Jiang Jianhua entered the house clutching two brown sugar steamed buns. Just as he slammed the buns onto the table, Fu Yuanshan poked his head out from the inner room: "How is it? Has Yun Tangyin given in yet?"
"Loosen my ass!" Jiang Jianhua plopped down on the stool, panting with anger. "Not only did she refuse, she also said she wanted to investigate old accounts! She said that three years ago, five jin of cotton were missing when we bought it, and she asked me if I had embezzled it!"
Fu Yuanshan dropped the abacus to the ground with a thud: "How did she know? I already settled those accounts!"
"Who knows where she dug up those old ledgers from!" Jiang Jianhua grabbed a steamed bun and threw it at him. "It's all your fault for making me suggest dividing the family property! Now look what's happened, she's definitely going to keep an eye on us!"
Fu Yuanshan caught the steamed bun and took a big bite: "What are you afraid of? What can she do to me without evidence? When Jiang Zhicheng arrives, let him tell Fu Yucheng that the army encourages families to separate and live separately. Let's see if she still dares to stop us then."
Just then, Yu Xia's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Is your second sister-in-law home? Uncle Zhang asked me to pass on a message, saying that the truck driver who delivered cotton back then still remembers you. You were the one who picked up the goods that day, and he even went around to your parents' house!"
Jiang Jianhua was so startled that she dropped the steamed bun in her hand. Fu Yuanshan quickly pushed her, saying, "You go and deal with it! Just say you can't remember!"
Jiang Jianhua reluctantly opened the door and saw Yu Xia leaning against the door frame, laughing: "Why is your face so pale, second sister-in-law? Uncle Zhang said that the car owner saw you take two big handfuls out of the cotton bag."
"He's talking nonsense!" Jiang Jianhua's voice trembled. "That happened ages ago, how come I don't know anything about it? He must have remembered it wrong!"
Yu Xia raised an eyebrow: "By the way, I just came back from the supply and marketing cooperative. Accountant Wang said you switched to Dacron..."
Before Jiang Jianhua could speak, Fu Yuanshan rushed out of the house, his peach blossom eyes filled with displeasure: "Sister-in-law, stop spreading rumors here! If you have something to say, let Yun Tangyin come and talk to me!"
"I'm here." Yun Tangyin's voice suddenly came from behind Yu Xia, holding a yellowed account book in her hand.
"Second brother, don't worry, I'll read the accounts to you right now. Three years ago, in the winter month, we bought two truckloads of coal, but only one and a half truckloads were actually put into storage. The missing half truckload was recorded as a loss, but the warehouse records say there was no loss."
"Also, last year during the Spring Festival, it was written that four feet of cloth were bought, and the account stated that it was for making a cotton-padded jacket for Mom. But Mom's cotton-padded jacket was clearly made from old cloth. Where did the new cloth go?"
Yun Tangyin waved the ledger in her hand, a smile on her face, looking determined to get to the bottom of it.
Fu Yuanshan's face turned a deep shade of liver: "Why are you digging up all this old stuff!"
"I'm not doing anything, I just want to figure it out." Yun Tangyin turned to the last page, her fingertip pointing at the total.
"The money you two have embezzled over the years, plus the difference in the price of the radio you paid today, totals one thousand two hundred and twenty-seven and fifty cents. Either you pay it back now, or I'll take the ledger to the army and talk to the political commissar. I don't know if this counts as a matter of conduct? If you have this problem, can you still go back to the cultural troupe?"
After the previous incidents, Jiang Jianhua's psychological defenses had become much weaker, and he burst into tears: "I have no money! Fu Yuanshan, you take out the money you've hidden!"
“I didn’t hide any money!” Fu Yuanshan glared at her, his teeth grinding together.
"Should I have Ah Cheng search us?" Yun Tangyin asked with a gentle smile.
Fu Yuanshan's face drained of color instantly, and Jiang Jianhua pounced on him, shoving and hitting him: "You heartless bastard! You didn't even tell me you were hiding money from me!"
