Wealthy beyond measure, yet you call me a sister-supporting-brother demon?

"Uncle, Aunt, you're here!" Wang Qiao'er, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, greeted them warmly. She noticed the cloth bag that Sheng Guihua was carrying.

"Qiao'er is cooking. We've come to ask your mother to return the money."

"My mother is in the main room." Wang Qiao'er welcomed Yuan Laifu and Sheng Guihua inside.

Grandma Zhang was also present during yesterday's farce where Yuansheng was accused of stealing money. She knew that Yuansheng had earned the money through his own abilities and did not question its origin.

Grandma Zhang took the rice bag and said, "You've come all this way, why did you bring anything?"

“Yuanbao asked me to take it, saying he wanted to thank Grandma Zhang,” Sheng Guihua said with a smile.

"You lent me the money for only a few days and then paid it back, and even gave me two catties of the best white rice. In the end, I, the old lady, got the better deal. Well then, I'll thank Yuanbao in advance. Little Yuanbao is so different after getting married; he's become so sensible all of a sudden." Old Mrs. Zhang knew that Sheng Guihua and Yuan Laifu wouldn't be happy spending over twenty taels of silver to marry such an ugly daughter-in-law, and that the new bride would inevitably suffer. She couldn't help but say a few kind words for the poor boy.

Speaking of this, Sheng Guihua smiled even more brightly, "My daughter-in-law is so smart. Her accounting skills are almost as good as the shopkeeper's. And her needlework is so meticulous. Her embroidery looks just like the real thing."

Sheng Guihua had already seen her daughter-in-law's needlework; her skill was unmatched by any woman in the village.

Yuan Laifu nodded, "My daughter-in-law is our family's lucky star; she brings us good fortune."

The kind-hearted old lady Zhang was even happier, "It's so good that you can think so openly. When it comes to choosing a wife, we only care about whether she can manage a household, not whether she is pretty or not."

That's right.

Grandma Zhang thought to herself, "Those in the village who wanted to see Sheng Guihua and Yuan Laifu make a scene this time won't get their way. Not only will they not harass their daughter-in-law, but judging from their demeanor, they're actually quite doting on her."

Yuan Laifu and Sheng Guihua exchanged pleasantries with Old Lady Zhang for a while before leaving.

Wang Qiao'er was overjoyed as she held the white rice. "Mother, this is the best white rice. It costs twenty coins a pound. We've never eaten such good rice before."

Grandma Zhang said with a smile, "Cook this rice into rice porridge and give those two toothless little ones some rice soup."

Wang Qiao'er and her younger brother and sister-in-law each have a toothless baby. They are worried about what to feed the baby because they are not good at breastfeeding.

"Oh!" Wang Qiao'er was overjoyed. "The Yuan family is truly meticulous in their work."

Grandma Zhang nodded.

……

Butcher Wang hurriedly ran back to the village to raise money.

Including all the silver he had saved up, it totaled twenty-one taels. He sold the pork for a little over one tael, and he still had over two hundred coins in his pocket, which was more than three taels away from twenty-six taels.

But he still needs to borrow five taels, and he needs to keep more than one tael as capital to buy pigs.

I still have to keep doing the butchering and meat business, otherwise how can I pay off my debts, and how can I earn money to buy medicine for my mother?

Thinking of this, Wang Fugui wished he could hang Wang Damao up and beat him.

Once we redeem him this afternoon, we'll hang him from the rafters and give him a good beating!

This idiot!

But how did Yuansheng, that idiot, suddenly become so clever?

If Yuansheng hadn't run home, his son Damao wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

Thinking of this, Butcher Wang felt a surge of hatred. He had to expose the fact that the Yuan family was living a life of luxury while owing money and refusing to pay it back. He would bring it up while borrowing money.

When Wang the Butcher needed to borrow money, he first thought of Sun Qingyou. Sun Qingyou's family owned a small shop and fifty acres of land, making him the richest person in the village.

Butcher Wang arrived at Sun Qingyou's house.

"Brother Sun, I'm shamelessly asking for your help today because it's extremely urgent."

"What's the matter?" Since they were neighbors, Sun Qing was willing to help if it wasn't a big deal.

