Chapter 16: Can He Repay It?

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Can He Repay It?

When they reached the grain shop, they didn’t even dare to look too long at the yellow millet, black rice, and white flour. The prices were so high, and on top of that, there were worms wriggling in the grains. They had never seen anything like it and shuddered inwardly.

The two of them hastily weighed out a large basketful of bran, bought some coarse salt, and then took off running for the city gate.

They didn’t know that in the short time they had been inside, the Gu family had already exploded into an uproar over them entering the city.

As soon as they saw them lining up to pay the fee, all of the Gu family’s daughters-in-law had crowded around Li Cuicui.

"Mother, how did Seventh and his wife get in?"

"That’s right! What are they doing in there? If they needed something, they could have just asked someone to bring it out for them. Why waste that money?"

"Where did Seventh and his wife get the money to go in? Mother, you didn’t lend it to them, did you?"

"That Seventh has no idea how to manage a household. He’s acting like it’s a leisurely trip, even bringing his wife along."

Listening to his daughters-in-law chatter on, Gu Dashishi hadn’t even processed it yet. "Seventh and his wife went inside?"

...

All eyes turned to Li Cuicui, who had been the last one seen whispering with Seventh, demanding an explanation.

Li Cuicui knew these family members were nothing but trouble, but she hadn’t expected them to be so impatient. Seventh and his wife had only just gone in, and here they were, already cornering her.

Her eyelids drooped. "You all just want to know if I gave Seventh the money, don’t you? Fine, I did."

"..." No one could believe the old woman had just admitted it so readily.

Eldest Sister-in-law was the first to speak up. "Mother, it costs 100 copper coins per person to enter the city! Seventh and his wife went in together. Do they not plan on getting by?"

Although the money belonged to their mother-in-law, if it really came down to it, could they, as sons and daughters-in-law, really just stand by and watch the old couple starve? In the end, the burden would fall on them.

The second son’s wife grew anxious as well. "Exactly! You said you wouldn’t interfere after the family property was divided, so why are you enabling them to squander money like this now?"

Even the usually quiet Gu Dashishi couldn’t sit still any longer. He pointed a trembling finger at Li Cuicui. "You old woman, did your son sweet-talk you? You didn’t give him all our savings, did you?"

Gu Yuanlei looked even more nervous. That was the money for his future bride price! If Brother Qi had really taken it, he would end up a bachelor for life.

With everyone’s accusing eyes on her, Li Cuicui was starting to feel the pressure. "I only lent it to him, I didn’t just give it away. Is there any need for you all to make such a fuss?"

"Lent? Can Seventh even pay it back?" Wang Caiyue’s voice grew shrill. "How much did you lend him?"

Li Cuicui stared at Wang Caiyue with dark eyes. "Second Daughter-in-law, what is that tone you’re using with me? Since when do I need your permission for my actions? This is unfilial."

A flash of fear appeared in Wang Caiyue’s eyes. She had been too hasty and had forgotten she was speaking to her own mother-in-law.

Seeing that she had temporarily intimidated them, Li Cuicui put her hands on her hips. "I know what you’re all thinking. You’re just afraid that Seventh is taking advantage of you.

"Not to mention, you’ve all already split from the family home. Can’t an old woman like me decide how to use her own money?

"I know my own son. Seventh wouldn’t do anything unreliable. You’ll see when he gets back."

’These unfilial children and grandchildren,’ she thought. ’Their eyes are just glued to my bit of money. They’re just afraid that we two old fossils will end up relying on them later on.’

Li Cuicui had no patience to look at them or deal with them any longer. She put on a stern, dark face and scared away everyone who was looking for trouble.

"Maybe they won’t come back," Liu Liu muttered under her breath, even secretly tugging on her husband’s sleeve. "If they just run off like this, will we get dragged into it?"

Gu Yuanshui felt uneasy too. "What’s the use of saying that now? Mother already gave him the money. All we can do is hope that kid has a conscience and doesn’t bring ruin upon our whole family."

"So we’re just supposed to wait here?" Liu Liu glanced around nervously. "Why don’t we take the children and hide for a bit? If we really do get implicated, maybe we can avoid the worst of it?"

Gu Yuanshui was tempted. He quietly pulled Liu Liu back to where their bags were. While no one was looking, they took their child and squeezed as far into a corner as they could.

The other sisters-in-law had similar ideas, but their husbands stopped them. Still, all their eyes kept darting toward the city gate from time to time.

Finally, when the two familiar figures appeared at the city gate, the entire Gu family breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Even Li Cuicui, who had been stony-faced the whole time, felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward slightly.

"You stubborn old man," she said. "I told you, my son wouldn’t do anything so shameless. See? They’re back now."

"Spending two hundred coins just to take a stroll in the city... only you could be so reckless. Let’s see what he uses to pay you back." Gu Dashishi sighed, thinking his old woman was getting more and more unreliable. He wondered if he should take control of the remaining money she had.

"Then you just wait and see," Li Cuicui said, her face full of confidence. ’That rare object... I’ve never seen or even heard of anything like it. It’s a wonder the Jin woman managed to hide it for so long.’

"Hey, old man, do you remember how Granny Jin first came to our village?"

"Which Granny Jin?" Gu Dashishi asked, not recalling at first.

"Who else could it be? The Jin woman’s grandmother. I remember she wasn’t originally from our village, was she?"

Gu Dashishi scratched his back, taking a moment to recall. "Her family moved here a few decades ago, just before we got married. Back then, the Jin Family was a family of three. They bought the old village head’s house, and their life was decent enough.

"It’s a shame that family had bad luck. The son and daughter-in-law were both sickly. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken so many years just to have one daughter like her."

If the couple’s poor health hadn’t drained the family’s resources, Granny Jin wouldn’t have married off her granddaughter under such poor conditions.

"Does anyone in our village know what they used to do?" Li Cuicui asked, lowering her voice mysteriously.

"I think I heard my parents say they used to be traveling merchants, the kind that went from street to street. It’s a pity that by Brother Jin’s generation, his health was too poor to continue the trade. That’s why they moved to our village after the head of their family passed away."

Gu Dashishi looked at Li Cuicui with some curiosity. "Why the sudden interest in all this? I’m pretty sure I’ve told you this before. Have you forgotten?"

Of course, Li Cuicui hadn’t forgotten. These things had all been laid out in the open before their children got married. She just wanted to probe for more details.

’Traveling merchants, huh? That would explain it.’ Li Cuicui ignored her husband, having found a plausible origin for the things her son had produced.

"Mother, we’re back." Ancient Wen Heng felt his way of addressing Li Cuicui was becoming more and more natural. But his melodious and cheerful "Mother" made Li Cuicui shudder and rub her arms.