Chapter 31: Madam Su’s Conditions

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“We’re relatives, after all. How could I possibly accept your money?”

Upon hearing Madam Su say this, Zhang Lishi frowned deeply. “Then what do you want?”

Madam Su smiled and patted Li Sumei’s hand. “To be honest, I’m already this old. My family doesn’t lack money, my sons and daughters-in-law are all filial, and my grandchildren are obedient and sweet. Life has been pretty satisfying. The only lingering regret I have is that I still have feelings for that old house in Chang’an Alley. If you return that house to me, I’ll return your brother.”

“What?”

Zhang Lishi’s expression darkened. She almost cursed Madam Su for being delusional, but then she remembered her brother was still in Madam Su’s hands, so she forcefully swallowed her anger. “Give me some time. I don’t have enough money right now to redeem that house.”

That house had been seized by Li Ergou’s creditors as payment for his gambling debts. To buy it back would cost no less than three hundred taels of silver.

Qian Cuimiao’s expression changed drastically. She hurried to stop her. “Mother! You can’t agree to this! How could we possibly have that much money? If we drain all our savings to redeem Uncle, how are we supposed to live?”

She had two sons, and once spring came, she’d need to pay tuition fees for the tutor!

Her husband wasn’t like Zhang Laosan, hiding away private savings. All of the family’s money was controlled by Madam Zhang. Otherwise, why would she always follow Zhang Lishi’s lead?

Zhang Lishi had already been furious inside, and Qian Cuimiao’s words gave her a target to vent on. She slapped her across the face.

Slap!

“Shut your mouth! This isn’t your place to speak!”

The slap left Qian Cuimiao’s face red and swollen, and even her hair became disheveled.

Li Sumei furrowed her brows slightly, about to speak, but Madam Su gently squeezed her hand, signaling her not to interfere.

Li Sumei pursed her lips and held back her words.

Qian Cuimiao, still concerned about her sons’ future, refused to back down. Her eyes red, she argued, “Mother, I don’t believe that if we don’t ransom Uncle, they’d actually dare to do anything to him! I know Uncle is your biological brother—you raised him yourself and deeply care about him. But Jinbao and Yuanbao are your grandchildren too! Can’t you think about them? Over the years, you’ve already given Uncle so much money, paid off so many of his gambling debts, and even left him our house in the capital. Have I, as your daughter-in-law, ever said a word against it?”

“Qian-shi! Have you finished causing a scene?”

Zhang Lishi shouted in rage.

“Mother! My wife didn’t mean it that way. Please don’t blame her! She’s just worried about our family, that’s all.”

Zhang Laoda quickly stepped between them to mediate. Then he turned to Madam Su and said with a pleading expression, “Aunt, look at the state our family’s in… Can’t you just let my uncle go? You were always so good to me when I was little—was all that fake?”

Madam Su had long grown cold toward this eldest nephew. Her face remained expressionless. “If you want me to let him go, those are my conditions. If you won’t agree, then just wait to collect his corpse.”

With that, Madam Su told Li Sumei to close the door and go back inside.

Qian Cuimiao continued to object to spending so much money on saving Li Ergou. Zhang Lishi, thoroughly disappointed in her, said coldly, “If you’re not willing, then go back to your parents’ home. You have no say in Zhang family matters.”

“Laoda, let’s go home!”

Calling for Zhang Laoda, she turned and left.

Zhang Laoda tried to smooth things over. “Mother, she just has a stubborn temper. Please don’t get angry. It’s freezing today—go warm yourself by the fire. I’ll talk to her and we’ll be right behind you.”

Zhang Lishi looked at him with a frown but didn’t object. She only scolded, “You’re just as useless!” before leaning on her cane and walking home.

Zhang Laoda quickly smiled apologetically. After seeing his mother off, he hurried back to Qian Cuimiao.

“You just told me not to speak, and now you’re the one arguing with Mother?”

Slap!

Qian Cuimiao said nothing. She slapped him across the face.

