Chapter 35 The Song family is broke.

Song Li chuckled. "It should have been theirs? It's been ten years and you're only now realizing the money should have been theirs?"

Why didn't you do this sooner!

The village with the surname Li is really well-off!

Furthermore, a small favor is appreciated, but excessive favors breed resentment.

For the past ten years, He Shi Song Lao Er has received money every month, which has become a habit. Now that he can no longer receive it, wouldn't he hate her to death?

Is Li Jiuzhuang not thinking things through? When trying to please someone, he only thinks about the beginning and not the end? Or is he trying to get rid of Song Xiaoxiao and sell her, but he can't, so what wicked idea is he plotting to force her to do something?

Song Li prefers the latter.

However, she was not afraid. She didn't take Song Lao Er and He Shi seriously.

She tucked the silver ingot into her waistband and smiled sweetly at Li Jiuzhuang, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Village Chief."

...

At this time, Song Lao Er's family.

Bang bang bang—

The doors and windows that Song Li had nailed shut ten days ago were finally chopped open by Song Lao Er with an axe.

Mr. He originally planned to play the victim for a few more days and didn't want to come out, but a snowfall last night caused a leak in the roof.

Although their brick house was more sturdy than the other thatched houses in the village, it couldn't withstand years of disrepair. The roof was in bad shape last year, but unfortunately, Song Yu turned ten last year, and they spent all their money to hold a banquet at a big restaurant in the county town to celebrate his birthday, so the roof repair was postponed.

Now, the roof has collapsed under the weight of the snow, and we have no choice but to come out and repair it.

Song Lao Er smashed open the doors and windows, then reached out to He Shi.

He unconsciously flinched, and asked knowingly, "What?"

Song Lao Er: "Give me the money! How am I supposed to find someone to fix the roof if I don't have any money?"

He studied classical texts from a young age but couldn't do any manual labor, so the roof had to be repaired by hired workers.

But all the family's money was in He's hands, and he couldn't find it.

Ms. He said, “Hiring someone will take time, and the roof needs to be repaired immediately. It can’t be delayed. You can fix it yourself. I see that the villagers all repair their own houses. It’s very simple.”

Her father, He Yongchang, who lived in the county town, was only a student who had passed the imperial examinations and was not qualified to become an official. She used all the family's money to help her father get into officialdom through connections.

For over ten years since she married into the family, every penny of the Song family's money has been given to her father, except for the family's normal living expenses.

Including the tenth birthday party for his son last year, which seemed to be a grand celebration for his son, it was actually a way for his father to smooth things over with his connections.

Song Lao Er only knew how to study and didn't care about worldly affairs, so she had kept it a secret all these years without being exposed.

But now, the roof has collapsed under the weight of the snow, and she doesn't have the money to repair it.

He's eyes lit up, and she came up with an idea.

Three years ago, her brother-in-law was promoted to the ninth rank of captain in the army. The imperial court gives him a monthly allowance of five taels of silver, but she has been staying at home this month and has not yet collected it.

Five taels of silver might not amount to much in a big city like the county seat, but in their countryside it was a huge sum of money, enough for the whole family to live a comfortable life for half a year.

If you collect the money now, it will be more than enough to repair the roof!

Having made up her mind, Madam He calmly smiled and said, "We have no money at home."

"What?!"

Song Lao Er was so anxious he almost jumped up and down.

His elder brother has been a captain for three and a half years, and the imperial court gives the family a monthly allowance of five taels of silver. Five times forty-two equals... equals... equals a lot of money!

Although he didn't manage the affairs, he knew the general prices of goods.

Their family has always been frugal, and they also enjoy the free labor of Song Daya and her sister. In addition, there is the old corporal allowance and the old soldier allowance of their eldest brother, as well as the dowry of their sister-in-law before her remarriage and the bride price after her remarriage. With so much money, how could they not have money?

Where did all the money go?

Seeing that Song Lao Er was getting anxious, He smiled and teased him, saying, "You've always been a big spender, how could I dare to save money at home? I've deposited all my money in the money exchange in town."

Money is deposited in a money exchange!

When Song Lao Er heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He said, “It’s far away, and it’s inconvenient to go to the money exchange to withdraw money. Besides, I have a fixed deposit, so I can’t just take it out. Even if I did, I would lose interest. My uncle hasn’t received his allowance for this month yet, so why don’t you go to the village head’s house?”

His words were well-reasoned and supported by evidence.

Furthermore, Song Lao Er was clueless about financial management and trusted him completely.

