Upon hearing that there was hope, Old Mrs. Ge wiped away her snot and tears, grabbed Xiaoyue's arm with both hands, and said in a tearful voice, "We still need ten taels."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyue flew into a rage, forcefully shaking off Old Madam Ge's arm. Her face immediately darkened. Old Madam Ge had just said she was short seven taels, so how come she raised the price as soon as Xiaoyue gave in?

Lu Xiaomei was listening by the window of the main room. When she heard Old Madam Ge say that ten taels were missing, she anxiously grabbed the door frame and came out, coughing and waving to Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue rushed over to support Lu Xiaomei, who gripped Xiaoyue's hands tightly, coughing and saying hurriedly and intermittently, "We can't give it to her, we can't give it to her."

Xiaoyue helped Lu Xiaomei back into the house, helped her lie down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and then comforted her, saying, "Third Sister-in-law, I know what I'm doing. Even if I give it to her, I won't give it to her for nothing. Don't worry, don't rush. Your illness is easily aggravated by anxiety."

After comforting Lu Xiaomei, Xiaoyue pushed open the door of the main room and saw that Grandma Ge was still standing there helplessly. Xiaoyue walked to the basket and pretended to pick it up.

Grandma Ge rushed over and weighed down the basket. Xiaoyue turned around, glared at Grandma Ge, and said coldly, "I don't have that many. You should ask someone else."

Xiaoyue hated herself for being soft-hearted again. Hadn't she suffered enough in her previous life? Xiaoyue asked herself, "Have you forgotten the pain of Old Man Ge's whip? Or have you forgotten that you lay there for half a year without receiving a single steamed bun from Old Lady Ge?"

Xiaoyue pried open Grandma Ge's hand, slung her basket over her shoulder, and was about to leave when Grandma Ge grabbed Xiaoyue again, crying, "Seven taels short, just seven taels short."

He grabbed Xiaoyue and said urgently, "I don't want ten taels anymore, I don't want ten taels anymore."

Xiaoyue silently turned around, and said with a forced smile, "Is it seven taels short? Are you sure it's seven taels short, and not ten taels?"

Grandma Ge hurriedly moved in front of Xiaoyue and said, "Yes, yes, it's seven taels. When Ge Sanlin comes back, I will definitely make him return it to you."

Xiaoyue really wanted to swear, realizing that this old lady Ge had no intention of paying her back at all.

He put down the basket and calmly said to Old Mrs. Ge, "Alright, I can give you the silver, but we need to get the village chief to write an IOU. I'll give you seven taels of silver, but you have to write me an IOU for fourteen taels, in triplicate. Do you agree?"

Grandma Ge didn't even think about it. What a good thing! It's just writing an IOU, right? She doesn't even have to pay it back. She'll let Xiaoyue settle the score with Ge Sanlin later. Ge Sanlin saved Xiaoyue's life, so let's see how Xiaoyue asks for the money back.

Having made up her mind, Grandma Ge took Xiaoyue's hand and prepared to leave.

"Wait here for a moment, I'll go and withdraw the money."

...

Upon arriving at the village chief's house, Old Lady Ge handed over twenty-three taels of silver to the village chief.

"Village Chief Xu, could you please write me an IOU?" Xiaoyue stood in the village chief's hall with the silver in her hand and calmly said to him.

Old Man Xu glanced at Xiaoyue and asked casually, "What kind of IOU do you want?"

Xiaoyue walked up to Old Man Xu and said with a smile, "Just like that time with Ge Sanlin."

Old Man Xu came to the table, where a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were laid out. Xiaoyue took the initiative to grind the ink.

Old Man Xu dipped his brush in ink and asked Xiaoyue, "What should I write?"

Xiaoyue then said:

Xiaoyue borrowed seven taels of silver from Ge Sunshi as principal, and Ge Sunshi was to repay Xiaoyue fourteen taels of silver in five years. If the repayment was not made by the due date, in addition to the fourteen taels of silver, one tael of silver would be charged as interest for each additional year.

Old Man Xu looked at Xiaoyue and asked, "Are you sure?" Old Man Xu thought that Xiaoyue would be like Ge Sanlin, who paid one tael of silver to redeem her from her servitude and then demanded that Xiaoyue pay back one hundred taels of silver to buy the indenture.

Seeing Xiaoyue nod, Old Man Xu had already written it down.

After Old Man Xu finished writing the IOU and added the date, he signed his name, and Old Mrs. Ge and Xiaoyue both pressed their fingers to receive the money.

Xiaoyue kept one copy, and Old Man Xu and Old Lady Ge each kept one copy.

After all the formalities were completed, Xiaoyue handed over seven taels of silver.

...

Xiaoyue carried a basket to the riverbank. She first went up the mountain to pick some soapberries before returning to wash the cloth. She tied the rope to a place close to the water source and tied five clotheslines together.

Xiaoyue unfolded the cloth, washing it section by section, then placed the clean pieces into her carrying basket. When the basket couldn't hold all the cloth, she washed it.

They hung it on the rope, washing and hanging it at the same time.

By the time I finished washing them, the ones in front were already dry, while the ones in the back were still fresh from washing.

There was only enough rope to cover one bolt of cloth. While waiting for the first bolt of cloth to dry, Xiaoyue chopped some firewood nearby.

By the time enough firewood was gathered into a bundle, the cloth was completely dry.

As Xiaoyue was putting away the cloth, she glanced over and spotted a man lying in the bushes in the distance.

Xiaoyue hurriedly packed the cloth. The man didn't come out from his hiding place. Xiaoyue put the unwashed cloth among the firewood and put the dry cloth in her basket before going home.

When they got home, Xiaoyue put the firewood in the gatehouse and took the cloth to Lu Xiaomei. Lu Xiaomei looked at the washed cloth and gently stroked it along the pattern with her fingertips.

When Xiaoyue saw Lu Xiaomei's appearance, she thought to herself, "So she's not planning to wallpaper the walls after all."

When Lu Xiaomei looked up and saw Xiaoyue looking at her, she smiled and said, "This fabric is really good. It can make three sets of clothes for one person: yours, mine, and even clothes for the little one. The scraps can also be used to make shoe soles."

"Third sister-in-law, I'll do whatever you say. There's still one piece of cloth that I haven't washed yet. I'll wash it early tomorrow morning and see if it doesn't fade."

“Dark blue ones can be used for quilt covers and sheets,” Lu Xiaomei said.

Xiaoyue happily agreed.

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