Sun Shi was terrified that the money she had just hidden would be found. If she said that she hadn't stolen Yu Laotai's money, Yu Laotai probably wouldn't believe her.
The more Sun Shi struggled, the tighter Yu Ziyi pulled. Seeing that her clothes were about to be torn by Yu Ziyi, Yu Changhe stepped forward and slapped Yu Ziyi on the face.
"You little brat, how dare you tussle with your second aunt! Let go immediately!"
Yu Ziyi was stunned by Yu Changhe's slap. Sun Shi seized the opportunity to rush into the house, and as soon as she entered, she saw that everything in the kang cabinet had been turned out by Yu Changfu. Her heart sank as she slumped to the ground.
Yu Xiaolian walked over to help Sun Shi up and secretly scratched her palm. Sun Shi looked at Yu Xiaolian, who was winking at her, and immediately understood her intention.
She stopped panicking and simply watched Yu Changfu rummage through the place. "I say, eldest brother, if you don't find the money, you better put everything back in order, just as it was!"
Yu Changfu initially took Sun Shi's change of expression as a sign that she had indeed taken the money. But now, after searching the room thoroughly and finding nothing, he started to think he might have been overthinking.
Seeing Yu Changfu continuing stubbornly to search a second time, Yu Xiaolian spoke up, "Uncle, all the money we had was gathered to repay the Zhao Family this morning. There's not a single coin left at home. If you find even a single coin, we should thank you!"
Yu Changfu thought of how suspicious Sun Shi's frightened look was earlier.
But after searching this small, shabby house twice without finding a single coin, he had no choice but to leave and tell Yu Laotai that nothing was found.
Yu Laotai shot a hawk-like gaze at Yu Xiaolian, "Search Little Nemesis, she was the only one in the room earlier. Maybe she has hidden it on herself after hearing we were going to search the house."
Yu Changhe quickly stopped Yu Changfu, who was heading towards Yu Xiaolian, "Eldest brother, it's not appropriate for an uncle to search his niece, right?"
Yu Changfu blushed and hesitated for a moment.
Cao Shi volunteered, "I'll search!"
Sun Shi's heart skipped a beat again. If they didn't find it in the house, the Silver must be on Xiaolian. Wouldn't it be a dead giveaway if they searched her?
Sun Shi was just about to block Yu Xiaolian, but Yu Xiaolian gently nudged her aside and said to Cao Shi, "Aunt, you can search. I have nothing to hide."
Cao Shi walked over and patted Yu Xiaolian all over. Except for the bones that were hard to the touch, there was nothing else.
Yu Laotai whispered to Yu Laodie, "What should we do? Should we search the eldest son's room?"
Yu Laodie maintained a calm face, "Since we've searched the second son's room, let's be fair and search the eldest's too. I'll go check myself!"
Yu Laodie tucked his tobacco pipe into the waistband and headed to the room where Yu Changfu's family lived. Cao Shi's face changed, and she quickly said, "Mom, just to let you know in advance, I have some personal money saved over the years, but that's my dowry; you can't take it."
Yu Laotai scolded, "Nonsense! You've been married for over twenty years, and didn't the dowry your parents gave you run out a long time ago?"
Cao Shi felt heartbroken, realizing that her mother-in-law was clearly going to take her personal savings.
Yu Laodie went inside and quickly found a clay pot next to the bed hole. Inside, there was half a pot of Copper Coins, a few pieces of broken silver, and when he opened the red cloth wrapping, there was also a silver hairpin and a silver bracelet.
Cao Shi grabbed the clay pot, "Mom, this is my personal savings accumulated over many years. You can't take it!"
Yu Laotai snatched Yu Laodie's tobacco pipe from his waist and hit Cao Shi a few times, "Look at the state of our family, and you're only concerned about your personal savings. Your younger brother-in-law is about to remain unmarried."
Even though the hits hurt, Cao Shi was unwilling to let go of the clay pot to Yu Laotai. It was Yu Changfu who came over, grabbed the pot, and handed it to Yu Laotai, "Mom, no matter what, getting a wife for Third Brother is more important."
Seeing Yu Changfu hand over the pot to his mother, Cao Shi collapsed and started hitting Yu Changfu frantically, "Are you crazy? Your mother has already lost all the family's possessions, and now you're giving this money for Changyu's bride. What about our Sonshu's education? Our Sonshu is doing so well in school; are you willing to let him come home and farm?"
Yu Changfu, hearing Cao Shi's words, suddenly remembered he had a son studying in town. He hit his own head twice hard and squatted down, "What do you expect me to do? My dear brother on one side and my son on the other."
Yu Laotai suddenly said to Cao Shi, "I say Changfu did nothing wrong. Sonshu won't die if he doesn't study, but if Changyu doesn't get a wife, that'll be the end of the line!"
Yu Laotai left holding the clay pot, mumbling how Cao Shi saved so little over the years.
Cao Shi, infuriated, shouted at Yu Laotai, "If it's too little, why don't you give it back to me?"
In the past, even though Cao Shi was crafty, she never dared to talk back to her mother-in-law.
After all, Yu Laotai held the financial power, and the tuition fees for her two sons depended on her. But at this moment, she was driven to madness by anger.
After Yu Laotai and Yu Laodie left, Cao Shi angrily kicked Yu Changfu who was squatting on the ground a few more times.
Yu Changfu didn't fight back, enduring Cao Shi's scolding and beating without saying a word.
It wasn't until he saw Cao Shi packing up and calling Yu Ziyi to return to her family home that he snapped back to reality and tried to stop her, only to be pushed away by Yu Ziyi.
Yu Ziyi often complained about Yu Laotai's favoritism, and now that Yu Laotai had taken his mother's savings from all these years, he hated his grandmother even more.
Of course, he also resented his weak and incompetent father.
As soon as Sun Shi entered the house, she closed the door and asked Yu Xiaolian in a low voice, "Where's the Silver? Where did you hide it?"
Yu Xiaolian ran to the rice bag, took out a cloth wrap containing the Silver, and handed it to Sun Shi.
Sun Shi asked in surprise, "Didn't your uncle search the rice bag earlier? How did he not find it?"
Yu Xiaolian thought to herself that of course he didn't find it, because she had taken it out from her space while using the rice bag as a cover.
"I was really startled when Uncle searched the rice bag, but he's always so careless. He searched so sloppily that it allowed us to escape this ordeal."
Sun Shi walked over, picked up the rice bag, and mumbled, "I've been grinding this rice for more than half a month, why does it seem like it hasn't been consumed at all?"
Yu Xiaolian quickly changed the subject, "Mom, my uncle turned this room upside down, we should hurry and tidy it up."
While folding clothes, Sun Shi said to Yu Changhe, "I never feel at ease with this money at home. Why don't we repay the debts we owe to my mother and my brother? Otherwise, our money might be searched and taken again someday."
Yu Changhe thought Sun Shi made sense. He didn't want the money to be confiscated while the debt to his mother-in-law's family remained unpaid, as that would leave him with no tears to cry.
Seeing Yu Changhe agree, Sun Shi took Yu Xiaolian with her to Upper River Bay at noon.
Yu Xiaolian really didn't want to go out with Sun Shi in the middle of the day, but Sun Shi had Silver with her and was scared, so she made Yu Xiaolian accompany her.