When Ji Yingcai heard his mother mention the figure of eight hundred taels, he even suspected that she had discovered his private stash while he was away from home.
Otherwise, how could she know the exact amount of silver in his secret hoard so clearly?
After all, his private savings were almost enough to account for more than half of the family’s total wealth.
Looking at his mother’s cold, detached gaze fixed on him, Ji Yingcai suppressed the heart-wrenching pain and said, “Fine. As a family, we should hand over our money to the common pool.”
The twins standing behind Ji Jinyu felt a pang of sympathy for their second brother when they saw his expression—though he was still smiling, he looked as if he were about to cry.
To make their second brother, who loved money so much, part with such a large sum truly demonstrated their mother’s skill.
Ji Jinyu watched as Ji Yingcai stood up, nearly stumbling, and frowned deeply. Had he actually agreed?
“Ji Yingcai, you…”
“Jinyu, pour me a cup of tea.” Wang Sijin interrupted her daughter, then smiled gently at Ji Yingcai as he looked over. “Go on. Don’t keep your mother waiting.”
“Yes, Grandmother.”
Afraid that his mother might make even more outrageous demands, Ji Yingcai hurried back to his own wing of the house.
Ji Jinyu poured a cup of tea for her mother and then caught her mother’s look, which clearly meant “enough is enough.”
Ji Jinyu glanced at Dou Yingliang, who was still standing in the main hall, and said impatiently, “Aren’t you leaving yet? Do I have to throw you out myself?”
Dou Yingliang looked at his mother, who had suddenly gone mad today and expelled him from the family, and felt an indescribable sense of grievance welling up inside him.
With reddened eyes, Dou Yingliang shouted angrily at his mother, wife, and daughter, “You will regret this for the rest of your lives!”
Once he found his father and achieved success, even if they knelt before him, he would never acknowledge them!
“Get out!” Ji Jinyu hurled another teacup at Dou Yingliang.
Regret? The only thing she regretted was not strangling this little beast at birth.
Among her four children, Ji Jinyu had once valued her eldest son the most, yet it was this same eldest son who had hurt her the deepest.
And today, she had only made him experience less than a tenth of the suffering she had endured back then, and he couldn’t even handle that!
As Dou Yingliang staggered out of the main hall, he happened to run into Ji Yingcai, who was clutching a wooden box with a pained expression.
“Second Brother, if you stay by that butchering shrew’s side, you’ll regret it sooner or later!”
Hearing his elder brother’s words, Ji Yingcai wiped the pained look from his face and simply smiled at Dou Yingliang. “Well, when you go to Father and become successful, don’t forget about your younger brother.”
He waved his hand cheerfully at Dou Yingliang and said, “Take care, Elder Brother. Have a smooth journey.”
Dou Yingliang looked at Ji Yingcai’s spineless demeanor, snorted coldly, straightened his back, and strode out of the Ji household.
Once he succeeded, Ji Yingcai wouldn’t even be worthy of washing his feet.
Watching Dou Yingliang’s arrogant demeanor, a hint of mockery flashed in Ji Yingcai’s eyes.
If their official father truly valued his sons, he wouldn’t have merely sent a letter asking them to travel north and seek refuge—he would have dispatched guards to escort them personally. Only his foolish elder brother believed their father genuinely cared for them.
Now that he had left with nothing, penniless and possessing no valuable skills, he wanted to see how, without their mother’s protection, he would manage to travel thousands of miles safely and reach the capital.
Thinking of this, Ji Yingcai’s expression relaxed considerably as he returned to the main hall holding the wooden box.
He trusted his intuition—his choice would not be wrong.
“Mother, this is all I have from Yixing Restaurant,” Ji Yingcai said with a smile, placing the wooden box on the table.
Ji Jinyu glanced at her smiling, cunning second son, opened the box, and found it contained both silver notes and gold and silver, totaling around eight hundred and forty-five taels.
Ji Jinyu knew the boy had money, but she never expected him to have this much!
The twins standing behind Ji Jinyu gasped in astonishment upon seeing how wealthy their second brother was.
“Second Brother, did you rob someone?”
“Second Brother, how did you earn this money?”
A restaurant manager couldn’t possibly earn this much.
Speaking of his area of expertise, Ji Yingcai finally straightened his back. Looking at his younger siblings, he said, “I may not be as good at studying as A-Ming, but A-Ming isn’t as good at making money as I am.”
“With such a large restaurant and so many connections, it’s easy to…” Ji Yingcai’s pride vanished when his mother slammed the wooden box shut with a bang. Remembering his mother’s sudden change in temperament today, he quickly added, “I just helped a few wealthy merchants with some small favors. When I did well, they rewarded me.”
“That’s an awfully generous reward!”
Ji Yingcai looked at his skeptical younger sister and said, “It wasn’t saved up in just a day or two.”
“True, Second Brother’s family eats and lives at home, and he’s so stingy. It’s no surprise he managed to save this much,” Ji Yingjun said, sticking her tongue out playfully at her glaring second brother.
“Anyway, it’s all part of the family funds now,” Ji Yingcai said, his heart bleeding as he spoke.
All the private savings he had accumulated over the years were now handed over.
And it wasn’t just Ji Yingcai who was heartbroken—Fang Yourong, who had been sitting nearby all along, was also in pain. This was all their second branch’s money, and now it was gone!
“Mother, the first branch should have to contribute too, not just our second branch!” Fang Yourong cried out to Ji Jinyu, feeling wronged and unjust.
Ji Jinyu looked at the dissatisfied Fang Yourong and, without even bothering to give a reason, said directly, “The first branch doesn’t need to contribute.”
“Why? Mother, you’re so biased! Yingcai is also your son, you…”
Bang!
Ji Jinyu slammed her palm on the table, splitting it in two. The box and cups clattered to the ground.
Fang Yourong, terrified by Ji Jinyu’s dark expression, nearly bit her tongue. She hugged her daughter and didn’t dare say another word.
“I said, you don’t have to contribute,” Ji Jinyu said. Her initial goal had been to drive both Ji Yingcai and Dou Yingliang out. She turned to Ji Yingcai beside her and said, “As long as you split from the family.”
“Husband!” Fang Yourong truly wanted to split from the family.
What better future could there be than taking the money to the capital and seeking refuge with their official father-in-law after splitting from the family?
Ji Yingcai looked at the shattered table and shook his head. “No, I won’t split from the family.”
Ji Jinyu gave Ji Yingcai a deep look and said to Fang Yourong, “You heard what your husband said.”
Fang Yourong, recalling her mother-in-law’s fierce gaze earlier, nodded.
When she first married into the Ji family, she thought that coming from a prominent household as a maid, her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law would surely show her some respect.
But they did not. The entire Ji family was under the sole authority of her mother-in-law, Ji Jinyu—it was like stepping into a tigress’s den.
Ji Shan looked at his daughter, who was in a fit of rage today, held back, and ultimately said nothing.
It must be that his daughter was hurt by that letter from Dou Shichang, which was why she was so furious.
Seeing that no one around spoke, Ji Jinyu continued, “Since there are no outsiders in the house now, I will announce one more thing.”
Upon hearing his mother’s words, Ji Yingcai lifted his head. He knew there was something else to announce—something very important.
“In three days, we will move.”