Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Truly No Way to Compete with Fourth Brother’s Wife

It was already past midnight, but none of the people in the living room felt sleepy.

A few of them moved several small tables near the chairs together, while Yi Meng went to find a piece of coarse cloth to spread on top.

Then, they emptied out the Copper Coins from two jars, piling them onto the table, creating a small mountain of Copper Coins.

Copper Coins might not be as valuable as gold and silver, but when gathered in large quantities, they form quite a spectacle.

Upon reaching the bottom layer of the jars, everyone discovered a wooden box placed separately.

The boxes weren’t large, and inside them were some gold and silver jewelry and jade bracelets.

The quantity wasn’t significant, and the styles had become outdated.

There were six jade bracelets in total, all uniformly transparent and emerald green, clearly not ordinary items.

“Father, let mother keep these six bracelets!”

Yi Meng placed the bracelets in a separate box and handed it to Qi Zheng.

Qi Zheng nodded, without objection.

Turning around, Yi Meng placed the gold and silver jewelry in a separate bundle and said, “Take these to a jewelry shop later to melt down, and use silver to make some circles to set on the jade bracelets. So if anyone is curious, we can just say they’re broken jade that’s been repaired.”

“As for the gold jewelry, let’s make a pair of gold bracelets for mother to wear.”

This arrangement wasn’t done behind others’ backs, and everyone thought it was a good idea.

With six jade bracelets, they were obviously intended for the Qi Family’s six daughters-in-law.

Since the old lady doesn’t wear jade, she would wear gold bracelets instead.

Anyway, the family has money now, so it’s only right for the old lady to be adorned with gold and silver.

Qi Zheng didn’t object but still reminded, “Let’s not rush to do any of this just yet; we’ve only just settled in the city. If we show off our wealth, it might attract unwanted attention.”

“Yes!”

Yi Meng quickly agreed: “We’ll wait until we’ve started the new village and everything is settled before discussing this.”

“Alright.”

Qi Zheng had no further comments.

Next was the money-counting phase.

The quantity of silver and gold was fixed, not as thrilling to count as Copper Coins.

The six brothers were utterly engrossed in counting Copper Coins, even the eldest, Qi Dafu, sat at the table with a joyful expression.

One, two, three…

Sounds of counting rose and fell.

Copper Coins were scattered, so Yi Meng had prepared hemp ropes to tie every hundred counted together, making spending them more convenient.

“What’s the best way to store all this money?”

Qi Zheng and Yi Meng watched from the side, unable to help but mutter this sentence and then sighed: “Perhaps we should just deposit it in the bank!”

“No way!”

Yi Meng immediately refuted, “I’ve noticed that the gold and silver have marks; we need to cut them off or smash them to remove the marks. Besides, such a large amount, if deposited into a bank, isn’t necessarily safe. Father, you just said, as newcomers, it’s unwise to flaunt our wealth too obviously.”

“…”

Qi Zheng fell silent.

Yi Meng looked at the Copper Coins, a thought forming in her mind, maybe she could store it in a space, but she would need the old man’s support; otherwise, no matter how harmonious their sisters-in-law were, it’s not certain they would be okay with one person managing all the family’s Silver.

While pondering how to discuss it with the old man, she heard him speak first: “Fourth daughter-in-law, you have the most ideas, look to see where we should hide this money! If there’s no suitable place, then bury it in the ground again.”

“Father, let’s count the money clearly first, then deliver it to my room, and I will think of a way to hide it. I’ll bring it out when we need it!”

Yi Meng hadn’t expected the old man to bring it up, but at this moment, she could only agree; otherwise, if it were buried in the ground again, who knows if it might be discovered by others next time?

Qi Zheng glanced at Yi Meng and then nodded, agreeing to the plan.

The Qi Brothers were earnestly counting Copper Coins, paying no attention to the conversation between the two.

Finally, the money was counted.

Gold totaled two hundred taels, silver totaled two thousand taels, and Copper Coins totaled twenty-seven thousand three hundred twelve pieces.

No wonder the jars were so heavy; they contained so many Copper Coins.

Over twenty-seven thousand pieces, equivalent to more than two hundred seventy taels of silver!

Accordingly, the Qi Family directly gained over four thousand two hundred taels of silver!

Everyone fell silent once again.

They’d only ever heard of pies falling from the sky, but no one had ever seen such a sight.

Now, however, the Qi Family had unearthed an actual mountain of gold and silver from the ground.

Four thousand taels was a number they never dared to imagine in their lifetimes.

“Pack everything back up and bring it to the fourth son’s room.”

Qi Zheng calmly instructed, “In our family, the fourth daughter-in-law is the best at arithmetic, so she will manage this money. However, each time money is used, and how much is used will be clearly communicated to everyone, and you should all keep records to avoid harming your brotherly relationships over trivial amounts of Silver.”

Only then did everyone understand how this money was to be managed.

The brothers looked at each other, each with a dumbfounded expression.

None of them had expected the money to be entrusted to the fourth daughter-in-law.

They thought the old couple would personally manage this money!

Qi Zheng was evidently aware of this consideration, continuing, “This money is entrusted to the fourth daughter-in-law by your mother and me for safekeeping. If any of you disagree, then endure it, unless your arithmetic is better than the fourth daughter-in-law’s.”

It was just one condition.

Whoever excelled in arithmetic would manage the money.

Upon hearing the old man say this, everyone shook their heads collectively, even Qi Quanjin joined in shaking his head.

There was no option; the Qi Brothers were certainly upright, but as for academics, they were utterly hopeless.

If it weren’t for their parents chasing them with sticks, they wouldn’t have even completed elementary education before going home.

As for their own wives…

It wasn’t that they were modest, but in terms of learning, there was simply no way to compare with the fourth daughter-in-law.

The fourth daughter-in-law was literate, while their own wives, alas, not only were illiterate, but they might not even handle numbers properly.

So this decision was settled, and while everyone packed the money back into the jars, they listened to the old man’s next instructions.

“For now, take out two thousand taels to prepare for future schooling, the remaining money will be for our family’s use. Fourth son, fourth daughter-in-law, you two and the second son can discuss what to do next!”

Qi Zheng was busy all night, although he didn’t do physical work, being overwhelmed by excitement and shock, he now showed signs of fatigue.

Yi Meng and Qi Quanjin, Qi Ercai exchanged glances, and the three of them promptly agreed.

“Fifth son, sixth son, help your father back to his room to rest, and then you yourselves rest as well!”

Qi Quanjin instructed.

Qi Quanyin and Qi Quanli immediately agreed, setting down the Copper Coins to support the old man.

Qi Quanjin looked at his three elder brothers: “Eldest brother, second brother, third brother, let’s move the things to my room so we can discuss it thoroughly. By the way, wives, prepare some food.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep