Jiang Bai hummed a song as he walked to the village entrance, where he was stopped by the villagers.

“It’s from Old Master Zhao’s family; there’s a letter for you.”

Jiang Bai took the letter, and the man then took out three or four taels of silver, saying, "This is what Boss Zhao asked me to bring to you."

Jiang Bai held the silver and opened the letter. Zhao Yi wrote briefly that business had been bad lately and there wasn't much money. He hoped that Jiang Bai would shoulder the responsibility of being a mother and plan how to use the money properly.

Although three or four taels of silver is not a small amount, it's just enough to repair the damaged roof. Anyway, it's free money—ugh!

That scoundrel is really unreliable. Doesn't she know how smooth things have been for Zhao Yi, the male lead?

Based on the timeline, Zhao Yi's assets must have been incredibly wealthy by this point. Haha, now she's trying to play the victim and pretend to be poor, and she won't even give her ten taels of silver.

Jiang Bai was filled with rage, wishing he could rush up to Zhao Yi right now and give him a good scolding.

The heavy weight of silver on her back calmed her anger. She couldn't help but compare the three or four taels in her hand with the large bag on her back, and thought: Women, never rely on men's charity to make a living, but on the charity of your boss.

Bosses are much more reliable than men!

At the same time, Zhao Yi and his men followed behind Jiang Bai. Looking at Jiang Bai's expression, one of the men secretly nudged Zhao Yi.

"Boss lady, is she... angry?"

Yes, Zhao Yi realized it too.

Looking at Jiang Bai's face, he realized for the first time that being as black as the bottom of a pot could be fully reflected on a person's face.

Actually, if it weren't for Ren Yunzhou's bag of money as a comparison, Jiang Bai wouldn't be so angry.

That's too unlucky.

Zhao Yi himself couldn't help but lament his bad luck.

Not wanting to lose face in front of his subordinates, he simply said, "Investigate thoroughly what's going on with that second master of the Ren family."

-

Jiang Bai first used Zhao Yi's money to hire people to repair the roof, which already allowed people to see the stars in the sky.

After the repairs were completed, the three or four taels of silver were completely spent, and Jiang Bai cursed Zhao Yi in his heart once again.

These days, she's been busy preparing medicinal cuisine while also picking and processing herbs. Her already frail body now looks like it could be blown away by a gust of wind.

One day, while she was organizing medicinal herbs at home, she heard Wang Xiufen's loud voice coming from outside the door.

"What people don't know is that her younger brother played a joke on her, and she got so angry that she kicked him into the river."

"I had a fever for half a month and only fully recovered yesterday. I'm here to demand an explanation."

"I've never seen such a cold-blooded person. Jiang Cheng is her own brother, yet she almost took his life."

“My daughter is married, so she belongs to someone else’s family. I’ve never relied on my daughter for a living, but today I have to call the Zhao family over and ask them who is right and who is wrong in this matter.”

"Everyone, please be the judge. Shouldn't Jiang Cheng have paid for the fifty taels of silver he spent in the past two weeks?"

The onlookers were astonished when they heard that it was fifty taels.

However, if Jiang Cheng was indeed injured by Jiang Bai, then Jiang Bai should really pay for it.

Jiang Bai put down what he was holding, wiped his hands on his apron, sighed helplessly, and walked out of the house to face Wang Xiufen.

She never expected that the issue of the bride price in Jiangcheng had not been resolved yet, and that Wang Xiufen was still hoping to squeeze fifty taels out of her.

As soon as Wang Xiufen saw her come out, her back bent instantly, and she said with a mournful face, "Jiang Bai, I didn't expect you to dare to come out."

"Why wouldn't I dare? Didn't you call me out?" Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow and asked with amusement.

Wang Xiufen stammered for a moment, then pulled Jiang Cheng over: "You'd better pay your brother's medical bills as soon as possible."

Jiang Cheng coughed a few times at just the right moment.

"What medical expenses?" Jiang Bai feigned ignorance.

"You kicked him into the river, and he got sick. You won't pay for his medical expenses?" Wang Xiufen didn't expect Jiang Bai to be so shameless, refusing to admit what he had done.

"Why would I kick him into the river? He's my own brother!" Jiang Bai's eyes widened, his tone full of disbelief.

Wang Xiufen clutched her chest: "You're actually denying it?"

Jiang Cheng added from the side, "You even took an axe and chopped down the threshold of your house, you still have to pay for that."

He didn't see the door being chopped off; his mother told him about it afterward. After hearing it, he was even more glad that he hadn't brought Zhao Xile home, otherwise he probably would have been the one to be chopped off.

Jiang Bai shrugged: "You must be dreaming. Why would I cut down my own doorstep?"

Wang Xiufen jumped up and down: "Aren't you just complaining that Jiang Cheng took that little brat away? Nothing happened. That money-losing girl can't even be sold. Besides, she's not your biological daughter. What's the use of you taking care of her? Let's see if they'll care about you when you get old."

Zhao Xile shouted, "Of course I'll take care of my mother!"

No one knew when she arrived. Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound and saw her waddling over like a little puppy.

She's gained some weight recently, and since then she hasn't been very active, staying indoors all day. She's become even paler, with round eyes, a round face, and a round body, looking like an angry little rooster as she faces Wang Xiufen, stretching out her hands to protect Jiang Bai behind her.

Jiang Bai immediately felt content with having a son.

Jiang Bai hugged the little baby in front of him, kissed him hard, and looked at Wang Xiufen triumphantly.

She said, "So you also knew that Jiang Cheng kidnapped Xiao Le and wanted to sell the child! Child trafficking is a serious crime. If it weren't for the fact that he is my brother and Xiao Le himself is safe, I would have reported it to the authorities long ago."

She looked Jiang Cheng up and down: "I don't know if your small frame can withstand being exiled thousands of miles away."

Jiang Cheng's legs were a little weak. Jiang Bai's merciless kick earlier had left him with a deep psychological shadow. From the moment he kicked Jiang Bai until now, he had kept the distance between the two of them at least one leg's length.

Wang Xiufen felt a little guilty: "It's not that serious."

Jiang Bai was too lazy to waste words with her and said decisively, "I definitely don't have the money, and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to him. Jiang Cheng handled his own affairs, so let him resolve them himself." She was referring to the fact that Jiang Cheng had gotten someone pregnant.

Wang Xiufen's heart sank: "I'm his mother, if I don't take care of him, who will?"

"Today is the final deadline. That girl's brother said that if we don't come up with the money today, he'll break Jiang Cheng's legs." Wang Xiufen shuddered at the thought of the man's menacing appearance. "Jiang Bai, if you have even a shred of conscience, please save your brother."

"I don't care. I've never heard of a sister taking charge of her brother's betrothal gifts." Jiang Bai told the people around him.

"The betrothal gifts the Zhao family gave me, twenty taels, were all taken by you. After that, Zhao Yi gave me ten taels of silver every month, and you took seven or eight taels. There are IOUs to prove all of this..."

"Now you're asking me to hand over fifty taels all at once. I think you're trying to force me to my death."