go play the Holy Mother.

The term "Great Holy Mother" definitely has nothing to do with Chai Mi; she simply feels that the retribution the Chai Family has suffered is still far from enough.

Given what these members of the Chai Family did in their previous life, getting beaten up a few times and suffering some flesh-and-blood pain right now is letting them off far too lightly.

Chai Mi slept very soundly, and very comfortably.

However, under the dim yellow light bulb of the old house late at night, there were several figures grinding their teeth in hatred.

Chai Zhongxiao smoked his broken tobacco pipe while holding and staring at the shattered fragments of a small teacup.

This is a zisha teacup; more precisely, it is a hongni teacup.

Hongni teacups are actually quite common locally; there is a lot of red earth and red sand near Ke County, producing abundant zisha, and there are many small workshops that make their own tea sets and such.

Chai Zhongxiao inherited a set of hongni zisha tea ware from his ancestors; it is said that it once hosted Kangxi...

Of course, this exists only in the "it is said."

After all, Kangxi traveled to many places in his life, and the Northeast is the dragon's cradle of the Great Qing; a trip to Sanjiacun could be explained away.

As for whether Kangxi actually used this tea set to drink tea, only Kangxi himself knows. But Kangxi has been dead for hundreds of years; the Old Chai Family ancestors say Kangxi used it, and Emperor Kangxi himself can't deny it...

Old Chai Family ancestors: Chinese history in the Northeast is too scarce, famous figures too few; we can only borrow a bit of Old Master Kangxi's fame... Although Kangxi was also a Qing Emperor, the ancient Northeast was originally a land of barbarians, so it's plausible enough. Can't say this teacup was used by the Jade Emperor, or it'd be easy to incur retribution...

Kangxi, dead for many years with his coffin board rotted away: So you're bullying Us for being honest and kindhearted?!

Regardless of whether Kangxi acknowledges it or not, Chai Zhongxiao acknowledges it.

This small teacup, used by Grandpa Kangxi, is a treasure that a thousand gold cannot buy.

As a result, the Old Song Family people smashed it all to pieces with a clatter...

And smashed until it couldn't be smashed further; Chai Zhongxiao looked for a while, got angrier the more he looked, and then fiercely hurled the already-shattered teacup at Chai You De, who was sleeping at the head of the kang...

Crack!

The shattered teacup hit the wall and crumbled into bean-curd dregs.

The shards shattered across Chai You De's face...

Chai You De, who had been sleeping soundly and snoring away, woke up dazed, mouth agape, not knowing what to say for a long moment.

After a while, Chai You De rolled over in a daze and started snoring again.

Chai Zhongxiao cursed in uncontrollable rage: "How did I give birth to you three good-for-nothing playthings? I... (tacitly add a curse word)... what sins did I commit in my last life to be saddled with you three turtle bastards to repay debts in this one!"

Meanwhile, Wang Huirong, squatting on the ground of the outer room boiling hot water, was also sniffling and tearing up: "What a sin! What a sin! Second Son's maternal family, they're simply not human, they're practically bandits, bearded outlaws!"

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

Hiss~

Crack!

The big iron pot boiling water had been leaking all along, but at this moment it could hold on no longer; with a crack, it completely shattered...

All the water spilled down, the firewood underneath was doused and went out with a sizzling sound, and then began giving off a not-too-thick, not-too-thin smoke.

The entire outer room was choked with smoke, unbearable!

"Wah wah wah..." Wang Huirong was so infuriated she directly burst into ghostly wails and howls.

"What are you howling for?" Chai Zhongxiao, raging, jumped down from the kang head, went to the outer room, and gave Wang Huirong a resounding big slap.

Smack!

Wang Huirong spun around like a spiral, turned a full circle, and fell into the shattered big pot...

Although the big pot was already shattered, it had just been used for fire, so it was still somewhat hot; she was instantly scalded into a sizzling, wailing mess.

That was truly a painful crying-for-parents scene.

Chai Zhongxiao, however, was irritable beyond measure, and gave Wang Huirong another kick, knocking her flat on the ground: "All you know is howl! Howl what howl? Look at what kind of thing you've become? You still have the face to howl?"

Wang Huirong only cried even harder.

Chai Zhongxiao then ransacked boxes and cabinets, but ultimately found no money, and no rolled cigarettes either.

In the end, he picked up his broken-stemmed tobacco pipe again, used the last section to pack a bowl of tobacco, and puffed away with a click-clack.

However, because there was no mouthpiece, he couldn't draw smoke dry-smoking...

Chai Zhongxiao, furious, threw the tobacco pipe out again; the pipe trailing sparks hit the wall and fell onto Chai You De, who was snoring away.

