Chapter 17: Like bandits, utterly unreasonable.
Jiang Nuanzhi walked around the courtyard with her arms crossed, becoming increasingly annoyed.
The original owner of this courtyard had always taken care of it. In fact, she was the one who added most of the things in the courtyard.
Compared to his own home, it was like heaven and earth; the original owner was clearly tidying up the yard as if he were decorating a new house.
This farmhouse courtyard was clean and tidy. The dust and weeds on the ground had been swept away, the firewood was neatly stacked, and the two large water vats were full of water. Even the chicken feeder had mixed bran. To be honest, that bran looked better than what my own children would eat.
The three main rooms were neatly arranged, and the kitchen was fully equipped with a stove. The bedroom also had the second young master's desk, complete with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. A clean rattan mat was laid on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed), and cotton quilts were neatly stacked around it.
Jiang Nuanzhi climbed directly onto the heated kang and picked up a quilt.
Once outside, he caught the two chickens as well. Holding the blanket in his right hand and the chickens by their arms in his other hand, he prepared to head home.
"Jiang Pangya! Are you a bandit? I think you've lost your mind. Take the blanket away, what will the second young master cover himself with?"
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at her and said, "This is a quilt that I paid for. I can give it to him whenever I want. But now I don't want to give it to him anymore and want to take it back. Is that not allowed?"
Chun Tao pointed at her and said, "Your second young master will be very angry! You'd better wait to be punished."
"Okay, okay, I'll wait." Jiang Nuanzhi walked straight ahead. When she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and turned back: "I'll take the things back. When I come back, if I see you slacking off, I'll beat you to death."
"And another thing! From now on, whenever I'm home, I'll be watching you do your work. If I see you doing even the slightest thing wrong, I'll spank you until I'm in a good mood. Be prepared."
"You! You! You're absolutely unreasonable! You're like a bandit, completely irrational!"
Chun Tao's insults were utterly childish to Jiang Nuanzhi.
Jiang Nuanzhi simply turned around and made a throat-slitting gesture at her, which frightened Chun Tao so much that she immediately ran over and squatted on the ground to wash clothes.
Jiang Nuanzhi rolled her eyes. What happened to that cowardly thing? Where was the fierceness he showed when he bullied children?
Then he ignored her and walked home with his things.
When she came out, she saw Lu Shizhu and A Yong staring at her with wide eyes.
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said gently, "You haven't left yet? Perfect timing. Could you two please help me carry this big basket home? I don't have the hands to carry it right now. I'll make some big meat buns for dinner tonight. If you don't mind, please stay and have dinner with me."
Ah Yong and Young Master Lü exchanged a glance and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
Both of them wanted to slip away for a moment, genuinely feeling that it wouldn't be surprising if this woman suddenly started killing someone.
I regret that I was so busy watching the excitement that I didn't run faster.
Now that he had stopped them, neither of them had the courage to run, so they silently followed behind her, helping her carry the baskets.
"Oh ho, who do we have here? It's this chubby girl. I didn't expect you to be so capable despite your ugliness. You were rejected by Young Master Xie, but you immediately found two handsome men to help you carry your things."
On his way home, he ran into Widow Wang from the village. She was carrying a small basket, and her triangular eyes were fixed on Young Master Lü's face without blinking. She looked as if she wanted to devour him whole.
These words drew laughter from the villagers who were watching the commotion nearby.
Everyone knew that Widow Wang had taken a liking to Li Jia Dalang and was eager to marry him.
The eldest son of the Li family disagreed, yet he still spent ten taels of silver to buy Jiang Pangya as his wife. Widow Wang looked down on Jiang Pangya even more. They had argued more than once before.
These two were not to be trifled with in the village, and when everyone saw them facing off, they knew there was going to be some drama.
However, young Master Lü had never seen such a scene before, especially since Widow Wang had dragged him into it as well. His face flushed red with anger and rage, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. Yet, he could only manage to squeeze out, "This is an insult to civility," before falling silent.
"Oh ho, you're envious? I hired these two young men for two taels of silver. If you're envious, give me two taels of silver, and I'll have them help you carry your basket too."
Widow Wang's eyes widened in shock: "Two taels of silver! That's so expensive! You must be kidding me! Only a fool would spend two taels of silver to hire someone to help move things!"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "I have money, I can spend it however I want, it's none of your business!"
"You!" Widow Wang's eyes darted around, and she sighed, "You're such an ingrate! Wasn't all your money left to you by Li Jia Dalang after he died? What are you so arrogant about? I really feel sorry for Li Jia Dalang. His remains haven't even been found yet, and you're already abusing other people's children. Now you're openly having an affair! You'd better watch out for your retribution!"
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "You're hilarious. Asking someone to move something is adultery? Everyone in the village helps others out. Do you think there isn't a single decent person in our village? Wang Cuihua, are you envious of me? My eldest son is gone, but he left me a lot of things. Your husband is gone, what did he leave you?"
"You little slut, what nonsense are you spouting? I'll tear your mouth apart!"
Widow Wang's husband died at the hands of her lover, who is still in prison. This is a sensitive topic for Widow Wang, and she will break down at the mere mention of it.
Jiang Nuanzhi turned around and piled the quilt into the basket, and then stuffed two chickens into A Yong's hands.
Then, he walked towards Widow Wang.
"Crack."
Before anyone could see what Jiang Nuanzhi had done, they heard a sickeningly loud sound, followed by Widow Wang clutching her arm and wailing.
"Ouch, my arm! My arm! You wretched hussy, you..."
Widow Wang, looking vicious, charged at Jiang Nuanzhi again.
Then, with another crack, Jiang Nuanzhi dislocated her other arm as well. This time, she dared not move and could only sit on the ground, wailing and crying her heart out.
"Village chief, are you just going to stand by and watch? The villagers are being bullied like this! That damned slave, she's really no good! My life is so miserable, not only did my husband die, but I'm also being bullied by this lowly girl!"
The village chief was in a real bind. Both men were troublemakers in the village, and he hadn't wanted to get involved. But now that he'd been summoned, he had no choice but to step forward.
"Alright, alright, you two women, how did things get to this point? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at? Jiang Pangya, you started it, apologize to her right now. Wang Cuihua, you're also at fault, talking nonsense about something that didn't even exist. You deserved to be beaten, you apologize to Jiang Pangya too. Let's put this behind us, no one is allowed to mention it again!"
(End of this chapter)
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