Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

The purse wasn't large, but it was quite heavy, and it landed on the table with a dull thud.

"I've saved up some money for my retirement," Doctor Gu said calmly, glancing at the people in the room. "But now we're all in the same boat. If the boat capsizes, I won't be able to reach the shore either. Whoever is short of money, take it from me first. We can settle down and live better later, and then we can take it back slowly."

Jiang Xing glanced at Doctor Gu with some surprise.

Not only Jiang Xing, but the other families were also stunned.

Widow Sun looked up with teary eyes, her voice trembling, "Dr. Gu, how can this be... You're so old, and this little bit of retirement money..."

"What do you mean by 'yes' or 'no'?" Doctor Gu waved his hand, not letting her finish speaking. "I'm an old man, I can live on my own. Your children are still young, and you have a long life ahead of you. We can't let them be homeless. That's all, it's settled then."

The families expressed their deepest gratitude, their eyes welling up with tears.

The group pooled their money together. Jiang Xing's family contributed a share, Shen Dehou's family contributed a share, Doctor Gu contributed a large share, and the Chen family, Wang family, and Widow Sun's family each contributed a little. They managed to gather enough money for the families' share.

Shen Dehou wrapped the silver in an old cloth and tied it tightly. He and his third uncle went to the village chief's house again.

The journey took more than an hour. Several families stayed in the old house to wait, and no one was in the mood to do anything else. The women were rubbing straw sandals in their hands, while the men were restless and kept glancing out of the courtyard.

About 15 minutes later, Shen Dehou and his third uncle finally returned.

Shen Dehou walked ahead, his steps much lighter than before, carrying a neatly folded contract in his hand. His third uncle followed behind him, walking slowly with a cane, but his expression was much more relaxed than before.

"He's back! He's back!" Aunt Wang was the first to see him and rushed over to greet him. "Village Chief, how did it go? Did you get it done?"

Shen Dehou walked into the courtyard, waved the contract in his hand, and a rare smile appeared on his face: "It's done."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; the anxiety that had been hanging over them for so long finally subsided.

Shen Dehou sat down, spread the deed on the table, pointed to it, and said to everyone, "When I went to Village Chief Tian's place, he saw that we were the first to voluntarily hand over the money. He said that our families were sensible and followed the rules. The village has already recognized us as official villagers of Maocao Village, and no one can use the name of outsiders to make things difficult for us in the future. Moreover, the village is willing to let us live in the vacant houses for free for three months, without charging a single penny of rent. If we want to renew the lease next spring, or if we want to buy land deeds to build houses, we can discuss it then."

"Really?" Aunt Wang's eyes widened in surprise. "This is truly amazing... When we paid the money, we thought we were just buying a title, but we never expected such a good thing!"

Shen Dehou nodded: "Village Chief Tian said that although they accepted the money, they were reasonable. Since they acknowledged us as villagers, they can't let villagers be homeless. The vacant houses are a bit dilapidated, but with some repairs, they're better than this old house."

The families felt much better after hearing this. They had felt a pang of regret when they paid the money, but after hearing Shen Dehou's explanation, they felt that the money wasn't wasted, since the village hadn't gone too far.

"They do know how to behave," Hu snorted, her tone still not very pleasant, but her expression was much better than before.

Shen Dehou carefully refolded the contract and handed it to Jiang Xing: "Girl, keep this contract safe, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Jiang Xing nodded, took the contract with both hands, and put it into his bag, which was actually his spatial storage.

Their trip out and back naturally didn't escape the notice of the He and Lin families, who lived in the same courtyard.