The mechanical clock in the main room struck ten, and the lights were still on in several rooms of Tang Suxiang's house.

Song Erzhuang knocked on the door.

As soon as Old Master Tang saw Song Erzhuang, he accused him of not disciplining his daughter properly, of being ill-mannered, and of stealing things from the younger generation.

"Uncle, that's why I'm here," Song Erzhuang said, glancing at his sister-in-law and sixth cousin who were present.

Grandpa Tang sent them all back to their rooms to sleep.

Tang Suxiang didn't want to leave. "My husband works the night shift and won't be back until around eleven. I need to wait for him to cook something for me. You can talk to yourselves if you have something to say, don't worry about me."

Grandpa Tang called Song Erzhuang outside to talk, and didn't allow anyone else to follow.

It's only been past the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and there are still mosquitoes flying around outside at night.

“Erzhuang, I won’t beat around the bush with you anymore. As long as your Yinhua takes out the jade pendant, I’ll give you two thousand yuan.”

Song Erzhuang was shocked; two thousand yuan was no small sum.

Working in a factory only pays a few dozen or a hundred yuan a month.

If you farm and sell grain at home, the money you make is even more pitiful.

"I did all this for Erbao. He's only a few years old and relies on this jade pendant to prolong his life. Don't even mention asking me for two thousand, even if it were twenty thousand, I would risk my old life to raise the money for you!" Old Master Tang explained.

"Uncle, I'll just ask you one question: is that jade pendant the same one I showed you back then?"

"Definitely not!" Old Master Tang firmly denied. "Would your uncle lie to you? The thing you brought is a fake. It only costs a few cents at the market. It's not the same as Erbao's amulet."

"Uncle, just tell me the truth."

"Erzhuang, you don't believe your uncle? Do you want your uncle to kneel down for you?" Old Master Tang said, about to kneel down. "Uncle begs you, hand over the talisman that Erbao used to prolong his life!"

"Uncle, what are you doing!" Song Erzhuang quickly helped the old man up; how could he let an elder kneel before a junior like himself?

"Uncle won't get up until you make Yinhua return Erbao's amulet!" Old Master Tang forced Song Erzhuang to kneel down. "Cough cough cough... My health is deteriorating day by day, and I don't want to see my poor great-grandson suffer any more harm."

The old man began to sing a tragic love story.

Song Erzhuang: "Uncle, if that jade pendant is the one I gave you more than ten years ago, then admit it. I'll go back and ask Yinhua where she found it in the cave, and see if there are any more inside. I'll find one to give Erbao as a talisman..."

"You think this is wholesale?" Old Master Tang was angered by Song Erzhuang's words. Those treasures containing mountains of gold and silver, could they be grabbed by the handful at will?

"Is it really the jade pendant that my daughter Yinhua found in the cave more than ten years ago?" Song Erzhuang noticed something was wrong from Old Master Tang's expression. "That jade pendant is real?! Uncle, my daughter Yinhua found it, how could you lie to me?"

"Erzhuang, don't make false accusations! When did you ever show me the jade pendant? I've never seen you show me anything!"

The old man refused to admit it to the death.

Not only did he deny it to the death, but he also insisted that Song Yinhua had stolen the jade pendant and demanded that she hand it over.

Song Erzhuang hurriedly explained, "That jade pendant was found in my family's Yinhua Mountain cave. You tricked me into taking it, and now you're blaming me!"

"I didn't see anything from your house, and I didn't lie to you. It was your daughter who saw that my family was rich and stole Erbao's amulet. Your daughter's actions are those of a thief!"

Song Erzhuang roared in anger, "My daughter is not a thief!"

The two started arguing as they talked.

In a fit of anger, Song Erzhuang left. As he passed through the courtyard, he kicked over the dining table that was placed there.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? What happened? Erzhuang, why did you kick my table? What did my table do to you?" Tang Suxiang rushed out. "What happened? Erzhuang, why did you kick my table?

