Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

Ji He finally took Uncle Ji and his aunt to the second wife's house.

At this time, the front hall of the Ji family was filled with people from both the first and second houses. No one spoke, and the atmosphere seemed a bit solemn.

The aunt twisted her body uncomfortably in her chair, glared at Ji He and Zhang Qinghu, and signaled them to explain their purpose themselves.

Zhang Qinghu lowered his head, looking very worried, and had no intention of speaking at all.

Seeing this, Ji He could only grit his teeth and look at his aunt-in-law with pleading eyes again.

The aunt-in-law was so angry that she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and finally the mother and daughter turned their eyes to Uncle Ji.

Ji's father and mother watched the exchange of glances between these people, and they knew clearly in their hearts that they had something to ask for.

Uncle Ji felt a little embarrassed by the gazes of the mother and daughter, and finally spoke shamefully: "Yinzhu, I want to borrow some money from you."

Father Ji had heard about Zhang Qinghu's little deeds a long time ago, and he could probably guess why they came to his house at this time.

He pretended to be concerned about his elder brother and asked, "Brother, have you run into any difficulties? Why do you need to borrow money?"

Ji's father had always been an honest farmer. Although his life had improved and his food and clothing had improved several notches, he still maintained his simple and easygoing demeanor. However, at this moment, he pretended to be completely clueless, as if he knew nothing about Zhang Qinghu's affairs.

"It's not me, it's Qinghu. He owes a lot of money." Uncle Ji was a very honest man. When his brother asked him, he told the truth: "This kid is a bad boy. He owes 200 taels of silver to the gambling house. We farmers have never seen so much silver. How can we come up with it?"

Father Ji was worried about his eldest brother's honesty. He felt that his eldest brother was too willing to take on too much. After all, Zhang Qinghu's biological parents were still alive, so how could it be the turn of him, as a father-in-law, to worry about such matters?

"Brother, doesn't Qinghu still have his parents? Why are you worrying about borrowing money from everywhere for this matter?"

Ji's father's words seemed to wake up Uncle Ji and Ji Feng beside him. They looked at each other and seemed to realize the problem.

Zhang Qinghu's debt should have been repaid by the Zhang family themselves; their concern was unnecessary. Furthermore, Zhang Qinghu's parents hadn't even shown up, leaving them feeling frustrated.

Ji He saw her father's hesitation and said quickly: "Uncle, all our land has been mortgaged, and we have no money left. The only thing left for our family is the house to shelter us from the wind and rain." She sounded very pitiful, hoping to move Ji's father.

Father Ji looked at Uncle Ji meaningfully, but he said to Ji He, "The entire Zhangjia Village is made up of Zhang family members. I believe you have already borrowed a lot of silver from them, right? Xiao He, talk to your second uncle and tell him how many taels of silver you need to make up the money. If you are short of ten or eight taels, your second uncle and your second aunt should be able to raise it with their hard work."

The people in the first house also understood what Ji's father meant.

His point was that the Zhang family owed gambling debts and couldn't pay them back, so they should borrow money from the Zhang family. If they couldn't come up with the money, even if it was just a little short, as Ji He's maternal uncle, he wouldn't be incapable of helping. But if the Zhang family didn't contribute a penny and just expected him to be the one to take advantage, that was out of the question.

Ji Nuan didn't expect that the old man could be so smart. After looking at Ji's mother, he secretly gave her a thumbs up.

What Ji's father said not only expressed his attitude, but also reminded the people in the first house not to be foolish and let others lead them by the nose.

Ji Feng resented Ji He. Zhang Qinghu had coaxed her into disregarding her family and demanding a loan from his parents. If the loan wasn't forthcoming, it would damage the relationship between the two families. Even if the loan was granted, what would the Zhang family have to pay back? In the end, his father would be the only one caught in the middle.

Ji He had no idea what Ji Feng was thinking of her. She looked at everyone in the second house with resentment. Her second uncle's family lived in a large house, dressed in gold and silver, and even had a large number of servants. They were so rich, but they wouldn't even lend her, their own niece, two hundred taels of silver. She couldn't suppress the resentment in her heart, and it showed on her face.

