Chapter 367 Mother, be careful!

The fourth son was incredulous. His mother used to be very stingy and miserly, and even when she had money, she would keep it from him.

Actually, he hadn't intended to borrow that much; he would have been grateful to have borrowed five taels of silver.

Why are you being so generous today, and with twenty taels of silver no less?

Mother doesn't even blink an eye when she asks how much silver she has now, not even twenty taels.

“You’re only a year younger than Sanwa, but you’re more resourceful. You’ve been working hard outside for two years now. If I ask you where all that money went, will you tell me honestly?”

Song Chunxue said in a calm tone, "Anyway, it's pointless to ask. You said it was a loan, which means you'll pay it back. If you can't make a name for yourself, then you should honestly work for others from now on. Pay me back when you're capable of starting your own business and making money."

"As the saying goes, 'A loan can be repaid easily and another can be borrowed easily.' I'll lend you this once so you won't say I'm stingy with you even though I have money. Besides, I'm also quite interested in seeing what you're capable of. If you lose it all, I won't be able to lend you any more money in the future."

"You're my child, so you don't need to pay interest on the loan. The repayment time is entirely up to you. Isn't that fair?"

As Song Chunxue spoke, her demeanor reminded Lao Si of the old man Zhang, who could remain calm and collected even in the face of great adversity.

The fourth brother couldn't help but feel nervous. Their mother was becoming increasingly unfamiliar to him, and it also made him feel panicked.

It feels like my mother has quietly transformed into someone mysterious and unapproachable.

It was as if he was unworthy to be his mother's son.

The fourth son was somewhat discouraged. Ever since he met the Taoist priest, his mother seemed to have taken a magic pill, and in just three short years, she seemed to have become a completely different person.

He used to think that spiritual practice was a scam, but after seeing his mother transform from a hot-tempered farming woman into a mysterious and wealthy Taoist priestess, exuding an unfathomable aura, it was as if she was no longer just their mother.

In the past, all that mattered to her was the land, the grain, and her children. Now, however, these things seemed like stumbling blocks preventing her from attaining immortality.

This feeling is somewhat terrifying.

"What are you standing there for? Go write the IOU, or I'll change my mind tonight." Song Chunxue took the kitchen knife from his hand. "I'll cut the noodles. You write the IOU for the loan, and I'll get the money for you later."

Upon hearing that he would receive money, the fourth brother immediately abandoned all other thoughts and ran to the third brother's room, saying, "I'll go write it right now."

Song Chunxue shook the cut noodles apart with both hands and couldn't help but smile.

Children shouldn't be spoiled; a combination of kindness and strictness is best.

Before long, she placed the cut noodles on top of the potato strips in the pot, covered it with a straw lid, and soon the whole house was filled with the fragrance of straw and buckwheat.

She thought to herself that she must steam some buns tomorrow, as the buns steamed under the straw lid were especially fragrant and soft.

Just as she finished serving the potatoes in a bowl and sat down to take a bite of the crispy, drained pork, the fourth brother returned with the receipt.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mother, I've finished writing."

Song Chunxue took a cloth bag out of her bosom and threw it onto the table in front of him with a thud.

"Here, this is twenty taels. You can weigh it."

The fourth brother's eyes widened in anger, and he subconsciously looked up at Song Chunxue, grinning like a lackey.

"I know my mother wouldn't shortchange me."

He said solemnly, "Thank you, Mother. You are like a second mother to me... no, you always have been. I will definitely not let you down."

"Okay, let's eat."

He quickly clutched the silver to his chest, ate his rice in large mouthfuls, wolfed down a bowl, and then carried the silver to his room.

Seeing him holding the silver and grinning like it was worthless, Song Chunxue didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

One afternoon, the fourth brother played with the silver in his room, even taking it with him when he went to the outhouse, afraid that it would disappear if he wasn't watching it.

That evening, when Sanwa was about to return, he closed the door and picked up an axe to chop firewood in the yard.

Hehehe.

Hehehe.

