Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Xiao exclaimed, "How can you not let her take the money?"
"What's a tael of silver!"
That little slut made over twenty taels just from selling medicinal herbs, plus the reward money from the imperial court, so it must have been at least twenty taels. Even if he gave her eight acres of land, that would be justified!
Since his mother gave birth to him, he has to take care of his mother in her old age!
Moreover, we need to go to school! With no harvest these past two years, where will we get the money to pay for our tuition?
If Yuanhang passes the imperial examinations and becomes a high-ranking official, how could he possibly mistreat them?
"At that time, not only the two of them, but the entire clan will benefit. Shouldn't the older brother and sister-in-law contribute some money?"
Xiao Zhengde felt disgusted. Xiao Yuanhang was of mediocre talent. It was already a miracle that he could pass the county-level exam and become a scholar. How could he possibly want to pass the provincial-level exam and become a scholar?
He had heard more than once that Xiao Yuanhang was at the bottom of his class and often went out drinking and watching operas with several classmates who were also not doing well in their studies. Who knew how he became a scholar!
It must have been so easy for her to pass the imperial examinations. Even the top students in a county might not pass and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations). How could someone like her, who was at the bottom of the class, pass and become a Juren?
It wasn't that he looked down on him, but rather that he lacked both the extraordinary talent and the dedication to studying diligently and persistently.
However, Xiao Zhengde couldn't say these things to Xiao Yuanhang's face. Firstly, Xiao Yuanhang was already an adult, and his personality had already been formed. It wasn't something that could be changed by him after a few words.
Secondly, neither Old Man Xiao nor Old Mrs. Xiao are reasonable people. If he speaks up, they won't understand and will blame him for not wishing them well.
However, we cannot let them continue to cause trouble like this.
In the village, there are established rules for elderly care. If a family has many sons, they must either contribute money or labor. No one can neglect the elderly; otherwise, they will be considered unfilial and will be dragged to the ancestral hall and beaten!
However, no one can be exploited to the extreme. The overall situation must be managed properly. Otherwise, if something happens, it will have a bad impact on the village. There are elderly people in other villages who have driven their sons and daughters-in-law, whom they can't see, to jump into the river!
This matter is absolutely unacceptable within his jurisdiction. Favoritism is acceptable, but it must be within limits.
So Xiao Zhengde coughed lightly and began to speak.
"In terms of filial piety, Xiao Yi has done a good job for you. Ask around, how many sons in the surrounding villages have earned eight acres of land for their parents to live on in their old age? Whether someone is filial or not is not up to you to decide. Everyone is watching!"
Moreover, when Xiao Yuanhang takes the college entrance exam, the guarantor must fill in his moral character. If word gets out that he is using his lame brother to get into school, it will be detrimental to his reputation, and he might not even be allowed to enter the examination hall.
Since there were cases of commoner candidates selling their younger siblings and widowed sisters-in-law to raise money for their studies, the imperial court stipulated that in addition to the candidate owning thirty mu of land, each member of their family must own at least three mu of land.
Although you've separated Xiao Yi from the family now, he's still Xiao Yuanhang's second brother. Right now, Xiao Yi's family of four owns less than two mu of land, and you're still forcing them to pay for Xiao Yuanhang's education. If word gets out, it won't sound good. You should think about it carefully!
These words made not only Old Man Xiao and Old Mrs. Xiao feel guilty, but even Xiao Yuanhang himself felt guilty. However, Xiao Yuanhang had long been fed up with being cooped up at home and wanted to go out and have fun. How could he do that without money? So he gritted his teeth and whispered...
"I don't want to cause trouble for my brother and sister-in-law. It's really been two years since I was able to finish my studies. There are many things I can't understand, and I'm afraid that they will accumulate and all the things I've learned before will be wasted!"
Moreover, the county school announced that classes will resume in ten days; if I don't go, I'll miss my classes!
Seeing this, Old Mrs. Xiao exclaimed,
"Xiao Yi, are you really going to just stand by and watch your brother miss his classes? He's your own brother, and the most promising person in our family. If he falls behind because of you, you'll be a sinner to the whole family!"
Xiao Yi didn't even lift his eyelids, looking like a coward who couldn't handle things, "I don't have any money!"
Old Mrs. Xiao shrieked at Xie Yushu
"Xie! Don't you act like a proper daughter-in-law? When did it become your place to run the Xiao family? Hand over the money now!"
Xie Yushu replied calmly.
"I've already spent all the money!"
"You're talking nonsense! Even if you give this 'Butterfly' thirty taels, you'll still have eleven taels left! Hand over those!"
Grandma Xiao jumped up and down, pointing at Xie Yushu.
"As for the other ten taels of silver, I heard there might be a way to cure Xiao Yi's leg, but it requires some special tools, so I took it to make tools. I also bought some grain and cloth with a little over one tael of silver, and that's it!"
"I don't believe it! I'm going in to search!"
"Then you should go to the yamen and get a search warrant first, otherwise I'll accuse you of trespassing!"
"You, you,
"Xiao Yi, divorce her right now!"
Grandma Xiao was furious and yelled at Xiao Yi.
"I can't do any work, and my two children depend on her for care, so I won't take a break!"
Seeing that Old Madam Xiao was about to lose her temper, Xiao Zhengde spoke up in time.
"Alright! You guys figure out how to pay Xiao Yuanhang's tuition yourselves!"
Now that you've separated Xiao Yi from your family and given him the proper respect, you're now living as two separate families.
Don't make things difficult for the second son and his wife! Doesn't Xiao Yuanhang have thirty acres of land? Borrow some from a wealthy family and pay some interest!
Go back home, everyone! What kind of mess are you making, causing such a ruckus!
Having come all this way and gained nothing, how could Old Madam Xiao be content? Even though Xiao Zhengde had spoken, she remained standing still.
Xiao Yan was equally unwilling. Even if the money was gone, there was still cloth and eggs. Why should a bought wife get to eat eggs? Did she deserve it? She couldn't get a word in edgewise before, but now that no one else was speaking, she spoke up.
"I heard that your sister-in-law bought a lot of fabric, as well as eggs and rice. Even if you've spent all your money, do you still have the things?"
Our parents are so old. They've endured two years of drought, and their health has deteriorated. You can't just eat well while we watch them eat coarse food!
Besides, you, as our sister-in-law, haven't even prepared a gift for us yet after you married into the family!
I think we should each get a piece of cloth to make clothes!
Xie Yushu was speechless. "Shouldn't you be the ones to greet me first before I return the favor?"
But they've already had a showdown, the village chief was there, and the silver was safe. If they still refuse to part with anything, it would make them seem too heartless!
Who told them to be the younger generation!
Buying someone's favor with gifts isn't a bad deal. Given her disadvantageous position, sacrificing the small for the greater good is a viable strategy. Since she has to bleed a little, she figured she should do it gracefully. So Xie Yushu generously said...
"What are you saying, sister-in-law? Although I married into the family in a hurry and we didn't have a proper meeting, I still remember the gifts I gave to my parents-in-law."
I bought extra fabric this time because I was thinking of making clothes for my parents and sending them over. But since my aunt can't wait, I'll give them to you here!
Whatever style you like, go home and make it yourself! It will fit perfectly!
However, sometimes things just don't go smoothly. She wanted to exchange something for peace, but Xie Yushu, who was new to the area, underestimated the extent to which people could be shameless and greedy!
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