Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Pay Back the Money
Yu Li brought back so many things today that even Zhou was surprised.
"Mother Li, why did you buy so many things?"
Yu Li said as he ate, "It's not much. It's all what the family needs. I saw that they didn't have any so I bought some... By the way, we're having braised pork and roast chicken tonight."
This was said to the two children.
Sure enough, Fu Yanhui and Fu Yansheng cheered. The children were greedy and couldn't control themselves when they heard there was something delicious.
After the meal, Yu Li took out the white rice cake and osmanthus cake and gave one piece to each of the two children.
White rice cakes are the cheapest, at one cent a piece. She bought ten pieces and would send some to her younger sisters later to try.
Osmanthus cake is a little expensive, three cents a piece. You can smell the sweet fragrance of osmanthus. I only bought a few pieces. I can buy more when I have more money in the future.
The two children held the white rice cake and ate it. The texture of the white rice cake was rough, but it was sweet. Although it was only lightly sweet, it was delicious in the eyes of the children who rarely had access to cakes.
Seeing this, Yu Li couldn't help but eat a piece as well.
Mm, it's delicious indeed.
Yu Li took out the things in the backpack one by one, put them in order, and finally took out two sets of clothes to go into the water.
"Mom, this is the offal given by the butcher shop, it's free, can you clean it up?"
Zhou noticed the words "no money", and immediately said: "Yes, if the water is cleaned up, it will be delicious, but it is a bit troublesome."
But it's free stuff, so no matter how much trouble it is, it's nothing.
Yu Li was naturally happy to hear this, as there was delicious food again.
The mother-in-law was indeed very capable, so capable that Yu Li felt reluctant to leave the Fu family. If she left in the future, she would definitely not be used to it without her mother-in-law cooking for her.
After putting everything in order, Yu Li took out two pieces of osmanthus cake and put them on a plate, as well as sugar and preserved fruits, and took them back to the room.
When she returned to the room, she found that Fu Wenxiao had just woken up. She said, "I bought some osmanthus cake. Do you want to have a piece?"
Fu Wenxiao had just woken up and had no appetite, so he said softly, "Let's put it aside for now."
Yu Li put the things on the table and pointed at the candies and preserved fruits. "These are the candies and preserved fruits I bought for you. Use them to sweeten your mouth after you take the medicine."
Fu Wenxiao: “…”
Fu Wenxiao was speechless. Was she treating him like a child?
After Yu Li took the clothes to wash, he reached out and picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and ate it slowly.
The sweet osmanthus cake that Yu Li saw was very sweet was actually made very roughly, not delicate in taste, and even a little too sweet. However, the country folks liked this kind of sweetness, and the sweeter it was, the more they felt they had made a profit.
After taking a shower, Yu Li dried his hair and went to bed to rest.
She yawned and said to him naturally, "I'll take a nap first, call me at twilight hour."
Although the two of them slept in the same bed, the bed was very large and each occupied a separate position, so they got along peacefully - except for the occasional unconscious instinctive movements when Yu Li slept too deeply at night, the relationship was still very harmonious.
Fu Wenxiao sat by the window, ready to read a book. Hearing this, he first responded, then said, "You can sleep a little longer."
She got up in the middle of the night, so she must be very tired. Plus, her physical condition didn't seem to be well yet, so Fu Wenxiao thought she should rest more.
"The firewood at home is almost gone. I have to go into the mountains to chop some firewood... and fetch some water..."
Yu Li's voice gradually became smaller and finally disappeared.
Fu Wenxiao sat there, his eyes turned to the bed, and saw the person lying quietly on the bed.
This is where he usually sleeps. It is stained with his scent and is a very private place for outsiders to invade. He never thought that there would be another person in his bed before. He would sit in the room and watch another person sleeping in his bed.
After Yu Li fell asleep, Fu Wenxiao slowly got up and walked out the door.
When I went out, a wave of heat hit me in the face.
The sky was clear and cloudless, and the sunlight was so bright that it hurt my eyes.
Fu Wenxiao glanced at the sunlight in the yard, then walked towards the main room.
He walked slowly but steadily.
The village was very quiet in the afternoon. Most of the villagers were resting at this time and there were few sounds.
Zhou was sitting in the main room, quickly sewing a piece of clothing. Fu Yanhui and his sister had already been sent back to their room to sleep.
She caught a glimpse of someone coming in from the corner of her eye. She looked up and was surprised when she saw Fu Wenxiao.
"Xiao brother, why did you come out?" Zhou hurried over to help him.
Fu Wenxiao didn't actually need anyone's support. He knew she was nervous, so he didn't refuse.
Zhou looked worried, "Why did you come out? Is there something wrong?"
Fu Wenxiao sat down and said to Zhou, who looked worried, "The weather is good today, come out and sit for a while."
Zhou was naturally happy after hearing this, because he had not been out for a long time, and people should walk more to improve their health. But she soon reacted, opened her mouth, and asked, "Is Li Niang asleep?"
"Asleep."
Zhou sighed and said, "Xiao brother is still so considerate. Sometimes I would rather you not be like this..."
