Chapter 3

Zhou Chong heard the cries coming from the courtyard, especially those of his elder and younger sisters, which startled him. He hurriedly rushed into the small courtyard, pushed open the door of the main hall, and found that the room only contained Aunt Wang, Zuo'er, and Duo'er, who were hugging and crying bitterly. As for Aunt Zhao and the two Aunt Hans, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Aunt, what are you crying about? Where are Aunt Zhao and the others?" Zhou Chong asked, somewhat puzzled. He had initially thought that the situation at home was similar to a few days ago, when a few small-time ruffians, seeing the Zhou family's decline, had tried to take advantage of the concubines, but were all driven away by Zhou Chong. He did not expect to find this situation upon entering.

Aunt Wang, who was crying bitterly, saw Zhou Chong come in and immediately ran over, grabbing his sleeve, sobbing, "Chong'er, Aunt Zhao and the two Aunt Hans have run away with their private savings. Aunt Zhao even abandoned Duo'er. What... what should we do?"

"Oh, if they ran away, let them. Duo'er, come to Big Brother!" To Zhou Chong's surprise, he did not seem shocked by this news but instead walked over calmly, picked up the little girl who was crying like a teary-eyed doll, and gently comforted her.

In fact, ever since the news of his stepfather's maritime accident, Zhou Chong had already anticipated this situation. Aunt Zhao and the two Aunt Hans, unlike Aunt Wang, were still young and relatively beautiful. As concubines, they had no need to stay and face the Zhou family's decline. Zhou Chong had noticed that they had been secretly selling some of their possessions and packing their bags to leave the Zhou residence. His suggestion for the concubines to sell their gold and silver jewelry was actually a way to hasten their departure.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhou Chong suggested they use their private savings to get through the hard times, these heartless women immediately fled with their savings, especially the shrewd Aunt Zhao, who even abandoned her own daughter. Poor Duo'er, only four years old, was now without a father or mother, which made Zhou Chong feel a deep sense of pity and responsibility for the little girl in his arms.

However, children are children, especially a four-year-old like Duo'er. She might not fully understand what her mother's departure meant for her. After crying herself out and being comforted by Zuo'er, the little girl quickly stopped crying and went to play with her sister.

"Aunt, bring the household accounts book. I want to see how much debt we still owe," Zhou Chong said with a smile. Most of the family's debt had already been repaid, and what remained was not much. However, with winter approaching, people were eager for money to celebrate the New Year, so the debt collectors were pressing hard.

"Okay!" Aunt Wang wiped her tears, turned around, and brought the accounts book over.

Aunt Wang was only in her early thirties. She had originally been a maid in the household and had taken care of Zhou Chong since his mother's death. Later, she was taken as a concubine by Zhou Chong's father and gave birth to Zuo'er. Aunt Wang was not particularly beautiful, but her fair skin and carefree life made her look younger than her age. However, the recent death of Zhou Chong's father and the family's debt had aged her considerably in just a few days.

Zhou Chong opened the accounts book and found that there were only three remaining debts, each not very large: two of 200 taels and one of 250 taels, totaling 650 taels.

"The artificial hill sold for 360 taels. So, we still need 290 taels," Zhou Chong said, though he was usually optimistic, he couldn't help but feel troubled. 290 taels might not seem like much, but for an ordinary person, it was a huge sum. A typical family's annual expenses were only about 3 to 4 taels, and Zhou Chong's current situation was even worse than that of an ordinary person. Apart from an empty mansion, he had nothing.

Seeing Zhou Chong's troubled expression, Aunt Wang hesitated for a moment but then resolutely turned into the inner room and quickly returned with a small package, which she gently placed on the table. "Chong'er, this is some private savings I've accumulated over the years. I originally intended it for Zuo'er's dowry, but since the family is in urgent need of money to repay the debt, you can use it first."

Aunt Wang opened the small package, revealing a 50-tael silver ticket, a 30-tael silver ticket, and some loose silver, totaling about 90 taels. Though it was only a fraction of the debt, it was all of Aunt Wang's savings.

However, Zhou Chong stood up and looked at Aunt Wang with some difficulty. "Aunt, since this is for the elder sister's dowry, let's not touch it. I'll think of another way."

