I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

Liu Yanxi was taken aback by her question, but then realized the seriousness of the matter and said dryly, "No. At that time, the little money that my father had saved was all taken away by my grandfather and aunt."

Her voice tinged with anger, "Even the hairpin that Dad bought for Mom was taken away. They won't let me go to town to buy things, so I almost never touch money..."

Liu Nanjia sighed. Sure enough, her brother was just like her, without a single copper coin.

Although the family's money appears to be managed by the grandmother, it is actually under the grandfather's control.

Occasionally, when she was asked to buy something from other people in the village, the cost was calculated meticulously, one copper coin at a time. Not to mention, with her aunt watching over her, how could she possibly have any money?

In their eyes, giving them food and not selling them to children for money was already a huge favor. They didn't even get New Year's money, let alone pocket money.

No matter the era, money is always very important for survival.

They want to separate the family, but the process will definitely not be easy. They may even end up with nothing, so they should be prepared for the worst.

Having some money in the early stages was crucial; otherwise, the three of them might have starved to death rather than died from the beatings and abuse.

Saying they starved to death is an exaggeration. After all, there are still kind-hearted people in the village. At worst, they can dig for wild vegetables or pick some wild fruits in the mountains.

But neither the school nor that dilapidated house has been inhabited for a long time, and there must be a lot of things to be replaced.

In short, I need money.

Liu Nanjia suggested, "Brother, do you know any herbs? Why don't we go up the mountain to collect herbs and sell them for money?"

Liu Yanxi shook his head: "No, Auntie won't allow us to leave the chores at home and run away for so long. She'll beat and scold us when we come back. Besides, even if we do make money, they'll take it away if they find out. You forgot, in the past, the tuition fees for hiring fathers to teach in the village were all paid by the grandfather."

Liu Nanjia paused. How could she forget that at this time, the elders in the family were in charge of all the money. The younger generation had to hand over any money they earned. Anything that required money, such as food and clothing, would only be allocated money after the elders had given their approval.

Some enlightened families might only take half of the money their son and daughter-in-law earn, letting them keep some as their own savings, but this situation would never happen to them.

The brother and sister frowned, at a loss for what to do, when the younger sister, who had been quietly keeping watch, suddenly interjected: "Sister, have you forgotten? Mother left us a lock."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yanxi was completely puzzled. Lock? What lock? He had no idea.

Liu Nanjia slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh, right!"

The original owner's memories were somewhat chaotic; she only picked out the important things to recall first, and there were still some things she hadn't had time to sort out.

When her younger sister reminded her, she remembered that her mother had a longevity lock that she had worn since she was a child. It was made of silver and was very exquisitely crafted. Her father knew about it, but he hadn't told her grandfather and aunt.

When her father passed away, the whole family was in chaos. Her mother seemed to have a premonition that she was about to die, so she gave the longevity lock to the two sisters and told them to hide it. The original owner of this body always kept it in mind and hid it well.

According to her mother, it was given to her by her parents, that is, her maternal grandparents, and she had worn it close to her body since she was a child.

My maternal grandparents were businessmen who supposedly had a glorious period, but by the time my mother was a child, they had gradually declined. Later, my maternal grandparents passed away unexpectedly, leaving her and her older brother to depend on each other, and their family situation became even worse.

But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. In addition, her maternal grandparents and uncles doted on the only girl in the family. Her mother had also received a good education when she was young. She could read and write and was also good at embroidery.

No wonder my mother in my memory was so different from the other women in the village. Even when she was wearing the same coarse linen clothes, she had a gentle and composed temperament, just like a lady from a noble family in an ancient costume drama.

But because of this difference, Mother was very unpopular among the women in the village.

Her aunt-in-law both resented and hated her. Having such a beautiful and elegant sister-in-law only made her seem even more vulgar and unbearable.

As for why my mother ended up here, I've told them that too.

She and her uncle encountered bandits while moving their family. They were near Dushui Village. Her uncle protected her and let her escape first. By chance, her father rescued her, and she stayed with the Liu family.

She had tried to inquire about her uncle, but had received no response.

Later, she heard that the bandits had been wiped out by the imperial court, and there were many corpses on the nearby mountains, all of whom were people who had been robbed while passing by. In addition, no one came to look for her, and she gradually gave up hope.

But deep down, she still held onto a sliver of hope: what if her uncle had escaped this ordeal?

This longevity lock not only embodies her longing, but also expresses her hope that one day her uncle will be able to recognize her children through it.

No wonder, given the nature of Grandpa and Uncle's family, how could they possibly save an orphan girl of unknown origin?

And although they initially objected, they ultimately let their father marry her. Presumably, they saw that their mother's clothes and jewelry were quite valuable, and they were hoping that their uncle could find them a large sum of money to give them.

Later, when there was no news of her uncle and the money was gone, they started to complain that her mother was weak, couldn't do housework, and was useless to them.

Thinking about these things, Liu Nanjia felt even more disgusted with her grandfather and uncle's family.

She even began to doubt whether her father was her grandfather's biological son. Growing up in such a family, it was truly rare for her father to be so upright.

She patted her little sister's head again. Fortunately, both her brother and sister had inherited their parents' personalities. She praised, "Little sister is so smart. I forgot."

She then explained the longevity lock to her brother, and continued, "That longevity lock is now in the room where my little sister and I live. Mother used to hide it there. It should be worth a lot of money and can be considered a form of security. But after all, it is the only thing Mother left behind, and I don't want to pawn it unless absolutely necessary."

Liu Yanxi nodded in agreement. He knew about his uncle's situation, but he didn't know there was a longevity lock.

She spoke with a hint of grievance: "My mother didn't tell me."

Liu Nanjia found it somewhat amusing; he really was still a child. She could only comfort him, saying, "It was too chaotic back then; Mother probably didn't have time. My sister and I were with her more often."

If we continue, we'll be bringing up painful memories again, so I quickly changed the subject: "So we still need to find a way to make some money, secretly, without their knowledge. This can't be rushed, the issue of dividing the family hasn't been resolved yet. I do have a plan, but it's a last resort. It would ruin my reputation and make the master completely despise us. To avoid tarnishing his own reputation, he'll abandon us."

Liu Yanxi immediately became anxious upon hearing this: "How can that be? You're a girl. If your reputation is ruined, you'll never be able to get married. If anyone's going to be ruined, it should be mine. If my reputation is ruined, then the master will throw our entire family out. You're just a girl... so you'll ruin mine anyway!"

Liu Nanjia understood what he didn't say. Given the old man's patriarchal mindset, if his reputation were ruined, he might be beaten to death or sold off, thus failing to achieve their goal of dividing the family property.

Although she didn't care about her reputation, she didn't want to get married.

However, the main purpose of mentioning this method was to change the subject. Once the goal was achieved, the issue was no longer pursued.

He said, "We can't afford to ruin anyone's reputation. It's not worth hurting ourselves with someone like that. We'll think of a solution later. I'm already very satisfied that you agreed to split the family today. Go fetch some water. You've been out too long; you'll get scolded again when you get back."

Liu Yanxi did not correct her for referring to her grandfather as "that kind of person," which clearly indicated that he somewhat agreed. He nodded, replied "okay," and then picked up the wooden bucket and left.

Liu Nanjia was not in a hurry to go back. Although the main task for today, persuading her brother to agree to the division of the family, had been completed, how could she come out and do only this one thing?

She can't let this head injury go to waste.