She poured a glass of water for Fu Wenxiao and looked at him, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.
Fu Wenxiao took the water and drank it slowly with a smile on his lips.
"Xiao brother..." Zhou said a little anxiously, "Your illness...will definitely be cured, right?"
Fu Wenxiao just looked at her gently without saying anything.
Zhou's eyes suddenly turned red, "Xiao brother..."
In fact, she knew very well that a wedding for good fortune might not really save him, but she still hoped for a miracle, so she took the initiative to find him a wife for good fortune.
If Fu Wenxiao were gone, the Fu family would really be cut short...
She also felt sorry for the master who entrusted her with such an important task.
Fu Wenxiao smiled at her reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, if I... I will make arrangements for you."
Zhou lowered her head, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and said with a sob: "Xiao'er, you know, I hope you are well. You are the only one left in the Fu family. I can't let your mother down. She entrusted you to me, but I didn't take good care of you..."
Fu Wenxiao shook his head. "Even a thousand-year-old family will eventually fall. If the Fu family is gone... then it's gone."
He looked indifferent, as if he had let go of everything.
Zhou was very upset. There was one more person in the family now, and life was about to get better, but he...
"Li Niang is very good. If I'm not around in the future, she will take good care of you." Fu Wenxiao said softly.
He observed her for more than a month and confirmed her character and that she was trustworthy.
Although the person is a little strange and no one knows where the soul came from, as long as he is a good person, there is no need to worry about other things.
Zhou lowered her head and said nothing. After a while, she whispered, "Xiao'er, Li Niang is really good. Can't you give it a try with her? If your mother sees Li Niang, she will definitely like her."
Such a diligent and energetic girl, full of expectations and enthusiasm for life. Just looking at her, you feel that life is not so difficult.
Zhou liked him as soon as she saw him, and always thought that it would be great if Fu Wenxiao could be like her, with a healthy body and full of vitality one day.
Compared with appearance, family background and other material things, Zhou prefers such a healthy and energetic girl.
Fu Wenxiao was silent for a while, then said gently, "Mom, don't say such things in the future."
He was a dying man, so he should not drag the girl down. His death would disturb her heart and make her sad. It would be better for them to live a plain life together.
As long as they don't become a real couple, she can still find another good match in the future.
When he thought of this, he felt somewhat lost and melancholy.
Seems a little unwilling.
He didn't want to think about what that unwillingness was.
**
Yu Li woke up in the afternoon, changed into old clothes, went to fetch water first, filled the water tank at home, and then took an axe to go into the mountains to chop firewood.
She chopped two loads of firewood, put them in the woodshed, and then chopped wood in the yard.
Seeing that she was sweating profusely, Zhou made her a bowl of sugar water and said distressedly, "Mother Li, why don't you ask Da Zhuang to do these things?"
She gets up late at night every day to work in the county town. It's already very hard work, and she has to do these things when she comes back. I'm afraid she will hurt her health.
It would be better to let Da Zhuang help, so that she will feel more relaxed when she comes back.
Yu Li drank the sugar water and said, "Mom, no need, I can do these jobs."
She really didn't think that carrying water and chopping wood were hard work. It was much simpler than encircling and suppressing alien species, and it didn't even require any effort.
In the evening, Zhou made stir-fried pork liver and pork kidneys. She was generous with the oil and the dish tasted very good. She also added some dogwood to give it a spicy flavor.
The pork liver and kidneys were fried very tender without any fishy smell.
Zhou said, "Mother Li, when you go to the city tomorrow, buy some spices and I'll make a marinade to stew the offal. It will taste better this way."
Hearing this, Yu Li nodded. Knowing that spices were very expensive, he planned to bring more silver tomorrow.
Braised food is very common in this world. People have learned how to use spices to make braised food. However, the varieties of spices are limited, and the flavors of the braised food vary.
After dinner, it was already late.
Yu Li put some cakes, braised meat and half a roast chicken in a basket and said to Zhou: "Mom, I'm going to Yu's house."
Zhou didn't think much about it, thinking that she wanted to send some food to her family. It was nothing, after all, it was her money, and she bought the things, so she could arrange them however she wanted. She was not stingy, and she would not think that Yu Li was using her husband's family's things to subsidize her family.
In the twilight, Yu Li arrived at Yu's house.
When they saw her come in, Yu Laosan and his wife, who had just finished dinner, their faces changed drastically, thinking that she was here to collect debts.
As for Mrs. Yu and Mr. Yu, they went straight back to their room and closed the door.
Sure enough, when Yu Li saw them, he said, "Uncle San, Aunt San, today is the second day, have you paid back the money to Ah Yin?"
She only gave them three days to complete the task. She would not let them drag it out for a month or two and end up with nothing.
No matter whether they borrow, steal or rob, they must pay back the money.
Yu Laosan and his wife were silent.
Yu Jingzhong and others stood beside her parents, their eyes reddened, clenched their hands tightly, thinking that she was going too far.
"I, my family has no money..." Yu Jingyi said in a low voice.
