Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 1166: Chapter 1076: The Female Prime Minister (14)

Except for Old Master Yin and Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Feng was there, and all the adults were present aside from the children.

Seeing Yin Zheng walk in, all eyes fell on him, like a courtroom scene with three judges. Yin Zheng remained calm, already anticipating today’s situation.

The first to challenge was Old Master Yin, who tapped his tobacco pipe against the bed edge and said in a steady voice, ”Explain clearly to me what’s going on with the storefront you rented in the town?”

Before Yin Zheng could answer, Mrs. Feng eagerly interjected, ”Second Brother, it’s better not to think about lying.

I’ve followed Second Brother to town several times these past few days and saw with my own eyes that he rented a shop there.

Second Brother, you should explain where the money came from—did you save up some secret stash over time?

Instead of handing all the money to our parents, you went and acquired private property for yourself. Second Brother, you’re clearly not putting our parents above you.”

Yin Zheng ignored Mrs. Feng and instead looked at Old Master Yin and Mrs. Zhao, ”I indeed rented a shop in town. What do you want to do? Just say it directly.”

Mrs. Zhao snorted coldly, ”You still recognize me as your mother. You went ahead and did such a big thing without saying a word—as if I were an outsider to be guarded against. I can’t possibly be your ’mother’!”

Old Master Yin lit up a cigarette, took a few puffs, and puffed out a cloud of smoke, his face darkened as he finally spoke after a long silence.

”No one in our family is suited for doing business. You should sell that storefront. Your third brother is about to take the exam, and the money from selling the shop can be used for him.

Don’t waste your time thinking about impractical business ventures in the future. The money in your hand should be the biggest investment towards your third brother’s exam. Once he succeeds, you’ll truly benefit.”

Yin Zheng laughed at Old Master Yin’s shameless words, ”Are you treating me like an idiot, or have you forgotten? Teacher clearly stated I was more suited for studying than Third Brother and definitely smarter.

That was the real promising future. But what happened? Third Brother cried for a while, and you personally severed my promising path. How could you think I would forget such a grave injustice?

Someone who can use such means to cut off my future, do you think I’ll believe that when Third Brother becomes successful, he will truly remember my kindness? The money in my hands will never be spent on Third Brother. You can forget about it!”

Old Master Yin’s face flushed red then white with anger at Yin Zheng’s blunt words. He was both embarrassed and enraged, unable to contain his fury.

”You little scoundrel, are you holding a grudge against me? In a family of our size, someone has to step up, and everyone else benefits.

You, scoundrel, don’t understand this. You will agree to this matter whether you want to or not.

Tomorrow I’ll have someone sell that shop. You’ll stay home honestly during this period and not go to town.”

Yin Zheng burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face. Despite foreseeing the outcome long ago, truly facing this day, Yin Zheng couldn’t help but feel a chill.

Yin Zheng laughed till tears came out, finally stopping his laughter reluctantly, and said to Old Master Yin, who looked puzzled by his laughter, ”Someone with ability, are you kidding?

Among our family’s sons, Third Brother can’t compare to the eldest in social skills or to me in intelligence, nor is he as diligent and hardworking as Fourth Brother—but you call him the most capable. This is the funniest joke I’ve ever heard.

Third Brother isn’t the most capable. He’s just the one you and Mom favor the most. To be honest, the storefront in town is mine, but I didn’t buy it. I only rented it for six months to do business.

By the way, the money I used to rent the shop is borrowed usury money, 200 taels of silver, repay 300 in six months, 400 in a year, and a thousand in two years.

If you sell the shop for me, I won’t be able to make money to repay the usury debt, and in the future, the entire family would have to bear the burden. So, Mom and Dad, think carefully about whether you want to sell my shop.”

Usury means high-interest loans, and Yin Zheng almost maliciously uttered the last sentence, sure enough, successfully seeing the drastically changed expressions on Old Master Yin and Mrs. Zhao, as well as Yin Cheng and Mrs. Feng.

”What did you say? You borrowed usury money?!” The first to speak wasn’t Old Master Yin, but Yin Cheng.

Being a scholar, Yin Cheng understood the dangers of usury better than anyone in the family. Families borrowing usury money are inevitably forced into bankruptcy; it’s a bottomless pit, never fully repaid.

Yin Cheng almost immediately made a decision, resolutely saying to Old Master Yin and Mrs. Zhao, ”Dad, Mom, this is serious trouble, we must immediately sever ties with Second Brother.

Usurers are brutally ruthless, like leeches sucking blood, once they grab hold of someone, they won’t stop until the family is bankrupted.

If we are still one family with Second Brother, we will bear the usury debt together, and even if we are cut to the bone, we won’t finish paying off this usury.

Urgently, we need to separate Second Brother from our family before those usurers come to collect debts.”

No, merely splitting the family won’t work. If we split, we’re still family, and those usurers won’t spare us.

We must sever all familial ties from Second Brother; henceforth, Second Brother and we have no connection, we won’t care if he’s alive or dead, only then can we avoid those usurers.”

Though self-preservation amid calamity is human instinct, taking it to such an extent is rare.

Yin Zheng coldly and silently sneered at Yin Cheng’s eagerness to cut ties, feeling neither joy nor anger, only a sense of relief at everything coming true.

Yin Zheng knew Old Master Yin and Mrs. Zhao wouldn’t oppose Yin Cheng’s decision, and sure enough, Old Master Yin and Mrs. Zhao paled hearing Yin Cheng’s horrifying depiction of usury, agreeing without hesitation to his proposal.

In this era, filial piety is crucial; no matter how excessive parents are, even killing a child warrants little punishment, and few condemnations.

It’s an extreme emphasis on familial ties; yet, on the flip side, there’s a stark notion in this world that even with close family, all relations can be severed.

Once all ties are cut, people automatically see it as two separate families, and those prospering will no longer care about the others, nor be condemned for indifference or exploitation.

Severing ties truly means cutting all relations, even familial bonds will be completely severed.