Chapter 170: Grabbing Salt

In late autumn, it is a little chilly in the morning and evening, but the sun is very bright at noon and it is also very warm.

Like in the village, women who do needlework in this county town like to get together, helping each other with their work and chatting.

The content of these chats is mostly gossip about neighbors or sharing the information they have obtained.

For example, the price of pork at this shop has dropped, the quantity and weight of pork at that rice shop are large and high these days, and the cloth shop has cheap cloth for sale these days.

Or, a girl got married, a boy became successful, or a family gained a new way to make a living...

In short, it is good to communicate with each other so that we can support and help each other when we encounter problems.

This way of getting along is common and commonly used by grassroots people in county towns where there is no clan protection.

Jiang Mixia was used to these things, but after passing by, she vaguely heard the content of those people's conversation.

"This must be the young lady whose kitchen is always full of smoke."

"That's her. Seeing that she is carrying a food box, I guess she just came back from the restaurant."

"I don't know what kind of food you bought, it smells weird."

"What's wrong, are you greedy?"

"Why are you so greedy? It's not like your family can't afford meat. I tell you, don't learn from her and waste money." A woman named Niu curled her lips.

"Whether it's a waste or not, the dishes made in those restaurants outside are indeed much more delicious."

"But it's really expensive! Take the meat dishes for example. A chicken costs only a few cents, but when it's prepared and stewed in the restaurant, the price will be three or four times higher. Let alone the vegetarian dishes. An eggplant costs only two or three cents, but when the restaurant stews it, they will ask you for dozens of cents for one dish. It's really a rip-off. You can do it with just a little effort, but you have to be so lazy that you spend so much money. What do you call this? This is called!" Niu shouted.

"You're right. Old people often say that a little mouth can bring down a mountain. If you are too greedy and don't care about what you eat, you can really eat up a family."

"Look at her young master, he is fair-skinned and speaks softly. It's obvious that he can't control her. It's such a sin that such a good young master has such a wasteful wife."

Niu continued, "If I were that young man, I really wouldn't be able to stand it for even a day. My husband works so hard to make money, and she can't be a good wife at home. I have to divorce her and leave home immediately."

Jiang Mixia, "..."

There are gossips everywhere.

Jiang Mixia simply took two steps back and stood in front of the women who were chatting. "Chatting?"

Those women who were talking behind people's backs were caught red-handed. They immediately looked embarrassed and laughed awkwardly for a while.

The oldest one in the lead laughed dryly and said, "Just chatting and gossiping. Um, Madam Jiang, are you going back to have lunch?"

"I was going back to have lunch, but the dishes looked a little bland. I was wondering why the dishes in this restaurant were so bland today, and now I understand the reason."

Hearing Jiang Mixia say this, the women looked at each other.

"What's the reason?"

"All the salt has been snatched away by you guys." Jiang Mixia said this and walked away.

The women were left staring at each other until Jiang Mixia entered her own yard, and then they came to their senses.

"What does she mean by that?"

"Stupid, you said we were too idle!"

"It's embarrassing to gossip about someone behind their back and have the person who is doing it hear it..."

"What's so embarrassing about it? She's already like this, can't she let others say a few words?" Niu stiffened her neck, "She said we were bored, but if she had the ability to be a virtuous wife, others would definitely not say anything!"

Seeing that Niu was indignant, the other women all shrank their necks.

Where there are many women, there are a lot of disputes and gossip.

They knew that talking about others behind their backs was not a good thing, but when they got together, what else could they do except talk about others behind their backs? They just commented that Jiang spent money without blinking an eye and was not very good at managing the household, but Niu's words were a bit harsh.

What are you doing? Divorce your wife. These words were uttered without any restraint.

When she spoke, her face turned red and her neck became thick, as if Mrs. Jiang was spending her family's money.

The others looked at each other, exchanged glances, and then understood each other and packed up their sewing baskets. "It's getting late, go back and cook, the man should be home soon."

Seeing that no one responded to her words, Niu snorted, picked up her things, and strode back home.

Seeing this, the remaining women gathered together again.

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"Why is this Niu Niu so arrogant? She usually seems to be very gentle and polite, and speaks in a gentle voice. What's wrong with her today?"

"I don't know." The other person shook his head. "Normally, the husband of Madam Niu is also a scholar, and he is studying at Wende Academy. He is a classmate of the husband of Madam Jiang. Classmates should have a deep friendship. Why does Madam Niu look at Madam Jiang as if she is an enemy?"

"You don't know this, right? People in the same profession are all enemies. If you get along well with your classmates, then there is friendship. If you don't get along well..."

Still enemies.

Maybe even worse than an enemy.

They were all married women who had been married for many years and understood the ways of the world. They understood this truth and had each made up their minds not to bring up the topic of Madam Jiang in front of Mrs. Niu.

After packing up their things, the women went home.

Smoke rose from the kitchens in every house and courtyard, and the aroma of rice wafted faintly into the air.

Niu was busy in the kitchen. Five-year-old Zhang Daya bit her fingers and drooled as she said, "Mom, I want to eat meat."

"Eat, eat, eat, all you do is eat. How can your family afford to buy meat for every meal?" Mrs. Niu looked at Zhang Daya, furious. "If you have nothing to do, go to the kitchen and light a fire!"

Zhang Daya pursed her lips, trying hard not to cry, took the fire poker from Niu's hand, and added firewood into the stove.

Looking at Zhang Daya who was submissive, Mrs. Niu felt annoyed again.

When she was pregnant, the baby in her belly was making a lot of noise. She thought that the baby would be a boy when it was born, but it turned out to be a girl. As a result, Zhang Yaosheng is still worried about not having children. Her in-laws disliked her even more, and they didn't even take good care of her during the confinement period, which caused her a lot of pain.

Now, under the pretext of wanting to have a son as soon as possible, she followed Zhang Yaosheng to the county town and rented this narrow little courtyard, barely escaping from her in-laws who always made things difficult for her.

But when he arrived in the county town, Zhang Yaosheng said that his schoolwork was heavy, the food in Wende Academy was cheap, and his family should save as much as possible, so he was not seen all day.

Help: How to overcome procrastination, get over distraction, and concentrate on writing...

(End of this chapter)