Yu Li's expression did not change, and he said, "That's your business! Tomorrow is the third day, you must remember to pay it back, Third Uncle."
Everyone in the third room: "..."
Yu Li ignored them and went to the west room with his sisters carrying the basket.
When they arrived at the sisters' room, Yu Li lifted the cloth covering the basket and took out the food inside, which made Yu Jin and the others exclaim in surprise.
Cakes, braised meat and roast chicken, none of them were anything they had ever eaten before.
"Eat." Yu Li said to them, "Eat more and take care of your body."
She glanced at her three younger sisters and found that their facial features were actually very beautiful, having inherited Liu's eyebrows and eyes.
Liu was extremely beautiful when she was young. If she had been ugly, it would have been difficult for Old Lady Yu to marry her to her second son. After all, Liu was a refugee from the north who had fled famine. She had no family background and no roots. Except for those who were too poor to find a wife, few respectable families would marry their sons to a girl who had fled famine.
Unfortunately, no matter how good her appearance was, it would be mostly gone after so many years of wear and tear.
"Sister, the white rice cake is delicious, the braised meat is delicious, and the roast chicken is delicious too!"
Yuzhu's mouth was full of oil and stuffed full, and she spoke vaguely.
Yu Jin and Yu Yin ate more politely, but like their sister, they couldn't stop eating. Although they had already eaten dinner, they felt they could still continue eating.
Now the Yu family no longer dares to mistreat the people from the second house, but they cannot eat as much as they want. They can only eat until they are about 60% to 70% full at night.
Yu Li said: "If you like it, I will buy it next time."
"It's better not to buy it." Yu Jin was more rational. "These things are not cheap, right? Big sister, don't spend money recklessly. Save more money for yourself."
Money is a person's courage. If the eldest sister had money, she would be able to stand up straighter in the Fu family and wouldn't have to worry about being bullied - well, although maybe no one could bully her.
"It's okay, I'll make more money in the future." Yu Li didn't care. Isn't the purpose of making money to spend?
When she makes more money in the future, she will take her sisters out of the Yu family so that they are no longer controlled by the Yu family and can do whatever they want and eat whatever they want.
**
The sisters from the second room were eating meat in the house, while the people from the third room were very nervous because Yu Li had returned.
Wang said in a trembling voice: "What should we do? Is she really going to destroy our house?"
According to her thinking, they had already spent all the money and were unwilling to pay it back, but Yu Li was an evil star who would destroy the house if the money was not paid back.
"She will definitely do that." Yu Jingzhong said, "Mom, she even broke the pillars of the main hall. If Dad doesn't pay back the money, she will definitely destroy our house."
Without a house, are they left with no choice but to sleep in the yard?
The three Yu Jingzhong brothers were all terrified.
The person they feared the most now was Yu Li. This cousin who could be bullied by anyone in the past had now become the most terrifying person in the Yu family. They were really afraid that Yu Li would destroy their house, or even come and beat them up because they couldn't pay back the money.
She doesn't beat her elders, but she does beat her juniors. They are all younger than her, so she will definitely beat them.
Yu Lao San looked at his frightened sons and gritted his teeth, "I'll go find mom."
"Looking for mother?" Wang asked, "Will mother help us pay back the money?" That's two taels of silver. With the old lady's stinginess, it's impossible for her to pay it back, right?
Yu Lao San said with a bitter face, "But we can't come up with two taels of silver at once."
Yu Laosan was a shrewd man. He only handed over a portion of the money he earned from odd jobs to the public, and used the rest to buy delicious food for his family to eat secretly in the house.
He thought that since all the money in the family would be used for the education of the two nephews from the eldest wife, it would not fall into the hands of anyone else, so it would be better to spend the money so that the old lady would not know that they had extra money and would definitely come to ask for it.
So every time he got money, he would spend it all, and the third room had no savings at all.
Yu Lao San was also afraid that Yu Li would smash their house. When he saw her coming today, it naturally reminded him of how she broke the pillars of the main room. He just wanted to pay him back as soon as possible so that she would stop targeting the third room.
He immediately went to the main room.
Not long after, the old lady's furious voice was heard from the main room, and Yu Laosan was beaten out.
"No money!" Old Madam Yu cursed angrily, "You spent all the money yourself, and you still have the nerve to ask me for money, you can find a way to pay it back yourself!"
Yu Lao San hugged her legs and refused to let go no matter how she hit him. He cried, "Mom, please help your son. He has no money to pay back..."
He had already made up his mind that he could not pay back the money by himself, and it was impossible for him to ask Wang to go back to her parents' home to borrow money. That was two taels of silver. How long would it take to pay it back?
Wang also refused to go back to borrow money, not wanting to take on such a huge debt.
The best way is to ask the old lady to help pay it back.
Over the years, they have handed over so much money to the public treasury. The eldest son works as an accountant in the county town and also pays money to the family. He doesn't believe that the old lady has no money.
It was just two taels of silver, but the old lady was unwilling to help them pay for it. It was also thanks to them that they had been supporting the eldest wife without any regrets all these years.
At this moment, Yu Laosan finally felt some resentment in his heart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
