Chapter 4: Who to Borrow Money From

  Even Lao Ye Zi said so, it means several sons will jointly bear these five hundred taels of silver.

  "What else can we add? Isn't all our family's money in Father and Mother's hands?" Lian Shouli replied honestly. The Lian family was controlled by Old Master Lian and Old Mistress Lian, their sons didn't have a single cent.

  Five hundred taels of silver is not a small amount, and for the Lian family, it can be described as bankrupting the family. Mr. Lian seems to be a cautious person, why did he make such a decision?

  To say, even Lao Ye in this village is a somewhat legendary figure.

  The ancestors of the Lian family are no longer traceable, and Old Master Lian is a true self-made man. He lost his parents at a young age and had to go out to apprentice. Because he was diligent and kind to others, he got along well with people in the shop. He was also an ambitious person, clever and eager to learn, so while other apprentices were lazy and idle, he quickly mastered the abacus and quietly practiced good handwriting. The hardships he went through are unknown to anyone, and in the end, he became the manager of a large shop.

  After decades of being a shopkeeper, even the old master had accumulated some silver. However, in his heart, these were just humble jobs, farming and reading were the foundation. Once he had saved enough money, he resigned from his job and moved back to the village, bought a house and land, and devoted himself to supporting his sons' education, hoping to change their social status.

  The Lian family's old man was very willing to spend money on his sons' education. Finally, the eldest son of the Lian family passed the imperial examination at the age of 20 and became a scholar. The old man was overjoyed and from then on, he fully supported his eldest son. However, fate played a trick on them, and after that, the eldest son failed to pass the provincial examination several times, and even in the annual examination, he could only rank in the middle. The second son of the Lian family studied with the eldest son, and a lot of money was spent, but he couldn't even pass the imperial examination. He didn't like reading books anyway, and later on, he simply abandoned his studies altogether.

  At that time, the Lian family already had a large population, and the villagers' families only had some output in the fields. The eldest and second sons of the Lian family were also idle, and after Mr. Lian sold several pieces of land for the eldest son's imperial examination, the Lian family's prospects became bleak. By the time of the third and fourth sons of the Lian family, they only recognized a few characters in the village private school before returning to farming.

  Although it is so, Lao Ye still thinks that his eldest son is a bookworm and will pass the exam one day.

  Zhong Ju became an official and brought glory to the family, Na Jian also became an official and brought glory to the family. Although there was a gap between them, they both ultimately fulfilled their lifelong wishes. Moreover, with the pain of losing his eldest son, Lao Yezi finally made this decision.

  Lian Shouren, Gu Shi and Lian Hua'er have found Old Master Lian's weakness.

  "How much silver is left in our family now?" Lian Laoye asked Zhou Shi.

  "Only twenty taels that Old Lady brought back and a few pieces of broken silver at the bottom of our trunk, we can barely make forty taels." said Lao Tai Tai.

  The difference between 40 taels and 500 taels is too big.

  "Dad, this money, Yang Chengfeng is waiting in town and it's needed by tomorrow." Lian Shouren said quietly.

  "We're left with only thirty mu of land at home." Lao Ye sighed.

  So you're saying it's about selling land? That's a family affair.

  "Father, this money should be paid by Big Brother himself!" Lian Shouyi said.

  "Second brother, we haven't divided the family property, what's yours and mine?" Lian Shouren said.

  "Isn't that Young Master Song saying he won't marry our family's daughter?" He Shi's eyes rolled, and she came up with a good idea. "Hua'er, you go talk to Young Master Song, it's just 500 taels of silver, which is a huge deal for us, but for him, it's just a small leak from his fingers. Hua'er, a young unmarried girl like you, isn't she worth more than 500 taels of silver?"

  He's words were so coarse that even Hua'er's face turned bright red with shame.

  "Second Aunt, I haven't even married into their family yet, and I've already asked them for money. How can I still hold my head up high in their household?"

  "If you're afraid of being unable to hold your head up, then you shouldn't have recklessly shown off and smashed someone else's jade pendant." Madam He retorted immediately.

  "You..." Lian Hua'er's face turned red with shame and anger, she turned her head and buried it in Lian Xiu'er's arms, starting to sob again.

