"Everyone, it will be opening ti soon; let’s get to work. Please keep your mouths shut about this matter, and don’t go spreading it to my mother-in-law; it would only upset her," she instructed Scholar Wen and the others in as calm a manner as she could manage. Standing up, she turned and entered the kitchen.
...
Hua Xiaomai didn’t linger in Daoxiang Garden until closing ti. After the busiest period, she called for Old Lady ng to accompany her back ho to the south of the village.
The matter of Tang Maolin’s disappearance was naturally sothing she wouldn’t dare to reveal a word about in front of Old Lady ng. The two chatted idly in the courtyard; after dinner, they tidied up and each returned to their own room.
It wasn’t until after the hour of Hai that ng Yuhuai returned from the city.
It was eerily silent all around; a single lamp shone in the room, and a thin layer of ash covered the fire basin, with just a few sparks of light visible.
Lying face inward on the couch, Hua Xiaomai, in fact, hadn’t fallen asleep. Yet she couldn’t be bothered to turn around and greet him, simply keeping her eyes closed, not uttering a word. Hearing him pour water to drink at the table, then crouch down to stoke the fire in the basin, she couldn’t help but curl her lips.
Even his footsteps sounded listless; without asking, it was clear he hadn’t found any trace of Tang Maolin!
After a mont, she felt the lamp was extinguished, and the couch sank slightly; then, there was silence for a long while.
Carefully, she shifted her shoulders and, with great effort, turned her head to take a look. She saw ng Yuhuai, having removed his outer garnt, sitting on the edge of the bed as if he were about to take off his shoes, but not moving.
At that, she could no longer contain herself and sat up swiftly, saying irritably, "It’s freezing; aren’t you afraid of catching cold? If you haven’t figured things out, put on your clothes and think about it slowly. The way you’re neither dressing nor undressing, are you trying to get sick?"
ng Yuhuai turned his head and gave her a slight smile, "It’s late, why haven’t you slept yet?"
"Your return woke up with all the noise, even if I had been asleep."
Hua Xiaomai quickly grabbed the jacket lying on top of the bedding and draped it over her shoulders, then handed him a thick piece of clothing. She lowered her voice to a whisper, "How is it, still no word from Uncle?"
"No," ng Yuhuai replied with a bitter smile and a shake of his head. "Fuzhe County is such a vast place; without a single clue, Aunt and Cousin don’t know anything specific. How could we possibly find him so easily?"
I told you to report to the authorities, but you wouldn’t listen!
Hua Xiaomai grumbled inwardly, then said, "Surely, Aunt must know sothing, right?"
"...," ng Yuhuai paused briefly, sighing softly. "I do rember sothing, but I’m not sure if it’s related—about half a month ago, when I went to check on the new house, Uncle privately brought up the matter to , asking if he could get an advance on his wages. You know, at the start of the work, we had already paid a part. Craftsn like him, who work with us year-round, have their wages handed over to the manager, who then distributes them individually. I didn’t want to cause unrest by letting others see, so I didn’t agree..."
"Uncle’s family is really short on cash?" Hua Xiaomai raised an eyebrow.
"From what aunt said, yes..." ng Yuhuai’s brow furrowed into a deep furrow, "When we had just settled down in the city, uncle talked about going into business with soone and borrowed twenty taels of silver from a usurer. Who would’ve thought the business would fail within two months, leaving them in the lurch. The debt collectors ca knocking repeatedly. With uncle out working, they’d start bothering aunt and my cousin..."
Hua Xiaomai almost exploded, clenching her fists tightly, gritting her teeth and saying, "What kind of joke is this, they’ve gone and borrowed from loan sharks? That’s a ruthless business that devours people without spitting out bones. How much wealth do they even have to dare to get involved in that?"
Her voice got a little too loud, and imdiately a cough ca from ng’s mother’s side.
"In the middle of the night, you two aren’t sleeping but whispering about what? Xiaomai, you seem determined not to let the child in your stomach rest, don’t you?"
"Don’t be anxious, stay calm," ng Yuhuai hurriedly waved his hands at Hua Xiaomai, tucking in the quilt for her.
"How can I not be anxious?" Hua Xiaomai’s mind raced, "I bet uncle is hiding because he can’t co up with the money to repay! What are you planning to do?"
Although she didn’t understand how the interest on usurious loans was calculated, she at least knew that it was like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger. Left for too long, ordinary families simply couldn’t afford it.
Now that ng Yuhuai had brought up the issue, she could almost guess a certain possibility...
Sure enough, after pondering for a mont, ng Yuhuai said, "I think, our family does have so spare money. While the interest isn’t too high yet, we’d better pay it off quickly. Once this matter is resolved, uncle naturally won’t hide anymore—of course, this money I’m not lending for nothing, when their family is better off, they will have to pay it back."
Do you even believe what you’re saying? Hua Xiaomai felt like punching him.
Usually, he was such a ticulous and stable person, so how did he beco so muddled now? Twenty taels, an ordinary family could live comfortably for two years on that, and that’s just the principal, not to ntion the interest...
Sure, the ng family really isn’t lacking that bit of money, but if there is a first ti, there will be a second ti, and that would be a bottomless pit. Are they supposed to keep plugging holes for others repeatedly?
The more she thought about it, the more angry she beca. She stopped talking, flopped back down on the bed with a thud, turning her back to ng Yuhuai.
"Xiaomai." ng Yuhuai sighed behind her, "I know you are upset, but no matter what, that’s my uncle. He’s in trouble now; we have to help. Think about it, if Lady Hua encountered such an issue, would you just sit by and do nothing?"
Hua Xiaomai flipped the quilt off with a swoosh: "Get this straight, first, my sister and brother-in-law are not the type to act without thinking. They wouldn’t foolishly go borrow money at high interest rates; second, how have my sister and brother-in-law treated , and what about the way uncle’s family has treated us? Have you forgotten what they said to your mother? My sister loves so much, even if she really needed my help one day, I’d spend the money willingly, but..."
"I’m discussing this with you, am I not?" ng Yuhuai was still speaking softly, but his face had tightened, "If I wanted to keep it from you, why would I co back and talk to you? I feel like, when uncle’s family ca to rely on us, if we had just sent them away without saying another word, it wouldn’t have co to this point..."
(To be continued. If you like this work, welco to Qidian (qidian) to cast your recomndation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian to read.)
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