Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 26 Dog bites dog

After seeing Qin Zhou off, Lu Jia began to organize the tasks Chen Quan had left her.

Qiu Niang brought over the glutinous rice balls she had made herself, sat beside her and watched her silently for a moment, then tiptoed out.

The Zhang family, separated by only a wall, was also brightly lit. The wealthy were indeed wealthy; even late at night, they wouldn't care about the cost of lamp oil.

But the bright lights were like knives, tearing at Qiu Niang's heart.

“Mother.” Xie Yi came out. Following her gaze, he gritted his teeth and said, “Mother, the Zhang family is too hateful! Do you still want us to treat them as relatives, as uncles?”

If Qin Zhou hadn't happened to save her today, how much worse would Lu Jia have been?
But who knows what the Zhang family's true intentions were in sending those people to capture Lu Jia?
"Of course not," Qiu Niang said through gritted teeth. "Haven't we severed all ties with them since your maternal grandfather died?"

As she spoke, she turned and walked into the house, saying, "Come with me."

After they entered the room one after the other, Qiu Niang pulled out a worn-out notebook from under her pillow: "In the next two days, find a way to slip this into the account book that Zhang Chang's eldest son copied for the second and third sons!"

Xie Yi took the book with a puzzled look, glanced at it, and exclaimed in surprise, "Is this a ledger from the Zhang family's storeroom? How do you have this?"

"Don't ask so many questions, just do it."

Qiu Niang gritted her teeth in hatred.

The old man didn't raise a good son, but he still trusted his daughter.

While Qiu Niang was serving medicine at his bedside, he would often call her over to copy the accounts.

The book handed to Xie Yi was, of course, fake, but most of it was real.

Before his death, the old man divided the family property among his children. The eldest son inherited the majority of the estate, while the second and third sons each received a share. He also arranged for his daughter to receive a small share, citing her merit in caring for him and providing him with medicine. It was a small amount, but it was a token of his affection.

Because she had copied the Zhang family's accounts many times while serving them medicine, Qiu Niang knew the Zhang family's wealth inside and out, including their major properties and land holdings. She was also very familiar with their bookkeeping methods.

Furthermore, her methods and habits of managing finances for her husband's family after marriage were all brought from the Zhang family. Therefore, the account books she created were somewhat authentic.

After the old man passed away, the family property was divided but not divided, and Zhang Qi managed the family business.

But Madam He was someone who couldn't even tolerate her own married-out sister-in-law, so how could her relationship with her sisters-in-law be good?

So the three brothers haven't lived together for a long time. During holidays, they only send the younger generation to visit each other.

Every month, the accounts for that month are copied down on the counter for the other two households to review.

Qiu Niang naturally knew the day for settling accounts.

Based on this part of the actual accounts, plus the Zhang family's bookkeeping methods, it was enough for the second or third wife to use this forged book to pester Zhang Qi and his wife to death!
Qiu Niang admitted she couldn't think of any good ideas to fight the Zhang family head-on. But she would never stand by and watch Lu Jia be bullied again!

If we're going to use cunning, let's all use it together!
Let them argue behind closed doors!

It would be best if they fought until they were bloodied and battered!
A bunch of bastards.

"Mother, is this alright?"

Xie Yi hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong with that? I wish I could tear them apart with my own hands right now!"

With red eyes and gritted teeth, Qiu Niang pushed Xie Yi forward.

Xie Yi stood in the courtyard for a moment, then stamped his foot and turned to go into Lu Jia's room.

"Sis, look at this!" Lu Jia glanced at it and was startled: "Where did this come from?"

"Given by my mother."

Then he explained the whole story.

Lu Jia flipped through the ledger, speechless for a moment.

She knew exactly what Qiu Niang was thinking, but in this way, the three of them would just be watching the show; what good would that do?
She said, "Give this to me, you go back and rest."

Xie Yi knew that Qiu Niang had a plan, and that Qiu Niang was willing to listen to her, so he was sure he wouldn't be beaten again. He then returned to his room with peace of mind.

Lu Jia glanced at the book and casually flipped through it.

As she flipped through the pages, she raised her eyebrows with delight.

Putting everything else aside, the three Zhang brothers do indeed have a strained relationship, so it's best to wait and see how things develop.

……

The servants who came to help failed, and Madam He didn't sleep well all night.

Of course, she wasn't afraid that this matter would bring her any bad consequences. After Zhang Qi's many years of interaction with Lord He, it was impossible for the Zhang family to have any impact by doing something like this.

What she hated was that this brat was so lucky; how could someone just happen to pass by and help her chase the person away?
Upon hearing the news, she rushed back and saw that Yi Ge'er had brought a doctor, who stayed for quite a while before coming out.

So it seems those people must have injured that brat? If so, then it's not a complete loss. After being beaten, that brat should at least learn to behave better.

Unfortunately, the Xie family closed their doors and windows after nightfall, so there was no chance to investigate.

Business at Yufeng Restaurant had been slow these past few days, so she hadn't bothered going. After lunch that afternoon, she decided to take a short rest.

Just as she dismissed the maids, the courtyard gate was kicked open with a thud. Just as she jumped in fright, the voice of her second sister-in-law, Zhao, rang out loudly:
"Bring your master and mistress out here! We need to re-check the accounts!"

Hearing the sound, Madam He sensed something was wrong and quickly slipped on her shoes to go outside. She saw Madam Zhao leading a group of people who appeared at the door in a menacing manner. Madam Lin from the third branch of the family also came in with her people. The last to arrive were Zhang Tai, the second son of the Zhang family, and Zhang An, the third son!

The two brothers, like their wives, both looked ready to launch a military campaign.

Since the family split up, the three branches of the Zhang family have hardly met except for the year-end profit sharing. Even during the New Year, they would only send their children over. Such a neat and orderly gathering has never happened before!

Mrs. He tensed up: "What accounts do you want to settle?"

"Sister-in-law, how dare you ask us? This ledger lists all the family property left by the old man. When the family property was divided, there were many things on it that we had never even seen! What kind of accounts are we here to settle?!"

As Zhao spoke, she threw a booklet in her hand at He's face.

Zhao's family was also wealthy. As the second daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, she had suffered quite a bit at He's hands. Naturally, she became the first to be targeted now.

Upon seeing the ledger, Madam He exclaimed in panic, "Where did this account come from? I've never seen it before! You've fabricated this!"

The notebook was full, with categories and records of the family fortune of the Zhang family patriarch in the six months before his death.

A quick glance revealed that many things belonged to the Zhang family, such as real estate and land, all of which had verifiable evidence. The He family had all of these.

However, there were still many gold and silver jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, and antiques left behind. These items had no contracts and no witnesses, yet they accounted for as much as 30% of the total!
The key point is that Mr. He had never seen these things before!

(End of this chapter)