I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: A New Hope

“Father, Mother, this is truly wonderful!” Honest Wu Tiezhu’s face flushed with excitement.

“Thank you, Father! Thank you, Mother!” The daughters-in-law chimed in one after another, their voices brimming with gratitude.

Finally, Wu Duofu, who had remained silent, rapped his knuckles against the kàng table to quiet the excited crowd.

“Listen to me carefully,” he said in a low, stern voice. “This silver was given by the ancestors; it is the Wu family’s fortune, but it is also a root of disaster. If anyone has a loose tongue and blabs outside, attracting thieves or unwanted attention, don’t blame me for kicking them out of this house! Bury these words deep in your bellies, you hear me!”

The children were startled by their grandfather’s severity and nodded hurriedly.

The adults also understood the principle of not flaunting wealth and gave their solemn promises.

…

Late at night, the oil lamps in the various rooms of the Wu courtyard were extinguished one by one, leaving only the sound of insects.

In the Eldest Branch’s room:

Mrs. Wei blew out the lamp and crawled onto the kàng in the dark, but sleep eluded her. She tossed and turned, her initial joy quickly replaced by a sour, lingering doubt.

She poked her husband, Wu Tiezhu, who was on the verge of drifting off.

“Hey, husband, are you asleep?”

“Mmh… almost. It’s been a long day, I’m tired…” Wu Tiezhu mumbled.

Mrs. Wei sat bolt upright, her tone full of resentment. “Tell me, do you think the amount Father and Mother mentioned is accurate? Ninety-two tales? I find that hard to believe!”

Wu Tiezhu’s sleepiness faded slightly. “Would Father and Mother lie to us?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Mrs. Wei curled her lip. “That ceramic jar didn’t look small to me, and it was heavy! If the ancestors left it, would it really be just that much? I bet it’s at least double that! Father and Mother must have hidden a huge chunk of it!”

The more she spoke, the more convinced she became of her theory. “Think about it, why was it that Qiaoqiao girl who spotted it first? Maybe it was all a show! Ever since Fourth Brother got better, Father and Mother have been biased. Who knows who that hidden private stash will end up subsidizing! They just brushed us off with one tale. I was there when the silver was found too; I should have gotten a bigger share at the very least!”

Listening to his wife’s complaints, Wu Tiezhu sighed. “You just think too much. Even if there’s more, how much more could it be? Father and Mother are holding the money; won’t it be used for the right things? Renovating the house, adding furniture, making new clothes, buying grain doesn’t the whole family benefit? Our lives are clearly about to get much better; why are you so unsatisfied?”

He rolled over to face her. “I reckon once Father has the money, he’ll prioritize buying land. We have too many people and too little land; buying a few more acres is the foundation. More land means a better harvest. When the family eventually splits in the future, we have the most males in the eldest branch. How could we lose out?”

Hearing this, Mrs. Wei’s heart stirred. Her eyes darted around as she came up with another idea, nudging her husband. “Hey, Tiezhu, you’re the eldest son and Canghai is the eldest grandson. Why don’t you go talk to Father? See if he can privately set aside a bit more for Canghai’s future? Just consider it an advance?”

Wu Tiezhu immediately shook his head. “I’m not going! Father just said we have to keep it a secret, and I go asking for money right away? What would that look like? Sleep, just sleep!”

Having said his piece, he pulled the blanket over his head and ignored Mrs. Wei’s further nagging. Mrs. Wei glared at his back several times in frustration, secretly planning how to fish for information tomorrow.

In the Second Branch’s room:

The oil lamp was still lit. Mrs. Yuan was using the faint light to measure some old cloth, a persistent smile on her face. She whispered to her husband, Wu Tiesheng: “Husband, look at this fabric. Though it’s a bit coarse, it’ll definitely be warm enough to make new tunics for Peilan and Caixia! The girls have grown so big without ever wearing brand-new winter clothes.”

On the inner side of the kàng, the sleeping sisters, Wu Peilan and Wu Caixia, still had sweet smiles on their lips no doubt dreaming of floral cotton jackets.

