Huo Tingtao fell silent for a moment, but in the end, the scales in his heart tipped toward the side that benefited him the most.
In truth, ever since Mother Huo revealed the full truth of what happened back then, he knew there was no place for him left in the Huo Family.
Though resentment lingered in his heart, at this point, the only people he could rely on were the Yangs.
Once he had sorted through his thoughts, Huo Tingtao turned to Dong Lihua with reddened eyes.
"Mom—"
That single word brought tears welling up in Dong Lihua’s eyes instantly.
But before she could speak, Huo Tingtao blurted out his next sentence:
"Mom, can you help me and Shanshan?"
Dong Lihua hesitated. "I... I..."
"What, you don’t want to?"
"No, no, it’s not that I don’t want to—it’s just that I don’t have that much money on hand right now."
"You heard it yourself earlier—I still have to pay back over two thousand, principal and interest combined."
But Huo Tingtao didn’t believe a single word she said.
"You’ve been working for so many years—how could you not even have that much saved up?"
"It’s true, I’m not lying to you."
Afraid her son would get angry, Dong Lihua hurriedly began explaining.
"Your grandmother always favored your uncle, and your father is blindly filial. Ever since he started working, he’s handed half his salary to your grandparents every month."
"Your uncle’s betrothal gifts, the three big tile-roofed houses back in the hometown, even the dowry for his wife—we paid for all of it."
"And... and when you got married, had children, even the full-month banquets for all three kids—we gave you over a thousand in total."
"I’m really not lying to you. If I had the money, I’d give it to you right away."
Seeing Huo Tingtao frown in silence, Dong Lihua quickly pulled out a bankbook from her bag.
"If you don’t believe me, look at this."
Huo Tingtao hadn’t said anything on the phone earlier, so Dong Lihua, worried something was wrong, had brought the family’s bankbook with her when she left the house.
Back then, to keep her mother-in-law from finding out, Dong Lihua hadn’t dared to deposit the money in Lang City.
The account had been opened in Capital City.
But now, even with all their savings combined, they barely had a little over three thousand.
After paying off their debts, whatever was left wouldn’t even cover what they had spent on the Huo Family over the years.
Dong Lihua thought it over and decided to persuade them to pay the debt first.
Only after settling the money could she plead for leniency later.
"Tingtao, maybe you should first—"
But before she could finish, Huo Tingtao cut her off sharply.
Just one look at his mother’s foolish expression told him she still hadn’t grasped it—some grudges, once formed, could never be undone.
"Mom, sell those three tile-roofed houses in the hometown. And hurry up and sell the old man’s job too."
Otherwise, once he died, the position would be gone.
Selling those two things could fetch them over a thousand.
Add that to the few hundred left in the bankbook.
They could scrape together over two thousand.
Their current savings totaled over eight thousand—after deducting these expenses, there should still be plenty left...
But if he thought that, he was sorely mistaken.
Just as the mother and son finalized their repayment plan, Jiang Si interrupted their discussion.
"Hold on. Their debts are settled—now it’s my turn."
What?
The two turned to look at her in unison, confusion written across their faces. "What does this have to do with you?"
"You kidnapped my husband—does that answer your question?"
Without giving Huo Tingtao a chance to react, Jiang Si grabbed an abacus and hurled it straight at his face.
If she dared to hit him, she wasn’t afraid of him fighting back.
The room was full of people.
The moment he raised a hand, plenty would be eager to teach him a lesson!
Maybe it was the effects of the spiritual spring water, or maybe it was sheer fury—
But with that one swing, Huo Tingtao’s right cheek swelled up instantly.
Still, one hit wasn’t enough to vent her anger.
The moment Huo Tingtao lifted his head—
Jiang Si seized the chance and slammed the abacus into his left cheek.
Dong Lihua and Shanshan were stunned. By the time they snapped out of it, Huo Tingtao was already sprawled on the ground like a dead dog.
"Tingtao—!"
"Son—! Don’t scare me like this! Are you okay?"
The two helped him up from either side, but Huo Tingzhou’s eyes rolled back, unresponsive.
Dong Lihua, enraged, started cursing at Jiang Si.
"You crazy bitch! If anything happens to my son, I’ll make you pay!"
"You’re heartbroken over a few scratches on your son?"
"What about my husband?"
"When he was trafficked to Hu City, there wasn’t a single patch of unbruised skin on him. Just treating his external injuries took over a month."
"After he was discharged, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t take care of himself—all thanks to your Yang Family!"
"I’m just collecting a little interest on his behalf. What right do you have to bark at me like a dog?"
With that, Jiang Si turned to her in-laws.
The legal system wasn’t fully developed in this era—she couldn’t demand civil compensation from them on Huo Tingzhou’s behalf.
So Jiang Si would handle it her own way.
"Mom, Dad, Tingzhou was hospitalized for over a month after being trafficked. The Jiang Family paid for his treatment."
"As his wife, I have the right to demand reimbursement from them."
Didn’t Dong Lihua keep insisting the Huo Family owed the Yangs?
Without hesitation, Jiang Si threw those words right back at her.
"Because this is what their family owes Tingzhou!"
Mother Huo’s eyes reddened. "That’s right. They should’ve paid this long ago."
Father Huo nodded in agreement. "Well said."
After calculations, the two bankbooks from the mother and son barely covered the amount—there’d be no change left.
Seeing this, Mother Huo finally felt a sliver of satisfaction. "Fourth Brother, the accounts are settled. You can take them away now."
Huo’s fourth uncle gave a signal.
Immediately, seven or eight officers entered from outside, swiftly escorting Yang Zhiqiang and Third Master Yan away without another word.
The remaining two pulled out a pair of handcuffs and clamped them onto Huo Tingtao’s wrists.
Dong Lihua and Shanshan turned pale with terror. "What are you doing?"
Hadn’t they already repaid the money?
Why were they still arresting him?
"Police business. Cooperate, please."
"No! Let him go! You can’t take him!"
As the two flailed their arms, fingers nearly poking the officers in the eyes—
The officers gave three stern warnings.
When the women still refused to back down, they cuffed all three and marched them out of the Huo Family’s ancestral home.
Before leaving, Huo’s fourth uncle pulled Father Huo aside and gave him a heads-up.
"Big Brother, they’re already making contact, but there’s a time difference between the border province and Capital City. Their unit’s stationed halfway up the mountain—it might take a few more hours for news to come through."
Father Huo sighed deeply. "I appreciate your help, Fourth Brother. Third Brother’s case still needs your attention."
"Don’t worry, Big Brother. I know what to do."
Between brothers, some things didn’t need to be said outright.
As luck would have it, this group had the misfortune of running into Capital City's latest crackdown.
At this point, even one head wouldn’t be enough—they’d need ten to escape punishment.
"Big brother, no need for such formalities. I’ve got matters to attend to at the bureau, so I’ll take my leave now."
"Go ahead. Next time you’re free, bring your wife and kids over. We’ll have a proper family reunion dinner."
"Sure, see you then."
After seeing Fourth Huo off, Father Huo hurried back inside to brief Mother Huo on the situation.
Mother Huo nodded. "Since Fourth has spoken, we’ll wait a little longer. These things can’t be rushed anyway."
With that, she pulled out four identical sandalwood boxes from the cabinet.
"Come on, let’s head downstairs—"
