Chapter 15: The Aunt Who Comes to Collect Debts

"Is the second brother's wife at home?"

Xiaoxiao returned home, took her belongings to her room, and then took the seasonings and meat she had purchased to the kitchen. As soon as she reached the main house, she heard some noise outside and feared that someone had come to visit!

"Mom, who's here?" Xiaoxiao asked. She had just married into the family and aside from her own family members, she had yet to meet anyone else!

"It's your aunt by marriage, go and greet her."

"Ah!" Having said that, the three daughters-in-law all stood up and went to the courtyard!

"Oh! This must be the third son's wife, she looks exceptionally... pretty!" The visitor appeared younger than her own mother-in-law, large and plump, clearly someone who had lived a life of plenty, presenting a very prosperous appearance.

"Um, hello aunt, thank you for the compliment!"

"..." The aunt continued into the house, thinking that this third daughter-in-law really had a thick face, couldn't she detect the sarcasm?

"Older sister, come in, have a seat on the kang, it's warm!" The mother-in-law immediately welcomed her, then instructed, "Boss's wife, hurry, boil some water for your aunt!"

"No need to fuss over me. I came today to ask when you'll be paying back the silver you owe our family."

"Aunt, as you know, our household's situation isn't great—this year's harvest was poor. Tomorrow the children will go out to work, and we'll take on more embroidery work. As soon as we've saved enough, we'll definitely pay you back!" said the mother-in-law in a very subdued manner.

"Your household's situation? Your household brings loads home, it looks much better than ours! We can't even afford meat in our house!" she finished, casting a glance at Xiaoxiao. The aunt's volume was loud, and the insinuation was that if they had money to spend, they should also have money to repay the debt.

It's impolite for younger family members to interrupt when elders are talking, something Xiaoxiao understood well. So she just listened silently.

"The third son's wife has just come to our family, and there are some living necessities that needed purchasing. Besides, she spent her own dowry! Our family wouldn't have had the silver to buy these things for her. I feel bad for the girl; we hadn't prepared anything for her!" The mother-in-law had tears in her eyes and occasionally dabbed them with a handkerchief.

"I don't care. She married into your family, so it's your responsibility. You can't just live well and not repay debts. If it comes to that, use her dowry to repay them!"

"How can we ask a new bride to use her dowry to help her in-laws pay off debts? Wouldn't that disgrace our Yang family?"

"Has our Yang family's face been spared till now? Go and hear what people are saying outside!" the aunt said haughtily, determined not to give up until she got the silver.

Xiaoxiao herself couldn't stand the idea of borrowing money; she had once lent seven thousand dollars to a friend who didn't repay it for over a year. Each time she asked for it back, her friend claimed to be broke, yet her social media posts said otherwise, showing her living a more carefree life than Xiaoxiao, which aggravated her. Now, she realized her actions had indeed troubled her in-laws, giving the impression of enjoying money while avoiding debts, which wasn't great. Though the aunt's attitude was harsh, hearing the mother-in-law's words confirmed that they indeed owed the money. It's only right to repay debts, and she had to take responsibility for this burden.

Thus, Xiaoxiao spoke up, "Aunt, it's not that I don't want to help the family repay the debt. As you've seen, I've bought quite a few things in the past few days and have spent all my dowry. If I had known the family had debts, I would never have spent like this! Could you possibly grant us some leniency?"

"I'm giving you an extension, who will give me one? You can't just enjoy yourselves without care for debts. If you have no silver, use today's purchases to pay for it!" she said, standing up and heading toward the kitchen, still eyeing that meat.