Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2727 Still Vigorous in Old Age 111.0
Xia Chen sighed softly and said quietly, "Every time I see a case like this, I think that many people are not worthy of being someone's parents or elders, or even worthy of being human. The reason why many children commit unforgivable mistakes when they grow up or in the process of growing up is largely related to the teachings and actions of their parents and elders."

“The most important point is still what I just said,” Shen Haolin waved his hand at Xia Chen and said, “They only treat children as tools to achieve their goals, not as flesh-and-blood people. They only need these children to listen to them and live their lives according to their instructions. They don’t need them to have their own thoughts, nor are they allowed to have their own thoughts. Once they do, they will be stifled by various methods.”

“That’s right.” Qi Zhifeng nodded. “You don’t know, although I study with Brother Lan, Brother Nan, and Brother Fengqi, but” he reached out and tugged at Xiao Fengqi’s arm, “there are quite a few kids like this in our area. The elders in their families can be really suffocating, right?”

“That’s right.” Xiao Fengqi nodded. “Actually, we attended a clan school jointly run by the Yelü and Xiao families. The teachers were all very famous, and many teachers came from prominent families of the Great Xia Dynasty. Many elders from these families used various connections to get their children in. But our clan school wasn’t easy to get into; you had to pass an examination. And these examinations weren’t easy to pass. Many of the children’s elders did very wrong things to them. They rarely hit or scolded them, but…”

“Day after day of nagging and sarcastic remarks can definitely destroy a child more easily.” Song Yaojia sighed. “I never thought that such things could happen anywhere, let alone such a serious case.”

“This case must be extreme. They’ve been oppressed for too many years and couldn’t take it anymore, so they took a gamble.” Shen Cha sighed softly. “I can understand them quite well.”

“That’s true. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tolerate it for so many years.” Qi Zhifeng nodded. “However, it’s quite rare to be this extreme. There’s only been one like this in all these years.”

“One case is enough. If there were a few more similar ones, wouldn’t everyone go crazy?” Xiao Fengqi sighed, patted Qi Zhifeng, and said, “This case has had a significant impact. After all, back then, there were many parents and elders who wanted their children to succeed, and even more who used various means to put pressure on their children. Just like the elders of those children who wanted to get into our clan school, they all seemed to have lost their minds, as if it was their children’s fault if they didn’t get in, and they were constantly arguing with their children. But after this case, many of them have become much more restrained and have started to relax their pressure on their children, so as not to have a similar tragedy happen to them.”

"The starting point is still oneself."

"Yes, but it's much better than before. However," Xiao Fengqi sighed, "there are still quite a few who are stubbornly clinging to their beliefs, thinking that their luck isn't that bad and that this won't happen. But their children will inevitably encounter other problems, and that will be their retribution. However, Little Qi is right; such extreme cases are practically once in a century. After all, not many elders would suppress their children as severely as the old man's cousin's family, not even giving them a moment of respite." Xiao Fengqi sighed, poured himself some hot tea, took a sip, and continued, "Later, the old man also said that even if they didn't take action, they would eventually find other ways to vent their long-suppressed emotions, either by hurting others or by hurting themselves. In short, they wouldn't end up with a good ending."

"That's true." Shen Cha nodded. "In the end, it's all for nothing."

"Yes, the final results weren't very good. However, there are exceptions, namely those who are of one mind with their elders in the family, and whose ambitions even surpass those of their elders." "For example?"

“Those children who were sent to Great Xia to participate in the Tanuki Project,” Xiao Fengqi sighed. “However, although they seem to be of one mind with their elders on the surface, they also have their own plans. Their ambition is not to help their families rise to a higher level, but to have certain bargaining chips. These chips are their confidence, which allows them to negotiate with their families.”

"Negotiation?" Shen Cha frowned. "Negotiation what? What do they want?"

"Wanting to surpass the power of the clan leader."

"Yes!" Chu Han smiled helplessly, looked at everyone except Xiao Fengqi and Qi Zhifeng, who all had the same incredulous expression, sighed, and said, "What's wrong? Why do you all have that expression?"

“When they were sent to Great Xia, the oldest was only four years old. How could they know what power beyond the clan leader was? How could such young children know these things?” Shen Cha frowned slightly. “They couldn’t have been involved in the internal struggles of the clan from that time onwards, could they?”

“That’s right, they started around this time.” Chu Han explained when he saw the incredulous look on Shen Cha’s face. “Some families’ children are indeed more precocious. They are different from you. Your family is small and not complicated. Moreover, none of the family members are so enthusiastic about inheriting the family business. They believe in letting nature take its course. What belongs to someone else belongs to someone else. They don’t fight or grab, right?”

“It’s true that the population is small, and it’s right that we don’t compete or fight.” Shen Cha nodded. “Then the strength of my elder brother and Xiao Tian is there, and they have the right to compete. What’s there to fight for? Even if Young Master Xiao competes, fights, and wins, it’s entirely because he has the ability. His uncles and elders are no match for him, so it’s only natural that they were defeated. Some things can’t be obtained by competing. The right time, the right place, and the right people are all indispensable.”

“While I agree with what you said, some people are not content to be subordinate to others, you understand?” Chu Han sighed. “Especially in families with many members and considerable wealth, the internal strife is actually very serious, more serious than you can imagine. More than half of the children sent to Daxia to participate in the Tanuki Project came from such families. They were not the most favored or expected children in their own families, so they wanted to rely on making achievements in Daxia to gain a foothold in their families.”