He obediently lifted his leg and walked away.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she had gotten away with it.

"Once you get the money, go to the next village and hire two skilled bricklayers! Building a house is a big deal, don't try to save money!" she reminded Song Lao Er as he walked away.

"I know!" Song Lao Er replied dismissively.

Although he is not good at financial management and other trivial matters, who doesn't know how to spend money?

...

After handing the meat to Qian Hutao for cutting, Song Li took Song Xiaoxiao's hand and strolled around the village.

"Tell your sister, haven't you heard anyone say anything bad about you these past few days?"

On the way, Song Li patiently guided Song Xiaoxiao.

Although she has not studied professional psychological counseling, she often chats with netizens during her live broadcasts, so she knows a little bit about it.

After thinking for a long time, Song Xiaoxiao said, "I haven't heard Aunt Zhou or Widow Mei say anything bad about each other."

Song Li covered her forehead with her hand. Of the thirty-odd people in Qingliu Village, only two villagers had never spoken ill of her. What a pathetic number of people she had...

However, something is better than nothing, so Song Li took Song Xiaoxiao to visit these two rare and friendly villagers.

It would be impolite to visit empty-handed, so Song Li casually took some dried herbs from her spatial storage as a gift.

Aunt Zhou was born deaf and mute, unable to speak or understand sign language. The Song sisters stayed at her house for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.

"From now on, you are not allowed to call her Widow Mei. You must call her Sister-in-law Mei or Sister Chen, understand?"

Upon arriving at the gate of Sister Mei's courtyard, Song Li whispered instructions to Song Xiaoxiao.

Sister-in-law Mei's husband's surname is Mei, and her maiden name is Shen.

Seven or eight years ago, when her husband was still alive, the villagers politely called her Shen Shi, and the children sweetly called her Sister Shen. But after her husband died, the adults and children in the village started calling her "Widow Mei".

"Mmm." Song Xiaoxiao nodded obediently.

"Sister Chen." As soon as the door opened, Song Xiaoxiao called out sweetly.

Shen was taken aback—it had been a long time since anyone had called her that.

Song Li quickly gave the gift to Shen Shi and said with a smile, "Some people in the village spoke ill of me yesterday. Thank you for speaking up for me, sister."

Although Song Xiaoxiao didn't hear about Shen scolding the gossiping villagers on her behalf, she found out from Qingzhu when she went to settle accounts with Lou Yicong.

Sending only herbs was not enough to express her gratitude, so Song Li also sent Shen a bottle of white makeup liquid.

This product is not only of good quality, but it is also very popular in town, making it a very presentable gift.

However, after Shen found out that it was for whitening the skin, she resolutely refused it.

"A widow's door is always full of gossip. I've lost my man, so who am I supposed to impress with all this makeup? I'll only invite criticism from the villagers."

Song Li: "..."

She didn't quite understand the connection between losing her husband and not dressing up.

But when she thought of Li Wan, the lifeless and desolate character in "Dream of the Red Chamber," she could barely understand.

Song Li saw the pickled cabbage that Shen had placed in the corner of the courtyard.

"Huh? Sister Chen, you can even pickle sauerkraut?"

"Are you selling this?" Song Li asked.

We're having hot pot for lunch, and using pickled cabbage to make a sour soup base would be a good idea.

Mrs. Shen said apologetically, "What do you mean by selling? It's not worth much, just take some."

Song Li was not about to take it for free, so he paid Shen ten coins.

"That's too much," Ms. Shen declined.

Song Li insisted, "Yes, otherwise I'll be too embarrassed to come again."

Shen had no choice but to accept it and gave Song Li two large jars of pickled vegetables. Song Li couldn't carry them all, so he only took one jar and left the other at the Mei family's place.

After leaving Shen's place, Song Li took the opportunity to comfort Song Xiaoxiao: "No one in the world is perfect. It's understandable to be gossiped about. You don't need to care. Besides, people have limited energy. Just listen to the rumors and let them go."

"If you can't stand listening to him, then hit him, but once you've hit him, just let it go. Don't take it to heart. Just remember the people who are good to you."

Song Xiaoxiao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

As they were talking, Song Li suddenly felt someone following her and quickly turned around.

It turned out to be Zhang Si.

Zhang Si chuckled and said, "Da Ya, I haven't said anything bad about you these past two days, so can you buy my stuff at the original price now? My family has also pickled some sauerkraut, why don't you sell some back with us?"

Song Li: "..."