Yu Changhe and Sun exchanged a glance, then Sun stepped forward, "It's impossible to give you the land. Tomorrow I'll go back to my mother's house to borrow money. I don't know how much I can borrow, but I promise I'll repay Auntie as soon as possible."
Madam Feng tugged at Old Madam Zhao's sleeve, "Mother, since the money was lent by Zhao Kuo, isn't it inappropriate for you to demand it back?"
Old Madam Zhao turned back and slapped Madam Feng hard, "Are you saying I can't make decisions for my son? I am Zhao Kuo's mother, so my words are his intention!"
Seeing Madam Feng was hit, her eight-year-old daughter Zhao Chunyu hurried over and shouted at Old Madam Zhao, "Why are you hitting my mother? Why have you been hitting her these days?"
Old Madam Zhao, angry at her granddaughter's outburst, cursed, "All these years, she hasn't given me a grandson, just you, a girl. I've long wanted to hit her.
And you, brat, dare to have opinions? Be careful or I'll deal with you too!"
Zhao Chunyu was about to retort but was quickly muffled by Madam Feng, who pulled her back to their courtyard.
Old Madam Zhao eyed Sun, "Are you really going to your mother's to borrow money tomorrow? You better not be trying to trick me."
Sun laughed angrily, "Aunt Zhao jokes. Would I run away over merely four silver taels in the middle of the night?"
Old Madam Zhao thought about it and agreed. The one-acre land Yu Changhe had was top-tier farmland, and if sold, it would be worth ten silver taels. They wouldn't have anywhere to go if they left.
"Let me tell you, even though there's no IOU for these four silver taels, everyone in the village can attest. You can't hope to default."
With that, Old Madam Zhao twisted her body and went home.
Sun lost her mood for picking wild vegetables, returned indoors, sat by the kang, and started crying.
As soon as Yu Changhe entered, Sun cried, "Since your leg became lame, my siblings from my mother's household have become increasingly annoyed with me. Every time I visit, they give me a hard time. I'm afraid it'll be difficult to borrow money when I go back."
Yu Xiaolian noticed that Yu Changhe was also worried, looking silent and dumb. She really wished she could take out the silver from the space but feared scaring them.
Yu Xiaolian thought about it; even if she took out the silver now, she couldn't explain its origin. Instead, it would be better to place a package on the road after Sun heads to her mother's house tomorrow, letting Sun find it by chance. This way, she wouldn't have to come up with excuses.
Having planned her move, Yu Xiaolian pre-wrapped a ten-ounce silver ingot with a piece of worn cloth, along with some broken silver.
That night, as Yu Xiaolian lay at the side of the kang, she fell asleep to the sound of Sun's continuous sobbing and Yu Changhe's long sighs.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Yu Changhe and Sun were already up, probably having stayed awake all night.
Yu Xiaolian quickly dressed in her patched coat, clamoring to go to Grandmother's house with Sun.
Yu Changhe, considering it was still dim outside and Sun was afraid of the dark, agreed to let Yu Xiaolian tag along.
Sun added an extra garment on Yu Xiaolian, saying that the morning dew was heavy and she'd be cold.
In fact, she didn't know that even in the middle of winter, Yu Xiaolian wouldn't feel cold wearing that, since Witch Clan people aren't afraid of the cold.
Yu Xiaolian didn't refuse Sun's kindness. After dressing, she held hands with Sun and set off.
Sun's maternal home was in the neighboring village called Upper River Bay Village. Walking upstream along the river would lead them there.
As they approached Upper River Bay Village, Sun instructed, "When we arrive at Grandmother's place, no matter what unpleasant words your Aunt says, you mustn't talk back, understand? We're here to borrow money, not to argue."
Yu Xiaolian felt it was unnecessary for Sun to subject herself to humiliation, and it was uncertain they'd get any money.
Taking advantage of Sun's momentary distraction, Yu Xiaolian tossed the silver package into the grass ahead of Sun. Sure enough, the distracted Sun stumbled. Fortunately, Yu Xiaolian, prepared in advance, caught her.
Sun thought she had tripped over a stone but upon looking down, saw a small bundle. Opening it, she was startled.
After checking around to ensure no one was there, she picked up a piece of silver and bit it, verifying it was real. Sun then grinned broadly, wrapped the silver up, and with Yu Xiaolian, rushed home.
"Mother, aren't we going to Grandmother's?"
"Silly child, we have money now. I just found money," Sun said, beaming as she hurried with Yu Xiaolian, fearing the owner would come back for it.
When they pushed open the wooden door at home, Sun pulled Yu Changhe, who was weaving a basket by the wall, into the room without a word.
"Why are you back so soon? Did your brother-in-law refuse the loan? If there's no way to borrow, just let Zhao Family have that acre of land."
Sun placed the silver she had tucked in her lap onto the kang, "Look at this!"
"Wow, how did you get so much? Did your brother-in-law make a fortune fishing lately?"
"No, I found these!"
"Found them?" Yu Changhe considered it unlikely. Who would be so careless to lose this much silver—these pieces seemed to total about twenty taels.
"Keep your voice down, don't let your mother hear." Sun went back to close the door.
Then she started counting the silver, "Exactly twenty taels!"
Sun was ecstatic, and even Yu Xiaolian, who couldn't judge ancient silver's weight, had grabbed a handful of broken silver casually—and it amazingly amounted perfectly to twenty taels.
Sun extracted four taels, handing them to Yu Changhe, "Later, go return this to Zhao Family. Do it when there are many people around to witness, to avoid them saying we didn't repay."
Yu Changhe hesitated, "But if Mother asks how much silver we found..."
"You're foolish!" Sun tapped Yu Changhe's forehead, "Absolutely no way should outsiders know about me finding twenty taels of silver. If the Zhao Family asks, just say I managed to patch and scrape the money together from my mother's village, understand?"
Yu Changhe nodded naively, "Alright, got it!"
Sun extracted another two taels, "I'll head to town shortly and buy that Bone Healing Ointment for you, and get some more medicine."
Sun wrapped the remaining silver and stored it in the kang cabinet.
But after thinking, she took it out again and placed it in the wooden box on the floor. A little while later, she took it out and wandered around, feeling nowhere was safe enough for such a large sum!
Finally, Yu Xiaolian saw Sun put the remaining silver back into the kang cabinet, shoving it securely and locking the cabinet's door with a small padlock, finally seeming at ease.
Sun instructed Yu Xiaolian, "Xiaolian, you mustn't speak about the silver I found outside. And the place we hide the silver, you cannot tell anyone either!"
Yu Xiaolian nodded obediently, "Mother, I promise not to say anything. When I sell the herbs for money in a few days, I'll give it to you to keep too, and you can save up a lot for us. Then we can build a big house and keep distant from Grandma and them!"
Yu Xiaolian's words went straight to Sun's heart. Sun patted Yu Xiaolian's head lovingly, "Our little Xiaolian is truly sweet!"