The ninth year of Jiayi.
Jin Dynasty, Huaiyang County, Shili Village.
A shrill scream broke the peace of the small mountain village.
A group of people gathered in front of a farm. When someone came later, seeing that there were too many people to squeeze in, they turned around and climbed up the low wall. "Is Old Man Jiang's family in trouble?"
"Yes, a group of tall and strong men came. They said that someone from Old Man Jiang's family had borrowed money at high interest and came to collect the debt!"
"That's impossible. Boss Jiang is such an honest man, how could he do such a thing?"
Someone who knew a little about the situation spoke up, "It wasn't Boss Jiang, it was Second Brother Jiang! Second Brother Jiang gambled away all his family's money in town, and he was so obsessed with making a comeback that he borrowed money at high interest rates. He got scared, and the people who lent him money weren't stupid. They knew his family couldn't afford that much money, so they finally found Boss Jiang!"
Some answered questions and some gloated over his misfortune. "Liu always said her youngest son was destined to become a high-ranking official, but he passed the examination and refused to move on, nor did he make any further progress. Judging from the attitude of Old Man Jiang, he might be dead."
Everyone looked towards the yard.
Jiang Laoer was pressed to the ground by his two cousins, and old man Jiang was hitting Jiang Laoer with a firewood stick in his hand.
Liu sat on the ground with her hair disheveled, without a trace of her usual decency. She just slapped her thigh and cried.
"Oh my God! Old man, you are trying to kill me! He is your own son! It's not like our family can't afford the money..."
Seeing that Old Man Jiang, who was beating people with bang bangs, turned a deaf ear to her cries, and her youngest son was still calling "Mom", Liu gritted her teeth, stood up and rushed forward.
"If you beat the second brother to death, I, an old woman, will die too!"
Qian Xiuzhu, the eldest daughter-in-law who was standing nearby, grabbed her troublesome mother-in-law and refused to let go no matter how she beat and scolded her.
The dozen or so people standing opposite the Jiang family, who looked like they were not to be trifled with, became annoyed after watching this life-and-death farce.
The leader had a face full of flesh and a fierce look in his eyes. "Old Jiang, if you can't come up with a hundred taels of silver today, you brothers won't have to kill Jiang Shujian."
When Liu heard this, her legs went weak and she almost collapsed to the ground.
Old man Jiang threw away the firewood in his hand and squatted on the ground with a gloomy face. He took off the pipe from his waist and raised it to his lips with trembling fingers.
"The money earned by the eldest wife didn't come from the wind. Let alone a hundred taels, even one tael is not worth spending on this beast. He should pay back the money he owes himself."
As soon as these words were spoken, the wailing that followed seemed to be about to shake the house down.
It was at this time that Jiang Huaixu came through.
The crying in her ears was like 360-degree surround sound, making her head buzz. At the same time, a series of memories rushed into her mind, and she felt a splitting headache.
As a special forces soldier, her death was really miserable. She was killed by lightning.
She wondered if she had done something damning. How could she be struck by lightning right after completing her mission? Why would lightning strike her instead of others? But her memories told her that there was no such thing as the most outrageous, only something even more outrageous—she had transformed into Jiang Yamei, the youngest daughter of the Jiang family's eldest branch.
Mute girl.
She's a mute?! Jiang Huaixu clenched the wooden spoon in his hand and wished he could die right there.
Just as her mind was in a mess, a rough hand pulled her over.
She was like a kite with a hole in it, without any strength to resist.
"...Boss, the eldest family, I know you have money. Over the years, your father has subsidized your eldest family, and I, an old woman, have turned a blind eye. If you don't want to pay, then compensate them with this rotten thing that eats free meals!"
The leading young man looked up and down at the little girl Liu was holding, and said with satisfaction, "Old Jiang, your little granddaughter is quite good. If you really can't come up with the money, you can use her to pay the debt. I'll give you five taels of silver."
Jiang Huaixu walked forward uncontrollably, and his eyes widened after hearing what the young man said.
She tried to open her mouth to speak, but all that came out was an inarticulate "wuwuaah". Without caring about anything, she leaped with all her strength and kicked the old woman who was pulling her on the waist.
Seeing that Liu didn't let go, she seemed to be frightened. With a look of horror on her face, she raised the wooden spoon in her hand and hit her on the head, "dong dong dong" like hitting a wooden fish. While hitting, she was annoyed in her heart that she didn't have a suitable weapon.
The onlookers were so shocked that their jaws dropped. Had the mute girl, who was usually afraid of everyone, gone crazy?
On second thought, yes, they were all going to be sold. The child’s face turned pale with fear.
Liu never expected that this usually timid and cowardly mute girl would have the courage to resist. She raised her hand in anger and wanted to slap her.
Jiang Huaixu acted faster than he thought and sat down on the ground, leaving Liu's fan in vain.
"You little bitch, you're rebelling!"
Liu, whose head was covered with bruises, had a ferocious look on her face and was about to rush forward to hit him, but was stopped by Qian Xiuzhu and Boss Jiang.
Jiang Lao Da's face, dark from years of hard work, was flushed red, and his nostrils flared with anger. "Mom, although I'm not your biological son, I've considered myself quite filial over the years. Our two families have already separated, so no matter what, this debt won't fall on our eldest wife! Not to mention selling my dumb sister to pay it off!"
The onlookers couldn't stand it any longer, and they all said, "Aunt Liu, we're all from the same village, so who doesn't know each other? Uncle Jiang, forget about giving Uncle Jiang a subsidy. Even if there's a copper coin hidden under the sole of his foot, you'll have to find it and give it to your son!"
"That's right! The Jiang family has been supporting Jiang Er's education for such a long time, yet he used the money for his studies to gamble. He's truly lost his conscience."
"Bah! No wonder you're still a student after studying for so many years..."
Liu struggled to break free, pinching her waist and cursing, "You know nothing! If he was kind to my son, why wouldn't he give me a penny at this point?"
Jiang Er and Jiang Shujian, who had just been beaten a few times, agreed with this and immediately felt grief surge in their hearts. They howled, "Dad! I beg you! Please ask my eldest brother to help me just this once. If it was just a hand or a leg, I would give it to them, but they want my life!"
The young man in the lead couldn't stand Jiang Shujian's spinelessness and said, "Then I don't want your life, but I want your arms and legs!"
After he finished speaking, he raised his hand, and the dozen or so people behind him immediately stepped forward to subdue Jiang Shujian.
Jiang Shujian was startled when he heard this, and his crying stopped abruptly.
The village chief was so angry that he broke out in sweat when he saw Old Man Jiang squatting there like a stubborn donkey and refusing to give in. Although he also looked down on Old Man Jiang, they were of the same clan after all, and he was also the village chief. He couldn't just sit back and watch, so he quickly asked people to stop him.
So the two sides confronted each other directly, neither giving in.
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