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Auspicious was also startled by Fang Family, patting her chest and glaring, saying, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? I just asked you one question! Is it necessary to be scared like this? Look at how frightened I am; what is there to be afraid of in broad daylight? Did you do something guilty?"
Fang Family was angered by Auspicious's counterattack. Since last winter when heavy snow collapsed their house, Auspicious and her husband had been living here. They hadn't left after spring either, still staying here. Logically, they should have been able to get some Silver to repair their house, but Auspicious insisted that they couldn't get any Silver and stubbornly wanted to stay at her parental home. Fang Family wished they could give her Silver to make her leave, but they were reluctant to part with the Silver and could only let Auspicious stay here, hoping she would voluntarily return to her in-laws.
"What nonsense are you talking about? What could I possibly have done wrong? This is my home; how could I have done anything guilty?"
Auspicious said, "Then why did my one sentence scare you? I'm not walking silently; didn't you hear me? What were you thinking about, Sister-in-law? What were you thinking? Tell me, I want to know; I just heard you mention Silver."
Fang Family replied irritably, "Isn't it because Third Brother hurried back and then hurried off again as if he lost Silver? I just mentioned it casually, and you perked up at the mention of Silver. But it was all for nothing; there's no sign of any Silver."
"This matter is about my mother calling me; I'm going back to my room!" Auspicious said before turning around and leaving.
"Lazy bones! Day after day doing nothing but eating, getting fatter than a pig!" Fang Family glared at Auspicious as she turned to leave. She had just wanted to ask her to help with some chores, but Auspicious ran off. "One by one, they're all like rabbits running away. This family is really losing out; if I had known it would be like this, this Old House would be better off not existing. We should move next to Fourth Family; maybe we could get rich too."
Fang Family now regretted not having built a good relationship with Fourth Son and his wife earlier. During winter when they sent pork, Second Son and Fourth Son didn't admit they were making big money, but she didn't believe it. If they weren't making money, how could Second Son's family build such a nice house? That green brick house made her envious; looking at this Old House made her feel unsatisfied. Families that got along well with Fourth Son were all doing well. If only her family had a good relationship with them too, maybe they would have made big money earlier.
Fang Family wondered if she should try to ease the relationship with Fourth Son and his wife a bit more. She was also counting on Ruyi over there, but Ruyi was now a concubine; she really didn't know when she would be able to rise up. Watching the fortune brought by Fourth Son while being helpless made Fang Family anxious.
Auspicious entered the house and stood in the Hall without going into the inner room. She stood there frowning, her hands clasped together twisting her fingers.
Wang Clan came out from inside and saw her eldest daughter frowning with pursed lips. She walked over and poked her forehead, saying, "What are you thinking about again? If you're free, go help your brothers out a bit; it's good for them to help you too. Even if it's just helping boil some water. Do you think you can live here forever?"
Auspicious covered her forehead and said, "I’m not thinking of living here forever; it's just that Bai Family won't let us repair the house, and I don't want to pay for it myself. I don't believe they can give up their son; let's see who can outlast whom! If they don't mind their son being a son-in-law and losing face, then that's perfect! At that time, I'll encourage Bai Da to build a house in our village so we can live there. I can also take care of Mother and Father; you won't have to worry about me anymore."
"You're dreaming."
Wang Clan glared at Auspicious but felt that what Auspicious said made some sense. She loved her son but also cared for her two daughters. Now that Ruyi had entered Gao Family as a concubine, although she was well-fed and well-treated, if she worked hard enough to have a son in the future, she would secure her position. If Ruyi had the ability, she might even become the main wife. But it would be difficult for Auspicious; if only she could live nearby to take care of her.
Seeing Wang Clan's expression soften as if she was moved by her words, Auspicious immediately spoke sweetly about being a filial daughter, making Wang Clan laugh heartily.
Just as the mother and daughter were enjoying their moment of happiness, they heard another commotion in the courtyard. They both walked towards the door to see who it was and found Third Brother's door shaking.
Xie Youhe went to find Li Family and explained the situation to them. Li Family became anxious too and ran faster than Xie Youhe. As soon as she entered the door, she rushed to the corner of the wall and forcefully pulled open a box that was placed there on two stone slabs to keep it off the ground. She lifted one slab aside and scraped away the top layer of dirt underneath it revealed another small stone slab. Taking it out revealed a Little Wood box beneath it.
Seeing this, Xie Youhe thought in her heart that this old woman actually hid money here; no wonder he couldn't find it!
"Quick, check if the money is still there!"
Xie Youhe hurriedly urged the Li Family. The Li Family opened the box and saw it was empty; nothing was inside. She let out a cry and burst into tears. Xie Youhe was also stunned. The silver was really gone! That contained all their savings, including the ten taels of silver they had spent on building the house, along with a large silver ingot and a string of coins worth a thousand wen!
"Who the hell stole my money? I can't live like this! If I die, that thief better not think they can live either! I'm going to take a knife and cut you, you heartless scoundrel! I'm going to chop off your hands and break your legs!"
The Li Family sat on the ground cursing, tears streaming down her face; she was genuinely crying, heartbroken over her lost money.
Xie Youhe pulled her up and said, "Stop wailing! We need to find the money first!"
