From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him-Chapter 24: The He Family

Xiao Wanyu simply couldn’t believe the Tian Family only had two mirrors. They were definitely using this as an opportunity to help her legitimate sister take her frustrations out on her.

She beckoned for her head maid, Little Jue. "Go out and ask around. I refuse to believe the Tian Family is the only one in the entire Prefecture City that has them. Once I get a mirror, we’ll see what my ’good’ legitimate mother and the others have to say then."

Yu Xiaoju curtsied. "Second Miss, should I report this to the gatekeeper?"

For a head maid like her, besides reporting to the gatekeeper when leaving, she could also slip the old woman at the back gate a little something. That way, she wouldn’t have to alert the mistress of the house.

Xiao Wanyu grabbed a handful of copper coins from her money box and stuffed them directly into her palm. "No need to report it. If you find out where to get one, I’ll go buy it myself."

’Maybe then I can even pick out a bigger and better one, leaving that mother-daughter pair speechless.’

Yu Xiaoju carefully placed the copper coins into her own money pouch. "I understand."

＆

Never mind the small storm stirred up by two mirrors on that end; Ancient Wen Heng and his brothers were completely exasperated.

"Don’t you play dead with us, you old hag! Haven’t you seen your eldest son and daughter-in-law? They eat like pigs while my daughter and granddaughter are starved to skin and bones."

"I’d heard people say you favor your eldest son. We always thought it was because you were counting on him to care for you in your old age, so we didn’t mind losing out a little now and then."

"But look at what you’ve done, you old hag! You’ve completely emptied out your second daughter-in-law’s dowry using all sorts of excuses, and now you’re encouraging them to empty out her natal family’s home. What a truly brilliant scheme."

With her hands on her hips, Li Cuicui pointed at the three generations of the He Family huddled together and let them have it with full force.

"This has nothing to do with us! It’s her dowry; she can use it however she wants, can’t she? We didn’t take a single coin from her." Gu Yuanfeng’s mother-in-law, Mrs. He Zhou, hid behind He Tuliang, not even sparing a glance for the black-and-blue He Tiping.

"Why does that hairpin on your head look so familiar?" Li Cuicui narrowed her eyes, turning her attention to Mrs. He Yang. Then, she slapped her own thigh dramatically. "Oh my! Isn’t that part of the dowry I gave my daughter? When we displayed the dowry, plenty of people in Geda Village saw it. How did it end up on your head, older sister-in-law?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Mrs. He Yang quickly covered it with her hand. "My younger sister-in-law gave it to me! I didn’t ask her for it."

Ancient Wen Heng looked at Gu Yuanfeng with sarcastic admiration. "Sixth Sister, you’re so generous. A hairpin worth several taels of Silver, and you just gave it away. How come when I, your younger brother, got married, I didn’t see a single copper coin? It really is like they say: a daughter married out is like water splashed out. You don’t have your natal family’s brothers in your heart at all."

"Seventh, you shut your mouth," Li Cuicui snapped at him, then turned back to the He Family. "Since your family doesn’t distinguish between what’s whose, why is my daughter treated differently?

"Look at all of you, decked out in gold and silver, while my foolish daughter looks like a beggar woman! Now, give our family an explanation. Are you trying to bully us, thinking the Gu Family has no one to stand up for her?"

The men of the Gu Family all took a menacing step forward, causing the three generations of the He Family to huddle even closer together.

He Tuliang looked to the surrounding villagers for help, but they all dodged his gaze as soon as their eyes met.

’Are you kidding? With our scrawny arms and legs, if we really got into a tussle with these burly men, how could we continue to flee the disaster? We’d be done for right here.’

"What do you want?"

"Not much. Just return what doesn’t belong to you. If you think it’s not safe for my daughter to hold onto it, then I, this old woman, will keep it for her. Once she has a son in the future, I guarantee I’ll return every last bit of it."

"Heh, you’re the only one who’d believe that. Why don’t you ask those sons of yours standing next to you if they agree?" Mrs. He Zhou retorted without a second thought upon hearing Li Cuicui’s words.

"Then split the family for the two of them. The assets are all here anyway. Divide everything between your two sons and let them live their own lives from now on."

"I don’t want to split the family!" The first one to jump up and object to Li Cuicui was, surprisingly, Gu Yuanfeng. This was completely unexpected.

Li Cuicui slapped her right across the face. "I am fighting for justice for you right now! Is this your place to speak?

"If you were really able to get by, you wouldn’t have to watch them eat until they’re fat and round while you have to go back and exploit your own brothers just to survive.

"Let the elders and neighbors here be the judge. Who am I doing all this for?"

Gu Yuanfeng pointed angrily at Ancient Wen Heng. "You’re willing to lend money to Seventh, so why can’t you lend any to me?

"Besides, it’s not like I wouldn’t pay it back. When things get better for me in the future, I definitely won’t be in your debt."

Li Cuicui looked at her with disappointment. "Don’t compare yourself to your brothers in everything. They don’t owe you two anything, and I certainly don’t owe you a thing.

"When you got married, I prepared a dowry for you equivalent to a son’s share of the family inheritance—and it was more, not less.

"Living so close, don’t tell me you don’t know how many taels of Silver I gave your seventh brother back then. Among all the brothers, the one I’ve short-changed the most is actually your seventh brother. What right do you have to compare yourself to him in every little thing?"

Gu Yuanfeng was rendered speechless. Even her other brothers standing with her lowered their heads.

"You want to compare yourself to me? Fine," Ancient Wen Heng said, yanking He Tiping over. "And don’t say that I, your brother-in-law, don’t understand reciprocity. Back then, my sixth sister basically received her share of the family property. Since you demand fair treatment, then from now on, you should follow the duties of a son. You must present gifts to our parents every festival and holiday, and you’ll also shoulder a share of their elder care expenses along with the rest of us.

"Oh, right. And don’t forget your little brats at home—they’ll have to take our surname, Gu. Do all that, and then you can sit down with us brothers and talk about fairness. Then you can also make demands of our elders. How about it?"

"Isn’t that just a matrilocal marriage?" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Ancient Wen Heng slapped a hand on He Tiping’s shoulder. "This is what my brother-in-law wants, isn’t it? Otherwise, how could he have the gall to let his wife go to our house and make demands?

"Fellow villagers, you all have sons and daughters. Looking at how they’re acting, don’t you think they’re aiming for a matrilocal marriage?"

Embarrassment flashed in He Tiping’s eyes. This younger brother-in-law of his... every word was a stab to the heart, leaving him with no dignity at all.

Gu Yuanfeng also felt the strange looks from the crowd, but in her heart, she felt her seventh brother was being too aggressive. "Seventh, don’t stand there twisting my and your brother-in-law’s words. If our family wasn’t in such dire straits, we wouldn’t have had to ask our natal family for help."

"Is this what you call ’dire straits’?" Gu Yuanhuo kicked open a crate next to He Tuliang. It was packed full, clearly having been restocked not long ago.

"This crate alone has to be worth at least several taels, right? I just don’t get it. Are you people fleeing a disaster, or are you running a business for everyone here?

"With assets like these, and you haven’t even split the family, how could you possibly not be able to get by?"

Since they had no sense of shame, they might as well tear away the facade completely. Otherwise, people might think the Gu Family was just using its strength to bully them.