Chapter 46 How to use money

Mrs. Lai was choked and her face turned red. She looked at Ye Caiping:

"Look at your girl, she has no manners at all."

Ye Caiping answered irrelevantly: "I'm sorry, Aunt Lai. I can't tell you my family's secret recipe."

Mrs. Lai was choked again.

The village women next to her looked embarrassed. Being so close to Mrs. Lai made them seem like they were in cahoots with her, forcing her to tell them the secret recipe.

How shameless must one be to do such a thing!

The village women quickly distanced themselves from the matter and said with a smile:

"Aunt Lai, you have such a big appetite. This is someone's livelihood skill, how can I just tell you casually?"

Mrs. Lai was filled with shame and anger, and threw the wet clothes in her hands into the water:

"I'm not trying to do anything... It's just that the same few dishes are always served at home, and they never taste good no matter how I cook them. I just want to learn a few more dishes. If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me! You're being defensive."

Ye Caiping said: "If you want the dish to taste good, just add more meat, oil and seasoning."

The old woman cried out in surprise, "Don't I know that meat and oil taste good? Doesn't meat cost money? A pound of fat meat costs twenty-five cents! Lean meat costs fifteen cents. Oil is even more expensive."

"You can't bear to put this in, and you think that's too expensive. If you have the secret recipe of Hu La Tang in your hand, you can make rotten vegetable soup. Hahaha!" The village women burst into laughter.

The old woman was so embarrassed that she put the clothes in the basin and turned away.

Ye Jin'er burst out laughing.

Ye Caiping poked her head but didn't scold her.

A shameless scoundrel like Lai Pozi should be treated more aggressively and killed.

…

Old Mrs. Ye is feeding the chickens.

In just a few days, the chicks grew a lot bigger, and they were full of energy and chirping, which was very pleasing to the eye.

The chicken feed was brought back one by one by Jinhua, Yinhua and Ye Peng.

Jinhua, in particular, would cover grasshoppers whenever she had free time and was particularly fond of and caring towards the chicks.

"Mom." Wei came in with a broom.

Old Mrs. Ye said, "I'm feeding the chickens now, no need to sweep."

Wei looked embarrassed. She wasn't here to clean the chicken coop, but...she felt a little awkward, so she pretended to be here to work.

"What's the matter?" Old Mrs. Ye also felt that she was not here to sweep the chicken coop.

Wei was worried: "Well...we haven't divided the family yet, so forget about my younger sister. The income of the first and second wives must be handed over."

"You mean the thirty taels?"

Wei lowered her head timidly and said nothing.

Old Lady Ye sighed softly: "Since the family hasn't been divided, Yong'er and Xuan'er need to get married, right? The family has to pay for it, right?"

Wei nodded.

"Your sister-in-law has taken the money today, and Yong'er has to pay for the bride price, clothes, and banquet for his wife. Do the math, is there anything left?"

Wei had already calculated it in his mind and shook his head, mainly because Xiuxiu’s request for a dowry was too high. Otherwise fifteen taels will be enough.

"So, no matter what, there will be no surplus of the thirty taels. Does it matter whether it comes from her or me? You know, she has a bad temper. She will be very happy if she has this money in her hands. Let's make her happy!"

In this case, the thirty taels would be equivalent to being confiscated.

Wei understood, but she was still unhappy: "If I really marry Xiuxiu, the gift is too high."

Old Lady Ye also knew that it was unfair, so she said, "When Peng'er marries a wife in the future, no matter if the betrothal gift is five or six taels, if it's less than twenty taels, the rest will be given to your second wife by the two of us old people. How do you think?"

Wei was delighted, and her heart finally felt balanced: "Thank you, mother."

…

In the room, after Mrs. Du felt happy, she looked at the silver in her hand and became worried.

The family hasn't divided up yet, so if she takes the money, the family won't have to pay for Ye Yong's marriage.

She had just done the math and found that if Ye Yong insisted on marrying Hu Xiuxiu, thirty taels would barely be enough.

However, she wanted to send Ye Xuan back to school...

