37 Should We Pay the Debt?

The conversation in the kitchen then turned to the biggest concern of the family at the moment - the money they owed to the Sheng family.

The Jin brothers did not actually broach the subject. It was Mei Li, instead, who did.

"We still have over a hundred taels of silver in our possession, aside from the amount we deposited in the bank. Should we go to the Shengs tomorrow to pay off our debt?"

The brothers were tongue-tied. They felt conflicted about having their new wife pay off their family's debts.

They spent that money for their late mother and fathers. And Mei Li just married into their family, but they're actually using her money. They felt uncomfortable thinking about it.

Jin Mingyu sighed. As the head of the family, he really should be the one solving this matter.

Unfortunately, their family relied heavily on earnings from the yearly harvest. Since it was still the start of the planting season, it was really bad timing.

And even though he and his brothers earned some money here and there from doing odd jobs in town or from selling game meat that were hunted from the mountains, their money was barely enough to cover their household's monthly expenses.

They couldn't even buy rice and pork before Mei Li sold the Lingzhi mushrooms.

Mingyu looked at their delicate wife and said, "Keep the money for now. I know you still have other plans and it's better for you to use the silver for those things."

"Anyway, we still have three more months to figure out a way."

"But, big brother, it's really okay to use the money earned from the mushrooms. If we pay off the debt now, the sooner we don't have to worry about it." Mei Li tried to convince them.

"Just listen to first brother, Xiomei." Shufen chimed in. "Don't you still need to spend money to produce your tea blends? The boxes and tools required need to be bought, right?"

"You said you want to help with the stores. We can all work together to re-open the shops in the next three months and the money earned from there will be used to pay the debt." Mingyu voiced out what was on his mind.

He thought this was the best course of action. At least, that way, they could help out and won't be shamelessly using the money earned by their wife.

She already used her dowry to pay the first 60 taels. It would be too thick-skinned of them to ask her to pay the remaining debt without putting in some effort themselves.

Weimin also agreed. "Yeah, wife, we still have some remaining stocks in those two shops. If we could sell those, then we can pay the debt we owe our uncles."

Weimin also thought that he and his brothers should do their best to reimburse Mei Li the amount she already paid previously when harvest time arrives.

Mei Li sighed internally. These men had their pride, so she didn't insist anymore. If they want to raise the money in a joint family effort, then so be it.

And Mingyu was right. She needed to use more money in the near future to ramp up her tea blends production. It's best to keep some capital on hand.

Also, there might be emergencies, so having money in the bank can give them peace of mind.

"Alright," Mei Li didn't push the matter anymore but couldn't help but say one last thing. "But in the future, don't be so clear cut about these things with me. Otherwise, I would think you are still treating me as an outsider."

"Very well, in the future we'll all work together to live a good life." Mingyu said with a gentle smile.

The people in the kitchen dispersed and each went to their rooms.

Since it was Haoran's turn to accompany her to sleep that night, he went with her to her room while carrying two buckets of warm water for her evening bath.

He poured the water into the small wooden tub stored inside Mei Li's room. He would throw out the used water later when she's done.

"Thanks, big brother Haoran."

Haoran gave her a slight smile and patted her head a couple of times. Then he went out to take his own bath in the kitchen.

Mei Li quickly cleaned herself up. The bath tub was small so she could only stand in it. She added yet another thing to her shopping list - a larger bathtub for her to soak in!

Haoran came back when Mei Li was in the midst of drying her hair.

The tall, well-built, and handsome man simply stood there and looked at the little woman sitting on the side of the bed. An ambiguous atmosphere slowly formed in the room.

Ever since that passionate kiss in the forest and that goodnight kiss in the courtyard, Mei Li and Haoran behaved as if nothing happened between them.

Now that she was alone with him again, she was feeling a little bit nervous.

Haoran took the comb that was lying on the small table beside the bed. He then sat on the bed beside her and uttered a few words, "Let me comb."

Mei Li turned her body to the side to let him easily have access to her hair.

When she inhabited this body, her hair was already long, cascading down to her waist. Knowing how the ancients value their hair, she didn't have the heart to cut her tresses no matter how heavy she felt they were.

Mei Li felt Haoran's fingers going through her hair and combing her locks. For a guy with such big hands, his movements were surprisingly very gentle.

"First brother means well." She heard him say.

Was Haoran referring to Mingyu refusing to use the Lingzhi money to pay off the debt?

"En. I know." Mei Li answered. She did understand where Mingyu was coming from and she was not upset.

"You're not an outsider." Haoran's deep voice reverberated near her once more, making her feel as if the tips of her ears were getting warmer.

She turned to face him and smiled. "That would be great if that's the case."

"Big brother Horan, why do I think you're speaking a lot tonight?" Mei Li gave him a teasing glance in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The corners of Haoran's lips tugged up and he gave her another pat on the head. "Let's sleep."

"Okay!"

When the lamp light was blown out, Mei Li burrowed into Haoran's embrace, found a comfortable position, and promptly went to sleep.

In her mind, there was a nice and warm human pillow beside her, so she should take full advantage of it!

Unknown to her, Haoran had a very difficult time that night, tortured by the warm, soft, and fragrant woman in his arms.

How was he supposed to sleep properly when the little woman's gentle and even breathing tickled his chest, making a warm current trickle down his body?

Upon first light the next day, Haoran immediately left Mei Li's room to stand in the cold wind!