"Your family’s eldest girl got into a prestigious university," the person said with a smile. "She was the top scorer!"

Old Mrs. Qin had never been to school, so she had no idea what a "prestigious university" or a "top scorer" was. Dazed, she carried her basket home, only to find a crowd gathered at her gate.

Everyone was beaming with joy.

In stark contrast, the expressions on the faces of the Qin Family were not so pleasant. And how could they be? After all, the second son’s family had been practically cast out by the old man. Before, Mr. Qin had even faked a deathly illness to trick the second son’s family into coming back, all so he could try to give their old house to the third son.

In the middle of all that, the second son’s child had even gone missing, though thankfully they were found in the end.

Mr. Qin couldn’t hide his embarrassment. His unfavored son’s child had turned out to be successful—didn’t that just prove his own poor judgment?

The old man was unhappy. As soon as Mrs. Qin stepped inside, he immediately bolted the main gate from within.

The villagers at the gate looked at each other in confusion.

"Why do I get the feeling the Old Qin Family isn’t too happy about this?"

"Why not? Isn’t this great news? This is the kind of good fortune that would make their ancestors’ graves billow with smoke! Why wouldn’t they be happy?"

However, one person, who knew Su Yun quite well, sneered and said, "Why else? Because they feel guilty. The old man used to look down on the second son’s family the most, and he especially couldn’t stand their two daughters. Now that the elder daughter got into a prestigious university, it’s a huge slap in the face."

The crowd exchanged glances, clicking their tongues in amazement.

It’s true that every family has a favorite child, especially these days when families are large, but the Old Qin Family’s blatant favoritism was a rare sight.

And yet, the one they looked down on the most was the one who turned out to be the most successful.

How infuriating is that?

Some of the older folks, after watching the spectacle, went home and reflected. ’When you have so many children, who knows which one will be successful in the future? Better not to play favorites too much.’

Meanwhile, Old Man Qin squatted there, PUFF-PUFF-PUFFING on his long-stemmed pipe. Mrs. Qin didn’t dare make a sound. Just then, Qin Jiqun walked out of his room. He had gone to bed late last night and was catching up on sleep. Stretching lazily, he asked curiously, "Hey, why’d we lock the main gate so early today?"

Worried he might go open the gate, Mrs. Qin quickly said, "Ji Qun, are you hungry? How about Mom makes you some egg noodles?"

"Egg noodles again? Fine, go make them. Hey, Mom, remember to add a couple of extra eggs for me."

"Okay."

Just then, Mr. Qin suddenly spoke up. "Third Son, your wife went to the county town. Is she not coming back?"

At the mention of his wife, Feng Lan, Qin Jiqun stammered. He mumbled evasively, "Her brother has some business, so she’s staying there to help. It’s not like there’s anything for her to do at home anyway."

In reality, Qin Jiqun felt a little guilty. After all, Feng Lan and Feng Dayong were planning to rob his second brother’s family!

’But there’s been no news for so long,’ he thought. ’The two of them must have given up.’

But just then, Mr. Qin suddenly said, "Your second brother’s daughter, Qin Jiao, got into a prestigious university. Tomorrow, make a trip to the county town and take her one of our old hens. And the wild mushrooms, too. I remember that girl, Qin Jiao, likes to eat them."

Qin Jiqun froze reflexively upon hearing about his second brother’s family.

What surprised him even more was his father’s sudden change of heart. ’What’s gotten into Dad?’ he wondered. ’Why is he suddenly being nice to Second Brother’s family?’

Old Mrs. Qin was also a bit bewildered. She glanced at the few old hens they were raising, and a memory suddenly surfaced: when she had been hospitalized, the eldest and third sons had left, but the second son had stayed with her all night, curled up on a hospital bench.

Mr. Qin looked up and saw his third son standing there in a daze. He tapped his pipe bowl and said, "That girl got into a prestigious university. She’s bound to be successful. In the future, she might even be able to find a job for Xiao Tao."

The old man wasn’t regretting his past treatment of the second son’s family; he was simply starting to plan for the future of his one and only precious grandson.