In the shed, Su Mu held onto Su Shi's hand, weeping, "A'luo, our money is gone. You must find a way to save our entire family!"
"What? The money is gone?!"
Su Shi felt the world spin. That was over twenty taels of silver!
Su Mu cried mournfully, "I don't know which scoundrel snuck into the shed and stole all the silver. They want to kill all of us, young and old!"
Tian Shi and the other sisters-in-law also started crying, "Our family finally arrived in Jiangnan, thinking we finally had a way to live. Who knew we'd encounter this again."
Su Shi was sweating anxiously, "This is such a big matter, have you reported it to the authorities?"
Tian Shi said, "We are not from Yao County, so the yamen simply won't handle it. The magistrate even threatened to drive our entire family away."
Su Shi didn't believe it, "Impossible, Lord Cheng is not that kind of person."
Tian Shi was startled, "How do you know the magistrate's surname is Cheng?"
Su Shi said, "On our way fleeing famine, we saved Lord Cheng's wife and son, so we have some connection with their family. The matter of settling down and buying land in Xiaoshan Village was also handled by Lord Cheng."
The Su family members were shocked.
"You have a connection with the magistrate?"
Zhang Shi raised her voice, "Then why didn't you say so earlier? Such a big matter, and you kept it from the family! Fourth sister, your favoritism is truly too much!"
Li Shi also put on a sour face and sneered, "A married daughter is like spilled water. With the family in such dire straits, you actually hid such a significant matter. And the Jiang family, what good in-laws they are! Knowing our Su family was worried about not being able to settle down, you had the means but refused to help, and then you sent us away with such a small amount of money!"
Su Shi hurriedly explained, "Lord Cheng has already helped a lot, and we no longer owe the Jiang family. Besides, now we only need to purchase property to settle down, and there's no need to specifically find Lord Cheng. Moreover, settling in Xiaoshan Village was done after paying for the land."
Zhang Shi snorted, "In the end, it's just because the Jiang family doesn't take the Su family seriously."
Su Lian added, "It's one thing for the Jiang family to act like that, but we never expected you not to help the family. Sister, have you lost your conscience? Our family of over a dozen people is suffering here, and you can truly be heartless!"
Su Mu simply patted her chest and wailed, "What sin have I committed to give birth to such an ungrateful wretch like you."
Su Shi, even with a hundred mouths, couldn't explain herself now, and sweat beaded on her forehead from anxiety.
Just then, Su Fu walked in from outside, "Alright, stop the commotion. Let's think about how to solve the current problem!"
"How to solve it? Now the money is gone, and the Jiang family refuses to help. What can we do?"
Su Fu looked at Su Shi, "The Jiang family has a connection with the magistrate. Are you also familiar with the magistrate's wife?"
Su Shi had some reservations, "I'm not that familiar with Madam Cheng, Father. What do you want to do?"
"You go and plead with the magistrate's wife. See if she can grant our family a piece of land so we can register our household. As for the money to buy the land, we can repay it later when we earn it."
Su Fu said it very lightly, but Su Shi repeatedly shook her head.
"Father, I can't do this. I don't have that much face. The favor they owe is not to me, so how can I have the nerve to ask for help?"
Su Mu's sharp voice rang out, "Why don't you have the face? Aren't you also part of the Jiang family? As long as they owe the Jiang family a favor, they have to cater to you!"
"Exactly, A'luo. If you're unwilling to help with such a small matter, what else can the family expect from you in the future?"
With everyone speaking at once, Su Shi was completely flustered.
Finally, unable to bear their pestering, Su Shi said, "Alright, stop talking. I... I will go and ask Madam Cheng tomorrow..."
Su Mu smiled, "That's right. The Jiang family has a favor with Madam Cheng. This is not a big deal, it's just a matter of Lord Cheng putting pen to paper."
Su Shi's heart was uneasy, "I can only go and ask. As for whether it will succeed, I dare not guarantee it."
The Su family members smiled, "It will definitely succeed, A'luo. Our family is counting on you."
Meanwhile, Su Qing drove the Jiang family's carriage into the city and casually found a carriage dealership to sell it.
The people at the carriage dealership were not very honest. Seeing Su Qing dressed in rags, they pressed the price down very low. The carriage, originally bought for fifty taels of silver, was sold for twenty-five taels.
Although Su Qing felt the price was too low, he thought that since the carriage wasn't theirs anyway, it didn't matter how much it sold for, as it was all gain. So, he cheerfully took the money and left the city.
The little horse followed all the way into the city. After witnessing the carriage being sold, it quickly flew back to find Jiang Wan.
When Jiang Wan heard that the carriage had been sold, Da Lang hadn't even returned home yet!
Jiang Wan was so angered by the Su family's actions that she almost laughed.
She had seen shameless people before, but never anyone this shameless!
So, Jiang Wan turned and told her parents about it. Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi were also furious when they learned the carriage had been sold.
"Why did they sell our carriage! Let's go to the Su family and demand an explanation!"
Jiang Wan stopped them, "Father, Mother, don't go yet. Sister-in-law is still with them. This family has no bottom line. If pushed too far, they might come up with some other foolish scheme. Let's see what else they want to do first. After they've exhausted all their tricks, then we'll make our move."
"But we're not at ease with your sister-in-law at the Su family."
Chen Yuezhi was worried about Su Shi, who was pregnant.
Jiang Wan thought for a moment, "Mother, why don't you send me to the Su family? Say that I cried and insisted on seeing my sister-in-law. They definitely wouldn't dare to fall out with us now. No matter how unwilling they are, they'll have to let me stay."
Chen Yuezhi was still worried about her, "What if the Su family tries to harm you?"
Her daughter-in-law and unborn grandchildren were important, but she couldn't risk her daughter!
Jiang Wan pursed her lips and smiled, "I actually hope they try to harm me. That way, our family can completely sever ties with them. Father, Mother, don't worry. With the old immortal here, they can't hurt me in the slightest."
With the old immortal vouching for her, the couple finally felt a bit more at ease.
So, Jiang Pan hitched the carriage and took Jiang Wan and Chen Yuezhi towards the Su family.
On the way, they encountered Da Lang walking home.
"Father, Mother, where are you going?"
Jiang Pan looked at him, "Wan Wan is insisting on finding your wife, so we plan to take her there. You should come along too."
Da Lang nodded and got on, then said, "It seems something has happened at the Su family. Father, Mother, why don't we help them again?"
Jiang Pan sneered, "Help? How do you suggest we help? Do you think our family has enough wealth to support such a large family?"
Da Lang immediately stopped talking.
He didn't know how much money the family had, but he assumed it wasn't much.
Moreover, he was still living off the family. To suggest helping the Su family was indeed inappropriate.
Jiang Pan snorted, "I disagreed with you marrying Su Shi back then. You insisted on marrying her. You'll have headaches to deal with later!"