"Yes, I've finished my work for now, and I came here to talk to you about your situation."

He Yusheng paused, his expression froze. His own business?

"It's about the debts you owe to the various shopkeepers. I have some money on hand and I plan to pay them off first. Why don't you take it and pay them off?"

"Now that you're free of debts, just stay here and do your job properly. Don't even think about running away," Anle said with a hint of sarcasm.

He Yusheng was a little stunned.

Anle smiled as she looked at He Yusheng's dazed expression.

"I'm talking to you, what are you spacing out for? Did you hear what I said?"

He Yusheng quickly put down the wooden basin he was holding and pursed his lips.

"No, how can you come up with so much silver all at once?"

Anle paused slightly, then grinned.

"You went out to collect medicinal herbs a while ago and made some money, right? You made quite a bit from those herbs, enough to pay off your debts!"

The money earned from the auction house was something that couldn't be talked about.

However, she actually made back double the money from selling medicinal herbs, which was just enough to pay off He Yusheng's debt.

"But you just went out and bought so many ingredients. Paradise Dessert Shop needs to make a living, and now you've used all that money to pay off my debts. What about the operating capital of Paradise Dessert Shop—"

Anle waved his hand impatiently, interrupting He Yusheng.

"Alright, alright, stop dawdling here. I know what I'm doing. If I didn't have the money, I wouldn't give you any to pay off this debt."

You don't need to worry about any of that; just take it and pay off your debts.

Besides, Jincheng has suffered a great disaster recently, and everyone is in urgent need of money. If you pay back the money now, they might still feel indebted to you.

"Alright, it's decided then. I didn't come here to discuss it with you, I just came to let you know so you can run the errand yourself."

After thinking about it, she felt uneasy about letting He Yusheng keep the money himself, in case it was robbed by refugees. So she spoke up again.

"Well, let my dad go with you."

"Once you're done here, go with my dad. I'll mention it to him, and I'll leave the money with him directly."

He Yusheng opened his mouth as if to say something, but An Le got up and left before he could speak.

Watching Anle's departing figure, He Yusheng's lips curled into a slight smile.

He is truly grateful; he will be thankful for the rest of his life.

**

Jincheng, the Cui family.

"What? Is this true?" A beautifully dressed noblewoman, in her early thirties, twisted the handkerchief in her hand. Her charm was undiminished, and her alluring features were somewhat distorted. Her almond-shaped eyes, with their upturned corners, were slightly narrowed, revealing an expression of disbelief.

Half a zhang away from the seat stood a young boy with his head bowed and dressed as a servant, who looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old.

“Aunt Hua, it’s true. My uncle told me this himself. He took me out for drinks last night and told me that Young Master He has already returned the money to him.”

Moreover, the money from the other shops was also returned.

"How is that possible? Where did that brat get the money?"

Hasn't the He family mansion been completely squandered?

Could it be that the property that little bitch secretly left for that brat?

No, no, no, that little bitch is already dead. How could she have foreseen that the He family would one day be ruined?

But where did this money come from?

Could it be that the He family actually still has some savings?

The servant nodded repeatedly.

"That's possible. The He family is powerful and deeply rooted. They just have a lot of money, right? Even if the old man dies, it's impossible for all the money to be squandered by that concubine Tan, right?"

"Hmph, that woman is no pushover. She just took advantage of me and left. As for whether the He family left any trace behind, that's hard to say."

"What do you think of this matter, Aunt Hua?"

Hualien adjusted the gold hairpin behind her ear, her smile deepening.

"I should go visit my sister too."

The servant was surprised. "To the old lady's place?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Alright, you can leave now." Hualian glanced at the servant and dismissed him.

"Yes, yes, I'll go down right away."

After the servant left, one of the old women beside Hualien frowned.

“Madam, if you go to the old lady, how do you say this to her? The old lady doesn’t like that illegitimate daughter at all, and she doesn’t like the child born to that illegitimate daughter either. She doesn’t treat that child as her grandson at all.”

If you bring this up, the old lady might not be happy to hear it.

Hualien gave a sarcastic smile.

“Why would she be unhappy if I sent her money? If she knew that the brat might have the He family’s assets in his hands, wouldn’t she be eager to have him brought over?”

Our Cui family has fallen on hard times, and life is getting worse every day. Not only have half of the servants in the mansion been sold off, but even half of the monthly allowance for each household has been withheld.

"If things continue like this, I think our Cui family will fall apart, and we won't even be able to afford to support a single servant!"

Upon hearing this, the old woman's forehead wrinkles deepened even further.

“Madam, I’ve been out shopping for you these past two days, and I heard that some of the shops in the Cui household are running out of stock.”

The shop is almost out of stock, and if we don't get more stock soon, we'll probably have to close down.

Shouldn't we also keep some backup plans?

The smile on Hualien's face disappeared, and her eyes drooped.

"We should learn from Aunt Tan of the He family, but it will be difficult to squeeze some money out of the treasury, especially from my sister, who won't get past that hurdle."

She has always managed the household finances, and over the years we haven't been able to squeeze much money out of her. Now, it will probably be even more difficult to do so.

A glint of shrewdness flashed in the old woman's eyes, and she gave Hualian an idea.

“Madam, isn’t Fourth Madam bedridden with illness for years? Tell me, how much money must have been spent on the medicine she’s been drinking all these years?”

The price of medicinal herbs in Jincheng has risen sharply recently. You see, why don't you lie down at the old lady's place and the money will come in?

When you spend money to treat an illness, you should at least pay for the doctor's visit and the medicine, right? You can't be stingy about this.

We wouldn't be so stingy as to cut corners on your medical expenses and medicine.

Hualien's eyes lit up, and she smiled alluringly, her fiery red lips curving upwards.

“Granny, you’re so thoughtful. You’ve been by my side for so many years. Let’s do what Fourth Sister did today and pretend to be a sickly beauty.”

As long as we can squeeze out some money, anything is fine.

She's been really short of money lately.

If my allowance is too low this month, it won't be enough to cover my expenses.