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With a large sum of money in her pocket, Ye Xiaohan felt a newfound confidence in her stride. She declared her intention to splurge, and Liu Bei followed her cheerfully, ready to indulge her whims. On their way back, Liu Yang was still lamenting the cost of renting two ox carts, but now that they were returning, Ye Xiaohan insisted on renting a horse-drawn carriage, and he could only smile through his reluctance.
Before they even reached the village entrance, a crowd had gathered to greet them. Villagers approached eagerly as they returned.
"Liu brothers, is it true that you earned thirty-five taels of silver at the apothecary?" one villager asked, leaning in close to Liu Bei and revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth.
The Liu family was known as the poorest in the village. Liu Bei's father had suffered from a serious illness during his lifetime, leaving the family with significant debts.
With no relatives to turn to in times of need, the Liu brothers were often left to fend for themselves. So when so many villagers suddenly surrounded them, Liu Bei felt uncomfortable and stayed close to Ye Xiaohan, pressing his lips together and refusing to respond to their questions.
Seeing Liu Bei's serious demeanor and silence only made the villagers more restless. One of them shouted at him, "Liu Bei, you’ve come into ill-gotten wealth; you should use it for good!"
Ye Xiaohan scoffed at this from the sidelines; it was nothing short of moral coercion. If they thought they could swindle her out of her money, they would need several lifetimes to succeed.
She exchanged a glance with Liu Yang and then forcefully pushed through the crowd, making her way back to the Liu household.
As she ran off, Liu Yang called after her, "Sister-in-law, slow down! Don’t spill the money!"
Realizing that the money was in Ye Xiaohan's hands, the villagers dispersed with grumbling complaints since there was no point in harassing Liu Bei any further.
Back at home, Ye Xiaohan settled down with Crossed Legs and enjoyed a cup of tea while waiting for the Liu brothers to return.
When they finally walked in looking disheveled, Ye Xiaohan chuckled, "What happened? I thought I drew them away. You still couldn’t escape? You’re really not very useful."
Liu Bei sat beside Ye Xiaohan with a sullen expression and said nothing.
Liu Yang was also displeased but managed to speak up. "You have no idea! Those people were furious; they wanted to strip us bare for silver! They didn’t believe we had taken any money and even wanted to search us. It’s infuriating—absolutely outrageous!"
Liu Qi looked confused as she watched her brothers and sister-in-law return home. Both of her brothers had gone out while she stayed behind alone as villagers came and went. Now that they were back—except for Sister-in-law—each brother bore injuries and carried various items. Had something serious happened while they were out?
Liu Qi felt increasingly uneasy and suddenly burst into tears. This startled everyone, and her two older brothers were anxious, jumping up and down.
It was Ye Xiaohan, after observing for a while, who noticed something was off.
She took Liu Qi's hand, wiped her tears, and gently asked, "Are you worried about your brothers?"
Liu Qi nodded with red eyes. Ye Xiaohan spread out the items on the table and slowly explained things to her. In no time, Liu Qi's mood brightened, a scene that was witnessed by the two brothers from the Liu family. Liu Bei felt a warmth in his heart; for the first time, he believed that the decision he had made long ago was the best one of his life.
Liu Yang looked at Ye Xiaohan. Despite her plump figure and unattractive appearance, they couldn't hide the brilliance that radiated from her. For the first time, Liu Yang began to believe that Ye Xiaohan had turned over a new leaf; she was no longer the person she used to be. But as soon as he thought about Ye Xiaohan leaving, his brows furrowed again.
Ye Xiaohan noticed Liu Yang's expression and felt a twinge of irritation. Why were all her saviors so sensitive and troublesome? It seemed never-ending.
Remembering her debt of gratitude, Ye Xiaohan didn’t want to argue with Liu Bei's brother. She said to Liu Yang, "Here are two taels of silver. I’ll give you two prescriptions; go to the pharmacy and get the medicine. Remember, no matter what the pharmacist says, just ignore it."
"Is this for my brother's illness?" Liu Yang asked.
Ye Xiaohan nodded, and Liu Yang smiled as he took the money.
In fact, one of those prescriptions was something Ye Xiaohan had spent several days researching; it was specifically designed to help with her own weight issues. If taken continuously for half a month, she believed it would eliminate all her excess fat.
Suddenly, Liu Yang reacted unexpectedly, leaving everyone present puzzled.
"Big Brother, there are a lot of people outside; you should go take a look."
Seeing Liu Yang’s anxious expression, Liu Bei and Ye Xiaohan didn’t dare delay any longer. After arranging for Liu Qi, they headed together to the courtyard.
What a sight! The courtyard was small to begin with, but now it was filled with people. Leading them was Zhang Da Bo, who had come out yesterday to mediate.
