Chapter 109: 109 can be safely distributed.
He was the eldest son of the family; by convention, his parents were to live with him in the future, and naturally, he had to shoulder the responsibilities that came with being the eldest son.
So, Ye Gaoshi had never once thought of not allowing Ye Gaosheng to get married.
In response to Ye Gaoshi’s pleas, Madam He turned a blind eye and instead shouted at the puzzled Ye Gaosheng standing by the door, “Didn’t I tell you to go invite the Clan Leader? Why are you still standing here like a fool?”
“Mother, what the second brother said was in the heat of the moment. I’ve already spread the news about the marriage. If we split the family now, how would outsiders view my older brother and second brother in the future?” Being his real brothers, Ye Gaosheng didn’t want to see them ruin their reputations, so he tried to persuade them.
The soap our younger sister made was very useful, and it looked like we were going to succeed soon, and thereafter, money wouldn’t be a concern for our family. Ye Gaosheng felt there really was no need to split the family over such trivial matters.
Madam He, frustrated as if dealing with incompetence, looked at Ye Gaosheng, “You do have good intentions, worrying about others’ reputations, yet you fail to see how they treat you. By stirring up issues at this time, they clearly don’t want you to get married and wish you to remain a bachelor for life. Yet you, foolish as you are, still consider their feelings.”
Ye Gaosheng wasn’t offended by the scolding. Instead, he looked at Madam He appeasingly, then turned to Ye Gaoshui, “Second brother, please just listen, apologize to mother to cool her anger. Even if you want to split the family, we should at least wait until after I’m married. Mother already has someone in mind; it won’t be a long wait. Besides, you know our family’s situation; it’s impossible to come up with several taels of silver for my wedding. The money for my marriage is what our little sister has earned—that’s a debt I owe her, which I intend to repay once I’ve made money myself.”
The words surprised Ye Gaoshui, “Our little sister earned it? How is that possible?”
Forget the slow way Ye Jiu used to walk; even after her recent recovery, it didn’t seem possible for her to have made so much money.
He and his older brother worked in town, and together they barely made a bit over one tael of silver a month; even these jobs were hard to find, often sporadic and short-term. It had been less than a month since their sister’s health improved—how could she possibly have earned so much money?
Observing Ye Gaoshui’s incredulous expression, Ye Gaosheng proudly said, “It was indeed earned by our little sister. She sold some medicines at the town’s clinic and made a hundred taels of silver. Mother said to take ten taels from it for my wedding expenses. If there’s any left over, we’ll use it to support the family’s needs.”
Madam He grimaced at Ye Gaosheng’s naive expression.
For all her life, Madam He had been smart and strong-willed; she couldn’t understand how she ended up with such a foolish son.
While others were plotting to split the family, he wasn’t discreet at all, having spilled all their secrets prematurely; at least that spared them from people prying into their affairs.
Had the news of Ye Jiu making a hundred taels of silver not been already disclosed within the family, even if the oldest and the second son didn’t know yet, they wouldn’t have been kept in the dark for long. Right when Ye Gaosheng finished speaking, Madam He’s broom landed on his head.
Everyone thought that once Ye Gaoshui learned there was silver in the house, he would no longer persist with splitting the family. Indeed, Ye Gaoshui was silent for a long time, but soon enough, he insisted, “Father, Mother, now that we have silver at home, the issue of the fourth brother’s marriage need not worry us, and I can confidently proceed with splitting from the family.”