Chapter 18
It was a bright and sunny April, and the sun was getting stronger, so hot that people couldn't open their eyes.
It wouldn't do to keep putting it off, as Ye Jia was the original owner's body. They had just finished their stall, and it wouldn't be a problem to send the entire cart of rice, flour, and seasonings to her parents' home. She glanced at the tall, thin young man at the front of the cart, and after thinking about it, she could only pull Zhou Jingchen off the cart: "Father Sun, please take a trip and send these things back to the Zhou family. My husband and I will go to the town again."
Old Man Sun naturally understood. He nodded and drove the ox cart away slowly.
The last time Ye Zhang pulled him back, Ye Jia left without even showing his face. This time, his brother came to the house saying his mother was sick, and Zhou Jingchen was the new son-in-law coming to the house for the first time. No matter what, they had to pretend to be like this.
Ye Qingjiang looked at his sister and brother-in-law awkwardly. Seeing that they were both empty-handed, he pursed his lips and said nothing.
Ye Jia went to the Wa City and caught a chicken and cut two pieces of meat. Thinking that it was almost done, he stuffed the food into Zhou Jingchen's hands and followed Ye Qingjiang back to the Ye family.
Yejiazhuang was located south of the town, slightly further away than Wangjia Village. But not by much, and it would take about a quarter of an hour to walk there. The three of them walked slowly, mindful of Zhou Jingchen's recent leg injury. It was the first time Ye Qingjiang had seen his third brother-in-law, and to be honest, he was stunned beyond words. He hadn't imagined, no matter how hard he tried, that his third sister would marry a man so handsome.
He tried to speak several times, but he was not good at speaking. He said a few words but couldn't continue. However, Zhou Jingchen saw this and chatted with him.
If Zhou Jingchen really wanted to socialize, he'd get along with anyone. How far was the road to Yejiazhuang? By the time he reached the village entrance, Ye Qingjiang was already calling him "brother-in-law." Zhou Jingchen didn't seem to say much, but with just a few words, he'd gotten a complete scoop on Ye Qingjiang. Even Ye Jia, his fake sister, knew all about Ye Qingjiang's life over the past twenty-three years.
He had studied at the age of eleven or twelve, but lacked any talent, so at sixteen or seventeen he gave it up and returned home to raise sheep and farm. However, he had always been weak, so it was his wife who did all the farm work. If he hadn't married a capable wife, life at home would have been a mess.
Ye Jia was stunned listening to this. When it came to rhetoric, this guy was even better than her, a seasoned veteran in the workplace.
The Ye family courtyard was quiet. Many people had come to see Ye Sushi. They had come to see her and then left, not even eating at the Ye family's house. Ye Sushi was truly ill this time. Last night, she had vomited blood and collapsed to the ground, and she hadn't woken up since then. Today, the Ye family courtyard was silent. Adults and children were all busy with their work, not daring to speak loudly.
Ye Jia and Zhou Jingchen ran into Ye Zhangshi as she went out to get some water. Half her face was swollen, with a bump on her forehead, and her head was drooping. Seeing Ye Jia, she didn't dare say a word. She just splashed the water on the ground and retreated back into the house, not coming out.
Ye Qingjiang stared at the door of Ye Zhang's room with hatred in his eyes, but he was concerned that this was his sister-in-law. His eldest brother was stationed at the border and couldn't come back, so no matter how much resentment he had, he had to swallow it. He turned around and beckoned Ye Jia and Zhou Jingchen into the house. The room was small, and in the main room sat a thin, hunched old man. Ye Jia recognized this man; he had run into him before. He was the original owner's father, Ye Wangshan.
Ye Wangshan said nothing when he saw Ye Jia coming back. He looked up at the tall young man beside her.
This was his first time meeting his third son-in-law, and like Ye Qingjiang, he was a bit stunned. But when Zhou Jingchen followed Ye Jia in calling him "Dad," he came back to his senses and nodded repeatedly. He then asked his granddaughter to pour tea and asked his new son-in-law to sit down and have some.
Ye Jia glanced at him and ignored him. She didn't need to worry about his social skills. She lifted the curtain and entered the room. She saw a person lying on the bed covered with platycodon. He was skinny and his face was sallow. Two girls were standing and sitting by the bed, both wiping their tears. Ye Jia recognized one of them. She was the fourth sister Ye who had been ordered by Ye Zhangshi to wash clothes last time. The one sitting by the bed, wiping her tears, was the youngest girl in the Ye family, the fifth sister Ye.
The two looked up when they heard the noise, and their tears fell even more happily when they saw Ye Jia.
"What's going on?" Ye Jia walked over and glanced at the person on the bed. A look of despair washed over her face. Although he had never seen her in person, the original owner's memories showed that Ye Su, though delicate, was still quite strong. How could she have become like this in just a few days?
