Er Niu helped Hong Xia up from the ground and said, "Hong Xia, don't be like this. I am the children's uncle too. How could I not help you? It's just that this is not a small matter; the family must discuss it properly."

Old Man Lin, who hadn't spoken, finally chimed in, "That's right, Hong Xia. Thirty taels of silver is no small sum. Da Fa asks for thirty taels right off the bat. If we agree too easily, he'll surely have more demands. Listen to what your second brother says."

"Yes, Father is absolutely right. This Zhou Da Fa is hopeless. Even his own children he threatens to sell. Yuan Zhu and Yuan Bao definitely cannot go with him. Even if we could afford the money, we must first settle everything and cut ties with Zhou Da Fa completely so he can't extort us later." Er Niu considered all angles.

However, Mrs. Zhao felt that thirty taels of silver was simply too much: "Er Niu, Hong Xia, have you lost your minds? That’s thirty taels! Think of how much that money could buy! I disagree with just giving it to Zhou Da Fa. Besides, the children are his Zhou family's bloodline. If he wants them, let him have them. I don't believe he’d actually sell the children; he's just trying to scare you."

"Mother, I beg you! Zhou Da Fa truly means what he says; he will actually sell the children. Even though this money is a lot, I will work like an ox or a horse to repay it. Otherwise, I won't divorce him. We’ll just live as we are, and I won't even want the child in my belly." Hong Xia grew agitated as she spoke.

Seeing that her father and second brother had yielded, yet her mother stood in the way, Hong Xia knew exactly what kind of person her mother was. Back then, she married Hong Xia off to Zhou Da Fa because his family offered a substantial betrothal gift. Now, her mother was obstructing her from bringing her own children home just for the sake of money. Knowing how anxious Mrs. Zhao was about the child in her belly, Hong Xia deliberately spoke that way, injecting a subtle threat into her words.

Mrs. Zhao felt Hong Xia had become frantic and was infuriated that she would use the unborn child to make threats. In a burst of anger, she snapped, "If you don't want the child, then don't! Go abort the child right now! You dare use that to threaten me? Don't you know the troubles plaguing our entire household? If you divorce, how much face will we lose? Everyone in the village will laugh us to death! Yet we support you for your own good, and now you act like we owe you! You abort that child, and you can take the other children and get out! My family won't support you, and I’d like to see what kind of good life you can have." Mrs. Zhao was also speaking wildly in her rage.

Hong Xia was struck dumb by Mrs. Zhao's words and collapsed to the side, weeping ceaselessly. Hong Yun could not bear to watch any longer. She went over, helped Hong Xia up, and tried to soothe her: "Hong Xia, don't blame Mother. She is just too angry. She didn't mean to say those things. There have been too many vexations in the family recently. Don't take it to heart."

Er Niu also advised, "Yes, Hong Xia. You know how important the child you're carrying is, yet you say such things. Mother has worried herself sick over your affairs. Go apologize to Mother quickly." He then glanced pointedly at Hong Yun.

Hong Yun helped Hong Xia walk over to Mrs. Zhao. Hong Xia sat down beside her mother and offered her apology. Looking at Hong Xia, Mrs. Zhao’s heart softened with pity. She said, "Enough talk. Let’s discuss this matter of the silver."

Old Man Lin, unaware of the crucial importance of Hong Xia’s child in this whole drama, asked, "Hong Xia, yes, and you have the one inside you. You’ll have to raise four people by yourself. If you have to give Da Fa thirty taels, how can one woman bear such a heavy debt?"

Only Old Man Lin and Da Jiang in the room were clueless about the child situation, so they spoke plainly. Hearing Old Man Lin’s words, Mrs. Zhao quickly interjected, "It’s just one child, what’s the big deal? If they can’t support them, aren't we, your parents, still here? We can subsidize a bit then. It’s just that I hope we can give Zhou Da Fa less money. Think about it, doesn't Zhou Da Fa just want money? Since he doesn’t truly want the children anyway, giving him less is definitely better than nothing for him. I think we should give as little as possible."

Er Niu thought his mother’s words held merit. If they could give less, that would naturally be better. But how much was appropriate? Enough to keep the children, yet acceptable to Zhou Da Fa. Er Niu suggested, "How about twenty taels? We can scare him a bit, that should work. What do you think, Hong Xia?"

Hong Xia felt twenty taels was still a considerable sum and believed Zhou Da Fa might agree. She planned to initially offer less, and if he absolutely refused, they would increase it little by little; the maximum would be thirty taels. After all, Hong Xia knew Zhou Da Fa best. Er Niu then instructed that if Zhou Da Fa arrived, he would do the talking, and everyone else should remain quiet to avoid saying too much or making demands. Especially Hong Xia—she shouldn't speak much, because if she got anxious, Zhou Da Fa would certainly push for excessive terms.

The family had no appetite left for lunch and just managed to eat something quickly. As soon as they finished, Zhou Da Fa showed up, clearly impatient. He stepped into the yard and declared, "Have you gathered the money? If you have, bring it out."

Er Niu spoke up, "The money is ready, but we have a few demands you must agree to before I hand it over. First, you must agree to divorce Hong Xia. Second, since you don't intend to keep the children anyway, you must sign a document in black and white stating that these children will have absolutely no future relationship with you. Third, our family cannot scrape together that much money; we only managed to gather fifteen taels of silver."

Zhou Da Fa nodded repeatedly as he listened to the first two points, indicating he would agree to those terms. However, when he heard there was only fifteen taels, he refused: "Then there’s no divorce. I’ll take the children away. As for Hong Xia, if she wants to come back, fine; if not, I’ll divorce her myself." Zhou Da Fa had been thinking while outside; he figured out the Lin family’s plan—they wanted a divorce. If that was the case, then the thirty taels was non-negotiable.

With that, he turned to leave. Er Niu asked, "Where are you going?"

"To your courtyard to get Yuan Zhu and Yuan Bao. The price I get for selling them will certainly be more than that. And give me the field deeds. If you don't give them to me now, I’ll go sell the children." This last sentence was aimed at Hong Xia.

Hong Xia grew anxious and tugged at Er Niu’s sleeve. Er Niu gave her a reassuring look, called out to Zhou Da Fa, and said, "Wait, but we really can only gather this much. Yuan Zhu and Yuan Bao are your children too. Can you really bear to sell them?"

"Hmph, hmph. What good are these children to me? I can find women to bear as many as I want. I don't care. In any case, without thirty taels and the field deeds today, I won't give you the two children. You all need to think clearly; it will be too late if you delay. Brother-in-law, you live in such a fine house, yet you can’t even come up with thirty taels. Who are you trying to fool? Fine, since you're unwilling to part with the money, I won't say any more." With that, he bolted for the door.