Er Niu had always been an honest and filial man. Though his own parents and brothers had wronged him, he never held a grudge, always ready to lend a hand when they were in need. Now that trouble had struck Qingshan, Er Niu was certainly obligated to help. Hadn't she, his wife, disregarded everything to marry him precisely because she admired his character?

From beneath the bedside, Madam Huang pulled out the money box. She counted the silver inside: three taels remained, along with over four hundred large cash coins. Madam Huang handed the three taels to Er Niu, designating the remaining cash for the household expenses until their situation improved.

Holding the three taels, Er Niu felt a heavy burden in his heart. His elder brother's family was perpetually troublesome, creating problems again and again, draining all their meager savings. He felt immense guilt toward his wife and children, but what choice did he have?

Just as he was contemplating this, Da Bao entered with the younger children, handing their purses to Madam Huang. "Mother," he said, "this is our New Year's gift money. Together, it’s a few hundred cash coins. You take it for now."

Seeing how sensible their children were, Er Niu and Madam Huang were deeply relieved. They accepted the money, and Er Niu said, "When the New Year comes and things are better, we’ll give each of you a larger gift money bonus as compensation."

The older children remained silent, but Xiao Bao jumped up, clapping his hands, "Great! It’ll be New Year again soon! We’ll have meat, and big sister’s sausages!"

Seeing Xiao Bao’s sheer delight, the family couldn't help but laugh. Lin He pulled Xiao Bao close. "Silly boy, we just finished celebrating the New Year; it won't be again so soon. Wait a while, and Big Sister will make sausages for you then."

Xiao Bao didn't care about the timing of the New Year; as long as there was good food, that was enough. He blinked and replied, "Okay, Big Sister must keep her promise."

Though the family’s funds were depleted, which truly unsettled Madam Huang, seeing her children’s understanding filled her heart with satisfaction. Some things simply could not be bought with money.

When Er Niu delivered the money to Madam Zhao’s house, He Shi and Da Jiang were both present. Da Jiang only learned that his parents had gone to borrow money from Er Niu’s house after they had returned. He scolded He Shi a few times until Madam Zhao called him to a halt. Seeing Er Niu arrive, Da Jiang felt too ashamed to face him. He managed a greeting before retreating into the room. He Shi, however, acted as if nothing untoward had happened. As Er Niu walked into the courtyard, her face immediately lit up with smiles. "Second Uncle is here."

Er Niu acknowledged her with a simple reply and walked toward Madam Zhao's room without much conversation. Upon entering, he saw his father's face flushed the color of pig's liver, pacing back and forth in the room with his hands clasped behind his back. Da Jiang was squatting nearby, and Madam Zhao stood to the side. Seeing Er Niu enter, Old Man Lin's expression eased slightly. "Er Niu has arrived."

Er Niu responded and stood quietly to the side. Old Man Lin pointed at Da Jiang and cursed through gritted teeth, "Tell me, what use are you? You can't even control your wife, and your son constantly causes this kind of ridiculous trouble! If this story gets out, where will the face of our Old Lin family go?"

He paused to catch his breath and continued his tirade. "I say, a beast like Qingshan—we shouldn't bother with him at all! Just hand him over to the authorities. Last time, he owed so much money he emptied his Second Uncle’s coffers, and now he expects Er Niu’s family to bail him out again! Do you think Er Niu’s family manufactures silver coins?"

Finishing with Da Jiang, he turned on Madam Zhao. "You old woman, have you gone senile? You actually helped them hide this from me and even went with your eldest daughter-in-law to pressure Er Niu’s wife into lending money, saying such outrageous things!"

Old Man Lin saw Er Niu standing aside, so he didn't specify exactly what had been said. Er Niu looked at his mother with surprise. Huang Shi hadn't mentioned anything to him when he got back. He hadn't known until now. Hearing his father speak like this, he feared his mother must have said something terrible at their house earlier that day—no wonder everyone looked so grim when he returned.

However, these matters were not the most pressing issue right now. The priority was solving the current crisis, not assigning blame. Whatever needed discussing could wait until later. Er Niu spoke up: "Father, let's put that aside for now. Let's figure out how to resolve this. Didn't they say they needed ten taels? How much have we managed to gather?"

Old Man Lin snorted and remained silent. Madam Zhao finally broke the tension. "Your eldest brother's family and I have managed to gather three taels in total. Er Niu, how much do you have?"

Er Niu took out the three taels from his person but did not hand them over immediately. He glanced at Madam Zhao, who understood his meaning. She instructed He Shi to bring out the signed IOU that had been prepared. He Shi looked distinctly displeased, but Madam Zhao had stated firmly that either they borrowed the money and wrote the official agreement, or they wouldn't borrow at all; she wouldn't manage it otherwise. He Shi reluctantly had someone draft the document, and she affixed her thumbprint.

Seeing Er Niu produce three taels, He Shi noted, "So now we have six taels combined. What about the remaining four? We only have two days left before the matchmaker is supposed to finalize the engagement."

A fresh wave of silence fell over the family. They had exhausted every idea. Moreover, this kind of scandal was difficult to publicize, and they were too embarrassed to borrow from outsiders.

Finally, Er Niu thought for a moment and suggested, "We have six taels now. That’s not an insignificant amount for a betrothal gift. Perhaps we should simply tell the Song family the truth—that this is all we have. After all, this matter is hardly honorable for their daughter either. If they press charges, it won't look good for them either, as their daughter is still destined to marry into the Lin family, isn't that right?"

He Shi scoffed dismissively at Er Niu's proposal. "Second Uncle, Qingshan isn't your child, so it's easy for you to say nice things. What if the Song family doesn't accept it and insists on reporting it to the authorities? Our Qingshan could die. What use is money then if the person is gone?"

Er Niu frowned upon hearing He Shi's words. "Since Sister-in-law has such concerns, please tell us what brilliant plan you have. If you can think of a solution, are we unwilling to follow it?"

He Shi inwardly considered suggesting Er Niu sell his fields, but she wasn't a fool. Her father-in-law had just berated his own wife; who knew what kind of trouble her suggestion might cause? She clamped her mouth shut.

After a brief pause, Old Man Lin spoke. "I think Er Niu's suggestion has merit. Firstly, we have no other options. Secondly, Er Niu is correct about the Song family; this situation would reflect poorly on them too. Tomorrow, Da Jiang and Er Niu, you two go to the Song residence and discuss it with them. It shouldn't be too difficult. If they absolutely refuse to accept this amount of silver, then let them report it to the officials."

Having said that, he closed his eyes and shook his head silently. The eldest branch of the family truly gave him endless worries.

The next morning, Da Jiang and Er Niu set off early for the Song family in Shanglin Village. The Song family received them with relative politeness. Song Yuemei's father had three brothers, and each of those three had several sons. The Song family was certainly numerous, but their prosperity was in headcount, not fortune.

Song Yuemei’s immediate family alone had four older brothers. Because the household was so large, they were dirt poor. Only the eldest Song brother was married; the remaining three were of marrying age but remained single due to a lack of funds.

When they caught Lin Qingshan, they heard that the Qingshan family used to run a shop in town. Even though they had returned to the village, as the saying goes, even a rotten ship has three catties of nails left. The family must have some reserve money. Furthermore, having heard that Qingshan’s second uncle’s family had recently earned quite a bit, they intended to squeeze a large sum from Qingshan’s family. If they could secure these ten taels of silver, it would solve many of their problems.