Song Lin had always been calm and steady and had never lost his temper like this before. Grandma Song finally sensed that something was wrong, “Boss, what’s wrong with you?”
Song Lin opened his mouth-
Song Wan Yue, however, preempted him, “Father, let’s go inside and talk.”
If Song Lin was still like this after hearing this, the rest of them would have to sit on the floor in fear. In order to avoid this kind of thing, Song Wan Yue thought it would be better to go inside and talk about it.
“Okay, okay, let’s go inside and talk.”
All of them went inside.
Grandma Song and Elder Song sat and the rest stood. Song Wan Yue again asked Song Shen to bring in the small stools that the crowd usually ate on, one for each of them to sit on, and gestured for Song Si to speak.
Song Si cleared her throat slightly and took out the silver tickets she had with her again and held them in her hand, “This is the silver ticket from Yue’er’s sale of mint oil and pills, the total is 20,000 taels.”
The room fell into dead silence.
Everyone looked at him motionlessly, not even blinking their eyes, even Song San Xiao, who was usually the most stirring, had the same expression as them.
Their reaction was unexpected, and he couldn’t help but look at Song Wangyue, wondering what was wrong with the family.
What could be wrong, of course they were stunned.
Song Wangyue held back a smile and held out her hand and waved it in front of Grandma Song and Elder Song, “Grandpa, Grandma, come back to your senses.”
Both of them simultaneously froze and looked at her.
Song Wangyue’s eyes narrowed with a smile, “It’s true that it was sold for twenty thousand taels, but ……”
Grandma Song suddenly reached out and grabbed her with a death grip, “Say that again.”
“It is true that it was sold for twenty thousand taels.”
Grandma Song let go of her hand and reached for Master Song’s arm, pinching it fiercely.
“Sizzle ……”
Master Song almost jumped up in pain.
“Old man, it’s true, I’m not dreaming.”
Old Master Song bared his teeth in pain, touching the place on his arm where he had been pinched and said without good grace, “Of course you weren’t dreaming, I’m going to die from the pain.”
A hand reached out from the diagonal and took the silver ticket directly from Song Si’s hand, “Let me see.”
Song Shu also padded up.
The room was filled with the sound of Song San Xiao counting the silver tickets, “One thousand, two thousand, three thousand ……”
Even Song Lin and Xu, who had always been calm and steady, had their lips moving silently in tandem with him.
“Nineteen thousand sixteen.”
Song San Xiao’s last voice fell, and the room fell silent again.
Then Grandma Song stood up and walked three or two steps to Song Sanxiao, taking the silver ticket over with her left hand and slapping him on the back of the head with a big slap with her right hand, “Why is there four hundred taels missing? You bring it out for me.”
“Pfft, hahaha!”
Song Wangyue really couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, “Grandma, the four hundred taels were spent by me and big brother these days, it wasn’t Third Uncle who hid it.”
When she laughed, everyone laughed along with her, even Song Si couldn’t hold back her laughter, which echoed through the house for a long time.
When it calmed down, Grandma Song put the silver tickets on the table before asking, “Yue’er, how did you sell so much?”
“Grandma still remembers the big sack of herbs that Young Master Gu asked you to bring back? It was full of good medicinal herbs, and I had nothing to do at home, so I made them into pills with my parents, so I discussed it with my big brother and gave the Gu family ten thousand taels.”
“As it should be.”
Grandma Song nodded, “I’m too tired to come back today, tomorrow you and your big brother will go and give it to the young master of the Gu family as soon as you can, to thank them properly.”
“As for the rest of ……”
Grandma Song had never had so many silver tickets before and was at a loss as to how to distribute them.
“Grandma put it away and let big brother take it when he goes to the capital to take the scholarship exam.”
Grandma Song looked to Xu.
In the past, all the silver Song Lin earned had been taken out to pay for Song Si’s schooling, but those amounts were very small, now this was a large sum.
“Old Grandpa’s, you see ……”
Xu didn’t expect Grandma Song to ask herself and quickly said, “Yue’er is right, it’s better for Mother to keep it.”
“In that case, I’ll take it.”
Grandma Song counted out ten thousand taels and gave it to Song Wan Yue, and took two more fifty taels and gave them to Xu and Liu Cui Lan, “I’ve made you all suffer all these years, this silver cheque is for your personal money, buy whatever you want, don’t feel bad.”
Liu Cui Lan didn’t take it, not to mention that all the silver was earned by Yue’er, and Song Si had spent a lot of money on her elder brother’s silver for her schooling over the years, as well as for her exams in Beijing, which was another considerable expense.
She said, “If you don’t take it, your sister-in-law won’t want it either.”
“What about mine?”
Song San Xiao was too afraid of being beaten up to move forward and stood by the door, asking blearily.
Although he didn’t have much use for his personal money, a man with money in his hand could go out and talk to people with a stiff back and a straight back.
“You don’t have it.”
“Why?”
Song San Xiao was dissatisfied, it would be better to give him five taels instead of fifty.
Grandma Song glared at him, “Because you don’t have a daughter-in-law, if you have the guts to take one back, I’ll give you fifty taels too.”
Song Sanxiao wailed, “You’re being unreasonable.”
Song Shen didn’t have a hankering for silver, he knew it wouldn’t be his share. He just wanted to know if Song Wangyue had bought him any gifts back.
“We also bought presents. Grandma, Mother and Second Aunt each had a pair of silver earrings and a pair of bracelets, Grandpa had a catty of good tobacco leaves, and as for Father and Second Uncle and Third Uncle’s, Big Brother and I went around for half a day but couldn’t find anything suitable, so we bought a jar of good wine for you.”
“What about mine?”
Song Shen asked impatiently.
“Your …… elder brother and I didn’t see anything suitable either, so I’ll give you five taels of silver and you can go buy it yourself.”
“Really?”
Song Shen almost jumped up in excitement.
“It’s not fair, Song Shen even has silver, why don’t I?”
Song San Xiao yelled.
“If Third Uncle wants, I can give you five taels, but you can’t drink any more wine from the wine altar outside.”
Song Sanxiao held out his hand, “If you don’t drink it, you don’t drink it, you give me ……”
When he said this, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind and he immediately retracted his hand again, “Yue’er, you wouldn’t be buying it ……?”
Song Wan Yue nodded her head.
Song Sanxiao turned around and walked outside, “Song Shen, go find me a small altar and pour me some wine out, I’ll drink it when I’m well.”
Song Shen followed him out.
Grandma Song took another three hundred taels of silver to give to Song Wan Yue, “Tomorrow morning go and ask your elder brother to accompany you to the county to redeem the Gu family’s bracelet and return it to them.”
The bracelet had always been a stone weighing on their hearts, so the sooner they redeemed it and returned it to the Gu family, the sooner they would be able to relax.
……
The next morning, Song Wan Yue and Song Si went to the pawn shop after arriving at the county town in a bullock cart.
Song Si put the pawn ticket in the small window, “We ransom things.”
The old courtier raised his eyes slightly to look at him, then took the pawn ticket over and his pupils shrank slightly when he saw what he was ransoming.
