Chapter 15 Chaos

Although Father Sun was anxious, he still managed to keep his calm. "Eldest, go out and find out what’s happening. Second Brother, go find your mother’s cousin; he knows people at the Committee. See if he can help suppress this matter." Sun Jianming and Sun Aiming, the two elder brothers, knew their third brother’s situation was dire and dared not delay. They acknowledged the order and ran out. Father Sun then turned to his youngest daughter in the room, a thought suddenly striking him. "Yanzi, go to the Chu Family. Try to persuade Chuyunyi to use her connections and see if she can get your Third Brother bailed out first." Hearing this, Sun Xiaoyan promptly agreed, "That’s right! How could I forget her? I’ll go now." With that, she too hurried out the door. Once his children had left, Father Sun said to Mrs. Sun, "Get some money out." Mrs. Sun was already distressed and didn’t immediately understand. "Get money? For what?" Father Sun shot her a stern look. "At a time like this, you still don’t get it? Even if someone steps up to help bail him out, do you think this matter can be resolved without greasing some palms?" Mrs. Sun understood then, but the thought of spending money made her heart ache even more. "Those people who helped Chuyunyi before, they have significant status, don’t they? Wouldn’t it just take a word from them? Do we really need to offer bribes again?" Father Sun naturally didn’t want to spend money either. However, he understood that if they didn’t smooth things over before his third son was released, there was no telling how much he would suffer inside. However reluctant, Mrs. Sun had no choice but to turn and go into the house. Not long after, a sharp scream came from inside. "AH! Where’s my money?" Hearing the scream, Father Sun bolted into the inner room. "What happened?" Mrs. Sun shrieked, "Which damned thief stole my money?" The neighbors, hearing the commotion, gathered around. "What’s Gao Haitang up to now?" "Sounds like their money was stolen?" "No way! Has the Sun Family hit a streak of bad luck?" "What are you saying? You can’t just say things like that." "Sigh, my big mouth! I really deserve a slap for that." Just then, Mrs. Sun’s loud voice was heard shouting, "Call the police! Go call the police quickly! This is outrageous! They won’t let us live!" Unable to accept that the money was gone, Father Sun said, "Think carefully. Did you perhaps put it somewhere else?" Mrs. Sun shook her head vigorously. "After dinner last night, I even took out two yuan for our third son. It couldn’t have been put anywhere else." At this, Father Sun completely lost his composure. "You’re home all day! How could the money just disappear?" Mrs. Sun’s mind was a whirl. "I don’t know! Husband, call the police, quickly! That was everything we had!" Father Sun roared in exasperation, "What good are you for anything?" With that, he dashed out in a panic. Seeing the cluster of neighbors gathered by the door, his expression became even more grim. When Yunyi returned, she heard groups of people at the alley entrance discussing the Sun Family’s affairs. Let’s see if you still have time to scheme against others now, she thought. She had just walked to a spot not far from her own home when she saw Sun Xiaoyan pacing there. Yunyi had intended to turn and avoid her, but Sun Xiaoyan looked up just then and spotted her. Sun Xiaoyan rushed over, an anxious expression on her face. "Yunyi, where have you been?" Seeing that an encounter was unavoidable, Yunyi decided to face it directly. "Do you need something from me?" Sun Xiaoyan didn’t know how to bring it up with Yunyi. Avoiding the curious gazes of the neighbors, she mumbled, "Um, I wanted to ask you for a favor." Yunyi replied, intrigued, "A favor? What is it? Go on." No matter how thick-skinned Sun Xiaoyan was, she couldn’t bring herself to say in front of the neighbors that her Third Brother had been caught with another woman and that she needed Yunyi to bail him out. "Let’s talk inside the courtyard."