CHAPTER 252: CHAPTER 251: THAT MAN IS AS STINGY AS AN IRON ROOSTER

Zhao frowned, staring at her eldest daughter-in-law. After a moment, as if making up her mind, she said, "Then tomorrow, shall I... try?"

"Oh..." Sun Dalin’s wife laughed, "Mom, that’s the right way to think. Let’s not even discuss how much money that formula of ours can sell for, and whether it’ll be enough for all our registration fees. Even if it’s enough, spending those few hundred taels indiscriminately is just too wasteful!

If you haven’t toured the old Yu Family residence, it’s huge, even bigger than the mansion of Ma the wealthy landowner in our town. Tomorrow, you take a walk from one end to the other, just a lap and it’ll take over half an hour.

Living in such a big house, and Yu Changhe says he can’t come up with a few hundred taels of silver, do you think that’s possible?

He just doesn’t want to pay for us, but we still have to find a way to make him pay. A few hundred taels is nothing to his family, and if we sell our secret formula, what will we rely on to start our own future?"

Zhao thought to herself, your father says selling the secret formula is just an excuse, actually he has money. When he sold the small tavern in town, they actually sold it for three hundred taels of silver, but only the two elders know about this.

They told their sons the tavern only sold for a hundred taels, which they used to marry off the five sons. Later, they opened another small tavern in the village; business is far worse than in the town, but the two elders saved up quite a bit over the years, just always pretending to be poor to the sons.

When they fled from Upper River Bay, because they left in a hurry, they didn’t buy any grain. Since their family had many people, the food they brought was visibly decreasing. Finally, they ran out of food, and while eating Sun Fengshou’s grain and Su Jingchen’s grain, she tried more than once to persuade the old man to spend some money to buy a few bags of grain. Their family ate the most, so they should logically spend money to buy grain.

But her old man was stubborn and unwilling, insisting that the money in hand should be saved for when the going gets tough.

Zhao didn’t understand what Sun Siyue meant by "when the going gets tough"? She couldn’t control Sun Siyue either, and even when she wanted the youngest son, Sun Wulin, to take her surname Zhao, she couldn’t convince Sun Siyue. After she mentioned it several times and received glaring looks from Sun Siyue, she didn’t dare to mention it again.

But now, having arrived in Luocheng, as long as the household registration is done, they can build a few grass houses and start living their lives. Zhao thought that what her old man said about tough times should be happening now, right?

Zhao mustered up her courage and secretly brought up the topic again with the old man.

This time, Sun Siyue did not say he wouldn’t fork out money. However, he wanted this money to have a name, telling the children and grandchildren it’s from selling the secret formula.

In short, Sun Siyue didn’t want others to know he had savings; he feared his sons would become fixated on the money.

Sun Siyue proposed selling the secret formula; upon hearing that they wouldn’t need to become indentured servants, everyone else in the Sun family was very happy and hoped the secret formula could sell for more money.

But Sun Dalin’s wife didn’t think so; she believed the money from selling the secret formula should be saved for their future life expenses, and the money for registering free citizens should be paid by Yu Changhe.

Zhao was bewildered by her eldest daughter-in-law’s insistence. She didn’t want to agree, but couldn’t resist the daughter’s-in-law’s pestering; if she didn’t agree, the daughter-in-law would hold onto her arm and keep talking.

Zhao could only helplessly say, "I’ll try, I’ll try..."

After speaking, she shook off Sun Dalin’s wife’s hand and walked away as if escaping.

Yu Xiaolian, as Zhao started to walk back, moved towards the other side of the crescent gate, and accidentally bumped into Su Jingchen who was returning. Remembering the joke Su Jingchen made earlier, Yu Xiaolian’s face turned red, and imitating Sun Siyue’s manner, she lifted her skirt and hurried away like she was escaping!

Su Jingchen couldn’t hold back his laughter and chuckled.

By the time Yu Xiaolian got to the Sun’s room, the two little ones had already drunk powdered milk and were sleeping soundly.

Her parents, uncle, and grandmother were in the small annex room looking worried. Seeing Yu Xiaolian come in, Yu Changhe quickly asked, "Does Scholar Su have any good ideas?"

Yu Xiaolian didn’t plan to use Su Jingchen’s method; she was worried it might bring unnecessary trouble to Su Jingchen because of the Sun family later.

If they register under the guise of being Su Jingchen’s distant relatives, indeed they wouldn’t need to spend any money, but with the tale of Dongguo and the wolf as a warning, Yu Xiaolian did not want Su Jingchen to get entangled with the Sun family.

In case amongst the Sun family someone falsely accuses Su Jingchen, claiming they didn’t know Su Jingchen and that he took their silver to help register them, then Su Jingchen wouldn’t be able to take the imperial exams. Instead, he’d end up in jail.

Yu Xiaolian felt the Sun family wasn’t trustworthy; for money, they’d do anything.

Yu Xiaolian shared her concerns, and then warned her parents not to tell them about their shop or take them there.

If they asked about how they earned money, just say it was from her teaching at the academy, and for other questions, just avoid answering, the less you know, the better.

"Also..." Yu Xiaolian recounted the conversation she just overheard between Sun Siyue and Sun Dalin’s wife.

Old Mrs. Sun looked at Sun Chunfang, "See, I just knew old fourth had money. The man is tight with his money, surely he’s saved up quite a lot over the years."

Madam Sun smiled wryly and looked at Yu Changhe, "It’s all my fault, crying and persuading you to bring them over. Alas, without us, they wouldn’t starve."

Yu Changhe comforted Madam Sun, "The deed is done, saying more is useless; let’s focus on what we can do now."

"Dad, you just used two idioms; you’re improving!" Yu Xiaolian made a face at Yu Changhe teasingly.

"Go... Stop making fun of me!" If he weren’t afraid of being laughed at for knowing only a few words, Yu Master would have spent every night reading in secret and learning words.

The daughter is too outstanding; as a father, there’s a lot of pressure, isn’t it?"

Sun Fengshou suddenly spoke, angrily saying, "In my opinion, we should just drive out my fourth uncle’s family; they’re really hiding things from us."

Old Mrs. Sun glared at her son, "Driving them out is fine, so go drive them out!"

Sun Fengshou knew his mother was speaking sarcastically but straightened his neck and said, "I’ll drive them out, what of it? Do you think I don’t dare?

That year, when my dad died at the levee, theirs was the only family with a mule cart in the village. I went to borrow it, but they wouldn’t lend it. Later, it was the unrelated villagers who helped carry my father back, humph... I’ll remember this for life."

Old Mrs. Sun said, "Your fourth uncle explained afterward that he didn’t know you went to borrow the cart. It was all because of that Dalin’s wife; she sent you away but didn’t mention it back at home."

Sun Fengshou snorted coldly, "Mom, you believe everything my fourth uncle says. At that time, I cried loudly out in front of their house. Not saying the whole village heard me, but close enough. Saying my fourth uncle didn’t hear anything—it’s hard for me to believe.

Back then, you protected Mrs. Xu, and now you’re protecting my fourth uncle’s family. In my opinion, once you’re full and eating well, don’t worry about anything else; just add to the chaos, which doesn’t help at all. You better go back and sleep."