Chai You De was scalded, and pain made him yell at the top of his lungs: "Ai ya ya... hot..."

Then he clutched his leg, pained from moving too much, and sucked in cold air with a hiss: "Hiss... hiss... ha..."

Chai You De's head still wasn't quite clear; he might not eat three meals a day.

But three times a day, he absolutely must drink!

Chai You De has a famous saying: "For me, alcohol is not just a beverage, it's an attitude toward life; I seek freedom and inspiration in alcohol..."

Of course, his wife Che Lianyun would definitely not indulge his habit, only giving Chai You De one line: "You seek freedom? You go seek your mother..."

Therefore, most of the time, Chai You De drinks at Chai Zhongxiao's place.

Drunk, he sleeps; awake, he drinks again.

Does Che Lianyun want to care about Chai You De's drinking or not?

Actually, he did want to take charge.

First, in this era there wasn't much counterfeit alcohol yet; it was all grain-brewed liquor, generally two and a half catties of grain per catty of liquor. But you still needed yeast starter, and there were labor costs, so even bulk baijiu cost around two yuan per catty.

You have to understand, wages were still very low in this era; take Chai You De's second brother Chai You Fu, a teacher with a proper job — his monthly salary was only two hundred yuan.

That averaged out to seven or eight yuan a day.

Ordinary people doing hard labor, working as carpenters or masons, generally made only a dozen or so yuan a day.

Chai You De usually drank three times a day: four liang in the morning to whet his appetite, eight liang at noon to warm his body, and one catty in the evening, then he'd sleep straight through the night.

Drinking like that cost four or five yuan a day……

Problem was, he still had to eat……

Couldn't just drink on an empty stomach……

So Chai You De did nothing all month, and basically Che Lianyun had to shell out at least a hundred yuan in wages just for his drinking.

But most of the time it wasn't enough……

So Chai You De would come to Chai Zhongxiao's room to sponge drinks.

It was just as well that Chai You De had recently broken his leg and cut back on drinking, reducing his daily intake from two and a half catties down to eight liang……

Otherwise, Chai Zhongxiao wouldn't have been able to support him long ago.

After Chai Zhongxiao gave that money to Chai Mi's father Chai Youqing, he regretted it.

But before he could fully regret it, the Old Song Family showed up at his door……

Chai Zhongxiao, in his sixties and never having been beaten before, took three punches and eight kicks head-on.

He was also cursed down to his eighteenth-generation ancestors……

Where in his life had he ever suffered such humiliating anger?

But the other side had numbers, he couldn't beat them……

He could only endure!

He endured for a day, until finally he couldn't take it anymore!

And so, what just happened occurred!

"That beast Second Son! Can't even control a wife, letting his wife's natal family raise hell at our door…… why didn't I strangle him at birth?" Chai Zhongxiao fumed resentfully.

Then he cursed further: "The eldest isn't anything either. I saw Chai Mi go to the small shop this afternoon to buy things, and by evening the Old Song Family was at our door — that dead girl must've stirred up trouble behind our backs. The eldest is a useless waste, can't even manage his own daughter, good for nothing."

Chai Zhongxiao turned to look at Wang Huirong: "It's all your karma! Giving birth to these… things!"

Then, the more Chai Zhongxiao thought, the angrier he got, and he kicked Wang Huirong again, leaving her wailing miserably as he entered the room and saw Chai You De still bleary-eyed.

Chai Zhongxiao finally felt that his old son was a waste too.

Pointing at Chai You De's forehead he cursed: "You…… what can I say about you? Your father and mother got beaten, and you can still sleep? That booze still goes down? Did you drink it through your ribs?"

Chai You De glanced at Chai Zhongxiao, shook his head: "Dad, don't be angry anymore. Ruining your health is no good, our family still counts on you."

"I'm damn near sixty, and you still count on me? Can't you show some backbone?" Chai Zhongxiao raged at his failure to measure up.

"Dad, as long as you're alive, our family follows your word. If I don't count on you, who do I count on?" Chai You De shamelessly flattered Chai Zhongxiao: "Dad, you really need to cool down. This is a bad thing, but also a good thing."

Chai You De, having read books and eaten ink, really had a sharp mind; he pondered and analyzed: "Dad, look. After these few days' events, let me analyze for you. My second brother Chai You Fu, that man only knows how to brag; at home nothing he says counts, and even if it did, he can't stand up to my second sister-in-law's natal family — the Old Song Family are the local tyrants of our Sanjiacun. Your in-law Da Lao Song runs a shop and has money. Da Lao Song's eldest brother is an accountant and has power. The Old Song Family has both power and money; we can't afford to offend them.

