"We know, we know. It's like going out to work. The more work you do, the more silver the employer pays you. Correspondingly, the amount of silver you receive corresponds to the amount of work you have to do."

Yun Ruoxia even winked at Liu Shi considerately, and said meaningfully:

"We understand, we all understand."

Yun Sanzhuang's wife quickly pushed him away and whispered:

"If you want to save your son, then be quick about it."

Yun Sanzhuang gritted his teeth, nodded, and walked back.

Yun Erzhuang's wife also gave Yun Erzhuang a push, saying to him, "Be careful of Yun Sanzhuang, don't let him try anything funny and ruin everyone's plans." Yun Erzhuang listened and followed her.

When the two returned, Yun Sanzhuang was carrying a large bag of rice on his shoulder and an axe in his hand, while Yun Erzhuang was carrying two hoes and five sickles.

When Liu and Yun saw this, their hearts were bleeding. They were filled with hatred, hating that they hadn't been able to gain any advantage over the third branch of the family all these years, and now the third branch was going to take it all away.

They also resented their two daughters-in-law who disregarded the interests of the whole family for the sake of their own children. They were just two sons, and after so many years, given the rebellious nature of their family, they probably wouldn't recognize them even if they were found.

If that's the case, why bother going to all that trouble and exchanging things from their own homes? Isn't that just being a fool?

"Ling-jie, now that everything is here, can you tell us where Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu are?"

Yunling glanced at Gangzi, who immediately called Tangling over, and the two of them helped move all the things over to their side. Then they said:

"Actually, this happened some time ago. Back then, when I went to Qingcheng to do business, I saw Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoliu being put into cages and auctioned off at the auction. They were auctioned off by Master He."

"We traveled all the way from Pingcheng. When we reached the border of Qingcheng, we met a peddler who said that Master He had been killed by those bandits. As for Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoliu, I don't know much about them."

"You're lying. You don't know anything, yet you're trying to extort us. You're just a liar."

Liu was already seething with anger, and seeing that Yunling couldn't say anything good, she erupted like a volcano, pointing at Yunling and shouting:

"Dazhuang, why aren't you taking our things back?"

Yun Dazhuang naturally obeyed the order. After all, it wasn't his son who was missing, so he didn't need to give Yun Ling and the others face. But just as he was about to make his move, Yun Ling spoke up again:

"However, it's not difficult to find out whether Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoliu are alive or dead, but... never mind, if you don't want to hear it, I won't say it."

"You're a liar! Now that I've exposed you, you're trying to come up with another scheme to extort money, Dazhuang!"

"Mother, calm down."

Liu glared fiercely at her second son's wife.

"I'm not calm? It's you who are not calm. She's a liar. She's just here to steal our things."

The second son's wife was really having a headache from Liu's yelling. She knew that the old woman was just eyeing the things in the house, but the second and third wives had a share of these things. Couldn't they use them?

Those two old hags are so biased. The first wife is their son, but the second and third wives aren't? Their hearts are just too crooked.

The second son's wife ignored Liu's expression, and her tone and attitude were neither flattering nor obsequious; she simply said indifferently:

“Mother, Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu were captured because they had to pay off our family’s debts. Those ruthless people who capture children don’t treat them like gods; they just sell them for money. It’s not surprising that Ling’er saw them at the auction.”

Liu's expression was naturally displeased to be spoken to like that by her daughter-in-law, but given the seriousness of the situation and the need for the family to unite against a common enemy, she could only offer a veiled sarcastic remark:

"Since she saw Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu at the auction so early, why didn't she tell us? If she had told us sooner, we could have brought Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu over and they wouldn't have been left to wander outside. You should think about it yourself, shouldn't you?"

Yunling wasn't going to take the blame for this. She looked at her second son's wife and said:

“When I returned from Qingcheng, your whole family had disappeared. Our two families don’t get along. Where am I supposed to find you and tell you about this?”

"To put it bluntly, even if you knew where Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoliu were, did you have the ability to ransom them? Don't forget, they were arrested because you couldn't pay back the money!"

"By the way, why can't you pay back the money? I don't need to explain the reasons, do I? Just pity Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiaoliu. They didn't cause the trouble, but they're the ones taking the blame. Have pity on them."

The second and third sons' wives felt a surge of resentment welling up inside them. The whole affair was actually the fault of the eldest son's family; Yun Dazhuang had overheard people in the city saying that Master Song liked to buy young women.

The final decision rested with Yun Da and Liu Shi. Throughout the entire process, the second and third branches of the family had no say. Even though they received the money to rebuild the house and buy things, the power remained in the hands of the first branch and Liu Shi, and they didn't gain any advantage.

In the end, it was all for naught, and they were left with a mountain of debt. Yunling was absolutely right. They didn't enjoy much of the good fortune, but they had to run back to their parents' home to borrow money from all over the place, and they even lost their fifth and sixth children.

It's not fair, it's not fair at all!

Liu knew this was Yunling's scheme to sow discord. She didn't care at first, but when she saw the expressions on her second and third sons' wives' faces, she knew the trick had worked.

She truly hated this damned girl who had always been against her. Why didn't anyone kill her and end it all when she was out doing business?

The veins on Liu's neck throbbed with anger, but mindful of her image, she still looked at Yunling and asked:

"What method did you just mention? How can we find out where Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu are?"

Gangzi hoisted the sack onto his shoulder and then helped Yunling respond:

"What's wrong with you? You were the one who called our boss a liar just now, and now you're the one who wants our boss to explain himself. You're not only good at pretending, but you're also fickle."

"I'm not talking to you!"

"Oh, fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. I was the one who came up with this idea. Since you don't want to hear it, then forget it. It's getting late, and we need to find a place to stay. We won't argue with you about loading the cargo. As for the tools we owe you, we'll return them once we've built the house."