  "Your sister-in-law is right, big brother. All these years you've been living in town, with your stipend as a scholar and the money from being a teacher, but you haven't brought back a single penny. Your nephews at home can barely get enough to eat, and every year the money they earn is all spent on you drinking tea and wine. You always say that once you pass the imperial exam, your brothers and nephews will share in your good fortune. But that fortune hasn't arrived yet, and more than half of our family's land has already been sold off. If we sell the rest of it, your nephews will have to go beg for food." Lian Shouyi said with a smile.

  Even mentioning the name of Lian Shouyi stirred up He Shi's old grievances. The eldest brother's family was so calculating, letting her help with speaking and selling Lian Man'er, but only gave her and her daughter one set of clothes each. These two sets of clothes were not even worth as much as one of Lian Xiuer's. If it weren't for Lian Man'er's words just now, reminding her, she would have been cheated by the eldest brother's family again.

  What followed was just a fluke, and the big boss's family didn't say much about it, when did they ever really make good on their promises. The Gu family's fox spirit always thought she could get rid of her with just three melons and two dates.

  "Alas, this is going to be the death of me!" Mrs. He suddenly clapped her hands and wailed, "Five hundred taels of silver, you're not even considering taking it from those who have money, but instead you're trying to sell land with a black heart! You might as well tie us women together and sell us off, that's how much the flower girl is worth, and Second Brother's children aren't even his own flesh and blood, they're just children I stole and raised myself, starving to death without anyone caring..."

  Lian Man'er was stunned again, she had never seen anyone so extravagant before.

  "Second son, third son, fourth son, sixth son..." Mrs. He called out a string of names, she was the daughter-in-law who had given birth to the most sons in the Lian family and was very proud of it. "You several heartless ones, where have you run off to? If you don't come back, we'll be driven to death by your eldest brother's family. The eldest son of the big brother's family has married a wife and had children. Our eldest son is already at the age of engagement, but because all the money was given to you, he still hasn't married..."

  He's crying louder and louder, and Guo Shi and Shou Ren's faces are getting darker and darker.

  "Second son, shut your wife up," Lao Yezi shouted, "Who said the land was sold? That land is not for sale."

  Even Lao Yezi said so, without needing Lian Shouyi to speak, He Shi immediately stopped crying.

  "Dad, where did the money come from... is it borrowed?"

  "Or else, borrow from Eldest Sister? Her grocery store is said to earn several taels of silver a month." Lian Shouyi immediately said.

  "Who told you that?" Madame Chou said sternly, "Your elder sister's family is also living a tight life, where would they have silver? You dare to bully your elder sister's husband, I'll break your legs."

  Lian Shouyi mumbled and didn't dare ask his sister for money again.

  "There's a place to borrow from, but Mother won't let us go. Then we might as well send the flowers to the Sun family and get several hundred taels of silver." said Mrs. He.

  Lian Hua covered her face, hating He Shi deeply in her heart. However, at this moment, she didn't dare to confront He Shi head-on. She knew He Shi's temper all too well; if things got out of hand, He Shi would carelessly expose the fact that they had sold Lian Man'er for silver, and everything would be ruined.

  "Father, Big Sister won't let me go, so I can only borrow from Old Jin." Lian Shouren said.

  "Lao Jin!" Lian Shouxin suddenly raised his head, which had been silent all along. "Brother is referring to the Old Jin in the east of the village!"

  Lian Wan'er was taken aback in her heart, who is Lao Jin that made honest Lian Shouxin so excited.

  Everyone has keen eyesight, and at a glance, they can see that the heroine's parents are two big dumplings. The heroine wants to live a happy life, first of all, she must reform the dumplings. By the way, Weak Yan originally wanted to use "dumpling" as her name, but it was rejected, hehe.

  Most baozi have good qualities such as kindness and generosity. The parents of the female lead in the story are set as "meat-filled baozi", which means they are capable baozi, haha. JP (Japanese People) always build their happiness on the suffering of baozi. When baozi wake up and stop being baozi, then the happy life of baozi will begin, and the miserable life of JP will start, oh no, I've spoiled the plot.