Xiao Yeci nodded, tears in her eyes.
He Yuxiu sighed. "If I’d known that was your hometown, I would have let you and Chunying take over. I really don’t want to do this business anymore, especially your Xiao Family’s timber business. Our accountant, Old Sheng, tells me every day we shouldn’t continue with it. Qi Qiu City has plenty of timber, and Old Qi even gave me a whole forest. I still don’t know how to sell all this timber, and getting more stock from Pine Bridge seems rather pointless."
Xiao Yeci’s tears fell.
He Yuxiu frowned. "What are you crying about? Worried about your family’s business? It’s alright, I was just talking. For the sake of our sisterly bond, I’ll just have to keep the business going."
"SOB, SOB..." Xiao Yeci cried aloud.
He Yuxiu said, "Sister, is there something you want to say?"
Xiao Yeci kept nodding, so He Yuxiu quickly removed the gag from her mouth.
Xiao Yeci caught her breath for a moment, then exclaimed, "Sister Xiu, quickly, untie me! I’m about to wet my pants!"
"Sister, why didn’t you say so earlier?" He Yuxiu quickly untied Xiao Yeci. "Old Qi is really cruel, tying you up so tightly. Just hold on a little longer, Sister, just a little while. You have to hold it in, hold it! We’re almost... uh, Sister, do you have a spare pair of pants?"
The train journey lasted three full days, and they finally arrived at Pine Bridge.
Alighting from the train, Xiao Yeci was somewhat apprehensive, yet the excitement of returning to her homeland was undeniable.
Pine Bridge had a lot of water. In town, there were different ways to get to different places. Some places could be reached by car, others required a boat, and some needed a sedan chair. Xiao Yeci said as she left the station, "Benefactor, I know an inn here. You don’t need a boat to get there; it’s quite close."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "We’re not staying at an inn. Let’s go to the market and buy some things first."
"Buy what?" Xiao Yeci asked, carrying her luggage. "If we’re not staying at an inn, are we going to buy bedrolls and sleep on the street?"
"We’re going to buy a house!"
"Who just goes out and buys a house like that?"
Lu Chunying said, "I think Brother Seven has a point. We still don’t have a house back in our hometown."
He Yuxiu said, "I have a residence here; let’s settle in there first. It’s not like you can just buy a house whenever you want to."
"It’s okay to stay at Sister Xiu’s place for now, but we must buy a house." Li Qi instructed his men to take care of the luggage first, then actually went with Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying to buy a house.
The small town wasn’t large, and there weren’t many good residences. It just so happened that two were for sale that day: one belonged to the Liang Family, and the other was the Xiao Family’s residence.
In the past two years, both the Liang and Xiao families’ businesses had been struggling, and they had sold off much of their family assets.
Lu Chunying took a liking to the Xiao Family’s residence. "Mom, if I remember correctly, this residence was prepared for Uncle’s marriage, right?"
Xiao Yeci nodded. "Yes, it was!"
Lu Chunying continued, "Before Uncle even got married, the house was purchased for him. I heard it cost Grandfather six thousand Ocean Dollars. Less than a month later, we were both chased out of the house. How much money did Grandfather give you then?"
Xiao Yeci lowered her head. "I... I’ve forgotten..."
"I seem to recall you mentioning it once. It was two hundred Huan Country Banknotes, wasn’t it? One hundred for each of us."
Xiao Yeci stammered, "So many years have passed. I really can’t remember anymore."
Lu Chunying called over the Yalang, the intermediary, to ask how much the house was going for.
The Yalang didn’t know Lu Chunying or her background, but since she asked, he courteously responded, "Master Xiao has set the price at seven thousand Ocean Dollars."
"Oh, the price went up!" Lu Chunying smiled. "Bought for six thousand, selling for seven thousand—that’s in line with the market. I’ll write you a check. You can go directly to the bank to cash it. I’ll take the house."
The Yalang was startled. "Miss, may I inquire how you should be addressed?"
"Go tell Master Xiao that Xiao Yeci bought this house!"
"Xiao Yeci?" The Yalang was shocked. "The one from the Xiao Family..."
He almost blurted out that Xiao Yeci had been driven out of the family but quickly corrected himself. "You mean Miss Xiao from the Xiao Family?"
Xiao Yeci was a bit nervous. He Yuxiu encouraged her from the side, "Sister, now’s the time to make a stand; you absolutely mustn’t falter."
Xiao Yeci took a deep breath, stepped forward, and declared, "That’s me."
Without another word, the Yalang took the check to the bank and verified it was good. He didn’t dare cash it himself, so he took the check to the Xiao Family.
When the Xiao Family learned that the house had been sold without any haggling, they were quite pleased. Master Xiao, Xiao Jianzhang, asked, "What’s the buyer’s last name? Are they local?"
"They’re local, and even related to you," the Yalang chuckled nervously. "It was your daughter, Xiao Yeci, who bought it."
At the mention of Xiao Yeci, Xiao Jianzhang grew angry. "What is she trying to do?"
Xiao Jianzhang’s eldest son, Xiao Yucheng, stepped forward. "Dad, don’t get angry yet. Yecai is not someone to be taken lightly now. After all, she took that girl, Lu Chunying, who has since been accepted into the Lu Family. Publicly, Yecai is that child’s mother!"
"I know about that!" Xiao Jianzhang bristled. "No matter what her status is now, she’s still my daughter. If she wants to return, I can allow her into this house. But I won’t tolerate her showing off in front of me! Tell her I won’t sell her the house, not even if she offers ten thousand Ocean Dollars. I’d rather burn the place down than sell it to her!"
Xiao Jianzhang’s principal wife, Lady Sun Huiqin, told the Yalang, "That child Yecai is becoming more unruly as she gets older. Tell her she needn’t bother coming home anymore. The way she talks, so full of affectation, is just like her dead mother. I find it annoying too."
Xiao Yucheng said, "Why are you making things so difficult? If we offend the Lu Family, will our days ahead be easy?"