Butcher Wang, with a mournful face, said pitifully, "My good-for-nothing son went to Donglaishun to eat and drink with a bunch of cronies, and they detained him there, saying that if he can't pay, they'll report him to the authorities and put Da Mao in jail."

"This is no small matter. How much are you going to lend me? I've used all my money to buy goods, and I don't have much cash on hand." Sun Qingyou was afraid that Wang Fugui would be unreasonable and ask for an exorbitant amount.

"Whether it's one or two taels, I'd be extremely grateful if Brother Sun could lend it to me."

Sun Qingyou was prepared to lend a tael or two; they were all neighbors, and he didn't want to see his child go to jail.

Just as Sun Qingyou was about to take out the money, he heard Butcher Wang say, "Brother Sun, the Yuan family has been going all out these past few days. Yesterday they bought dozens of kilograms of meat, and this morning the whole family ate eight sets of mutton offal soup with sesame flatbread. They treated the mutton offal soup like it was free."

Sun Qingyou frowned.

Wang the butcher saw Sun Qingyou frowning and sneered inwardly, "Just as I thought!"

"Brother Sun, I heard that the Yuan family still owes you money. I've never seen such people before. They live a life of luxury but refuse to pay back their debts."

"Isn't this just taking other people's money for your own enjoyment?"

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. Yuan Laifu was such an honest man, but now he's learned from that scoundrel Yuan Sheng."

"Sigh!" Butcher Wang shook his head, feigning regret for Yuan Laifu.

Sun Qingyou frowned, thinking to himself, "My old friend is confused! Even if Yuansheng has improved, money shouldn't be spent like this."

Money doesn't grow on trees; what kind of family can afford to eat like this so casually?

His Sun family was the wealthiest in Shanhou Village. When he went to town, he would at most order a bowl of mutton offal soup and a sesame flatbread.

It seems he needs to have a proper talk with his old friend when he has time.

The reason my old friend did this must have been because Yuanbao instigated it.

This brat is already sixteen, and he's still such a worry.

However, he also realized that this butcher was trying to sow discord between him and the Yuan family.

Sun Qingyou hesitated for a long time before finally taking out one hundred coins. "Fugui, you've come at the right time today. My shop just received a large shipment of goods, and I'm really short of money. I can only lend you one hundred coins."

At this moment, he could not defend the Yuan family. The Yuan family had just repaid him, and he had money on hand, so it would be unreasonable for him to lend Wang Fugui one hundred coins.

"Huh?" Butcher Wang's expression cracked.

He thought Sun Qingyou would lend him two taels of silver. He had previously lent money to Yuansheng for a wedding to bring him good luck, but it had all gone down the drain. He had heard that Sun Qingyou had lent him more than two taels.

He has the skill of slaughtering pigs, and his skills are much better than Yuan Laifu's. How come Sun Qing only lent him one hundred coins?

Could it really be a coincidence that a large shipment was dispatched?

"Brother Sun, what are you saying? One hundred coins is money I lent to Da Mao to save his life."

Later, Wang Fugui went to Zhang's house. Zhang was a kind-hearted person. When she heard that Wang Damao had gotten into trouble, she was planning to lend him a tael of silver. However, she heard Wang Fugui slandering the Yuan family.

Old Mrs. Zhang called her eldest daughter-in-law to take out her most treasured fifty coins and lend them to Butcher Wang.

After Butcher Wang left, Wang Qiao'er spat at him, saying, "What kind of person is he? He can borrow money, but he also has to kick the Yuan family while they're down."

Grandma Zhang pondered, "I wonder when Wang Fugui started having a conflict with the Yuan family. Last time I went to buy meat, he said that Yuan Sheng stole money. He probably told me on purpose so I could spread the word back to the village and use me as a pawn."

"Mother, then lend him fifty coins."

“We’re all neighbors, and they’ve come to us for a loan. If we don’t even lend them fifty coins, we’ll be enemies.”

Wang Qiao'er thought to herself, "It has to be my mother; she's so shrewd and experienced in handling things."

Butcher Wang borrowed money from everyone in the village and finally managed to get five taels of silver. He also spread the word about how the Yuan family lived a life of luxury while refusing to pay their debts.

Yuansheng's reputation has worsened.