Chapter 83: My Copper Coin, My Rules
Translator: 549690339
As soon as Qiao Xiaomai spoke, everyone from the Qiao family was frozen on the spot.
The next instance, the originally shrinking Sun Family member started clamoring immediately, “No way! Absolutely not!”
A small smile spread over Qiao Xiaomai’s face, “My copper coins, my decisions. If I say I won’t give, then I won’t.”
Seeing the lady from the Sun family ready to pounce on her again, her smile deepened, “Grandmother, are you planning to rob me? Grandpa Tong and Brother Tong are still here.”
Recalling the fear of being tied up earlier, the lady from the Sun family shrank behind Sun Junyan, only revealing her tousled head, she stubbornly said, “It was a condition we agreed upon years ago, you can’t change it!”
“I’m changing it today, what of it?” Qiao Xiaomai said, her eyes then shifted to Sun Junyan, she looked him up and down, chuckled lightly, “Uncle Five, if you don’t get the fifty wen from my house, can’t you pass the examination to become a scholar?”
Sun Junyan’s face, which had been alternating between green and pale, had returned to normal. “Since this was the condition set back then, it naturally cannot be changed arbitrarily. Right, Uncle Tong?” He turned to Tong Tiehu towards the end of his statement.
Tong Tiehu raised his hand to stroke his beard, maintaining a straight face, “This is your family affair, the agreement back then was verbal, I’m just a witness. Now if the little Xiaomai doesn’t want to give, can I force her?”
“Grandpa Tong is right.” Xiaomai nodded with a grin. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novｅlfire.net
Sun Junyan’s face which had regained its normal color, became ugly again, his face creased, with none of his usual gentleness.
Qiao Qinghe, standing aside, rubbed his face and said, “If she doesn’t want to give, then she doesn’t.”
“Old man, that’s fifty wen!” The lady from the Sun family couldn’t help but exclaim.
“If they don’t have this fifty wen, can Xiaowu not pass the scholar exam?” Qiao Qinghe’s tone became stricter.
“Grandpa is right, fifty wen, it’s not a large sum. If Uncle Five can exchange his silk robe for a linen one, he’ll have saved fifty wen.” Xiaomai still carried a smile.
Sun Junyan’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
He turned to Tong Tiehu again, “Uncle Tong, even verbal agreements should be kept, right? Otherwise, the Qiao family will need to reunite.”
When the Qiao family split up, the condition was that the four Qiao brothers promised to give Sun Shi a hundred wen each month. Fifty wen as a gift to Qiao Qinghe and Sun Shi, and fifty wen to lend to Sun Junyan for his studies. Otherwise, Sun’s family wouldn’t agree to split.
Now Qiao Xiaomai didn’t intend to give this fifty wen, so Sun Junyan mentioned this.
According to the “Daqi Law,” parents are present, private wealth is not allowed.
This means that if they hadn’t split, the money earned by several Qiao brothers on weekdays would all have to be given to the Sun family.
Under these circumstances, the Sun family naturally didn’t want to split.
But the Qiao family was large, and at that time all four of the Qiao brothers were married. Together with Sun Junyan and Qiao Meipan, there were over twenty people living in the small courtyard of the Qiao family, it was very crowded and conflicts were frequent.
Moreover, at that time, the Sun family wanted to send Sun Junyan to the Academy, which would require ten taels of silver for expenses each year.
Ten taels was a large sum for the Qiao family.
So Zhu Cuiying, Zhao Shufen, and Wu Yinfeng kicked up a fuss. They all had children too, they also wanted their children to study. Their children were no worse than Sun Junyan, why could Sun Junyan go to the Academy while their children couldn’t?
Not only did these three women create a fuss, Qiao Changfu, Qiao Chang’an and Qiao Changkang all thought the same.. At that time Sun Junyan was only eight years old, taking ten taels of silver every year, how long would they have to provide for him?