Chapter 314 - 183: Chance Encounter 2

Chapter 314: Chapter 183: Chance Encounter 2

The black-canopied boat stopped by a set of steps along the canal. As he disembarked, the boat rocked slightly, and Su Chen stumbled, almost tumbling into the river. Fortunately, he was quick on his feet, stepping onto the stairs in one stride and grabbing a nearby stone pillar for support, managing to avoid making a fool of himself.

"Sir, are you alright?" Jiang Hui asked, standing up nervously.

"I’m fine. Go on and enjoy yourself," Su Chen said, waving his hand nonchalantly.

The black-canopied boat rocked and swayed as it continued onward. Su Chen watched it for a moment, then turned to find his Third Brother on the bridge.

But as soon as he turned, his Third Brother’s slightly chubby figure came into view. Next to him was a beautiful woman, though her belly was already showing a slight swell.

Su Chen was taken aback for a moment. The woman was none other than his Third Brother’s wife, his Third Sister-in-law, Fu Qiaoyu.

"Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law." After greeting them, Su Chen’s gaze fell on his sister-in-law’s swollen belly. "Third Sister-in-law, how many months along are you?"

His Third Brother, Chen Peng, beamed with pride as he stroked his wife’s slightly protruding belly. "A little over three months now!"

There were plenty of tourists coming and going, so standing in the middle of the path to chat wasn’t ideal. Su Chen suggested they find a quiet place to sit and talk.

The ancient town had no shortage of such places. They found a cafe that looked nice, went inside, and chose a table by the window.

After ordering three of the cafe’s signature drinks, Su Chen finally asked, "Third Brother, what brings you guys here? No work today?"

"Well, your sister-in-law hasn’t been feeling well these past few days, so I thought I’d bring her out to relax."

At this, Chen Peng sized up Su Chen with a puzzled look. "You’re asking me about work? Looks like you’re not working either."

"COUGH COUGH~" Hearing this, Su Chen choked on the drink he had just sipped. ’It seems like it’s been a long time since I last worked a real job.’

’Then again, it makes sense,’ he thought. ’Third Brother doesn’t know my situation.’ His eyes shifted slightly as he took a napkin to wipe his mouth. "Well, the New Year just ended. I figured I’d take a good break before looking for a new job."

Chen Peng’s eyebrow twitched; he’d picked up on the underlying meaning. "Hm? You quit your job before the New Year?"

"Yeah, I quit. Delivering food was too exhausting. I want to find something a little more relaxed!" ’Being a hands-off boss should count as a job, right?’ Su Chen thought to himself.

"Why don’t you come work with me? Learn how to make molds. It’s a skilled trade. As long as you’re willing to study hard, making over ten thousand a month is easy!" As Chen Peng said this, the smile on his face widened.

"Ah..." Su Chen hadn’t expected his Third Brother to make such an offer.

The couple saw the astonishment on his face and mistook it for embarrassment.

His Third Sister-in-law, Fu Qiaoyu, sitting beside them, also spoke up. "We’re all family, Su Chen. Don’t be shy. If you’re willing to come, your brother and I will teach you everything ourselves."

"Exactly! With how sharp you are, you’ll be a pro in a month or two at most. You think you won’t be able to make money?"

"Our factory is just starting out, only five or six people, but your brother and I have been in this industry for many years. We’ve built up some connections, so we’re not worried about a lack of orders!"

"Besides, if your sister-in-law’s second uncle just lets a few orders slip our way, that’ll be enough to keep us busy for ages!" Chen Peng chimed in.

Su Chen knew a little about his Third Sister-in-law’s family. Her father’s generation also had three brothers, with her second uncle being the wealthiest.

But her family’s situation was different from the Su family’s. When the second brother struck it rich, he didn’t bring the other two along with him. Instead, they all went their separate ways, not interfering with one another, while maintaining a façade of brotherly affection and respect.

But Su Chen could guess what the reality was. Not every family was like the Su family, where even after becoming wealthy, they still looked out for their siblings.

A situation like Fu Qiaoyu’s family was the norm in reality. ’I’ll have my wealth, and you’ll have your poverty.’ At most, they might let a few scraps trickle down to you.

Otherwise, Chen Peng and Fu Qiaoyu wouldn’t have worked in the mold-making industry for so many years only to finally start their own factory and go it alone.

