Chapter 39: Mu Chunfang’s Threat
Not far away, Yu Luo perked her ears, listening to the conversation of the third branch of the Yu family, and couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Since the men of the third branch still knew how to hunt, they would at least have a chance to survive when they reached the wilderness.
“Dad, Mom, look! There’s actually a bag of silver here!”
Amidst the family’s joy, Yu Yongcai suddenly pulled out a pouch of broken silver from a pack of new cotton clothes.
When they opened it, they found not only silver but also a piece of paper. However, none of them could read, so they didn’t realize it was a hundred tael silver note Yu Luo had left for them.
It wasn’t that Yu Luo was being overly kind-hearted, but after spending a few days with them, her family could tell that the third branch of the Yu family was genuinely grateful.
Ye Jiamai had saved Yu Yongcai and Wang Ying’s children twice. Not only were Yu Yongcai and his wife grateful, but even the entire third branch never missed a chance to repay the kindness.
Yu Qiao’er, despite only finding a handful of wild vegetables, would stubbornly insist on splitting half with them.
The second son, Yu Yongjun, would always bring an extra bundle of firewood for them, even though Yu Haojie had already gathered a lot.
Yu Yongjun’s wife, Wu Hongping, would pick wild fruits and share them without hesitation, despite their lack of food.
Yu Qiang’s wife, Shu Suhua, would teach Yu Luo and her mother how to identify wild vegetables and even collect seeds for planting in the wilderness.
Yu Qiang himself would pass on his thirty years of hunting experience to Yu Haojie, showing him how to set traps and knock down birds from treetops while they rested in the mountains.
Although the third branch of the Yu family was dirt poor, with only two baskets of salted fish to their name, they were doing their utmost to repay the kindness they had received.
So, Yu Luo had no hesitation in sneaking some supplies to them when the opportunity arose.
“Oh my gosh, this really is silver! I wonder who would leave such things in the woods. If they lost this, they must be worried sick!”
By the light of the fire, Shu Suhua, who had never seen so much silver before, held the pouch with trembling hands, her voice low but filled with excitement and disbelief.
“Mom, put it away quickly. I think this might be ill-gotten wealth. Why else would it be hidden in those low bushes? Besides, who would be stupid enough to lose something so valuable?
Given our situation, we can’t afford to be good-hearted fools. With these things, our whole family might just survive to reach the wilderness.”
Wang Ying was a practical and level-headed woman. Though she had lived to be twenty-eight without doing anything shameful, she chose to set aside her conscience at this moment, urging her mother-in-law and family to keep the silver.
Yu Qiang, who was fifty years old, took a deep breath and slowly spoke, “I think the eldest daughter-in-law is right. Even if we have to be bad people this time, we can’t let go of our only chance to survive.”
Once the family decided to keep the silver and supplies, they quickly distributed the cotton clothes and wore them under their old padded jackets, instantly feeling much warmer.
However, the clothes were all for adults, so for ten-year-old Yu Xiaofeng and five-year-old Yu Xiaoqing, the oversized clothes covered most of their bodies.
Not far away, the second branch of the Yu family had already noticed the third branch’s sneaky return from the hillside with a large basket.
At first, they were curious about how they managed to gather so much so quickly. But after some quiet observation, they realized that the third branch must have hit the jackpot—cotton clothes, shoes, and even two bags of provisions!
“Well, well, finding something good and not turning it over to the officers?”
Just as the family had put on their new padded jackets and felt the warmth, a malicious voice rang out behind them. Startled, they turned around to see Mu Chunfang standing there, her eyes gleaming with greed.
Under the firelight, Mu Chunfang’s gaze was filled with avarice, making the third branch shudder with unease.
“Second Sister-in-law, what do you mean by this? Who says we have to turn over what we find? Besides, we didn’t pick up anything!”
Shu Suhua forced herself to remain calm, glaring at Mu Chunfang with a look of defiance.
“Heh, then what’s that? Those two bags over there, all stuffed and bulging—weren’t there before. You’re a terrible liar, you know. Don’t take me for blind, or the officers for fools!”
Mu Chunfang’s eyes flitted to the oversized clothes on the children, her sneer deepening.
“Those padded jackets on the children—it’s not fooling anyone. What do you take me for, blind?”
“Second Sister-in-law, what are you trying to do?”
Even before Mu Chunfang explicitly stated her intentions, the entire third branch could sense the threat behind her words.
Yu Qiang’s face darkened, and he glared furiously at the scheming Mu Chunfang.
“Third Brother, we’re all family. Now that you’ve got all these things, you wouldn’t let your second brother and me, your sister-in-law, starve and freeze, would you?
I don’t want much—just one of those bags, two padded jackets, and one of those quilts. That’s not asking too much, right?”
“How shameless can you get? Now you’re talking about family, huh? Back then…”
Thinking about his deceased youngest son, Yu Qiang was so angry he nearly spat in Mu Chunfang’s face.
But before he could finish, Mu Chunfang turned and took a deep breath, preparing to shout towards Wu Dahai and the officers.
Wang Ying reacted swiftly, lunging forward and covering Mu Chunfang’s mouth, pinning her to the ground!
“You old hag, don’t you dare! You want to go down together? I’ll take you down with me!”
After the threat, Wang Ying didn’t care that Mu Chunfang was her husband’s second aunt. She picked up a stone and raised it above Mu Chunfang’s head!
Seeing their sister-in-law’s fierce stance, Qiao’er, who was holding the two children, turned pale with fright.
Though they all knew that covering things up was pointless, and that if Mu Chunfang could see the difference, so could the officers, Mu Chunfang’s underhanded behavior was unbearable.
[Ding! System task: Help the third branch resolve this crisis and make Mu Chunfang shut up obediently. Task reward: 100 system points. Task failure: 100 system points deducted.]
Just as Yu Luo was about to watch the show unfold, the system’s voice rang in her mind once again!
