Unlimited Resources: Raising a Minister with a Space Supermarket-Chapter 452 - 412: Passing the Problem to Him (3)

Li Mingtan’s lips trembled twice, but he didn’t tell his mother to save on firewood. A bundle of firewood was only five coins, so what difference did it make to save or not?

"Mom, do you still have any money? If you do, please take it out and give it to Dad to buy medicine?" Li Mingtan finally spoke up.

Old Lady Li paused her action of eating osmanthus cake, surprised, and asked, "What?"

"Did you just ask your wife for money to buy medicine, and she refused? That Wu family woman is really outrageous, I’ll go find her!"

As Old Lady Li spoke, she placed the half-eaten osmanthus cake back and was about to put on her shoes to confront Wu, but Li Mingtan stopped her.

"Mom, don’t go looking for her, it’s useless. There’s no money at home!"

"No money? If there’s no money, let her borrow from her family, why should we spend my money?" Asking Old Lady Li to take out her crossing fee money was absolutely impossible.

Li Mingtan, frowning, said, "Mom, you know Wu is just a concubine’s daughter. She’s asked her stepmother to borrow money so many times that it has annoyed her. Her stepmother won’t lend her money anymore."

"That Guan Dame is really stingy. Isn’t the Guan Family supposed to be a big, prestigious family in the Capital? How could they be so petty over a few dozen taels of silver?"

Old Lady Li sat back down angrily, her eyes turning as an idea struck her. "Doesn’t Wu still have her little mother? Last time when I sat for a bit in her little mother’s room, it wasn’t lacking anything compared to the main wife’s room. I’m sure just selling any random vase would fetch dozens of taels. Why don’t you let Wu go ask her little mother?"

Li Mingtan replied helplessly, "Mom, in those big families, even if a concubine’s room needs a set of teacups, they have to report to the main wife, and only with her consent can they get a new set to replace it from the storeroom. The things in Wu’s little mother’s room are not hers to sell as she pleases!"

Wu had talked to Li Mingtan about her past life before, so Li Mingtan knew these details.

"What? So those things are just for show, aren’t they? Wu’s little mother doesn’t even have a say? Tsk tsk... Being a concubine like that is really stifling!" Old Lady Li was quite shocked. She used to think being a concubine in a big family was better than being a farmer’s wife, but it turns out a concubine has no say at all!

"Then... then does her little mother not have any private savings at all? That can’t be, right?" Old Lady Li was still not willing to give up.

The thought of giving up her crossing fee money was more painful to her than cutting her own flesh.

Seeing his mother’s attitude, Li Mingtan stopped arguing about Wu’s family matters and directly asked his father at the end of the kang bed, "Dad, how much money do you and mom still have?"

Lao Li, suddenly being called out, almost choked on his cake. He quickly patted his chest and said, "Your mother and I have no money. When you sent gifts to that lord at the Hanlin Academy, your mother and I gave you all our savings. We don’t have a single coin left!"

Old Lady Li secretly gave her husband a look of approval. Right, we can’t give out money. Wu has to find a way. If she can’t have children and can’t manage the family’s expenses, then what do we need her for in the Li Family?

Li Mingtan got a little angry and raised his voice, "Back then, I only took fifty taels from you. Didn’t we sell the land for forty-eight taels and the house for another twenty-three taels, making seventy-one taels in total? Plus, you had savings from before, so how could there be no money?"

Lao Li was startled by his son’s sudden outburst, shivered a bit, looked at his wife, and then lowered his head without saying anything.

Old Lady Li quickly spoke, "Fourth son, your father and I are getting old. We need to keep some crossing fee money. We can’t give it all to you. We’ve already given you fifty taels, and you can’t just squeeze all the hard-earned money out of us, can you?

Besides, the money from selling the land should also be shared with your three brothers and nephews. I can’t give it all to just you alone."

Li Mingtan, feeling defeated, said, "Just consider it a loan to me and take it out!"

Exchanging a glance, Old Lady Li and Lao Li reluctantly unlocked the small brass lock on the cupboard by the kang bed, opened the cupboard door, and took out a black purse from inside.

Old Lady Li was just about to shield it with her body to take out the silver note of twenty taels when Li Mingtan snatched it away.

Li Mingtan opened the purse, counted the money, and realized that over the years his parents hadn’t saved much at all, feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Only thirty-three taels?" In the past, the revenue from his bookstore was split with half sent back for his mother to save. He thought his mother would’ve saved at least several dozen taels, but not counting the money from selling the house and land, she hadn’t saved much at all.