As he chops, he lets out a strange laugh, then puts down the axe, goes back into the house, picks up the silver, and grins foolishly.

While Song Chunxue was cutting fabric in her room, she occasionally looked up and saw Lao Si's silly and clueless appearance, and closed her eyes in disgust.

It's simply unbearable to look at.

I should have known better than to give him so much.

I reckon the fourth brother is too preoccupied to do anything else now; the twenty taels of silver have clouded his judgment.

She went to the kitchen to make chubby noodles, and Sanwa came back while she was preparing the sauerkraut.

She had just taken off her apron to call Sanwa for dinner when she saw Lao Si grinning from ear to ear as he walked happily up to Sanwa.

"Sanwa's back! Mom has already prepared dinner. Go wash your hands, and I'll put your schoolbag away for you."

Before the third child could say anything, the fourth child happily grabbed the book bag, turned around, took two steps onto the platform, and wished he could somersault into the room.

The two wolfhounds probably sensed the fourth brother's excitement, and they followed him, wagging their tails vigorously as they went in and out.

They're just three silly dogs, laughing like idiots.

Hearing the fourth brother humming a tune as he went to his room, the third brother stepped into the kitchen with a face full of curiosity.

"Mom, what happened to the fourth son? Did you find him a wife?"

Song Chunxue handed him the basin of water, saying, "I don't know, you can ask him later."

After washing his hands, Sanwa saw that the noodles were plump, so he picked up a clove of garlic, peeled it, and thought that with garlic he could eat an extra bowl.

"Sanwa, guess how much silver Mother lent me?"

The fourth brother hadn't originally planned to tell the third brother, but after he stepped into the kitchen with a smile, he couldn't help but speak up.

Song Chunxue lowered her head, suppressing a laugh. How pathetic.

"How many?"

The fourth brother couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Guess."

Sanwa took a bite of garlic, then shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth. His mother's cooking was still the best. Last time he mixed flour, he added too much gluten and too little bean flour; no matter how hard he kneaded, it just wouldn't taste the same.

"I can't guess."

"Twenty taels!" The fourth son couldn't help but hold up two fingers. "Did Mother give you twenty taels of silver?"

Sanwa looked slightly surprised. "Didn't you say you were borrowing it?"

"..." A bucket of cold water completely extinguished the smile on the fourth brother's face.

“Mom said it was a loan, but seeing how happy you are, I guess she doesn’t expect you to pay it back within ten years,” Sanwa said slowly. “Spend it sparingly, just do a small business, otherwise it’ll easily go down the drain.”

"To be honest, I've never seen so much silver before. It makes me lose all interest in doing business. I'm sure I'll lose money. I might as well keep the silver and look at it a few more times." The fourth brother chuckled foolishly. "I feel like if I don't get married, twenty taels will be enough for me to live on for many years."

Sanwa and Song Chunxue suppressed the urge to burst out laughing and responded to his rambling in a half-hearted manner.

The next day at noon, the carpenter and the bricklayer arrived, and the fourth brother secretly peeked at the silver from under the covers.

Song Chunxue pushed open the door and went in. "Lock up the silver. I'll help the craftsman later."

"Okay, I'll lock it up right now."

He felt it wasn't safe to put it in a box, so he ended up hiding it under the blanket.

When helping the two craftsmen, the fourth brother was always absent-minded and would run back to his room whenever he had a spare moment.

If she weren't afraid of her fourth son crying, she would have secretly hidden the silver.

At the hour of Si (9-11 AM), Song Chunxue took the silver and went out.

"Fourth brother, watch the house. I'm going out for a bit."

The fourth son immediately noticed that she had something in her bundle and lowered his voice, "Mother, you wouldn't be sending money to someone, would you?"

"Don't ask too many questions, just take good care of the house."

"Oh... male beauty can be a trap, Mother, be careful."

"Um?"

P.S.: I'm so sorry, I was delayed a lot after returning from my parents' home, I'll make up for it tomorrow.