Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

"Only ten thousand taels?" Fang Chenyu muttered, seemingly unimpressed.

Fang Zheng instantly flew into a rage: "What do you mean 'only ten thousand taels'? You beast! Do you really think I wouldn't dare to hit you?!"

He was truly angry this time. He had never deprived his son of material comforts, yet his son's perception of money had become so outrageous.

Ten thousand taels meant nothing to him; he had absolutely no concept of the value of money!

Before Fang Chenyu could react, Fang Zheng had already charged over, wielding a feather duster.

He unleashed a flurry of wild blows, sending Fang Chenyu rolling on the ground, begging for mercy.

Fang Zheng struck and scolded, "You don't value ten thousand taels? Your father once fought a group of people in the street for ten taels of silver! I abandoned all sense of shame just to get a bite to eat! And you, you beast, don't treat money like money?!"

"Dad! Dad! I was wrong! Waaah..." Fang Chenyu was terrified.

This was the first time Fang Zheng had ever lost his composure in front of him. Usually, he would just scowl and say a few words when angry.

He never expected his father to actually hit him, and the feather duster stung terribly on his backside.

Finally, Fang Chenyu burst into tears, constantly begging for forgiveness.

"Don't hit me, Dad! I was wrong!"

Fang Zheng angrily threw down the feather duster and roared, "Tell me! Where did all the money go?!"

Fang Chenyu rubbed his backside, his expression panicked.

Where did it go? Of course, he used it to buy candy for his brothers.

His family never allowed him to eat candy. If they found out, they wouldn't give him any more money. How could he be the boss then? Who would call him 'Big Brother'?

He had never suffered or done homework at school; wasn't that all thanks to his brothers' support?

If he couldn't maintain his authority over them, things would be bad. So, he absolutely couldn't tell the truth!

Hesitating for a moment, Fang Chenyu stammered, "I spent it eating out at restaurants. The food outside is delicious."

"Eating out?" Fang Zheng's eyes widened. "Our food at home isn't good enough? The school cafeteria doesn't feed you enough? You go out to eat? How can the food outside be clean?!"

"I... I just feel like the food outside is better than the food at home. I can't eat the food at home. I... I'm hungry!" Fang Chenyu pouted, looking pitiful. "Dad, I only spent a little money on food. Please don't hit me anymore. I'll eat less in the future."

Fang Zheng stared intently at his son, trying to judge whether he was telling the truth.

Eating at a good restaurant outside could indeed be expensive. Plus, the child didn't know how to save money, and if he was being ripped off, spending dozens of taels would be reasonable.

Besides, he had indeed eaten very little during dinner tonight. His son was so old; he probably wouldn't lie.

Looking at Fang Chenyu's pitiful appearance, Fang Zheng's heart softened. He sat back down in his chair, his face still stern, and said, "Alright, I'll assume you spent the money reasonably."

"Then explain to me why you always run home when I let you live at school? I heard from the teachers that you don't listen in class. Is that true?"

Fang Chenyu immediately retorted, "School is right next to home. I can't sleep well outside. Besides, Mom told me to come home! There's nothing good to listen to in class. They're just telling those old stories. Dad, you've already told me those things. I already know them!"

"You dare to talk back?!" Fang Zheng's eyebrows shot up, and he immediately stood up.

Fang Chenyu instinctively raised his right hand to shield his face, but unexpectedly, Fang Zheng turned around and grabbed a book from the bookshelf behind him.

Opening the book and flipping through a few pages, he walked over to him and pointed to a word in the book. "Since you say you already know everything, then I'll ask you, what does this word say?"

Looking at the character 黾 in the book, Fang Chenyu swallowed and thought for a moment before laughing mindlessly.

"Hehe, Dad, that's a turtle!"

"Turtle my foot! It's not turtle!" Fang Zheng roared. "This word is 'mian'! Has your education gone to the dogs?!"

"That's not right! I remember that the character for 'mian' has the insect radical next to it?" Fang Chenyu opened his mouth, stammering.

"Use your brain! Just because they look similar doesn't mean they're the same word! They're homophones! You still dare to argue with me?! Your father became a Jinshi at fifteen! How did I give birth to such an illiterate child? It's embarrassing!" Fang Zheng felt a sense of powerlessness.

He had painstakingly created the marble scam to trick his child into studying, but it hadn't yielded any results.

He was a university graduate, a Jinshi with two degrees! How did he give birth to a 'nine-year compulsory education dropout' who couldn't even recognize words and just loafed around all day, wasting money?

Fang Zheng said with grief and disappointment, "Squandering money recklessly and lacking ambition is all because your father has spoiled you too much since you were young! Your grandparents constantly lectured me when I was young, never allowing me to slack off for a single day. I didn't want you to live that kind of life, so I've always been lenient with you. I never expected you to disappoint me so much."

"If you continue like this in the future, you don't need to go to school anymore!"

Huh? He didn't have to go to school anymore?

Fang Chenyu's eyes darted around.

He was actually tired of school. Not going would save him from being confined there. As for the brothers at school... he could still hang out with them. It's not like he couldn't go there, he just wouldn't be attending classes anymore.

Besides, the toilet at home was much better than the one at school. He could sit there for half an hour, while the toilet at school was far inferior!

"Then I won't go!" Fang Chenyu said defiantly. "Your son isn't cut out for it. My exam scores aren't as good as others. I don't want to embarrass you, Dad!"

Fang Zheng's expression crumbled, and he couldn't quite hold back his emotions. A hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

He originally thought he could scare his son into becoming more motivated, but who knew this kid would just give up completely and call his bluff!

Back in the day, he seemed to have been the same way. He was scolded by his own father for not studying well, and then he defiantly said he wouldn't study anymore.

After that, he kept shouting about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs's classic dropout legends... Only after becoming a wage slave did he realize he had fallen for the chicken soup for the soul.

Hesitating for a moment, Fang Zheng's face became serious, and he pointed his fingers at Fang Chenyu like a sword. "Nonsense! You're so young, and you become lazy and lax at the slightest setback! How will you achieve great things in the future?!"

Fang Chenyu lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers. "I don't need to achieve great things. Grandfather said he'll give me whatever I want."

"....."

Grandfather?

Fang Zheng suddenly felt a little dizzy.

The root of the problem had been found! No wonder ten thousand taels meant nothing to him now.

So, his father-in-law had spoiled him! He used to be so energetic when he hit his son, but why did his style suddenly change when it came to his grandson? Could this be the legendary doting on grandchildren?

This culprit... was too tough to deal with. He shouldn't have let the child stay in the palace so often.

"Hmph, your grandfather is just humoring you because you're young! I'm giving you one last warning today! If you don't study hard in the future and your exam scores aren't in the top ten in your class, you'll be in trouble! Also, starting today, your monthly allowance will only be two qian!"

He was still cutting my allowance after all, and cutting it to the bone.

Fang Chenyu was shocked and rushed forward to hug Fang Zheng's leg. "Dad, don't cut my allowance! I don't have enough money to spend."

"What do you need money for when your food, clothing, and everything else are already taken care of? Stop pestering me and go to sleep!" Fang Zheng scolded. "Aren't you looking down on ten thousand taels? If you have the ability, go earn it yourself!"

Fang Chenyu was young after all. In his anxiety, the little secret in his heart instantly slipped out. "Dad, don't cut my allowance! Besides buying food for myself, I also need to bring food to my classmates, and I need to buy them candy and toys!"

"Hmm?"