Even if the bones are broken, the tendons still hold them together.

Du Yun’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment when her third aunt produced a silver ring. Du Yun had seen that very ring before; it was among the third aunt’s dowry items and was worth at least a few silver dollars.

Having lived with her third aunt for such a long time, Du Yun felt she had a pretty good measure of the woman’s stinginess. Her aunt was the kind of person who would strip the feathers off a passing wild goose, yet today she had pulled out a silver ring just like that—and a valuable one at that. It simply defied all laws of nature!

Du Yun was not the only one shocked by the third aunt’s action. Everyone else in the household stared at her as if she were an extraterrestrial being.

"Did the sun rise from the west today?" Du Yun’s grandmother blurted out the thought running through her mind. "Third one, is this meant for Zhi'er?"

"Mmm-hmm, Mother. I'm preparing this as a dowry gift for the eldest girl. I didn't bring it out earlier because I was saving it for the hair-pinning and gift-adding ceremony on the eve of her wedding, just to give her a bit more face!" the third aunt said with a beaming smile, feeling not the slightest bit of guilt. The silver ring was indeed part of the dowry she had prepared, but it was meant for her own daughter, Du Fang, not Du芝.

"Mother..." Knowing the truth, Du Fang watched in horror as her own dowry somehow became her eldest cousin's. Panicking, she tugged at her mother's sleeve and called out, yet she dared not blurt out the real story and tear down her mother's facade.

"Don't pull at me, be a good girl!" Seeing her daughter's panic, the third aunt shot her a meaningful look, then turned back to Du Zhi and said with a warm smile, "Don't mind how rowdy and unreasonable your aunt usually is; I know what's what in my heart. The eldest girl is a good child, and she shouldn't be wronged when she gets married."

The third aunt had calculated carefully: among the children of the eldest branch, Du Song and Du Yun were clearly destined for great things. At such a tender age, they were already capable of earning thousands. How could they fail in the future?

Instead of eating her heart out later while watching others live in luxury, she might as well cozy up to the eldest branch while she still had a chance to reach them. Only by clinging to them now could she hope to drink some broth when they finally started eating meat, right?

Having instinctively tried to demand items from the old matriarch out of sheer habit, the third aunt had regretted it the moment the words left her mouth. This was the precious window right before the eldest branch struck it rich—the last time they might actually need her. If she failed to show goodwill now, it would become infinitely harder to hitch her wagon to them later.

After recovering from her initial shock and observing her third aunt's performance, Du Yun began to grasp the deeper meaning behind the act. This was what people called "investing in a cold stove."

Before achieving success, one fosters ties of affection so that when great wealth arrives, one cannot simply turn a blind eye and pretend not to know them. Later on, a mere hint of patronage from them would be more than enough to ensure a life of luxury for her own family. It was a clever strategy indeed, and Du Yun nodded inwardly in approval.

"Oh dear, we could never take your things! You should save that ring for Xiao Fang's wedding!" Du Yun's parents failed to grasp the third aunt's hidden agenda; they only felt the gift was far too lavish and repeatedly waved their hands in refusal, terrified that Du Zhi might actually accept the present.

"Now how can that do? It's for the eldest girl!" The third aunt grew anxious. Stingy as she usually was, she was offering this ring in absolute sincerity.

She understood very well: if she gave this item away, the connection would be forged. If they refused to accept it, how could she ever easily pave the way to hitch herself to Du Song and Du Yun's success and make a fortune?

"Thank you for your generosity, Third Aunt! When things come to a head, you truly see who your real family is!" Seeing the awkward stalemate, Du Song smiled broadly. He joined Du Yun, each taking one of their parents by the arm to pull them back, and then spoke up to thank the third aunt.

"It's no trouble at all, we're all family!" Hearing Du Song deliberately emphasize the word "family," the third aunt felt a heavy stone drop from her heart. Indeed, they were all family; once they struck it rich later on, how could they possibly refuse to support her branch?

Taking advantage of their conversation, Du Yun looked up at her older brother and caught his knowing expression. She felt a wave of joy at being so thoroughly in tune with him. It seemed she was not the only one who had seen through the third aunt's intentions; her elder brother had seen it too, and had made the exact same decision to accept the ring.

In truth, Du Yun knew very well that even if her family had rejected the ring, they would still have lent a hand if her third uncle's household ever fell into trouble. After all, they shared the closest of bloodlines—bones might break, but the tendons still connected them, having eaten out of the same pot since childhood. How could they gorge themselves on delicacies while watching their relatives starve?

However, the emotional experience of accepting someone's voluntary goodwill and helping them differed vastly from being pestered into passive assistance. Since they were all family and bound to help each other anyway, encountering someone as pragmatic and opportunistic as the third aunt actually made things somewhat easier.

With the matter of the ring settled, the distribution of the fabric was overshadowed. Du Yun's grandmother and mother beamed with joy as they plotted how to cut and tailor the garments. The third aunt was overjoyed at having successfully attached herself to the eldest branch. Meanwhile, the second aunt watched the whole scene, tangled in a knot of uncertainty over what to do, secretly resolving to return to her maiden family to seek advice.

Du Zhi remained nervous and unsettled on account of the ring, clutching her clothes and fabric as she slowly shuffled toward the west room. As for Du Song and Du Yun, the two of them drifted together and walked out toward the courtyard.

"Brother, did you figure it all out?" Du Yun asked, unable to keep from smiling as she looked at Du Song's amused expression.

"Well, weren't you thinking the exact same thing?" Du Song looked down at Du Yun with a profound smile. Chuckling merrily like a little mouse that had successfully stolen a peanut, he reached out and gently stroked Du Yun's hair. "Our little girl is growing up."

"I haven't been a little girl for a long time!" Du Yun pouted, then looked up at her brother. "Brother, when we make money in the future, how should we spend it?"

"What do you mean 'we make money'? You're the one earning it!" Du Song said earnestly.

"I'm earning it for the family, of course!" Du Yun blinked, momentarily bewildered by his words. After a moment of thought, sudden comprehension dawned on her.

"Brother, we're all a family! It does me no good to hold onto the money by myself. Spending some of our earnings on the family is nothing at all! Besides, I'm planning to make a huge fortune so I can build a large house for you to take a wife!"

"Silly girl!" Du Song reached out again to ruffle Du Yun's hair, deeply moved by her selflessness. At a loss for words, he simply tilted his head back to gaze at the azure sky, silently swearing an oath deep within his heart that he would spend his entire life treating this foolish, loving younger sister well!