Yang Xi and her husband watched Yan Bing open the bundle, which contained four gold ingots, four silver ingots, and scattered jade pendants and jewelry.

Yan Bing found a small box at the bottom of his bag and opened it to find it was full of small change.

After Yan Bing opened it, he remained silent and observed the Zhou family’s reactions.

Yang Xi thought that Yan Bing’s ancestors must have hidden a lot of silver and money in Qijia Village, but he didn’t know where they hid it. It was certain that this house would not hide too much silver and money.

Zhou Yu said to Brother Zhou, “Put it away.”

His tone was flat and his expression did not change, as if there was not a thousand taels of silver in front of him.

Little brother Zhou thought to himself, “Really accept it?” He was used to listening to his elder brother, so if his elder brother said so, he would accept it.

Zhou Yu said to Yan Bing again: “The favor is settled now.”

Yan Bing suddenly felt a little regretful. He shouldn’t have returned it so quickly. Then he thought that if he didn’t keep his promise, the Zhou family would not want him to follow them. He said in a sullen tone, “We are even now.”

Zhou Yu continued: “Now let’s talk about the money for renting the house.”

Yan Bing’s eyes widened, and after a while he spoke, “This is a village, and renting a house doesn’t cost much, fifty coins a month.”

Yang Xi counted out fifty coins quickly and said, “Here.”

Yan Bing did not continue, with a smile on his face, “I can’t just take the food if I eat with you. This way, the fifty cents will be considered as the hard work of my sister-in-law and sister.”

Yang Xi took back the copper coin and smiled, “Okay.”

Seeing that it was getting late, Yan Bing said, “I have to go back and copy Buddhist scriptures. I’ll be leaving first.”

Zhou Yu: “I will see Master Yan off.”

Yan Bing hurriedly said, “Don’t call me Master Yan, just call me by my name.”

After Yan Bing left, Third Yang sighed and said, “I searched the house last night and found only a hidden cellar with a lot of food in it. There was only one box of silver and money, and he took half of the silver and money in the box as a thank-you gift.”

Yang Xi, “.”

If this kid had bad intentions, he could do a lot of bad things.

Zhou Yu said in a sad tone, “He bought a lot of food in Gao County.”

Third Yang, “He can’t turn food into something out of thin air. He can only cheat the villagers to buy food. Humph, this kid is not honest and is still testing us.”

He didn’t believe that Yan Bing didn’t know that he had entered the cellar. This man was too cunning.

Zhou Yu lowered his voice and said, “I talked to the head of the village. A month ago, the Yan family sent someone back to Qijia Village.”

Yang Xi was surprised, “Had they already planned to use the surname Yan?”

Zhou Yu nodded, “I guess the Yan Bing family noticed something was wrong and wanted to leave, but unfortunately, they were still too slow.”

Third Yang saw that it was getting late, “I’ll go back and rest first.”

Zhou Xiaodi was still in the same room with Third Yang, and he also stood up, “I’m going back too.”

After the two boys left, Zhou Yu raised his eyebrows and said, “We have to find another way to hide the money.”

Everyone in the family had hidden a lot, and now there was one more burden.

Yang Xi opened the bundle again. There were ten taels of gold and silver each, and a box of broken silver weighed about twenty taels. The valuable items were jade pendants and other ornaments.

The box of small change was for the Zhou family to spend, while the gold and silver ingots and jewelry were thank-you gifts to Zhou’s younger brother.

Yang Xi took out the box, found the remaining silver coins from his family, and put them together. She counted them and found that there were more than 40 taels. “The silver coins are enough for future use.”

Zhou Yu, “Let’s save the thank-you gift for my younger brother first, and give it to him when he gets married in the future.”

“Good.”

The next day, after the family finished their meal, Zhou Yu left his brother and sister-in-law behind and said, “Keep the money you hid when you left the house. Remember not to spend it carelessly.”

Brother Zhou, “Ah, I wanted to give it all to my sister-in-law today.”

Zhou Xiaomei said, “Brother, our family is in financial difficulty now, we shouldn’t take the money ourselves.”

Zhou Yu laughed, “Our family is not in financial difficulty. Big Brother doesn’t care about the money in your hands. I let you take it to cultivate your ability to manage money. You can keep the money you earn in the future.”

After a pause, he continued, “Big brother will prepare the betrothal gifts and dowry for your marriage.”

Zhou Xiaodi knew that his elder brother would not change his decision, “Then we will pay for the food every month.”

Zhou Yu thought for a few seconds and then said, “Okay, but you can’t use the money you have now.”

Young brother Zhou was dumbfounded. This meant that he had to earn money by himself every month. He was a little confused. If nothing had happened at home, he would have taken the examination for a scholar next year. He only knew how to read, and he was confused for a moment. How could he earn money?

Zhou Xiaomei’s eyes were particularly bright, “Okay.”

Brother Zhou was envious. It was good to have a skill. His sister was good at embroidery.

Zhou Yu warned her younger sister, “Don’t embroider big pieces, and don’t embroider at night.”

Zhou Xiaomei felt warm in her heart, embroidering a big piece could damage her eyes, and her elder brother was worried about her, “Yeah.”

Yang Xi was listening to Third Yang talking. Yang Xi was speechless. “You want me to help you make a bow?”

Third Yang nodded, “Sǎozi, I am your brother. I have long discovered that you have great abilities. Please help me.”

Yang Xi, “.”

Third Yang continued, “My sǎozi and I have the same surname. How about my sǎozi recognize me as her didi? I will call sǎozi jie in the future, and my elder brother will become my jiěfū.”

Yang Xi chuckled, “You have a good plan.”

Third Yang smiled and said, “Why wait for a better day? Are we going to recognize our relationship today?”

Yang Xi rubbed her forehead. With such a troublesome brother, she could live ten years less. “No, I think it’s good now.”

Third Yang was unwilling to give up. “When I am sǎozi’s didi, I will be your mother’s family in the future. If you quarrel with elder brother, I can help sǎozi!”

He had this idea a long time ago. He called Zhou Yu brother but they had different surnames. Even if he integrated into the Zhou family, he always felt something was missing. It was different if he recognized his sǎozi as his jie. He was Zhou Yu’s xiǎojiùzi. He could ask for advice however he wanted in the future and he felt especially at ease!

Yang Xi looked at the returning Zhou Yu with a smiling expression.

“Between me and your brother, you’re taking my side?“ she asked with a grin.

Third Yang patted his chest and said, “It has to be my jie!”

“Hehe.”

Third Yang, “!!”

Why was his luck so bad?

Yang Xi couldn’t stop laughing, and Third Yang wanted to cry, “Brother, why don’t you make any noise when you walk!”

Zhou Yu knew that this boy was not honest, “Are you blaming me?”

Third Yang, “Blame me, blame me.”

Zhou Yu came in and sat down. “Do you know where the door is?”

Third Yang, “.”

Just let him go, he was embarrassed and left quickly!

Zhou Yu waited for Third Yang to leave and said to his wife, “His suggestion is good.”

“I thought you disagreed!”

Zhou Yu, “It’s fate that he and you have the same last name. It will save you a lot of trouble if someone asks about your household registration in the future.”

“This kid has sharp eyes. He guessed that the improved sled was made by me, and he even wanted me to help design the bow.”

Zhou Yu muttered under his breath, “Damn him.”

Yang Xi asked, “Have you talked to my brother and sister?”

“Um.”

Just as Zhou Yu was about to ask about the food expenses, his younger brother Zhou ran in and said, “Brother, the head of the village is looking for you.”

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