"Third Brother, let me think about it. I’ve been working for years and really want to relax for a bit!" Su Chen could only shelve the topic for now. If he really let them force him into a job, wouldn’t he have to reveal his true identity?

’How lame would that be!’

Chen Peng wanted to persuade him further, but Fu Qiaoyu kicked him under the table, and he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

Su Chen noticed the exchange and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Third Brother, do you know what Eldest Brother is up to these days?"

Hearing Su Chen ask about the eldest, Chen Fan, Chen Peng’s expression instantly darkened.

Seeing this, a bad feeling welled up in Su Chen’s heart. ’Could my earlier suspicions have come true? Has Eldest Brother Chen Fan really become a degenerate gambler?’

Sure enough, in the next second, Chen Peng spoke with a tone of anger, "I don’t know where he went. It’d be best if he just died out there."

Su Chen’s pupils constricted when he heard this. ’It seems there’s a lot I don’t know about this situation.’

Seeing his Third Brother’s furious expression, Su Chen could only turn his gaze to his Third Sister-in-law.

Su Chen didn’t know his Third Sister-in-law very well. He had only overheard his mother and second uncle talking about her at his maternal grandmother’s house during the New Year. They said his sister-in-law, Fu Qiaoyu, was incredibly savvy, with a firm grasp on the ways of the world.

"Sigh, I don’t know where Eldest Brother picked up his gambling addiction. Playing cards normally is one thing; you can’t lose that much money."

"But unexpectedly, he got hooked on online gambling. It’s like one of those matching games—a single tap and a hundred yuan is gone. In just over two months, he lost more than six hundred thousand."

"Not only did he lose all his savings, but he also borrowed a lot of money from others. Your Eldest Sister-in-law had a huge fight with him and then divorced him outright."

"He even borrowed twenty thousand from us, promising to pay it back in half a month. If a full month hadn’t passed with no word from him, and if your Third Brother hadn’t called to ask, we would have never known what was going on."

"Now, nobody knows where your Eldest Brother has gone. His phone is unreachable. He’s probably changed his number."

Su Chen was completely dumbfounded by this, finding it hard to believe.

Chen Fan was nearly ten years older than both Chen Peng and Su Chen. He had married a beautiful and virtuous woman early on, making many people envious at the time.

He was also known for being generous and shrewd. Besides a fondness for mahjong and card games, he had no other major vices. It was unthinkable that he would end up like this.

When Su Chen had seen the information before, he had assumed Chen Fan had just lost some money playing cards, felt too ashamed, and had run off to another city.

But now, his Third Sister-in-law’s words painted a picture that Su Chen found difficult to accept.

"Right, I remember Eldest Brother has two kids, right? Who are they with now?" Su Chen recalled that the older child was only eight or nine, and the younger one was five or six.

The younger one had been born right around the time he graduated from high school. He had even gone back to the village for the full moon feast.

"Those two little ones are with their paternal grandfather for now. After the divorce, nobody knows where Eldest Sister-in-law went."

"I called and asked a while ago. It seems Eldest Uncle and Aunt are planning to move back to their hometown soon. The pressure of raising two kids here is just too much for them." Chen Peng had calmed down by now and briefly explained what he knew.

Su Chen nodded slightly. His eldest uncle and aunt weren’t young anymore. They only made six or seven thousand yuan a month at the factory; combined, that was just over ten thousand. The burden of putting two children through school here would be immense.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. Su Chen had already prepared for the worst, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

"It’s probably for the best that Eldest Uncle and his wife go back. At least people at home can help them out. It’s just a pity for the two little ones." Su Chen sighed deeply, wondering what would become of them in the future.

They say a child without a mother is like a weed, but now these two little ones have no idea where either of their parents are. They’re more like rootless duckweed, drifting aimlessly.

As for helping, Su Chen would definitely step in.

But he could only help for a time, not for a lifetime. ’I’ll wait until Eldest Uncle and his family return to Wudu and see what Mom thinks.’

After this whole affair, not only Su Chen, but Chen Peng and his wife were also in no mood to continue exploring the ancient town.

Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Peng insisted on finding a place to treat Su Chen to a meal.

In Chen Peng’s words, he was practically a local host. Since they were in Suzhou, how could he possibly let Su Chen pay?

He even went out of his way to find a Huaiyang cuisine restaurant.