Aunt Wang insisted, "Chong'er, there's no need to refuse. I understand the family's situation. There's nothing valuable left to sell, and the mansion has already been mortgaged to Lord Wang. Although, given our relationship, the Wang family won't reclaim the mansion, anything can happen. Besides, if you sell everything in the mansion, it would be considered part of the mortgage, and if Lord Wang hears about it, it won't sound good."

Lord Wang, whose name was Wang Lun, was also Zhou Chong's future father-in-law. Zhou Chong and Wang Lun's daughter had been betrothed since childhood, with plans to marry this year. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. First, Zhou Chong fell seriously ill, and then the Zhou family went bankrupt. Now, Zhou Chong could barely support his family, let alone get married.

In fact, the mansion Zhou Chong lived in was not his. It had been mortgaged to Wang Lun by his father. Now that the goods were gone, the mansion should belong to the Wang family. However, Wang Lun, being a scholar and considering the special relationship between the two families, had already sent word that the Zhou family could continue to live there and that he would not reclaim the mansion.

After thinking about it, Zhou Chong agreed with Aunt Wang and said, "Alright, I'll use the money for now. When I earn more in the future, I'll repay you."

"Our Chong'er has been known as a prodigy since childhood. He will surely revive the family. Don't worry about repayment. Zuo'er and Duo'er are your sisters. As the eldest brother, you will have to take care of them when they marry," Aunt Wang said hopefully. In her view, Zhou Chong, despite the family's decline, would still become a scholar and restore the family's glory.

Zhou Chong could guess Aunt Wang's thoughts but smiled bitterly. If he were still the original Zhou Chong, he might have studied hard for a few years and passed the imperial exams. However, he was no longer the original Zhou Chong. He had no knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics, and although he had received over ten years of education, it was of little use in the Ming Dynasty's imperial exams.

"Master! Master! The debt collectors are here!" At that moment, a breathless voice shouted, and a plump figure rolled into the main hall. The round, fat face was covered in sweat, and steam rose from his head, indicating that he had run a long way.

"Manager Xu, you're so old. The debt collectors have come to the mansion many times. Is there any need to be so anxious?" Zhou Chong said, somewhat helplessly, upon recognizing the person.

The person who entered was the old manager of the Zhou household. He was a pitiful man who had once been a scholar but failed to pass the exams. In his thirties, he was poor and ill, almost dying on the street. Fortunately, he was saved by Zhou Chong's father and began working for the Zhou family. Over the years, he worked his way up to become the household manager. His surname was Xu, and he was generally referred to as Uncle Xu or Manager Xu.

Manager Xu was now in his fifties, with a plump, round face, a round belly, short limbs, and a pale, beardless face. If his hair were shaved off and he were dressed in a monk's robe, he would look like a living Maitreya Buddha.

Manager Xu had never married and had no children. He considered the Zhou family his own family due to their kindness. When Zhou Chong dismissed the servants, Manager Xu swore that he would live and die with the Zhou family, even if Zhou Chong tried to drive him away. Others praised Manager Xu for his loyalty, but Zhou Chong suspected that the old man was afraid of being left without support and thus stayed in the mansion to ensure he had food to eat.

Seeing Zhou Chong's calm demeanor, Manager Xu became even more anxious. He glanced at Aunt Wang and then said, "Master, this time it's the Song family coming to collect the debt, and it's Lord Song and his second son."

"The Song family?" Zhou Chong was taken aback and looked at Aunt Wang, puzzled. To his surprise, Aunt Wang's face turned pale, and she trembled, almost falling over.

Zhou Chong was startled and quickly stood up to support her. After helping Aunt Wang sit down on a chair, he asked, "Aunt, what's wrong? The Song family is just a creditor, right? Is there something special about them?"

Seeing that Zhou Chong still didn't understand, Manager Xu couldn't help but say, "Master, the Song family is the future in-laws of the eldest daughter."

Zhou Chong suddenly remembered that Zuo'er was betrothed to a family surnamed Song, likely the same family. However, he was puzzled as to why Aunt Wang was so nervous. Although family is family, debts must still be repaid. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time the Song family had come to collect the debt, indicating that they still cared about the family ties. Why was Aunt Wang so anxious?

(PS: I got so engrossed in writing that I almost forgot to upload. I apologize. Also, please support my new book with votes and clicks!)