The two wrestled on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Yu Xia watched with amusement. Yun Tangyin turned and walked out, saying, "I'll give you three days to raise the money. If you can't raise it, go to the army and explain. Sister-in-law, let's go first."
Just as they reached the courtyard gate, they heard Jiang Jianhua scream: "Fu Yuanshan, if you don't hand over the money, I'll report you for stealing and selling the Fu family's property!"
Fu Yucheng was waiting at the door. Seeing this, he smiled and grasped Yun Tangyin's hand: "That was a ruthless move of yours."
Yu Xia caught up: "Yinyin, you didn't see it, Fu Yuanshan's face was as white as paper! I think he'll have to hand over the money tomorrow!"
"It's the same whether you pay or not."
Yun Tangyin glanced back at the noisy room: "As long as he's still in the Fu family, he can forget about taking the money he embezzled. By the way, sister-in-law, come with me to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow and get the accounts for the polyester fabric that Jiang Jianhua swapped. We need to solidify our evidence."
Yu Xia nodded repeatedly: "I'll go prepare right away! By the way, Grandpa Zhang said that the coal delivery driver from back then is still in the city. Should I go and invite him over?"
“No need.” Yun Tangyin laughed. “If Fu Yuanshan dares to renege on his promise, I have my own ways. Doesn’t he want Jiang Zhicheng to help him? I want to see if Jiang Zhicheng will still speak up for him if he knows about this.”
Fu Yucheng pinched her cheek: "How come your brain works so fast?"
“I learned it from you.” Yun Tangyin tiptoed and pecked his chin: “You taught me that to deal with a villain, you have to hold onto his weaknesses.”
Just then, Song Yu returned from outside, clutching a handkerchief in both hands. Upon seeing them, she asked, "I just heard a commotion at the second brother's house. What happened?"
Yun Tangyin handed over the ledger: "Mom, look, this is an old account I just sorted out. My second brother and sister-in-law have embezzled a lot of money over the years."
Song Yushuang flipped through two pages: "I knew they weren't honest with their accounting!"
"Mom, don't be angry." Yun Tangyin supported her: "We just need to get the money back. If that doesn't work, we can go to the army and explain things to them. They can handle that."
Song Yushuang slammed the ledger on the table: "No need to go to the army! I'll personally go to their door tomorrow to collect the money. If they dare not pay, I have plenty of ways to deal with them."
Fu Yucheng nodded with a smile: "Mom's method works better than ours."
Yu Xia chimed in, "Exactly! Let the whole hospital know how they embezzled money from their families, and see how they'll ever hold their heads high again!"
Looking at Song Yushuang's reddened eyes, Yun Tangyin suddenly felt a mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe.
Song Yushuang had wanted to deal with them for a long time, but she just needed a pretext.
With her around, we can finally settle this score, but without Jiang Jianhua, what about Yu Xia?
This family will inevitably have to live separately sometime in the future.
The next morning, as soon as Fu Yuanshan opened the door, he saw Song Yushuang standing at the door, holding that old account book in her hand.
Jiang Jianhua shrank back in fright, while Fu Yuanshan forced a smile and asked, "Mom, what are you doing?"
"Give me the money." Song Yushuang patted the ledger on his chest: "One thousand and twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents, not a penny less."
"Mom...we have no money!" Fu Yuanshan had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the account book.
Song Yushuang seemed to have anticipated his response; the last trace of a smile vanished from her eyes, and she lowered her voice to say something.
"Mom!" Fu Yuanshan exclaimed in fright, quickly covering her mouth. "I'll give it to you! I'll go borrow it right now to make up for it, okay!"
Jiang Jianhua, standing nearby with a long face, said, "I'll pawn the silver bracelet from my dowry!"
Yun Tangyin stood at the courtyard gate, watching their flustered appearance, and smiled at Fu Yucheng: "Look, we don't even need to lift a finger, Mom has them all under her thumb."
Even though that's what she said, she was still very curious about what kind of leverage Song Yu had over the couple.
If it's so useful, why use her hand to cause trouble for the housekeeper's audit?
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