Zhang Shi let out a scornful laugh. "Borrow? That sounds nice. I want my silver back right now, hmph. Unless your eldest son writes me an IOU promising to repay the silver within two years, and it has to be eleven taels." Saying this, Zhang Shi shook off Wang Youliang.

"How can you be so ruthless?" Tian Shi exclaimed angrily.

"I didn't force you to borrow it. If you don't want to borrow, then pay me back the silver right now!" Zhang Shi retorted.

"Dad, we agreed back then. Third Brother sending the silver was to help us out, it wasn't a loan!" Wang Youliang anxiously appealed to the old man.

Given the Eldest Brother's circumstances, they actually didn't need help from others. But both he and his wife were hoarders—money only came in, never out. They were counting on the old couple and the households of their two younger brothers to scrape together most of the money, and of course, getting the full amount would be even better. But now, being asked to accept the money as a loan with added interest, the couple was naturally unwilling. However, they couldn't say this outright because the old man didn't know the old woman had secretly subsidized them and always believed they were short on funds. The couple exchanged a knowing glance and both looked toward the old woman.

"That’s right, old man, when the third child offered the silver, he never said it was a loan! Besides, the third branch has so much money, surely you can't let the Eldest Branch fail to marry off their son because of this?" the old woman said.

The old man sighed. Didn't he also wish his wealthier son could support his poorer son? Although this 'poverty' was just his perception, he considered one more layer than the old woman: reputation. Yes, reputation. In this era, reputation was paramount—affecting everything from neighborly relations to finding suitable matches for marriage, and even passing official examinations, as scholarly success required recommendations.

The old man had originally thought, the wife's silver is ultimately the son's silver; what fault is there in a son offering his money? What was wrong with him wanting every son to live well? But now the Third Wife was being so unreasonable, causing this ruckus. If he let the Third Wife continue causing trouble, the good reputation accumulated by their ancestors would be completely ruined. Therefore, he could only initially agree to the loan, thinking that if enough time passed, the Third Branch wouldn't cling so tightly to those ten taels. Then, when the Eldest Branch's match was being arranged, he could ask the Third Branch to contribute something, and whatever they gave would at least silence the Third Branch, wouldn't it? But he hadn't expected the Third Wife to demand an IOU and interest.

"Dad, are you going to return the money or agree to the loan? Quickly give us a clear answer. There are more and more onlookers outside!" Wang Youfu cautioned, glancing outside.

Seeing Zhang Shi's posture, it was clear she would either demand the silver back or insist on an IOU, or else cause a huge scene, leading to everyone losing face. The old man thought for a moment. "Eldest Son, return that silver to the Third Branch for now." Then he turned to Zhang Shi: "Third Wife, this silver is returned to you. As for Qingyun's marriage, you all..."

"No matter what, I am Qingyun’s third aunt; I won't skimp on the congratulatory gift when he gets married," Zhang Shi replied.

"Dad... this silver..." Tian Shi rushed.

The old man interrupted her, "No need to say more, go and bring the silver over." It seemed Zhang Shi was determined not to provide silver, and if the Third Branch didn't provide silver, the Second Branch certainly wouldn't either, as their life was much harder than the Third Branch's. The old man decided that if the money was truly insufficient, he would swallow his pride and borrow some from the villagers. After all, their family had a decent reputation in the village, and it was common for farming households to lend each other small amounts for emergencies without demanding interest.

The old man made the final decision. Despite her reluctance, Tian Shi had to go and fetch the silver, and the farce finally ended. However, Wang Qingchen admired Zhang Shi more and more; to be able to reclaim the money under such circumstances was impressive.

When the matter concluded, the old man, just as he had done at Wang Youfu's house, dispersed the crowd watching, and then the entire group from the old residence followed him back.

"Third Aunt, we'll be heading back now. If anything happens, you should discuss it well with Third Uncle. Couples always bump heads while living together; there's nothing that can't be discussed," Yang Shi advised Zhang Shi.

"Second Sister-in-law, I know. I was just furious today. This silver was borrowed by the Old Residence from my brother, it didn't fall from the sky. Besides, look at the kind of people in the Old Residence—why would I eagerly offer them money? Giving them this silver is like throwing it into water, and at least throwing water makes a sound! Mine wouldn't even make a sound! Thankfully, the silver is coming back; otherwise, I... ah, I won't mention it," Zhang Shi said with resignation.

Outside, Wang Youfu said to Wang Youtian, "You need to use your brain when doing things. Your wife is a sensible person; discuss things with her more, lest you get sold while still counting the money for the seller!"

Wang Youfu understood some things; he knew the old woman was secretly subsidizing the Eldest Branch, but he also knew that making a fuss wouldn't put the money in his hands. Still, he felt a chill about the old woman's blatant favoritism. As for the old man, he was stubborn and muddled, easily manipulated by the old woman and the Eldest Branch's sweet talk into being used as a pawn. His third brother, though not stubborn, was somewhat dense like the old man; fortunately, Zhang Shi was perceptive. Thinking of this, he then thought of Yang Shi—she wasn't dense, but she was too soft-natured and usually ended up losing out when confronting the Old Residence.

After advising the Third Branch, Wang Youfu and Yang Shi took Wang Qingchen and returned home. At that moment, the children playing outside, seeing the crowd disperse, came back, and Wang Qinghua and Caiyun also returned.

Seeing everyone leave, Wang Youtian slowly shuffled over to Zhang Shi. "Child’s mother, please... please don't leave. Dad has already agreed to return the silver."

