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

"Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle! My dad got hit in the back by a tree branch." She said, tears streaming down her face.

"What?" Yuan Sheng grabbed Yu Chuan. "Yu Chuan, don't panic, talk to your uncle first."

Zhou Yuchuan sniffed. "Today, the logging team was cutting down a tree that was as thick as two people could hug. The tree didn't fall in the direction we planned. My dad has a leg injury, so he was running too slowly and got hit in the back by a side branch. He couldn't get up right away!"

"Waaah, when Dad was carried back, Mom immediately went to fetch the village's barefoot doctor. The doctor said that to save Dad's life, it would cost at least fifty or sixty taels of silver. After spending that money, Dad would probably be able to stand up again, but he wouldn't be able to do heavy work. If we wanted to completely cure Dad's internal injuries and restore him to his previous state, it would probably cost several hundred taels of silver."

"My grandfather meant there was no hope. My mother sent me to beg my maternal grandparents. She said that no matter what, my father must not die." Zhou Yuchuan immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. "Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, please, please save my father!"

Yuan Sheng didn't let Zhou Yuchuan kneel down, but helped him up. "Yuchuan! Don't worry! I'll save my brother-in-law even if it means going bankrupt!"

Zhou Yuchuan was stunned by his uncle's firm words. Was this still his uncle? The uncle who stole a penny of his New Year's money? He felt that his uncle was different the last time he saw him, but he didn't expect that his uncle had really changed!

Yuan Sheng, realizing that walls have ears and that Ma Guifen was Ma Xiangqin's aunt, pulled Zhou Yuchuan inside to talk. He shushed him and pointed to the other side of the wall. Zhou Yuchuan understood and followed his uncle into the house.

"Uncle, can you really save my dad?" Zhou Yuchuan asked, his eyes brimming with tears. Although he desperately wanted to believe it, it was clearly impossible. His maternal grandparents were still heavily in debt from trying to bring good luck to his uncle. His maternal grandparents owned ten acres of fertile land, which would be enough to pay for the wedding, but what would his grandparents and uncle eat if they sold it?

Time was of the essence, so Yuan Sheng didn't waste any words and directly took out a hundred-tael silver note and a forty-tael silver note. "Yu Chuan, your uncle has made something of himself. This is the one hundred and fourteen taels of silver I earned. Look at the ox and cart in the yard, they're new ones I bought too."

Yuan Sheng's words were like a fairy tale, leaving Zhou Yuchuan completely stunned! How could this be?!

Farmers can only save a few taels of silver a year, yet his uncle suddenly produced one hundred and forty taels?! The person in front of him looked exactly like his uncle, but he felt like he didn't recognize him at all; he was a complete stranger!

Who is my uncle? My uncle is a notorious scoundrel in Qingshan Town. He is lazy and good-for-nothing. He is over 10 years old but still doesn't work in the fields. He spends all his time eating, drinking and playing. He is idle and sponges off his parents and sister. He even tries to swindle his nephew out of a single penny of his New Year's money!

Now, my uncle actually says he's earned 140 taels of silver! And he wants to use that silver to save Dad?!

"Yu Chuan, don't worry about that now, saving your father is the priority."

Zhou Yuchuan realized that now was not the time to think about these things; the most urgent task was to save his father!

Zhou Yuchuan was about to kneel down again, but Yuan Sheng stopped him. "Yuchuan, I called you in for two reasons. First, to tell you about your uncle's strength—he has the ability to save your father, and money is not a problem—so you can rest assured. Second, to ask you whether you really want to separate from the family."

These two pieces of news from his uncle sent Zhou Yuchuan from the depths of despair to the heights of heaven. His father was his everything; his grandfather had decided not to save him, because his father's death would mean the collapse of his world. Now, his uncle was actually saying that money was no object and that he could save his father?

As for separating the family property, that was something he had always dreamed of! His father and mother were filial and hardworking; without separating, they would only be able to work like two old donkeys, supporting a bunch of lazybones. His uncle's idea was that not only could he save his father, but he could also take this opportunity to separate the family property?

Zhou Yuchuan nodded emphatically, "Uncle, I want to separate from the family. I've been dreaming about it."

Yuan Sheng patted Zhou Yuchuan's head. "Brother-in-law is loyal, righteous, and filial. Normally, he would never have separated the family. But this time, he should have seen through the true colors of the Zhou family, and maybe he will be willing to separate the family now."

Zhou Yuchuan's eyes lit up. This time, his father had seen through his grandparents and his second and youngest uncles' true colors. Maybe they could successfully separate the family.

