Chapter 4 The Stepmother's Self-Cultivation
Li Xiaoer continued to struggle fiercely, but unfortunately, he was only a five-year-old child, and his struggles were like a kitten scratching an itch.
"Hey, how many times did he slap you?"
"If you don't tell me, I'll kiss you."
Jiang Nuanzhi was already pressing her head against his little head, and as she spoke, she looked directly at his face, as if she wanted to kiss him.
Li Xiaoer froze instantly.
"You wicked woman! You're disgusting!"
"If you don't tell me, I'm really coming! How many times did he slap you?"
Li Xiao'er's face turned a deep purplish-red, whether from embarrassment or from being beaten, it was hard to tell.
"Two by two."
He stammered for a long time, but couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
Fortunately, Jiang Nuanzhi put him down from her arms the next second.
Just as Li Xiaoer breathed a sigh of relief, he saw the wicked woman rubbing her hands together and walking towards the pageboy.
Jiang Nuanzhi looked at Afu, who still had a terrified expression.
In her memory, the original owner of this body followed this pageboy around every day, fawning over him and hoping that he would say a few good words about her to the second young master.
Now, Jiang Nuanzhi slapped him across the face.
Snap!
The crisp sound of the slap was especially loud in the night.
The moonlight, like a white veil, poured down, draping the entire small mountain village in a soft, dreamlike mist.
In this scene, even the geese next door stretched their necks and listened intently.
"That's right, that's right!"
The goose snapped out of its daze, breaking the tranquility under the moonlight.
Afu was stunned. What just happened?
Li Xiaoer was also dumbfounded. Had she been possessed by an evil spirit?
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "I'm sorry, but you know what goes around comes around. Besides, if the child is beaten and we don't get him back, it will affect his mental health. I think you can understand, right?"
Snap!
Jiang Nuanzhi slapped him again.
"Jiang Pangya! You...you...you actually dared to hit me?"
Afu covered his numb face, his eyes filled with disbelief.
That lackey, Fatty Jiang, actually hit him?
In the past, when she hit others, she would flatter them by saying she was worried that her hand would hurt.
"You bitch! How dare you!"
Snap!
Snap!
Two more slaps landed.
Afu's head was ringing from the blow, and he could taste the metallic flavor in his mouth. His gaze also became somewhat dazed.
"I got hit by Jiang Pangya?"
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled, revealing a small canine tooth, her chubby face carrying a strangely sly glint: "Yes, that's right~"
"Smack!"
"Smack!"
After finishing, Jiang Nuanzhi rubbed her numb hands and said humbly and shyly, "I'm sorry, I offended you. But I'm a fair person. If the child said six, then it's six. I definitely didn't take advantage of you."
Afu covered his face, which was swollen like a pig's head, and after a while, he burst into tears.
"You, you, you are absolutely inhuman!"
"He clearly said two, I heard it all, why did you hit me with six? It hurts so much, waaaaah!"
Jiang Nuanzhi frowned: "Hey? Can't you do math? The child said two by two, three by two, isn't that six? Don't worry, I'm fair, there's absolutely no mistake."
"Come on, let's calculate the emotional damage to the child. He's so young, but being frightened by you could affect him for life. How about we give him five taels of silver?"
"Oh, and you've made a mess on my floor. Have you been feeling a bit feverish lately? It smells really bad and is hard to clean. You'll have to pay me fifty cents for cleaning."
Jiang Nuanzhi did the math carefully. The original owner had been providing for her beloved second young master's food and drink, and didn't have a single extra penny on her. Today, she sold the inkstone she had planned to give to the second young master. The inkstone was bought with money that Jiang Pangya had saved for a long time, costing ten taels of silver. She went to pawn it, but only got four taels of silver.
Today I bought clothes, food, snacks, and anti-cracking oil for my youngest daughter, which cost a total of one tael and eight hundred coins.
She didn't dare return the remaining two taels and two hundred coins to Liu Ma, fearing that two hundred coins wouldn't be enough for food and drink.
If we get the compensation for emotional distress back, we'll have plenty of money for Liu Ma right away. It will definitely be enough for her and her three children to eat and drink for the next few months.
The pageboy was only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy. Hearing Jiang Nuanzhi's words, he was so embarrassed that he couldn't lift his head. He didn't care about anything else, and he didn't even dare to look at the stains on his body. He got up abruptly, covered his face, and ran outside.
Unfortunately, he was stopped by Jiang Nuanzhi after only a few steps.
"Jiang Jiang, you fat girl, aren't you afraid I'll tell the Second Young Master and make him never talk to you again!" He thought he had said the punishment he hated most for Jiang Nuanzhi.
"Even if the King of Heaven himself came, it wouldn't work today. You're not leaving until you pay!"
Jiang Nuanzhi held a broom in front of him, smiling as she said, "Folks, come and see! This well-dressed second young master, who's supposed to be a tutor, has wet his pants!"
"Shut up, shut up!" Afu stamped his feet anxiously, tears welling up in his eyes again. He hurriedly rummaged through his pockets for a money pouch and stuffed it into Jiang Nuanzhi's hand.
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at it: "Not enough."
Afu: "Here's a little over an ounce, I've given you all of it. I don't have any more, I'll give it to you later."
"No, we need a written agreement."
Afu blushed as he watched Jiang Nuanzhi smilingly fetch paper and pen, then picked up the pen with a humiliated expression.
After writing it, he threw it at Jiang Nuanzhi and said sternly, "Is that enough now?"
"Alright, alright, please go back. Remember to pay back the money as soon as possible." Jiang Nuanzhi was in a good mood. Luckily, the original owner hadn't had time to send the writing brush and ink she bought for that second young master, and it was hidden in her little box. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to find the writing brush and ink for a while.
Afu's face was already streaked with tears and snot, and he practically tumbled and crawled as he ran outside.
As the page boy stepped out of the dilapidated gate of the Li family home, his face was filled with resentment and malice.
"Damn it, Jiang Pangya, I won't let you get away with this!"
But when he thought of Chuntao lying there with her face covered in blood, he couldn't help but shudder.
As if struck by a sudden inspiration, he turned around and saw Jiang Pangya walking towards him with a ferocious expression, carrying a large stick in her hand.
"Aaaaaah! Murder! Second Young Master, help me!!!"
Jiang Nuanzhi, standing behind him, frowned: "Don't run away, hey!"
"Hey kid! Take her back to your colleague! I'm telling you, if she stays here tonight, it'll cost you!"
Whether the person heard him or not, he ran even faster.
Jiang Nuanzhi pouted and went home.
Seeing Li Xiaoer sitting blankly on the ground, he thought for a moment, took a whole tael of silver, and stuffed the remaining loose copper coins into Li Xiaoer's hand.
"Consider this tael as a loan. I will definitely make it up to you when I earn money in the future."
Now that we have three taels, even if we give two taels back to Liu Ma, we'll still have more than one tael to use, which makes us feel more at ease. At least we have money to buy rice and flour.
Once she had saved up ten taels of silver, she would repair the dilapidated house properly. It was so run-down that she was afraid the wind and rain would bury them again.
Li Xiaoer looked at the fleeing page, then at the copper coin in his hand, and then at the fat woman's face in front of him, his little face full of confusion.
Is this wicked woman helping me?
He clenched his fists and stared intently at Jiang Nuanzhi.
"What trick are you playing now? I'm out of money!"
(End of this chapter)
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