The villagers started pointing and whispering about Zhou's mother and the others. Ning Huan didn't give Zhou Yan a chance to speak, and continued, "Second sister, how are we going to pay for my husband's medicine with these five copper coins..."
Ning Huan changed her previous tantrum attitude and actually began to make people feel that she was also a wronged person.
An old woman who was watching the commotion began to say, "Ning Huan has had a tough time. Although her character is a bit flawed, the Zhou family hasn't treated her well either. It's one thing for her husband not to like her, but now that he's injured, her in-laws have separated her from him."
"That's right, she left five copper coins and still came to cause trouble, blaming her for not giving the man money to spend."
Hearing these words, Zhou's mother began to lose face.
He gave Zhou Yan a wink, and Zhou Yan immediately said, "Although we didn't give much back then, didn't that older sister often come over to give you money?"
She rolled her eyes and said shrilly, "Even if you want money, you shouldn't let your eldest sister secretly take money from the family to help you!"
Hearing this, Zhou Lan quickly waved her hand, "Second sister, no. I didn't steal any money from home..."
Before her eldest sister could finish speaking, Zhou Yan interrupted her: "Elder sister, you don't need to explain. I know you're worried about our third brother's health. It's all because of that stupid woman, our third sister-in-law, who took the money but didn't use it for his medical treatment!"
Zhou Lan shook her head: "Second sister, you misunderstood. The money I gave to third brother was what he used to give me and grandma. I didn't spend much of it; I saved it all up."
"Seeing that my third brother was injured, I gave him all the money so he could see a doctor. Because I knew..."
She paused, looked at Ning Huan beside her, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Knowing that my third sister-in-law is unreliable, I secretly gave the money to Jing An."
After he finished speaking, the villagers all understood.
So Ning Huan didn't even know about the money that Zhou's eldest sister brought, so why should she ask them to repay it?
However, Liu, the eldest sister-in-law of the Zhou family, was displeased and said sarcastically, "Eldest sister, you're not right. You have money, why don't you help out at our family? My husband is busy working for the Zhou family every day, just to earn some money to support us."
"You're something else, spending your money as soon as you have it!"
Ning Huan couldn't help but speak up for Zhou Lan: "What are you saying? That's money my husband gave to my elder sister. She can spend it however she wants."
"not to mention……"
Ning Huan raised an eyebrow: "If it's for treating my husband's illness, do you know how much a packet of medicine would cost?"
Although the exact location of Zhou Jing'an's injuries is unknown, treatment would certainly be a significant expense.
At this moment, Zhou Lan whispered from the side, "I went to the clinic in town to inquire, and it costs ten taels of silver for a packet of medicine to treat my third brother's injury."
Ten taels of silver!
The surrounding area immediately erupted in chaos.
The villagers murmured among themselves, "This packet of medicine costs ten taels of silver! Good heavens! What kind of illness does the third son of the Zhou family have?"
"What disease? It's a disease of affluence!"
"No wonder his family insisted on sending him away this week; I wouldn't dare stay at home either."
"No matter what, Zhou Jing'an is a promising student. If he can pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official in the future, let alone ten taels of silver..."
Someone nearby chimed in, "Even if it's just a bag of gold, I'd find a way to scrape together the money. I can tell the difference between temporary wealth and lifelong wealth."
Others scoffed, "Zhou Jing'an failed the exam. It's one thing to fail, but he's a weak scholar who can't even lift a chicken. He's injured and can't even do any work. How can you get rich by supporting such a useless person?"
No matter what, this packet of medicine costs ten taels of silver, which neither the original owner nor the Zhou family can afford.
Zhou Yan gritted her teeth and said unwillingly, "Even so, since Third Brother didn't use the money to buy medicine, he should return the money to Mother."
"So that you won't find out my third brother has money and secretly take it to meet some other man!"
Ning Huan frowned. Since yesterday, Zhou Yan had been stirring up trouble and making things difficult for her.
Moreover, she kept bringing up the matter of Niu Dadan.
This puzzled her. Logically speaking, she was only Zhou Jing'an's second sister, and besides, she didn't remember being particularly fond of Zhou Jing'an.
The original book didn't seem to describe this second sister much, so Ning Huan carefully recalled the original owner's memories.
In my memory, Zhou Yan always thought she was pretty and considered herself extraordinary.
Feeling that none of the men in the village were good enough for her, she set her sights on wealthy families in the town. Many men from the surrounding area came to propose marriage to her, but she refused them all.
Moreover, in order to marry into a wealthy family, she had been saving up a considerable dowry.
It seems that Zhou Yan mentioned this once when she came to Ning Huan's house and they were arguing.
She told the original owner that if Zhou Jing'an died of illness one day, she would find a way to kill the original owner, or lock her up in the Clean Hall to keep her chastity for Zhou Jing'an for the rest of her life.
In this way, all of Zhou Jing'an's family's wealth became her dowry.
Thinking of this, Ning Huan narrowed her eyes.
This week, Yan's targeting of me is probably related to my dowry. Maybe even that daring bull was a trap she set for the original owner.
"Second sister, you're being so aggressive. You insist on making your husband take out your eldest sister's money. Could it be for your own dowry?"
"With what you've done and such poor character, do you still dream of marrying into a wealthy family? If word gets out, even the families in our village won't dare to marry you!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan panicked.
She was a bit impatient today. How much money could her older sister have given Zhou Jing'an? She could either accept it or not, and if her reputation was ruined...
That would have been a complete failure.
"Ning Huan, shut up! When did I say that? I was just afraid you'd take the money and spend it on your lover outside!"
Ning Huan chuckled lightly: "Second Sister, Niu Dadan already said in front of everyone yesterday that he has nothing to do with me. Why are you still holding onto this?"
She paused, then feigned a wronged expression and said, "Besides, Second Sister, you say you care about your brother, but I haven't seen you give any money to your husband..."
That was true, and everyone couldn't help but laugh when they heard it.
Hearing the laughter around her, Zhou Yan gritted her teeth in anger: "Ning Huan, how do you know I don't care about my third brother! Stop trying to sow discord."
"Moreover, Zhou Jing'an has already separated from the family, so there's nothing left for the Zhou family to manage."
These words were so cold-hearted that the villagers, upon hearing Zhou Yan's words, all felt that she was hard-hearted and shook their heads.
They were all glad they hadn't married a woman like that.
Zhou's mother nudged Zhou Yan from the side, reminding her that she had spoken nonsense.
Zhou Yan then realized what she had said in a fit of anger and couldn't help but raise her hand to hit Ning Huan.
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