Chapter 908: Chapter 908: Madam Liang: No House, No Confidence

Madam Liang lifted the blanket and got out of bed, first pulling out a clay pot from underneath, reaching in, and extracting a small cloth bag.

She then rushed over to the wardrobe, pushed aside all the clothes on top, and took out a small box.

Next, she stood up and walked to the beam underneath the ceiling, glanced at the basket hanging above, brought over a stool, stepped on it, and reached into the basket to retrieve a dusty cloth bag.

Immediately after, she dug out another box from behind the headboard’s trunk.

Lastly, she took a slightly smaller cloth bag from underneath the pillow.

Lu Sanzhu was completely stunned as he watched Madam Liang bustling about, placing cloth bags and boxes on the bed and pouring out a pile of pieces of silver.

His mouth agape, he said, “You, you hid them in so many places? If we ever had a hundred taels of silver, wouldn’t the whole room be filled with hiding spots? Aren’t you afraid you’ll forget?”

Madam Liang shot him a look, “This is money; how could I possibly forget? Come on, count it up.”

Lu Sanzhu could not worry about anything else at the moment and quickly sat down cross-legged, gathering the silver pieces on the bed together.

He counted with extra care, going through the count twice before excitedly saying, “Indeed, there’s forty-six taels, this is my first time touching this much money.”

Madam Liang scooted over, legs crossed, and said, “So let’s buy a house.”

Lu Sanzhu furrowed his brows, “Forty-six taels still isn’t enough.”

“How about borrowing some from Yu?”

Lu Sanzhu felt a bit scared, “I dare not.”

Madam Liang wanted to smack him, “Why are you so cowardly?”

The couple had not found it successful when asking others for a loan; most of the time, they couldn’t secure one. Whether they asked the main branch of the family, his Fourth Sister or even the old lady, Lu Sanzhu could bring himself to do it; it was just Yu who made him feel uneasy.

He raised his eyes to look at Madam Liang, “Or, should we just forget it? After buying the house, we’d still have to tighten our belts, and our meals won’t taste good anymore. It’s not worth it.”

“What do you know?” Madam Liang said annoyed, “This isn’t our own house; nothing is convenient. Just a few days ago, the household diagonally opposite has their rent hiked by the landlord–thirty coins a day, just like that. Plus, the month before last, the household at the end of the lane, the landlord’s son was splitting the family property, said they didn’t have enough space and needed the house back. They compensated a bit and then drove the tenants out. That family didn’t even have a place to stay that night; it was still cold back then, and the children nearly fell ill from the cold.”

That’s when Madam Liang felt it was unsettling to live in a rented house.

Especially after the news of Yu being exiled spread, their own landlord came over twice, hinting in roundabout ways that they wanted to pick a quarrel to drive them out, mentioning how the house was getting rundown and different from before.

If it weren’t for Madam Liang’s own fierce and stubborn nature making her difficult to provoke, they might have been driven out as well.

Lu Sanzhu hadn’t been aware of this, and immediately wanted to roll up his sleeves, “The landlord is so unscrupulous? I’ll settle accounts with him tomorrow.”

“No rush on that, let’s talk about buying a house first. I’ve inquired a little; the smaller houses nearby are about a hundred and eighty taels or so, and the slightly larger ones…”

“*Burp*,” Lu Sanzhu let out a belch.

They only had a total of forty-six taels of silver, and you’re already dreaming about one hundred and eighty?

But Madam Liang seemed to have her heart set on buying a house, and Lu Sanzhu suddenly felt immense pressure; the meat he ate that evening couldn’t fill the sadness in his heart.

That night, Lu Sanzhu and his wife tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Daya, equally sleepless and affected, was no different.