Song Erzhuang stormed out of the yard and slammed the wooden gate shut. Tang Suxiang ran outside and cursed for half an hour, until her husband came home from his night shift.

"What are you doing standing outside yelling in the middle of the night? Don't other people sleep?" Song Dazhuang pushed his bicycle into the yard.

"It's all because of your brother!" Tang Suxiang followed him into the yard and closed the gate. "His daughter, Yinhua, switched Erbao's amulet. We just said that his daughter was dishonest, and Erzhuang came and made a scene with my dad! He even kicked over the dining table in our yard!"

Song Dazhuang glanced at the overturned dining table in the yard. "Why are you talking about that girl? I told you long ago, don't talk about that child. How can a girl get married if her reputation is ruined?"

"Whose fault is it if your own daughter is so dishonest?" Tang Suxiang said dismissively. "She even stole Erbao's amulet, how shameless! If anything happens to Erbao, she'll be the executioner! My dad said she's a jinx reincarnated, and he's absolutely right..."

"Stop talking and go get me something to eat," Song Dazhuang interrupted his wife's harsh words.

"Why can't I say it? That Yinhua is a jinx reincarnated. My dad was absolutely right. She brought death to her grandparents and even more death to..."

"Did you spread the rumor that Yin Hua is the reincarnation of a jinx?" Song Dazhuang asked.

Tang Suxiang was taken aback and quickly denied it, "I didn't send it, I didn't send it, why would I send this?"

"You just said your dad said you're the reincarnation of the Silver Flower Broom Star!"

"Oh, I heard my dad mention it, but I didn't spread it around." Tang Suxiang quickly went inside to heat up the food.

The food was heated up quickly.

While eating, Song Dazhuang reminded his wife not to talk about other girls or spread rumors behind their backs.

Tang Suxiang gave a perfunctory reply.

Song Dazhuang knew his wife wouldn't listen to him. "Two years ago, Tangbao borrowed money from Erzhuang when she was sick. We'll pay it back tomorrow."

"Erzhuang said that money was a gift and doesn't need to be returned! Besides, our family has helped them quite a bit!"

"What kind of 'helping out'? They said they don't need to pay you back, and you're really not going to pay them back?"

"What are you yelling at me for?"

"Tang Suxiang, don't think that just because I'm at work every day and not at home, I don't know anything about what's going on at home." Song Dazhuang decided to have a serious talk with his wife. "Our granddaughter has acute pneumonia, and when you went back to your parents' house to borrow money, your father didn't lend you a single penny. It was my younger brother Erzhuang who secretly brought you some money. Erzhuang's own family is poor, and his daughters, Yinhua and Xiaosi, can't go to school..."

Tang Suxiang interrupted, defending her father: "Hanwen was short two hundred yuan for the motorcycle, wasn't that money borrowed by my dad? What did my dad do wrong? How can you talk about my dad like that?"

"How can you be so unreasonable!" Song Dazhuang picked up his bowl and gulped down a few mouthfuls of porridge. "Back when Baogen was a child, he broke his leg and needed surgery. He asked our family for money, but you refused. However, two years ago, when our granddaughter was sick and urgently needed money, my brother sent her the money without saying a word. Tell me, is it right for you to talk behind her back about how she's not a decent person?"

“My dad said that Erzhuang’s daughter is dishonest and stole Erbao’s amulet and refuses to return it! Besides—” Tang Suxiang showed no remorse whatsoever, “Didn’t your brother Erzhuang not borrow a single penny from your sister-in-law back then? His family is so poor, who would dare to lend them money? If they couldn’t pay it back, wouldn’t that money be wasted!”

The couple couldn't agree on what to say.

To avoid arguing, Song Dazhuang kept quiet and buried his head in his food.

-

The news of Song Yinhua's dishonest dealings spread throughout the village within two days, and even reached the ears of Han Zhiyuan, who was hospitalized at the health center.