“You also know that all the silver is with your mother. Even if you want silver, you have to wait for her to come back, right?”

“So, Father, what you’re saying is that if Mother doesn’t come back, my husband, Zifu, is just going to be left to die there, is that it?”

Wang Xiuying asked, trying her best to suppress her anger.

Then she continued, “Besides, Mother and Second Brother are still at Fourth Sister-in-law’s place, and none of you have even thought about sending someone to bring them back.”

Hearing this, Fang Miaojun quickly said, “Third Sister-in-law, it’s not like you don’t know what kind of person that wretched Jianxiu is. If we go there now, she’ll probably set a trap for us again, making us lose three to five taels of silver. Wouldn’t that be a case of losing both the lady and the army?”

“Besides, Mother and Second Brother are there—do you really think she dares to kill them? Of course not. She wouldn’t even dare to starve them for more than two meals. If anything happens to them due to starvation, wouldn’t that be a huge loss for her? Just wait. Within three days, she’ll obediently send them back.”

As Fang Miaojun spoke, her tone was full of certainty.

One had to admit, when it came to scheming, no one in the entire old house could surpass her.

Since she had already said so much, Wang Xiuying had no choice but to hold her tongue.

Besides, she herself didn’t know exactly what Jianxiu was planning.

She only knew one thing—Jianxiu would not let this matter go so easily.

Wang Xiuying was also very clear that the current Jianxiu was no longer the same person she used to be.

“Father, you should know very well where Mother keeps the silver. Give me three taels right now, and my two brothers and I will take Zifu to Renhetang one more time. If we delay any longer, Zifu’s condition will worsen, and his entire life will be ruined. You all know what happened to Zixuan before.”

As soon as Wang Xiuying’s older and second brothers heard their sister say this, they glared at Old Zhang.

Their eyes clearly said: Hurry up and hand over the silver.

If it were before, Old Zhang wouldn’t have been afraid at all.

But things were different now. Out of his four sons, one had severed ties with the family.

Another was still being held at the village’s edge. The only one he could count on now was his eldest.

And looking at the big, burly figures of Wang Dashi and Wang Ershi, how could he dare say no?

But giving them three taels of silver?

That was impossible.

After thinking for a moment, he spoke in a low voice, “Third Daughter-in-law, to tell you the truth, our family hasn’t had any extra silver for years. Not to mention three taels, we don’t even have thirty copper coins to spare…”

“Big Brother, Second Brother, go to the village’s edge and take Zifu to Renhetang first! I’m afraid if we delay any longer, something terrible will happen to him!”

Wang Xiuying acted as if she hadn’t heard Old Zhang’s words at all and directly turned to Wang Dashi and Wang Ershi.

At this point, one thing was clear—Zifu had to be taken to Renhetang.

As for the silver, they could just put it on the old house’s account later.

“You can’t go! You can’t go! A place like Renhetang isn’t something people like us can afford!” Chen Sixi, who was standing not far away, quickly objected.

However, how could Wang Dashi and Wang Ershi listen to her?

Without hesitation, they turned and strode toward the village’s edge.

“Father, Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, I’m telling you right now—whether you want to or not, you must hand over the silver today!”

“You… You… This is defiance! This is unfilial behavior!” Old Zhang pointed at Wang Xiuying, his voice trembling with anger.

“I don’t know if it’s filial or not, but what I do know is that my husband is dying! His legs are already crippled, and if we don’t treat him now, he’ll never be able to stand again!”

Wang Xiuying lifted her chin, standing her ground.

It was only at this moment that she finally saw Old Zhang’s true colors.

Her own son was in such a critical condition, and he didn’t even consider bringing him home to take a look?

Always talking about filial piety—him? Did he even deserve to say such things?

Their third branch of the family had always eaten the least and worked the most in this old house, and she had tolerated that.

But now, they were just asking for a few taels of silver, and he acted as if they were trying to take his life?

“You can find a barefoot doctor to check on him first. Maybe after a while, he’ll get better on his own?” Fang Miaojun suggested cautiously.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of Wang Xiuying, but she didn’t want to spend money from the family’s public funds again.

That money was meant for their eldest son to go to the academy—how could they just spend it like this?

“Oh, Eldest Sister-in-law, I see you really don’t care since it’s not your family suffering, huh? Weren’t you all saying the same thing about Fourth Brother a few years ago? And what happened? After dragging it out, he became the ‘cripple’ you all talk about now. You think I’m stupid enough to make the same mistake?”

“I’ll say it again—the silver must come from the public funds! If you refuse, I’ll go straight to the village head and let him decide. Let’s see what he has to say!”

Hearing Wang Xiuying’s words, Old Zhang trembled with rage, pointing at her with a shaking finger.

“You… You…”

But no matter how much he pointed, he couldn’t get a single word out.

“Father, stop pointing already. No matter what you say, the result won’t change. Not only do we need to pay for treatment, but the doctor also said that Zifu will need two to three years of recovery—and that’s the best-case scenario. If he doesn’t recover properly, he might have to stay in bed for life, just like Fourth Brother!”

As she spoke, Wang Xiuying shot a sharp glare at Fang Miaojun and Chen Sixi.

“Let me make myself clear—I am not like Fourth Sister-in-law. I used to put up with you all because I thought our family could still get by. But if something happens to Zifu, let me tell you, our third branch won’t be doing any farm work anymore. Just taking care of Zifu will be enough work for us.”

This was Wang Xiuying’s final trump card.

She refused to believe that after hearing this, the eldest and second branches of the family could still sit back and do nothing.

Old Zhang might hesitate, since it was his son.

But Fang Miaojun and Chen Sixi? They didn’t care about the third branch at all.

If the third branch stopped working, the ones who would suffer the most were the eldest and second branches.

Could they afford not to be anxious now?

“Third Sister-in-law, what do you mean by ‘not doing any farm work’?” Fang Miaojun finally broke her silence.

“Exactly! There’s so much land to take care of—if you don’t work, then who will?” Chen Sixi added, suddenly standing on the same side as Fang Miaojun.

Hearing them mention the land, Wang Xiuying immediately turned to Old Zhang and said:

“Father, I just remembered—you said there’s no money. Well, the price of high-quality farmland has gone up to five taels per acre this year. Last year, it was just over four taels. That’s almost a full tael increase! If there’s really no other way, why don’t you sell an acre of good land first?”