Ji Nuan just happened to catch Ji He's eyes full of resentment and sneered in her heart.

The eldest aunt didn't want to pay for it herself, but she also knew the situation on her mother's side. If she didn't borrow money from the second son now, the casino might really make Zhang Qinghu a cripple.

So, the eldest aunt-in-law showed her unwavering determination and said to Ji's father, "Yinzhu, what's enough for your eight or ten taels? We've borrowed from the Zhang family before we even come to your house. Look at you two, everything you wear and wear on your head, everything is valuable! Just the gold hairpin on your second son's wife's head is worth two hundred taels, right? Xiaohe is your niece, and if her family can't pay back the debt, they're going to break Qinghu's legs. You can't just watch your niece-in-law become a cripple!"

Ji's mother smiled and replied, "Oh, look at what your sister-in-law said! We old couple don't have much ability, and everything we eat and wear is provided by our children. Qinghu is your nephew from your mother's side, and now he has become your son-in-law. I believe your sister-in-law can't bear to see Qinghu suffer, so she is willing to lend him all the money in the family."

There was a hint of sarcasm and ridicule in Ji's mother's words, which left the aunt speechless.

Seeing that her parents were no longer willing to speak, Ji He felt anxious and helpless. She pinched Zhang Qinghu beside her hard.

Did she really have no resentment in her heart? Of course she did! When she married Zhang Qinghu, she felt wronged and that her fate had been changed. She finally decided to let go of her resentment and live a good life with Zhang Qinghu from now on. After just a few days of peace and stability, these things happened again.

As a married woman, facing an incompetent husband, she couldn't just walk away and ignore him. Who would want a married woman? Besides helping her husband solve the problem at hand, what else could she do?

"Speak!" She stared at Zhang Qinghu fiercely, and without saying anything, pulled him to kneel in front of Ji's father.

"Second uncle, we are really forced into a desperate situation, so we shamelessly come to you for help. Second uncle, please be merciful and help us!" Ji He's eyes were red, and it was not known whether he was angry with Zhang Qinghu or anxious because he could not borrow money. He looked a bit pitiful.

Zhang Qinghu, who had been silent since entering the house, finally spoke up at this moment: "Second Uncle, I was a jerk and ignorant before. Now I know I was wrong. I will definitely change and never gamble again. Please, Second Uncle, save me!"

Looking at the situation, it would be unreasonable not to lend the money.

But you can't lend money so easily, otherwise people will mistakenly think that he has a lot of money, it is easy to borrow money, and he will come to borrow again in the future.

"What are you doing? Get up!" Father Ji said as he reached out to help the two of them up. He then turned and exchanged a glance with Butler Liu. He ordered, "Butler, go get the box where I keep my money."

Butler Liu had been standing next to Ji's father's seat, watching the whole process clearly. After receiving the master's eye signal, he immediately understood what to do.

Just when the aunt-in-law and Ji He and his wife were full of hope and thought that there was finally hope of paying off the debt, housekeeper Liu hurried back holding a small box.

Father Ji poured out the contents of the box with a loud clatter. They were all silver coins.

Ji He and his wife stared in amazement. After all their efforts, they only managed to get this little money. How could it be enough to pay off their debt?

Ji Nuan and her sister-in-law sat together with their mouths twitching wildly, almost unable to suppress their laughter.

As Ji's father counted the silver, he said to Ji He, "These are the pocket money your cousins gave me. They took care of my food and drink, so I didn't need to spend any extra money. All the money I saved is here. I counted it and there are thirteen taels and six cents in total. I'm lending it all to you now."

As Mr. Ji said this, he pushed the small box out with a serious expression as if that was really his entire fortune.

Just as my aunt was about to speak again, she was silenced by Uncle Ji.

He turned to Ji He and his wife and said, "Hurry up and thank your uncle. This money can help you pay back part of the debt. Take this money and go solve the problem quickly."

Ji He reluctantly took the box and thanked him. At Uncle Ji's urging, the few of them left with different expressions.

After seeing that everyone in the main house had left, Ji's mother sighed and said, "Ah, lending this money out is worse than throwing it into the water. After all, it will only make a sound. If I give it to them, I'm afraid they'll only end up complaining about me!"