“Yu Chuan, you’re a clever child. Don’t tell anyone except your mother that I was able to save your brother-in-law, including Yu Zhu and Yu Feng. They’re still young, and I’m afraid they’ll leak the news. Don’t tell your father either. Only in this way can he see more clearly how the Zhou family treated him and how they treated you.”

Zhou Yuchuan nodded heavily.

"Also, your uncle has one more thing to tell you. You must keep a close eye on your father, and you must tell your mother this as well. Based on what I know about your brother-in-law, he certainly doesn't want to be a burden to you, and he might find an opportunity to end his own life. Yu Chuan, this is of utmost importance!"

Zhou Yuchuan wiped away his tears. Fortunately, his uncle reminded him that his father was the kind of person who would do such a thing. "Uncle, don't worry, I won't sleep for the next two days. I'll just keep an eye on my father."

"Good boy." Yuan Sheng patted Zhou Yuchuan's head again. "You should go back now. Make sure no one is around before you tell your mother what I'm about to say."

"Don't worry, Uncle."

Originally, Yuan Laifu and Sheng Guihua were completely panicked upon hearing the news about Zhou Yuchuan, but seeing their son's methodical arrangements, their anxious and worried hearts gradually calmed down. Their son was only a few years older than Yuchuan, yet his organized approach to things showed a maturity far surpassing that of the two of them!

Zhu Chenxi had already taken out her twelve taels and three mace of silver. "My lord, take this. Saving my brother-in-law is the most important thing."

Sheng Guihua took out twenty-one taels and two mace of silver. "Yuanbao, take it all with you."

“Chenxi, Father and Mother, even if it costs several hundred taels of silver to treat my brother-in-law’s back, it’s not something that can be done overnight. I have enough silver on hand. Let’s not talk about it now. I’ll go to town to find a doctor right away. But I don’t trust the barefoot doctor to treat my brother-in-law.”

Yuan Sheng didn't drive the oxcart; the oxcart couldn't keep up with his two feet. He raced towards the town.

……

Zhang Wen and Ma Guifen were being forced to stand against the wall as punishment for being tempted, but they never expected to hear such explosive news!

Zhou Changlin is injured? The Yuan family is willing to go bankrupt to save Zhou Changlin?

Zhang Wen and Ma Guifen didn't care what would happen to their niece, Ma Xiangqin, if Zhou Changlin were no longer a source of labor for the Zhou family. All they knew was that they now had another opportunity to acquire the Yuan family's land, well, house, cattle, and oxcart at a low price.

It's unlikely that Yuan Laifu can buy cattle and oxcarts at low prices, but he can sell them at the livestock market. However, he can't sell the fields, wells, and residential land to the villagers.

Last time, they asked for eight taels of silver for the well and the half-acre of land, but this time they'll only offer six taels at most. It's because that old man Yuan Laifu and that little brat Yuan Sheng offended the Zhang family.

If the Yuan family were to sell their fertile land, they could offer a maximum of three taels per mu; that's the limit they could give!

Don't blame them for driving down the price so hard; it's because the Yuan family offended them!

Zhang Wen and Ma Guifen's spirits, which had been dampened by their previous setbacks, were rekindled! This time, they were determined to make the Yuan family pay a heavy price!

"Guifen, hurry up and prepare the money! We might need it in the next couple of days!"

"Uh... okay." Ma Guifen then remembered that she had secretly given the Zhang family's money to her nephew Ma Laixi to lend out.

My nephew, Ma Laixi, had connections and could speak well to Manager Cao at Donglaishun. The family had a total of seventy taels of silver in savings, of which fifteen taels were kept and the remaining fifty-five taels were given to Ma Laixi.

She had previously heard that her son was going to spend thirty taels to attend a great scholar's class, so she went to Dongshan Village to ask Laixi for the money. However, Laixi said the money wouldn't be back until next month, and since the great scholar wouldn't be arriving for three months, she wasn't in a hurry to ask Laixi for it. What should she do now?

She took fifty-five taels of silver to lend out for three months, and Lai Xi said he could get sixty taels back. Ma Xiangqin wanted to save more money for herself, so she didn't tell Zhang Wen about it. She was a little uneasy at the moment.

Fifteen taels of silver should be enough to buy several acres of land from the Yuan family. The Yuan family said they would sell their entire fortune to save their son-in-law, and that was the limit they could go!

Only after thinking about this did Ma Xiangqin feel relieved.

Just then, a group of people arrived noisily at the Zhang family's door.

"Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, open the door quickly! Qingshan and Qingshui have been hit by a falling tree!"