Twenty yuan is certainly not enough, but once we get Pei's mother's savings book, as long as we keep it a secret, we'll have a steady stream of twenty yuan in the future.

Moreover… Xia Wenhua thought of the passbook she had just found from the second wife’s house. She hadn’t let anyone else see it, but she still quickly glanced at the money on it: two thousand yuan.

Two thousand yuan was a huge sum of money in the 1960s.

Perhaps they didn't initially intend to kick Pei's mother out, but after seeing the money, they developed the wicked intention.

The three Pei brothers didn't actually want to break ties with Pei Songbai. Xia Wenhua was right. At first, they thought that Pei Songbai wouldn't be back for a while anyway, and as long as they handled the matter properly, Pei Songbai would definitely not know.

Now that they're back, they not only beat them up, but they also look at them with venomous eyes. Anyone with a brain knows that this conflict is irreconcilable.

When we met earlier, the second wife also mentioned that Pei Songbai and his wife had not found the bankbook.

Having offended their elder brother, at least they still had the money in their hands, so in the end they gave up on apologizing to Pei Songbai.

Finally, Pei Cuishan stepped forward as the representative of the three brothers.

"Brother, I know what we did was not right, but it's cancer. How much money will it cost to treat it? It could bankrupt our whole family."

If you have the money, go get treatment. We'll accept that we brothers are heartless and ungrateful; just pretend our mother never gave birth to us.

You've made a scene, so even if you beat us to death, it won't change anything. Have you had enough? If you have, then leave.

They had all thought it through. With two thousand yuan in hand, if the three families split it, they would each have several hundred yuan, making each household one of the wealthiest in the village.

Since we've already offended Pei Songbai, let's leave it at that. The most important thing is to get rid of him and go get the money.

It was obvious that the three Pei brothers had decided to abandon everyone for money, and there was no point in talking to them anymore, so Xia Wenhua didn't say anything more.

The two picked up the child from Uncle Hongqi's house and rushed to Pei Cuihong's house overnight.

Pei Songbai remained silent throughout the journey, simply carrying the child as he walked forward.

When Pei Cuihong got married, the Pei family was not well-off. Only Pei Songbai had joined the army and did not hold a position. People in the village looked down on the Pei family for being poor, and they could not find a good match for them.

She married a young man from Wangjia Village on the back mountain. The two of them had talked about it themselves. Pei's mother thought he was a good person, and even though the place was a bit remote, she finally agreed to the marriage.

At first, Pei Cuihong was like all married girls, returning home once every one or two months.

Later, when her sister-in-law entered the family, apart from the original owner who didn't care about anything, everyone else looked down on Pei Cuihong's husband's family, thinking they were from the mountains, and they would give them a hard time every time Pei Cuihong came to their house.

Pei Cuihong wasn't a pushover who would insist on going to someone's door to be ridiculed, so she simply stopped going home.

For the sake of family harmony, Pei's mother had no choice but to visit her daughter only occasionally when she had free time. It could be said that Pei Cuihong's relationship with her family was just so-so.

However, this youngest sister, who had an ordinary relationship with Pei and came from the poorest family, took the lead in taking her mother away when Pei's mother fell ill and none of her sons were willing to take care of her.

Pei Songbai was naturally very upset. He felt that he owed the girl a lot, and he couldn't say the words he wanted to say.

"It's good that Mom is alright. We can make up for the rest. Actually, it's a good thing that Cuihong isn't going home. With the situation at home, it won't change anything whether she goes back or not."

In Xia Wenhua's memory, Pei Songbai had always been full of vigor and high spirits. Even when he had just transmigrated and faced his wife's infidelity, Pei Songbai showed no signs of breaking down.

As the two walked along the mountain path, she could feel the dejection emanating from Pei Songbai.

Pei's father died early, and Pei Songbai lost his father when he was less than ten years old. He witnessed firsthand how much suffering his mother endured alone from a young age.

He was the eldest son, and being a man, he felt from a young age that it was his responsibility to take care of his younger siblings.

He started working in the fields at the age of thirteen, and after the busy farming season, he would go out to work with other villagers.

Before he could join the army at the age of eighteen, Pei Songbai and his mother shouldered the burden of the family, ensuring that his younger siblings did not suffer any more grievances than others.

Even when he joined the army, he didn't keep a single penny of his initial monthly salary of ten yuan. He sent it all back home, afraid that his mother and younger siblings would suffer.

Such a filial and upright person, after unexpectedly marrying the original owner of the body, also took on the heavy responsibility of the small family, fixed the amount of money sent home to twenty yuan, and used the rest to support the family.

It can be said that Pei Songbai owes the Pei family nothing. The two thousand yuan that Pei's mother saved up was the money he sent back over the years.

His deep affection for his younger brothers was clearly different from their perception of him, and this incident was a huge blow to Pei Songbai.

Xia Wenhua wanted to offer some advice but didn't know where to begin, so she decided to avoid mentioning Pei Cuishan and the others and instead bring up Pei Cuihong.

Her simple words brought tears to Pei Songbai's eyes.

“In the past, I also thought that Cuihong was already married and should have her own life, so I never took care of her at all. None of my brothers, whom I supported with my own money, can be relied on, and in the end, I have to leave my sister, who has nothing, to take care of our mother. It doesn’t feel right to me!”

A man doesn't easily shed tears, unless he's truly heartbroken.

As night deepened, the two children had already fallen asleep in his arms, and Pei Songbai made no attempt to hide anything from Xia Wenhua.

The two found a spot by the roadside to sit, and Xia Wenhua listened to Pei Songbai talk about his past.

“Honey, I’ve always thought my family is good. My family members know what they’re doing. Last time you had this argument about dividing the family property, I knew they just wanted money, and I gave them the money.”

"If they want anything, they just have to ask, and I'll give them everything I can. Why are they treating Mother like this?"

Xia Wenhua guessed that the group wanted to drag Pei's mother down and keep it from Pei Songbai. None of the Pei brothers refuted this, which meant that they really thought that way from the beginning.

Pei Songbai couldn't understand how his younger brother could want their mother to die. How could someone be so evil?

Xia Wenhua was afraid that her second son's family would see the passbook and cause a scene, so she hadn't shown it to Pei Songbai yet.

Listening to Pei Songbai's self-reproach, she hesitated for a moment, then took out her savings book from her bosom.

"What's this?"

Pei Songbai glanced at it and had a guess in his mind, but he didn't dare to reach out and take it.

Pei Hongqi then mentioned that the Pei family's commotion was all because of the bankbook, specifically because of the one Xia Wenhua produced.

"Open it and take a look. Money can be a powerful motivator. This is probably what they're after. Mother probably didn't intend to give it all to them. She's just waiting for Mother to die so she can get the money through her household registration. It's better than begging from you."

Pei Songbai's hands trembled slightly as he shakily opened the passbook.