The Li Family cried, "How are we supposed to find it? Tell me how! This silver went missing at home; I bet it was taken by someone in the family! Xie Youhe, even if we have to tear our faces apart today, we need to get back our ten taels of silver and a thousand wen! We must get that silver back! If we can't find it, then let our parents compensate us! If they can't come up with the money, don't expect me to contribute any filial piety money in the future!"
"Stop crying; I'm not dead yet!" Xie Youhe frowned and said. He thought the Li Family had a point; if they couldn't find the thief, they should have their family compensate them since they could easily get money from somewhere.
At that moment, Fang Family was already supporting Wang Clan at the door. Hearing this, their expressions turned sour. Fang Family said to Wang Clan, who looked equally displeased, "Mother, this sister-in-law is treating us all as thieves! She wants us to pay her back!"
Auspicious added, "Exactly! Treating us like thieves—do we look like thieves?"
Wang Clan's face darkened as she looked at the couple and said, "Ten taels of silver! A thousand wen! Didn't you say that was only enough for building the house? Didn't you say you borrowed silver? If you had no silver left, where did all this come from?"
Xie Youhe and the Li Family fell silent. They were so focused on their lost silver that they forgot about their earlier claims of being poor.
"Mother, did our big ingot go missing? I want that ingot! I want that ingot!" At that moment, Shuanzi suddenly burst in from outside and shouted upon seeing the empty box in Li Family's hands.
Lock also looked displeased; he liked that big ingot very much.
Wang Clan's expression grew even darker. Thinking about the ingot made her realize that it wasn't something a peasant family could possess. She immediately guessed that her third son had gone to ask Ruyi for money. She doted on her youngest daughter so much that she would rather give all their money to her than let her ask for silver before she was stable. Yet this unfilial son went to his sister for money instead and even dared to cry poor while accusing her of being a thief. Wang Clan's eyes fell on a small broom in the room; she picked it up and rushed over to hit Xie Youhe. After hitting him twice and seeing him jump in pain, she felt both pity and anger and turned to hit Li Family instead.
"You shameless old hag! You used to hide your savings from me, and now you dare lie to me about having no money left! And you dare call me a thief! Where did this ingot come from? Did you go ask Ruyi for it? My daughter hasn't even been filial yet, and you're already thinking about taking advantage of her! You heartless old hag!"
"Mother, stop hitting; be careful not to hurt your back," Fang Family pretended to intervene from the side but didn't put much effort into it.
"Mother, don't get angry; it's not good for your health!" Auspicious also feigned concern.
The Li Family was crying out in pain, quickly trying to hide behind Xie Youhe, but Xie Youhe was unwilling to be her shield and hurriedly dodged. The Li Family took several more hits, and in a moment of panic, she pushed Wang Clan hard.
Wang Clan let out a cry and fell backward. Fang Family and Auspicious had only pretended to intervene earlier; they were actually enjoying the spectacle while being afraid of getting hit, so they slowly moved away. As a result, they failed to catch Wang Clan, who fell down right in front of them.
Wang Clan first crashed into the edge of the bed and then landed on the ground, crying out in pain and cursing the Li Family, urging Xie Youhe to hit the Li Family.
Li Family was dumbfounded. No matter how brave she was, she didn't dare to hit her mother-in-law. Now that she had reason on her side, she couldn't articulate it clearly. She quickly told Xie Youhe that it wasn't intentional and thought she needed to win over the men in the family first. Seeing his mother fall, Xie Youhe was anxious and almost followed her instructions to hit Li Family. However, when Li Family spoke again and he saw her glaring at him, he lost his resolve. He usually listened to Li Family at home, and besides, it was Li Family who lived with him. If he really hit her, she would definitely go back to her family, and then how would he live? So he didn't even raise his hand.
Wang Clan was furious when she saw Xie Youhe not hitting Li Family and almost rolled her eyes in anger.
Fang Family and Auspicious hurriedly helped Wang Clan up. As soon as they touched her arm, she cried out even louder. They could only avoid her right arm while helping her up and shouting for Xie Youhe to call for a physician. Xie Youhe ran off immediately.
Xie Shengcai was resting inside the house. His health had not been good lately; aside from checking on his sons building their houses, he mostly stayed home. He didn’t come out when he heard the commotion outside until he saw his wife being helped in. Then he became anxious and asked what happened. Auspicious immediately embellished the story, saying that Li Family suspected they had stolen money, so they hit his mother. Fang Family remained silent nearby. Wang Clan was in severe pain and filled with anger but did not refute it.
Xie Shengcai was furious, blowing his beard and glaring as he loudly denounced the nonsense.
When the physician arrived to examine Wang Clan, he said that her right arm was fractured.
Xie Youhe did not expect that a push from his wife would cause his mother to crash into the edge of the bed and suffer a fracture. He thought today was truly unlucky; not only did he lose silver but also ended up with his wife and mother-in-law fighting. He felt caught between a rock and a hard place.
The author has something to say: I finished writing but didn’t know how to log in, so I went to sleep first. I woke up restlessly and tried again; I could log in! I really didn’t slack off. Merry Christmas everyone! I'm going back to sleep now. Good night!
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