Zhang Shi glared at Wang Youtian. "Wang Youtian, I'm telling you, this matter is far from over between us." Although Zhang Shi didn't mention separation again, after Tian Shi brought the silver back, she still packed her things and took the children back to her maternal home.

Although the Eldest Branch didn't get the silver, the marriage arrangements continued. A few days later, word spread that the Eldest Branch had settled the betrothal with the Luo family from Matiang Village. The Eldest Branch hired a matchmaker, obtained the Luo girl's birth date, matched it with Wang Qingyun’s, and the two families agreed to the formal engagement ceremony in five days. The Old Residence sent word that the Second and Third Branches should attend together as well.

But none of this concerned Wang Qingchen. He was currently troubled because the Hericium erinaceus in his space was growing more and more numerous, already forming a dense patch. Wang Qingchen had to face a problem: where could he dry the mushrooms? Wang Qingchen wanted to sell dried mushrooms, not fresh ones, which meant he had to dry them out. But putting them out to dry would surely be noticed, and how would he explain it then? He thought and thought but found no solution. As he was contemplating this, Wang Qingtong came looking for him.

"Qingchen, why haven't you come out to play with us these past few days?" Wang Qingtong asked.

"You didn't come looking for me," Wang Qingchen replied.

"Huh? Did we have to come call for you? You never made us call before; you always went out by yourself," Wang Qingtong said, feeling somewhat dejected.

"Where are you planning to play today?" Wang Qingchen changed the subject.

"Heh heh, I'll tell you, I secretly took Granny's embroidery needle. We're going fishing today!" Wang Qingtong whispered.

The fishing Wang Qingtong mentioned meant fishing in the Qing River, which was a tributary of some larger river and flowed through several places, including Wangjia Village. After greeting Yang Shi, the two headed towards the agreed meeting spot. When they arrived at the riverbank, Zhang Xueming and the others who had gone into the mountains with him previously had already been there for a while.

"Qingchen, what are you learning to be like a girl these days, staying cooped up at home and not coming out to play with us?" Zhang Xueming asked with a laugh as soon as he saw Wang Qingchen.

"Yeah, why are you acting like a girl?" the others chimed in, teasing him.

"No way! It's you all who didn't come looking for me. By the way, do you have fishing rods for fishing today?" Wang Qingchen asked.

"We all prepared rods. Fearing you wouldn't have one, I borrowed one for you from Brother Yuntai, but you must return it yourself after you're done," Zhang Xueming said, handing a borrowed rod to Wang Qingchen. Brother Yuntai here referred to Hongying’s brother, Li Yuntai, who rarely had time to play with the village children since he started studying.

Wang Qingchen also got some earthworms from Zhang Xueming, found a spot farther away, and cast his line, but after waiting for a long time, no fish took the bait. Watching the others catch at least a few fish, Wang Qingchen couldn't help but wonder if his luck was terrible today. But then he remembered that fishing required patience, so Wang Qingchen decided to remain calm, yet after waiting a long time, there was still no activity. Wang Qingchen had lost hope. He set down his rod and began to wander around.

After walking a short distance around a bend in the river channel, Wang Qingchen spotted a small house ahead. Was someone still living here? Wang Qingchen curiously walked closer, only to find the house empty, with not much inside. Had they moved out?

Just as he thought this, Wang Qingchen heard someone calling him from over there. Wang Qingchen hurried out of the house and ran over.

"Qingchen, hurry over here, your line is moving!"

Wang Qingchen rushed over and saw that the rod had been pulled from its original position. He quickly went to grab the rod, but nearly failed to move it—it must have been a big one. Wang Qingchen immediately called the others over to help. When they all pulled it up together, they found a carp about half a meter long.

"Wow, Qingchen, you’re so lucky! First, you found Monkey Head mushrooms, and now you've caught a huge carp..." Wang Qingtong exclaimed with a mix of awe and envy.

Wang Qingchen didn't know how to react; just when he had given up hope, heaven had blessed him again.

Wang Qingchen threaded the fish through its gills with grass and tethered it to the aquatic plants by the water's edge. After that, Wang Qingchen caught two more grass carp. After fishing all afternoon, he went home, put the carp aside, and then took the rod and the two grass carp to Hongying’s house.

Upon arriving at Hongying’s, Wang Qingchen returned the rod and offered the two grass carp as a token of thanks. Back home, he saw Caiyun squatting beside Yang Shi in the courtyard, watching her clean the carp. Seeing Wang Qingchen return, she rushed over happily. "Second Brother, you're amazing! You caught such a big fish!" she said, holding her hands apart to illustrate the size.

"Haha... this fish is big, Caiyun can eat her fill tonight..." Wang Qingchen laughed.

Yang Shi, watching the siblings' affectionate interaction in the courtyard, was very pleased. She secretly felt that her decision not to sell the fish but keep it for the family to eat was correct, as the household hadn't had meat in a long time.

At dinner, everyone truly ate their fill of fish, especially Caiyun, whose little mouth was greasy and whose little belly was distended, expressing her love for the fish meat through action. In a farming household, there was no concept of indigestion from overeating; they felt that being able to eat heartily was a blessing, so Yang Shi didn't stop her.

Before going to sleep that night, Wang Qingchen remembered the house he saw by the river and asked Wang Qinghua about it. He learned it was a house once built by a family in the village for raising geese, but since they stopped raising geese, the house remained empty. After hearing this, Wang Qingchen felt like he had forgotten something important. It wasn't until he was almost asleep that Wang Qingchen suddenly remembered what he had forgotten: there was a kang (heated brick bed) in that house.