Chapter 908: Chapter 908: Madam Liang: No House, No Confidence
Madam Liang lifted the blanket and got out of bed, first pulling out a clay pot from underneath, reaching in, and extracting a small cloth bag.
She then rushed over to the wardrobe, pushed aside all the clothes on top, and took out a small box.
Next, she stood up and walked to the beam underneath the ceiling, glanced at the basket hanging above, brought over a stool, stepped on it, and reached into the basket to retrieve a dusty cloth bag.
Immediately after, she dug out another box from behind the headboardâs trunk.
Lastly, she took a slightly smaller cloth bag from underneath the pillow.
Lu Sanzhu was completely stunned as he watched Madam Liang bustling about, placing cloth bags and boxes on the bed and pouring out a pile of pieces of silver.
His mouth agape, he said, "You, you hid them in so many places? If we ever had a hundred taels of silver, wouldnât the whole room be filled with hiding spots? Arenât you afraid youâll forget?"
Madam Liang shot him a look, "This is money; how could I possibly forget? Come on, count it up."
Lu Sanzhu could not worry about anything else at the moment and quickly sat down cross-legged, gathering the silver pieces on the bed together.
He counted with extra care, going through the count twice before excitedly saying, "Indeed, thereâs forty-six taels, this is my first time touching this much money."
Madam Liang scooted over, legs crossed, and said, "So letâs buy a house."
Lu Sanzhu furrowed his brows, "Forty-six taels still isnât enough."
"How about borrowing some from Yu?"
Lu Sanzhu felt a bit scared, "I dare not."
Madam Liang wanted to smack him, "Why are you so cowardly?"
The couple had not found it successful when asking others for a loan; most of the time, they couldnât secure one. Whether they asked the main branch of the family, his Fourth Sister or even the old lady, Lu Sanzhu could bring himself to do it; it was just Yu who made him feel uneasy.
He raised his eyes to look at Madam Liang, "Or, should we just forget it? After buying the house, weâd still have to tighten our belts, and our meals wonât taste good anymore. Itâs not worth it."
"What do you know?" Madam Liang said annoyed, "This isnât our own house; nothing is convenient. Just a few days ago, the household diagonally opposite has their rent hiked by the landlordâthirty coins a day, just like that. Plus, the month before last, the household at the end of the lane, the landlordâs son was splitting the family property, said they didnât have enough space and needed the house back. They compensated a bit and then drove the tenants out. That family didnât even have a place to stay that night; it was still cold back then, and the children nearly fell ill from the cold."
Thatâs when Madam Liang felt it was unsettling to live in a rented house.
Especially after the news of Yu being exiled spread, their own landlord came over twice, hinting in roundabout ways that they wanted to pick a quarrel to drive them out, mentioning how the house was getting rundown and different from before.
If it werenât for Madam Liangâs own fierce and stubborn nature making her difficult to provoke, they might have been driven out as well.
Lu Sanzhu hadnât been aware of this, and immediately wanted to roll up his sleeves, "The landlord is so unscrupulous? Iâll settle accounts with him tomorrow."
"No rush on that, letâs talk about buying a house first. Iâve inquired a little; the smaller houses nearby are about a hundred and eighty taels or so, and the slightly larger ones..."
"*Burp*," Lu Sanzhu let out a belch.
They only had a total of forty-six taels of silver, and youâre already dreaming about one hundred and eighty?
But Madam Liang seemed to have her heart set on buying a house, and Lu Sanzhu suddenly felt immense pressure; the meat he ate that evening couldnât fill the sadness in his heart.
That night, Lu Sanzhu and his wife tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Daya, equally sleepless and affected, was no different.