Chapter 22: Securing the House, Settling the Heart

The three little ones turned their gaze toward Wen Nuan Nuan.

Wen Nuan Nuan let out a soft sigh and spoke slowly, with a tone of helplessness: “Indeed, we have no more silver. Even this one-hundred-tael banknote was lent to my husband by the son of the magistrate, out of camaraderie as fellow students from the same academy. The remaining forty taels are not only provisions for our family of five but also the travel expenses for my husband’s imperial examination.

The magistrate is truly a good man. Not only did he allow his son to assist us, but he also advised my husband not to rush to repay the loan, saying it could wait until after the results are announced.

At the time, my husband told us we owed sixty taels. Now, you claim it’s one hundred and twenty taels. If what you say is true, then we would have no choice but to take the loan agreement and shamelessly beg the magistrate to lend us another sum.”

The more Wen Nuan Nuan spoke, the more Lai Da’s cold sweat poured out!

No wonder this ugly woman dared to face the magistrate—her banknote was actually borrowed from the magistrate’s son!

Of course, the magistrate has many sons, and it’s only natural for them to study and take the imperial examinations.

And if the magistrate’s sons study, they would undoubtedly attend the finest Tianhong Academy.

Lending money to Leng Xiao, who also studies at Tianhong Academy, is perfectly reasonable.

As for the remaining money, since it’s meant for the examination journey and repayment is due after the results are announced, if the eldest son of the Leng Family passes the imperial examination, who would dare demand repayment?

Even if the eldest son of the Leng Family tried to repay the silver, the magistrate would likely refuse! This is a solid, significant favor.

Which local official wouldn’t sponsor a few promising young talents?

Even if he doesn’t pass the examination, the silver isn’t going anywhere—it can be repaid later.

It’s a low-risk, high-reward endeavor.

Moreover, who would dare present the loan agreement to the magistrate and demand repayment of one hundred and twenty taels?

Not only would he not survive, but even his master wouldn’t be able to stay in Tongcheng!

The more Lai Da thought about it, the more he broke out in a cold sweat.

Zhao Lao Er behind him stealthily tugged at Lai Da’s sleeve and whispered anxiously, “Boss, what should we do?”

This banknote came from the magistrate’s household.

They had thought seizing the Leng Family’s house would be effortless, but they never expected the Leng Family to stand their ground so firmly.

Then they thought of settling for the next best option—swallowing up this one hundred taels.

But who would have thought that not only did the banknote come from the magistrate’s son, but it was also a form of sponsorship from the magistrate himself?

If they took the remaining forty taels, not only would they be finished, but even their master wouldn’t be able to stay in Tongcheng!

How could they possibly oppose the magistrate’s household?

That would be like cutting off their own escape route.

Lai Da had already made up his mind, but he couldn’t say it outright. He needed to bring his accomplices to a consensus. Otherwise, if he returned with only sixty taels, his master would be displeased and would surely find fault with him.

With these people backing him up and reporting today’s events truthfully to their master, the master might even think he made the right decision.

Lai Da rolled his small eyes, pretending to be troubled, and subtly asked, “Lao Er, I’m thinking we shouldn’t take the remaining silver. What do you think?”

Zhao Lao Er harbored the same thought.

The Leng Family was too ruthless.

First, the eldest son of the Leng Family drafted the loan agreement flawlessly, leaving no loopholes. Then, they managed to gather enough silver. Finally, even his wife and younger brother refused to yield.

It must be said that the eldest son of the Leng Family was also unlucky. If his mother hadn’t fallen seriously ill, he wouldn’t have been driven to borrow a usury loan.

It was said that this shockingly ugly woman was also married to him in a desperate attempt to bring good fortune.

And this ugly woman was a tough one to deal with. In the future, if he wanted to divorce her, it would likely be time-consuming and laborious.

“Eldest Brother, I think so too. We brothers can’t be ruined here!” Zhao Lao Er quickly nodded in agreement.