This also reflects from the side that my second brother Chai You Fu is unreliable."

Chai Zhongxiao listened with a furrowed brow, his anger gradually subsiding, and he couldn't help but feel Chai You De was right.

His second son really was unreliable.

Seeing Chai Zhongxiao's attitude improve, Chai You De continued: "My eldest brother Chai Youqing, Dad you know him. He only has three girls, right? Later his courtyard will basically become Che San Wang Er. And my eldest brother, ever since my sister-in-law went back to her natal family, his temper's shrunk, he's become useless handling things, inside and out he listens to Chai Mi. He's never had any opinions of his own, and now with Chai Mi so hardline, he's even more finished. Later, when Chai Mi finds a husband's family and brings in a son-in-law, he'll just be a qing laborer's head."

(Che San Wang Er is a local saying, meaning a family without sons will later become the son-in-law's family, turning into Che San Wang Er's family. This term is derogatory.

qing is a local dialect word with no exact character; here it expresses an extremely strong derogatory sense. qing laborer's head refers to someone with no rights at all, only fit to labor, similar to a slave.)

Chai You De added: "My eldest brother, Dad you can't count on him either. Later if Chai Mi brings in an honest, obedient son-in-law it's fine, but if she brings a stubborn, contrary thing, my eldest brother and his wife will both be sent packing to the big ditch by Chai Mi."

"Mm." Chai Zhongxiao nodded.

Indeed, only his youngest son Chai You De was the most reliable of the Chai Family.

At least Chai You De would never betray him!

Chai Zhongxiao couldn't help but calm down a bit, but still cursed: "Drink less, don't die before me."

Then Chai Zhongxiao couldn't help feeling a bit naozao (naozao or naozao, foul mood; this phrase here contains a specific meaning of extreme discomfort and displeasure), he looked left and right but couldn't find cigarettes, and finally retorted at Chai You De: "Give me a smoke."

Chai You De fished in his pocket for half a day, found a box of already-crushed rolled cigarettes, handed them to Chai Zhongxiao, then lit one for him.

"Dad, don't you go getting naozao either. You still have me, this good son, don't you."

Chai Zhongxiao sighed: Chai You De might be obedient, clever, and good at flattery, but he drank all day and didn't earn money……

The promised repayment to Chai Mi was still two thousand short, and now there was no prospect.

Originally Chai Zhongxiao wanted Chai You Fu to pay, and Chai You Fu agreed, but now her natal family had shown up beating people over this, so naturally he wouldn't pay.

Chai Zhongxiao himself didn't have it either……

As for Chai You De…… Che Lianyun definitely had money, but Chai Zhongxiao was self-aware — he didn't dare ask!

But Chai Zhongxiao still cared about face; he felt he'd promised after all, and though he regretted it, saying so now wouldn't look good.

What if Chai Mi threw back: "Grandpa, you don't keep your word, then I'll make the full-month banquet food rotten, and you'll lose face all over Ke County……"

What would Chai Zhongxiao do then?

So Chai Zhongxiao's mood was very bad right now.

"Sigh…… you……" Chai Zhongxiao sighed: "Right, Erwei is four too; after this summer, send him to school. Your eldest is seventeen or eighteen, you should have some proper business, don't just drink all day — you've got to get my grandson a wife."

Getting his grandson a wife was Chai Zhongxiao's top priority. And that was probably the main reason he was forced to compromise with Chai Mi.

After all, even if Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong were beaten now, outsiders would surely say it was Song Qiuping's fault, not the Chai Family's.

Chai Zhongxiao intended to use an opportunity to accomplish two things: one, finalize Che Lianyun's promotion; two, show off to relatives and friends, bring Chai Dajun out for everyone to see, let them look at his fine big grandson.

Later, if there's someone she fancies, your daughter-in-law will have a prospect.

Only after Chai Dajun marries a daughter-in-law can the Chai Family continue the family line.

Chai Zhongxiao placed all his hopes and expectations on Chai You De; sometimes he felt it wasn't that he was playing favorites, but that his eldest son and second son were incapable and had not borne sons.

"Tomorrow, I'll have your Eldest Sister come back once," Chai Zhongxiao said. "If she can get me some money, that works too. If she won't give me money, have her talk to Chai Mi: altogether seven thousand yuan, five thousand have already been given, give me some breathing room, and she can pay the rest after some time."

Chai Zhongxiao paused, his gaze somewhat cold: "Also have your Eldest Sister think of a way to find a husband's family for Chai Mi, marry her off as soon as possible, the farther the better, so she leaves the Chai Family—that's the only way."