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Chu Yue had just left Yun Cuihe’s room when she saw Lu Xingping sitting under the eaves, his face full of worry, resting his chin on his hand.
She was puzzled.
“Xingping, what’s the matter?”
Lu Xingping sighed deeply. “Everything in your rooms is fine, but why is it that something of mine is missing?”
Chu Yue’s expression became serious upon hearing this.
“What did you lose?”
The young boy sighed again, his small face full of sorrow. “Every year at New Year’s, Mother gives me a small red envelope with a coin inside. I was planning to save it for when I get married in the future, but now, before I even get to that point, all my savings from eight years are gone.”
Seeing his long face, Chu Yue was momentarily stunned.
“You saved for eight years, how much did you save?”
Lu Xingping rested his chin and glanced at her.
“Eight coins.”
Chu Yue was momentarily silent before calmly responding with an “Oh” and heading toward the kitchen.
Lu Xingping, sitting under the eaves, pouted and muttered, “Why is everyone acting like that? Shouldn’t I be pitied for losing my money? Hmph! Big Sister-in-law and Big Brother, just like Xing’an, they are all so heartless!”
After a while, Lu Xing’an came out of the room, his face serious. “It’s just eight coins. Is it really worth you being this upset? I’ll give you half, and we’ll have the same amount.”
Chu Yue, listening from the kitchen, couldn’t help but feel both heartbroken and amused.
Because the family was poor, these two boys didn’t have much of a concept of money. Today’s trip to Canghe Town was their first time going far, and they didn’t know about the unexpected gains the family had recently made.
Perhaps they would consider the eight coins they had as a considerable fortune?
“Xing’an, I will cook the rice, come help me make a fire.”
“Okay.”
Lu Xing’an quickly responded and went to the kitchen.
Chu Yue went to the room, took out twenty coins from her money pouch, and called Lu Xingping to the kitchen. She then split the twenty coins into two portions and handed them to the boys.
“Here, this is your pocket money.”
Lu Xingping stared blankly at the ten coins in his hand, then looked at Chu Yue.
“Big Sister-in-law…”
Chu Yue opened the wooden board covering the cellar, took out an egg, and while closing the board, said, “Take it. You can either spend it or save it for later. But from now on, be careful and hide it well, so it won’t be stolen again.”
Lu Xingping, touched, sniffled. “Big Sister-in-law is the best.”
“Thank you, Big Sister-in-law. I’ll be as filial to you as I am to Mother.”
Chu Yue chuckled.
“I don’t need you to be filial. Just be good to your mother.”
She then carried the egg to Yun Cuihe’s room, making her a bowl of brown sugar egg soup to help her relax.
Later, Chu Yue washed a small handful of peanuts from the hanging basket, fried them, and set them aside to eat with porridge for dinner.
The family had not had leafy vegetables for a long time due to the poor harvest, and today, with no wild vegetables in sight, they could only make do with whatever they had at home.
After dinner, Lu Xing’an and Lu Xingping eagerly cleaned the dishes and went outside to wash them.
Yun Cuihe turned to Lu Xinghe.
“Xinghe, who do you think would have come into our house to steal the money?”
She had noticed that when the pig was stolen earlier, her son had managed to find out it was Chu Youqian. In her opinion, her son was quite capable.
Lu Xinghe shook his head.
“I don’t know. In any case, not much was lost. We just need to be more careful in the future.”
Though eight coins was still money, the house would start building tomorrow, and he didn’t have time to waste tracking down such a small amount. If someone was stealing, they would eventually slip up.
Chu Yue suddenly thought of that strange young woman.
Could it have been her?
Though they didn’t know each other, she just felt something was off about that girl.
Just then, a voice came from outside the courtyard.
“Aunt Yun, are you home?”
Hearing the voice, Yun Cuihe slightly furrowed her brow. She went outside and saw Lu Shanshan standing at the gate. She pretended to be enthusiastic.
“It’s Shanshan! Is there something your father wants?”
If she remembered correctly, it was almost time for the tax collection, but such matters were usually handled by the village head, so why was Lu Shanshan here?
Lu Shanshan gathered her courage.
“Yun Aunt, may I speak with Xinghe for a moment?”
Yun Cuihe’s smile suddenly faded.
“Shanshan, our two families have only exchanged a few words in jest before, but now that Xinghe is married, it’s not appropriate for you to see him. If you have something to say, just tell me. I’ll think about whether it’s necessary to pass it on.”
Hearing Yun Cuihe’s blunt words, tears began to well up in Lu Shanshan’s eyes, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
“Aunt, you’ve misunderstood me. I never wanted to break up Xinghe’s family.”
Yun Cuihe responded indifferently.
“Oh? Then what did you come for?”
Lu Shanshan bit her lip, her big eyes filled with grievance.
Inside the kitchen, Chu Yue heard the conversation outside and raised an eyebrow.
What’s going on?
Is this girl outside related to Lu Xinghe?
She glanced at Lu Xinghe, whose face betrayed no emotion, then got up and went outside. When she saw Lu Shanshan’s face, her eyes revealed some surprise.
It’s her!
She actually wants to speak to my husband alone.
No wonder I always felt something was off about this girl. She came here sneakily last time, probably to meet Lu Xinghe or maybe to see what I, the one who married him, looked like.
For some reason, just thinking about it made Chu Yue feel a little uneasy.
“Mother, what’s going on?”
Yun Cuihe suddenly felt a rush of anxiety and quickly pulled Chu Yue behind her.
“It’s nothing serious. Yueyue, you go back to the room. I’ll handle this.”
This girl was so straightforward. What if she got upset about this and felt uncomfortable around Xinghe in the future?
It was also Lu Shanshan’s fault. She was about to get married, so why come and stir things up with their family?
Before, she had looked down on their poor family and refused to acknowledge the childhood engagement, but now that they were about to build a new house, she came around. She really was a fickle, money-driven person.
Fortunately, Xinghe hadn’t married her.
“Shanshan, you should go back. We’re all from the same village, related by marriage, and I don’t want to make this too awkward. Although our family isn’t well-off, when your wedding comes next month, I’ll still prepare a small gift and attend the celebration.”
Lu Shanshan’s heart raced. She sniffled, stepped forward, and grabbed Yun Cuihe’s hand.
“Aunt, I really have something to discuss with Xinghe. I might know who stole from your house.”
Yun Cuihe froze for a moment but didn’t immediately pull her hand away.
Chu Yue lowered her head, her foot brushing the dirt on the ground.
“Xinghe, Xinghe,” she thought, “You really are close, aren’t you? If someone didn’t know better, they might really think something was going on between them.”
She raised her head and looked directly at Lu Shanshan.
“Our family was robbed. We only found out about it before dinner. We haven’t told anyone. How do you know so much about it?”