Zhang Laoda didn’t dare yell from the pain. He quickly took her hand and warmed it. “Feel better now? Careful not to hurt yourself. Since Mother agreed so quickly just now, she must have a way to get the money. Don’t worry so much. Even if she really does drain all our savings to redeem Uncle, I’ll sell everything I have if I must—Jinbao and Yuanbao will definitely go to school. Trust me!”

Qian Cuimiao glared at him and flung his hand away as she walked off.

Zhang Laoda didn’t dare lag behind and rushed after her.

After Madam Su returned home, she didn’t bother with Li Ergou and the others in the stable. She continued starving them.

Zhang Xiaolan stood under the corridor looking at the accumulating snow outside, her expression worried. “Mother, if this snow keeps falling, I’m afraid there might be a snow disaster. If the roads to the capital are blocked, we won’t be able to bring back any grain. Should we ask Third and Fifth Brother to go into town now to buy more food? The food we have now will only last us two more days…”

Madam Su looked at the dark, stormy snow outside, her brows tightly furrowed. “No. In this kind of weather, anyone who leaves might not come back. Staying home is the safest. We’ll wait a couple of days and go when it clears.”

Little Su Huan sat in the cradle in the main room playing with toys. Hearing this, she began to wonder—should she take some food out from the storage space?

But… she had to do it discreetly.

If the Su family discovered her ability and treated her like some kind of freak, that wouldn’t be good.

Knock knock!

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Madam Su called for Wu Chunhe to open it. Wu Chunhe rolled up her sleeves and walked over. As soon as she opened the door, she saw a slightly plump, petite woman standing at the entrance in a cotton jacket with floral patterns. She held a basket and a porcelain bowl.

Wu Chunhe recognized her. It was the village chief’s wife, Sister-in-law Wang.

Wu Chunhe smiled. “Oh, if it isn’t Sister-in-law Wang! What brings you here on such a snowy day? Come in, come in!”

As she spoke, she turned back and shouted, “Mother! Sister-in-law Wang is here!”

“Oh my, Sister-in-law Wang! Come in and have a seat!”

Madam Su immediately smiled and rose to greet her warmly.

Wang Baorui’s wife smiled, set down the basket, and sat. “The roads are terrible in this snow. I should’ve returned this basket long ago after you gave us those things last time. But my husband has been worried about the land you wanted to buy. He’s been visiting house after house these past few days, and he’s finally sorted it all out. Look, here are the land deeds!”

She took out a booklet, inside which were multiple contracts. Madam Su was overjoyed and eagerly took it, carefully flipping through. When she saw that all the contracts had the official seal, her face lit up with joy and she couldn’t stop grinning. “Oh my, you’ve gone through such trouble! Fifth daughter-in-law, bring the money jar! Count out some money for Sister-in-law Wang!”

Wu Chunhe was so happy her cheeks turned red. She quickly served Sister-in-law Wang a bowl of hot tea.

Sister-in-law Wang thanked her and took a sip with a smile. “My husband should’ve delivered these himself. I’m not good with accounts, but the old man said the weather’s bad and feared the mountains might be closed off soon, so he took our son up the mountain to gather firewood. Luckily, he gave me a bill. Besides the cost of the land, there’s also the pond rental. Please check the figures.”

There were forty deeds for good farmland in total, costing four hundred taels of silver.

There was also a rental deed for a large pond, which cost forty-five taels of silver.

Madam Su compared the deeds with the bill one by one. She saw that there were no poor farmlands among them, only one more deed. Puzzled, she asked, “Sister-in-law, what’s this deed for?”

Sister-in-law Wang explained, “All those poor lands you liked are located on Pig Tail Mountain in the northwest of the village. My husband discussed it with the village elders and decided to just sell the entire mountain to you. The price is still based on the sixty mu of poor land—six taels of silver. But the rental fees for the spring and autumn seasons must be counted separately.”

Madam Su understood and nodded, then told Li Sumei to count the money and give it to Sister-in-law Wang.

Li Sumei said she needed to go inside to find the scale and asked Madam Su to come with her.

Little Su Huan climbed out of the cradle, curiously watching the two of them leave.

What were Mother and Grandma going to whisper about?