Chapter 90: Dividing the Loot
The treasures looted from the cave had to be divided.
Before setting off, when this topic was brought up again, everyone looked cautiously at the Yu family, especially remembering Old Lady Chen’s greedy attitude earlier. That impression was still fresh.
Yu Luo and her family quietly watched the drama unfold, uninterested in the small bits of wealth.
“Old Madam Yu, we didn’t find the thousands of taels you mentioned in the cave. I think it’s best if we split these things equally among the four families,” Tao Fanghua proposed.
The Liu and Bai families remained silent, but the members of the Yu family’s second branch were visibly nervous. In contrast, the third branch looked indifferent.
To them, getting out of the bandits’ den alive and intact was already a huge stroke of luck. With enough food secured, they were content and saw no need to squabble over silver.
The only one whose face turned dark was Old Lady Chen.
She didn’t want this arrangement at all! Even if the silver she had hidden was safe, her son’s silver was definitely stolen by the bandits.
“Since we didn’t find the bandits’ hidden silver, I’ll set aside my thousands of taels for now. But let’s make this clear: our Yu family and the Zhang family did the heavy lifting. If it weren’t for us, those bandits could never have been wiped out. You wouldn’t have been rescued either.
So, our Yu family should get the lion’s share of the silver,” Yu Zhengqing declared.
“Your family wants the majority, but my husband and sons also fought hard,” Tao Fanghua retorted, not backing down.
She could tell that even though Yu Zhengqing mentioned the Zhang family’s efforts, he was clearly trying to take most of the credit for the Yu family. Naturally, she couldn’t accept that.
“If it weren’t for my second brother’s family’s crossbows, how could we have taken out those sleeping bandits in one go? If even a few hundred bandits had woken up and alerted the others, we would’ve faced a much larger force.
In that case, even if all our fighters joined in, we might not have survived. Some of us would have died for sure,” Yu Zhengqing argued reasonably.
Indeed, no one could deny this fact.
Seeing Yu Zhengqing so confident and reasonable, Tao Fanghua was seething inside.
Before she could retort, Zhang Yuan pulled her behind him and looked steadily at Yu Zhengqing.
“Then, Lord An, how do you propose we divide it?”
“There’s a total of over two thousand three hundred taels. Our Yu family wants one thousand three hundred taels. The remaining one thousand taels: five hundred for your family and five hundred for the Bai and Liu families. That’s already quite generous.
Honestly, we didn’t have to share anything with the Bai and Liu families. After all, we killed all the bandits, and we were the ones who saved their lives. Plus, Yu Luo also found so much food, solving our biggest immediate problem. I think this division is quite reasonable,” Yu Zhengqing declared.
His words were hard to argue against, and the Bai and Liu families couldn’t find a reason to oppose.
They didn’t have any fighters. Being able to leave the bandits’ den alive was all thanks to the Yu and Zhang families. But deep down, they still felt a bit unwilling to accept this split.
“Fine, that works. As for the jewelry, let’s split it equally between our families—one piece at a time until it’s all gone,” Zhang Yuan said readily.
Surprisingly, Zhang Yuan agreed without a fuss, leaving his wife fuming.
Soon, they pulled out the bag with the treasure, divided the silver, and Yu Zhengqing took one thousand three hundred taels.
Then he and Zhang Yuan split the jewelry equally. Some pieces were large and valuable, while others were small and less so.
Generously, Zhang Yuan let Yu Zhengqing pick first. Without hesitation, Yu Zhengqing chose a jade bracelet of pure green.
Zhang Yuan smirked; he had expected Yu Zhengqing to go for the thick gold bracelet instead. Relieved, he quickly grabbed the heavy gold bracelet for himself.
Although he knew the jade was worth more, in the chaotic lands of exile, real gold and silver were far more practical. So he had no interest in the jade.
After the treasures were divided, Yu Zhengqing went straight to Yu Haojie with a few pieces of jewelry.
“Here’s six hundred taels in silver for you. Split it among your wife, daughter, and yourself—it’s in silver notes, easier to hide. And these—gold hairpins and two gold chains—are for you as well,” Yu Zhengqing said, stuffing the items into Yu Haojie’s arms without waiting for a reply.
Before Yu Haojie or his family could respond, Yu Zhengqing turned and walked to the second and third branches of the Yu family.
“These things didn’t have to be shared with you at all, but we’re family. Whatever grudges there were in the past, please let them go for now. We need to stay united if we want to survive.
I won’t make any promises about the future, but right now, we’re all in this together.
As for the silver, I’ll keep most of it since we’ll need it for the journey and for dealing with people later. I’ll give fifty taels to each of the second and third branches. We’ll all look out for each other along the way.”
With that, he handed fifty taels in loose silver to Shu Suhua instead of Yu Qiang, knowing the latter harbored resentment.
Surprised and a bit unsure, Shu Suhua took the silver with trembling hands, not expecting to receive anything at all.
“Th-this…”
“What’s with all the fuss? Take it. Once we reach the wilderness, who knows what might happen?
Luckily, we still have our food and bedding. The silver is for emergencies. Yu Zhengqing was right—silver’s more useful in his hands. As long as we don’t starve, and if we ever return home, at least our grandchildren won’t have to suffer,” the old man from the third branch remarked pragmatically.
Hearing this, Shu Suhua quickly stored the silver, even dividing it into nine parts to sew into everyone’s clothes for safety.
Meanwhile, back at the second branch, Mu Chunfang, holding the fifty taels of silver Yu Zhengqing had given, pouted in displeasure the moment he turned away.
“He took one thousand three hundred taels and only gave us fifty? Not even a full hundred taels! That Yu Zhengqing is just as stingy as his father!” she grumbled.