Ye Xiaohan understood immediately upon seeing him.
Although Liu Bei was honest, he wasn't foolish. Realizing there were too many people to confront directly, he approached Zhang Da Bo at the front and quietly asked, "Uncle, why have you brought so many matchmakers here today?"
Zhang Da Bo frowned, his old face showing signs of embarrassment. Behind him stood a woman who, noticing his discomfort, reached out and touched him. Zhang Da Bo's expression changed dramatically, revealing a look of great pain as he muttered to Liu Bei, "Liu Bei, did you really earn thirty-five taels of silver from the medicine shop today with a single spirit mushroom?"
Liu Yang quietly moved closer to Ye Xiaohan and whispered, "Sister-in-law, the woman behind Zhang Da Bo is Zhang's Wife. Zhang Da Bo is the only scholar in our village and is known for his kindness. However, Zhang's Wife is obsessed with money. I think these people have come with ill intentions today."
Ye Xiaohan nodded. "I understand. You go quickly and gather the herbs. Leave this to me; nothing will go wrong."
Seeing the confidence on Ye Xiaohan's face, which resembled her earlier assurance that she would ensure her brother would be safe, Liu Yang decided to trust her for once and made his way through the crowd, leaving the Liu family home.
Liu Bei, questioned by Zhang Da Bo, was at a loss for words. He sensed that the crowd was not friendly and feared making a mistake, so he looked at Ye Xiaohan, hoping she would take charge. He believed that without Ye Xiaohan's involvement, they would never have had this money, so he wanted her to make the decision.
Understanding Liu Bei's intention, Ye Xiaohan stepped forward and addressed Zhang Da Bo. "Yes, I did indeed earn thirty-five taels from the medicine shop. Ten taels were compensation for Liu Bei being injured by the shop, and the rest was from selling the spirit mushroom."
Upon hearing Ye Xiaohan's admission, the crowd began to feel a sense of satisfaction.
Zhang Da Bo, feeling subtly threatened by the group surrounding him, spoke again. "Liu family lady, did you obtain that spirit mushroom from our village's mountains?"
"Yes, that's correct; it was from the back mountain," Ye Xiaohan replied without hesitation.
"Since it was taken from the back mountain, shouldn't the money earned from selling the spirit mushroom be shared among all villagers? After all, everything from those mountains belongs to our village," Zhang Da Bo concluded.
As soon as he finished speaking, many in the crowd echoed his sentiment, urging Ye Xiaohan to hand over the money.
Liu Bei was furious and nearly lashed out at them when Ye Xiaohan stopped him. "Let me handle this."
With her words spoken, Liu Bei had no choice but to comply and restrained himself from acting impulsively.
Ye Xiaohan addressed the crowd. "You all have valid points; let's discuss how we can divide this money fairly."
In an instant, everyone began to voice their opinions. The eastern faction demanded a larger share due to their numerous contributions to the village while the western faction argued for more because their family had been among the village's earliest settlers.
The argument escalated in the courtyard as everyone bickered over this small sum of money.
Ye Xiaohan raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet, asking them to listen to her. Since the money was still in her hands, the crowd fell silent.
"Everyone has a point, but this Lingzhi mushroom was first discovered by my family, and we were the ones who went to gather it and sell it. Shouldn't we be the ones to divide it first? Zhang Da Bo, do you still remember the words of Confucius?"
Zhang Da Bo's face flushed at Ye Xiaohan's words, and he nodded repeatedly.
Seeing the support from the people, Ye Xiaohan revealed her injured hand. "What you all don't know is that I went through great hardships to obtain this Lingzhi. This hand has snake bites and bruises; just the medical expenses alone cost me ten taels of silver. Shouldn't we deduct these ten taels first? After all, I got hurt while getting this Lingzhi."
Among the crowd, some opposed her while others agreed, leading to another round of commotion.
In the end, they asked Zhang Da Bo to mediate. Ye Xiaohan noticed Zhang Da Bo hesitating as he glanced at his wife behind him.
Zhang's Wife was about to shake her head when Ye Xiaohan suddenly leaned in close and gave her a nudge, causing her to nod instead.
Zhang Da Bo quickly agreed with Ye Xiaohan's proposal and urged the other villagers to do the same.
Ye Xiaohan then brought up transportation fees and lost work costs, totaling fifteen taels of silver that she proposed to deduct. With Zhang Da Bo's support, everyone agreed.
With ten taels of silver remaining, there were no more excuses left.
Liubei looked at her with concern, afraid she might be at a disadvantage. He advised her softly, "Xiao Han, why not just hand over the remaining ten taels and be done with it?"
"Liubei, don't worry. I have my own plans!"
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