"Mom, you called us."

At this time, Ye Yong, Ye Xuan and Jin Hua all walked in and closed the door.

Mrs. Du nodded. Since this was a matter involving a huge sum of thirty taels of silver, she had to find someone to discuss it with.

"Mother was thinking..." Mrs. Du didn't know how to start, so she could only get straight to the point: "Yong'er, well... do you have to marry Xiuxiu?"

If I didn't marry Xiuxiu, I could have done anything with fifteen or sixteen taels of silver!

"No, I won't marry Xiuxiu."

"You...what?" Mrs. Du wanted to complain, but Ye Yong said he would not marry her: "Is there anything wrong with my ears? You and Xiuxiu..."

"Mom, Xiuxiu and I...have nothing. Please save the money for my second brother's studies!"

Ye Yong really likes Xiuxiu. But those thirty taels cannot all be spent on him.

My second brother and younger sister should both have one.

If he married Xiuxiu, his second brother and sister would lose everything.

Especially my second brother, he should go to school! We can't let them suffer just for him.

Ye Jinhua curled her lips. In fact, she was also dissatisfied with her elder brother marrying Xiuxiu. Not only did he ask for a sky-high price, but Xiuxiu's mother was also unreasonable.

As long as they don't marry Xiuxiu, their first wife will be well off!

After the eldest brother got married, the remaining money could be used to send the second brother to school.

Ye Xuan said calmly, "What's the use? Big brother, I'm not a child of seven or eight years old anymore. Even if you send me to school now, even if I shamelessly go to school with a bunch of kids, it's too late for me at this age."

The Du family's three people felt sad.

Mrs. Du gritted her teeth and said, "It would be great if you could enter Mingyue Academy. Li Zhiyuan said at the beginning that he would recommend you to the academy after he passed the examination. Now... humph!"

"Or, look for another academy? No need for recommendation." Ye Jinhua said.

Ye Xuan shook his head: "It's the same everywhere. Even if you get in, how do you pay the tuition? Mingyue Academy is a government-run academy, and it costs one tael a month. A private academy costs two taels."

"How many months can these thirty taels last? What about the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone? These are the most expensive. Besides, I can't even pass the exam."

"Xuan'er, don't listen to that Li Zhiyuan!" Mrs. Du said anxiously.

Li Zhiyuan had taught Ye Xuan before, and he always shook his head, saying that Ye Xuan was too stupid and not good at studying.

"It's not because of Li Zhiyuan, but because... I really can't do it."

Ye Xuan shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I have only been to school for a few years. I haven't been to school for more than ten years. Why should I enter a college?"

"But...hasn't Jinshan been teaching you all along?"

Jinshan is Ye Xuan's good friend. He studied in a private school in the county and always taught Ye Xuan what he had learned.

Ye Xuan said: "That's different. I didn't learn anything when I entered the mountains without a teacher. With my level, it would be a waste of time if I really went to school."

"Instead of wasting money on me, it's better to let Big Brother marry a girl he likes. I already have regrets, and I can't let Big Brother regret it for the rest of his life."

"Second brother..." Ye Yong's eyes were red.

Ye Xuan waved his hand: "Now is not the time to be humble or pretentious. We only have so much money, we need to figure out how to use it in the most valuable way."

"I have also thought about my future life. I will work hard on farming. Next year we can reclaim wasteland and plant a few more acres of cassava. In two years, I will marry a wife and live a stable life."

Ye Yong felt uncomfortable when he heard Ye Xuan's words, but he still nodded.

He would cultivate the land well, save money for his second brother to get married, and also save money for his younger sister's dowry.

Although Mrs. Du was unwilling to see her son completely miss the imperial examination, what he said did make sense.

There's nothing wrong with farming well and living a stable life.

"Okay, now that we've decided, then..." Mrs. Du said, glancing at Ye Yong: "Tell Xiuxiu that we will have the money for the betrothal gift within two months, but you can't get married."

She hated Xiuxiuniang, but she couldn't let her son live with regret for the rest of his life.