Wu Tiesheng smiled honestly. “Yes, indeed! Father and Mother thought of everything. We won’t have to freeze this winter.” He paused, looking at his wife’s thin face, his voice softening. “With the family being more well-off, you can eat better and nourish your body. Next year, we’ll get a little brother for Peilan and the others, and life will be even better.”

A blush crept onto Mrs. Yuan’s face as she gave her husband a playful, reproachful look, though her heart felt as sweet as honey. She carefully tucked the fabric away and blew out the lamp, feeling that life finally had a new hope; the heavy burden on her shoulders felt suddenly much lighter.

In the Third Branch’s room:

A faint smell of medicinal ointment lingered. Wu Tiegen lay prone on the kàng, groaning and whining. His injuries were severe; his buttocks and thighs were badly swollen, and every movement brought piercing pain.

However, his spirits were high.

“Did you hear? Ninety-two tales! Heaven has eyes!” he said to Mrs. Liu, who was applying a cold compress to his wounds. His tone was full of relief. “I told you our family wouldn’t be down on our luck forever! Now it’s fine, we have money…”

Mrs. Liu kept her head down, working in silence. The appearance of this money had indeed loosened the tension she had been feeling. Her husband’s theft and gambling had nearly dragged the family into an abyss; she had been too ashamed to lift her head. Now, with this windfall, the deficit could finally be filled, allowing her a moment to breathe.

“Ooh… it hurts like death…” Wu Tiegen suddenly hissed through his teeth. “Wife, I’m afraid this injury hit the bone. Just toughing it out won’t work. Go beg Mother doesn’t the house have money now? Ask Mother to hire a physician to see me tomorrow? At least get some painkillers…”

Mrs. Liu’s movements paused, a look of hesitation on her face. With Mother in charge of the house and the money just arriving, how would she dare open her mouth for such a thing?

Seeing her hesitation, Wu Tiegen got anxious and began swearing oaths. “Go say it! Mother will surely agree! I promise! I’ll never touch that cursed gambling again! If I steal money again, let my fingers rot! I’ll work hard from now on and earn the money back! Go, please, I really can’t take the pain…”

Looking at her husband’s pained face, Mrs. Liu eventually softened. She sighed. “I’ll ask Mother tomorrow morning.” But her heart was in turmoil, wondering what kind of rejection she might face.

In the Fourth Branch’s room:

The oil lamp was also out. Li Qiaoqiao and Wu Ya lay side-by-side on the kàng. In the darkness, neither was asleep.

“Are you awake?” Li Qiaoqiao whispered.

“Yes,” Wu Ya’s voice was clear. “Thinking.”

Li Qiaoqiao rolled over to face him and chuckled softly. “Mother is something else. Two hundred and two taels, and she turned it into ninety-two just like that. She hid over a hundred tales without even blinking.”

Wu Ya let out a light laugh. “It was expected. It would be stranger if she didn’t hide it. If she revealed such a huge sum, the brothers and sisters-in-law probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. This is better; it solves the immediate crisis without exposing too much, and it gives her some peace of mind to have extra savings.”

“True,” Li Qiaoqiao agreed. “And the things Mother arranged renovating the house, adding furniture, making new clothes, stockpiling grain every single one is a practical benefit. She wasn’t stingy to the point of refusing to spend. It seems Mother isn’t just frugal; she does care about this family.”

“After the incident with the Third Brother stealing money, she’s bound to be even more vigilant. She’ll guard this money more fiercely than her own life,” Wu Ya noted. “However, sitting idle and eating away at your savings isn’t a long-term solution. Ninety-two taels looks like a lot, but for a large family, it won’t last forever.”

Li Qiaoqiao picked up the thread. “So we have to hurry. The crisis is temporarily averted, but the next step is to find a way to make a steady income. We can’t really count on those few plots of land, or expect another jar of silver or gold to fall from the sky.”

“Mmh,” Wu Ya replied. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll head out more to see what kind of business can be done in the town or the county. We have to plan for the future.”

The two continued to deliberate in low voices until their conversation gradually faded into the quiet night.