The six or seven people gathered around also hurriedly nodded upon hearing this.

A consensus had been reached.

Lai Da breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning to the Leng Family, he said amiably, “We brothers have discussed it. You’re pitiful too. It’s good to leave some leeway for future meetings, so we’ll settle for sixty taels.”

With that, to show sincerity, he proactively took out the contract and handed it over.

“Here, take a good look. This was personally written by your husband, and both parties pressed their fingerprints!”

Leng Tian stepped forward to take it, looked it over, and handed it to Wen Nuan Nuan, whispering, “It’s Eldest Brother’s handwriting.”

Wen Nuan Nuan was somewhat surprised. “You can read?”

Leng Tian smiled honestly. “Eldest Brother taught me, Second Brother, and Little Brother the basics. Not only can we recognize a few characters, but we can also write.”

Ah, it seems Leng Xiao also recognized the importance of reading and writing.

“Second Brother, go get our family’s copy of the contract.”

A moment later, Leng Chen brought the Leng Family’s copy of the contract. After Lai Da and the others verified its authenticity, he took it back and handed it to Wen Nuan Nuan, who tore both copies in front of everyone.

As for the banknote that Lai Da and the others believed was borrowed from the “official’s son,” they naturally didn’t dare to forcibly seize or embezzle it. The seven or eight of them searched their bodies and managed to scrape together forty taels of broken silver, which they gave to Leng Tian.

After seeing off the group and closing the courtyard gate with the lock secured, the three little ones and Wen Nuan Nuan simultaneously let out a long sigh of relief. The heavy stone in their hearts had finally been lifted.

After all the arguing and commotion, it was already noon.

The tasks originally planned for the morning were definitely too late to complete now.

But the outcome was good—the house was saved, and everyone felt lighthearted.

“For lunch, let’s make beef stew with vermicelli, braised prawns, braised pork, a spare rib and winter melon soup, and stir-fry two vegetable dishes to celebrate!” Wen Nuan Nuan joyfully announced.

“Yay!” The three little ones jumped and cheered.

While Wen Nuan Nuan cooked, the three little ones weren’t idle either.

Leng Chen continued making wooden lids, Leng Tian chopped dried firewood, and Leng Yun gathered scattered firewood nearby, moving it to the firewood shed and stacking it neatly.

Every winter, many people froze to death. To live comfortably through the winter, they needed to start preparing enough firewood and charcoal now.

Cooking, boiling water, and warming the kang all consumed firewood. Based on past harsh winter experiences, the more firewood and charcoal, the better—there was no such thing as too much.

The three little ones worked with great enthusiasm.

After lunch, Leng Tian took Leng Yun and hurried to the mountains.

While the weather was clear and not raining, they needed to gather more firewood.

After simmering today’s portion of beef bean paste sauce and beef chili sauce, Wen Nuan Nuan took out flour and kneaded the dough. She made over a dozen pumpkin split-top steamed buns and over a dozen spicy sauce flower rolls, then pan-fried the six scallion oil pancakes accumulated over the past three days.

Wen Nuan Nuan didn’t dare to make too much. At the current temperature, they could barely last five or six days, but these should be enough for Leng Xiao to eat for three to five days.

If only they had an oven, they could make baked flatbreads and crispy pancakes—five-spice, flaky, white sugar, brown sugar, red bean paste, dried vegetable filling… Just thinking about it made her mouth water.

Not just baked flatbreads and crispy pancakes; with an oven, they could also make cakes, egg yolk pastries, roast duck, roasted wings…

Stop thinking about it. In this lifetime, it’s probably beyond their karmic affinity.

No, wait—hadn’t she seen a vintage-style food blogger, a little fairy, build a clay oven in her courtyard?

An adorable little bear shape.

She didn’t need something that cute; a plain, simple version would satisfy her.

As long as the function was similar, it would be enough.

Wow, crispy pancake, Roast Duck, barbecue, desserts… here she comes!