"No, that’s impossible. I’m his mother. How dare he be unfilial to me."
Aunt Chen muttered a few words to console herself, then suddenly realized just how malicious Gu Jiaojiao’s intentions were.
’How dare she curse me!’
Chen Xiaoli thought Gu Jiaojiao had a point.
"You’re so right. I’m going to treat my two daughters-in-law well from now on. It would be miserable to have no one to look after you in your old age."
"Exactly! Especially for those who push their sons and daughters-in-law to divorce. Nothing good ever comes of it."
Hearing this, the others all chimed in.
"You should go home and talk to your son. Tell him to bring his wife back!"
"That’s right. You were the one in the wrong here. You gave all the money your son and daughter-in-law worked so hard for to your daughter. Didn’t you even consider how your son and grandson were supposed to survive?"
In the end, Aunt Chen was shamed into leaving.
But people as stubborn as her were difficult to change. Even after hitting a brick wall, she would still think her son was the unfilial one, never considering that she might be the source of the problem.
As Aunt Chen walked out the door, she spat viciously in the direction of Leng Yuan’s house.
"What’s so great about him? All he can do is scribble a few words. I wouldn’t come back even if you begged me."
Aunt Chen had been driven off before she had a chance to ask Leng Yuan to write couplets on the red paper she was holding.
And with the New Year upon them, couplets were an absolute must-have.
She seemed to recall hearing that Educated Youth Yun was also writing couplets.
Aunt Chen went straight to Yun Hao’s house.
When she walked in, she found the yard was quite crowded.
When Xu Wenwan saw Aunt Chen enter, she immediately stepped forward with a smile. "Auntie, are you here for couplets?"
Aunt Chen nodded and went inside, ushered in by Xu Wenwan’s warm welcome.
In the yard were members of Lin Jiandong’s family and Wang Shengli’s family. Besides them, Wu Cuilan and members of the Old Sun Family were also there.
These were all people Aunt Chen knew. Some of them had come because it was cheaper.
Yun Hao charged ten cents for a set of couplets, while Leng Yuan charged twenty!
So they had come to Yun Hao’s place.
Xu Wenwan was unusually enthusiastic. She helped Yun Hao spread the red paper on the table, and Yun Hao was brimming with confidence.
’He had practiced with a fountain pen since he was a child and had also studied brush calligraphy. There was no way a country bumpkin like Leng Yuan could write better than him.’
Just then, Yun Hao picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write with bold, flamboyant strokes.
A few people nearby were chatting.
"Aunt Chen, weren’t you going to have Leng Yuan write your couplets? What brings you here all of a sudden?"
Aunt Chen couldn’t very well admit she’d been shamed into leaving, so she put on a disdainful expression and said, "Before, Leng Yuan was the only one in the village who could write them, so we had no choice. But then I heard Educated Youth Yun could write them too, so of course, I rushed right over."
"Besides, Educated Youth Yun is from the city. I’m sure he writes much better than Leng Yuan."
She couldn’t read, but she was convinced that people from the city were inherently superior to country folk.
Hearing this, the others all scoffed inwardly. ’With Aunt Chen’s stingy personality, she must have come over because it was cheaper.’
But none of them called her out on it.
Aside from those who came for the cheaper price, the people having their couplets written at Yun Hao’s were all on bad terms with Leng Yuan and his wife.
Chen Yan, for instance, hated Gu Jiaojiao with a passion. Then there were Chen Shulan and Lin Jiandong, who had become enemies with Leng Yuan and Gu Jiaojiao over the incident involving Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang.
Whenever anything involved Gu Jiaojiao and Leng Yuan, they had to get involved and kick them while they were down.
As for the Sun family, they didn’t originally have a grudge against Leng Yuan and Gu Jiaojiao. However, Sun Yeshu was jealous of Gu Jiaojiao, which led to the incident with the fishing bet. This caused the Sun family to lose face in the Qingshan Team, and they had been unilaterally holding a grudge against the couple ever since.
So when they heard Aunt Chen’s words, no matter what they were actually thinking, they all voiced their agreement.
"Of course. Yun Hao is definitely a better calligrapher than Leng Yuan."