Pei Wanyue quickly shook her head. She seemed rather terrified. "That's not it. I just had a shock along the way. It's nothing. You don't need to worry, father."
"Shock? What did you face along the way?"
Xie Niushan did not mean to ask any further. He was worried that his daughter who had appeared so suddenly would feel left out. So he tried to humor her.
Pei Wanyue stammered like she was struggling to say something.
Her behavior made Xie Niushan even more curious..
"What actually happened?" Xie Niushan's voice sounded dark, like he was ready to pummel someone.
Ms. Lu saw that her daughter was at a loss so she said, "When we picked up that brat Xie Qiao, she brought along a strange package. We were afraid that it might be checked for being suspicious, so we opened and peeked in. We did not expect it to be human bones. Then, Xie Qiao forced her to pack the skeleton back in. She is cowardly and hasn't experienced the harsh realities of the world yet, so she got a shock."
Just because of this?
Xie Niushan's brows furrowed.
It was just a set of human bones…
"Just practice a bit more. Your eldest brother has kept some medicine specifically formulated to process these bones so that they'll be clean and neat. They are just hanging in his study. You may head in and have a look now and then. After a few more peeps, you won't be shocked anymore," Xie Niushan said matter-of-factly.
The moment he said this, Pei Wanyue's face immediately blanched.
Ms. Lu was stunned too.
She had always known that Xie Pinggang was peculiar, but she had never expected him to keep human skeletons in his home!
These siblings!
Just then, Xie Pinggang sat at the side.
He was one head taller than Xie Niushan. His burly form was as large as a bear. Pei Wanyue did not even dare to look at him. Now that she knew he had such a fetish, she was even more afraid of lifting her eyes to him.
Xie Pinggang was rather considerate. "Why would a girl want to see such things? You'll just make yourself sick from shock for no reason."
Pei Wanyue did not feel any better.
This feeling was like a bear standing in front of her, telling her not to be scared.
Mother said that Xie Pinggang was burly and looked fierce. Before she arrived, she had tried her best to imagine him. But now that she has seen him in person, she felt like her imagination had fallen short.
"Father, have you prepared the gift for Xie Qiao?" Xie Pinggang suddenly spoke up and asked.
"Not yet? I was thinking of checking it out after a couple more days. Who knew that they would be home so soon," Xie Niushan said, more to himself than anyone.
Xie Pinggang lifted his head lightly. "Neither did I. I've finished my allowance for this month. Lend me some, Father."
"I won't lend you any! Shoo! I don't have much silver left either!" Xie Niushan rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling that his hands were empty. He felt himself struggling a bit.
He was poor.
Being an official costs too much money!
Just this rotten house and rotten title had already cleared his whole treasury. The remaining bits were to feed this group of leeches. He did not even have enough for two sips of better wine. Every month he had to work his hardest to earn money, and he did not dare spend any!
Xie Niushan and Xie Pinggang's sight fell on Xie Xi at the same time.
Xie Xi and Xie Pinghuai were both only 12 years old this year.
Xie Xi immediately dipped his head. "No money, poor…"
"I don't have any either!" Xie Pinghuai echoed.
"Pinghuai has it." Xie Xi's head hung, mumbling.
"..." Xie Pinghuai promptly jumped backward. "You are not to take my silver away. My mom just gave me these! They haven't even been with me long enough to warm up!"
"Heheh. Even if you were to hold the stones or silver in your hands for 10 days or half a month, they wouldn't warm up much either. As a younger brother, you should respect your elder siblings." Xie Pinggang stood up.
Like carrying a chicken, he picked up Xie Pinghuai and poked around his clothes. After flipping through, he picked out two silver notes worth 50 silver pieces each.
"Just enough, Father. A piece each from us. If we don't have any presents then let's give her money directly. Neither of us will outdo the other." Xie Pinggang directly tossed half the share of money over.
"What about me..." Xie Pinghuai's eyes were glazed over.