Fourth sister Ye was a bit of a fool; you couldn't get any information out of her. Fifth sister Ye was originally afraid of her third sister, Ye Jia, but with her own mother in trouble, why should she be afraid? She immediately told the story, tears welling up in her eyes.
It's Ye Zhang's fault again.
A few days ago, Zhang Chunfen made a terrible fool of herself in town. She was caught stealing and the culprits came to her door. Several young men stripped her clothes in the street. This was a ridiculous thing, and even the more open-minded people in the northwest couldn't tolerate it. As soon as the families Ye Zhang had introduced Zhang Chunfen to potential partners heard about it, they all turned her down.
Zhang Chunfen was seventeen, about to turn eighteen. It was difficult to talk to a man at this age. Another year older and she would be an old maid. If she waited any longer, she might not be able to get married. Ye Zhang had worked so hard to raise this girl, how could she bear to let her stay at home as an old maid?
But Chunfen's reputation was ruined, and no good family was willing to marry her. The only willing wives were the blind, lame, and elderly widowers in the village. Crucially, these men threatened to marry her only if she offered a generous dowry. Zhang Chunfen attempted suicide that very night after hearing about this. The Zhang family's sister-in-law was hands-off and unwilling to intervene, leaving her elder sister, Ye Zhang, heartbroken.
She was at a loss, so she started to think of something shady. She thought of the two unmarried sisters-in-law in the Ye family. They were both pretty. Although not as pretty as Ye Jia, they were still praised by everyone when they went out. She came up with a shady idea and went to the brothel in the north of the town to get some stuff to lure Ye Simei out.
Under the guise of Ye Simei, he would find someone to come and see her, and put some in the tea. After the young man drank the tea, he would lock Chunfen and the young man in the room. Once the matter was settled, the marriage was finalized.
Her move was really shameless, but Zhang Chunfen's reputation was also in tatters now.
But as luck would have it, the young man Ye Zhangshi found, Zhang Chunfen, looked down on her. She herself was such a wretch that she looked down on the poor family. Ye Zhangshi made a scene, but Zhang Chunfen didn't get in. Instead, she pushed Ye Simei in and ran away.
Ye Simei was a beautiful young lady, and many families were secretly eyeing her. Ye Su had originally arranged for Ye Simei to marry the eldest son of a wealthy family in town. He was handsome, hardworking, and kind. They had been waiting for Ye Simei to propose marriage this June. Who could have imagined that Ye Simei would be ruined like this? A promising marriage was ruined before it even began.
Ye Su was already upset because she had ruined her third daughter. Now that her fourth daughter had been ruined, her eyes went dark and she vomited blood.
Ye Simei lowered her head, her eyes red and she didn't say a word.
Ye Wumei's face was livid with anger, but she didn't dare to argue out of concern for her mother. Yesterday, Old Master Ye had a fit of rage, saying he was going to divorce Ye Zhangshi. But after all that talk, his grandchildren started crying, and he still hadn't responded.
Ye Jia hadn't expected this to happen. He found it absurd but couldn't put it into words: "So, what about the young man who was in the house that day? Has he been here?"
This question actually struck the two of them. Fourth Sister Ye's face paled instantly, while Fifth Sister Ye stammered for a long time before shaking her head. Ever since their mother's accident yesterday, they'd been watching over her, so they had no time to worry about that young man.
Ye Jia pondered for a moment, asked them to take good care of Ye Su, and then he lifted the curtain and went out.
Now that things have come to this, we can only investigate thoroughly first. Ye Jia came out and walked over to Zhou Jingchen, whispering a few words in his ear. Zhou Jingchen felt a little uncomfortable at being so close. But his father-in-law was watching him and didn't move. He let Ye Jia speak before nodding and saying, "No need to call a doctor. I went to the clinic before I left, and the doctor will be here in a while."
Ye Jia was stunned for a moment, then glanced at the Ye family and said, "...Okay, I'll go take a look outside."
Ye Zhang had put a lot of thought into Zhang Chunfen's marriage. The whole village knew about what had happened to Ye Simei. Ye Jia didn't even need to ask; he could hear everything by just going around.
The young man was from Yujia Village, not far from Yejia Village, so she went over to ask him.
The news wasn't good. This young man had a miserable life. His situation was even worse than the Zhou family's, reportedly fatherless, motherless, and without relatives. An orphan, a mixed-race who had fled from the north. With no home, he had built a house in the hills behind Yujia Village. He didn't know where to find work during the day, and only returned home at night. Ye Zhang had originally taken a liking to him because he had no relatives and was easy to manipulate.
Ye Jia went to take a look, but of course he found nothing. The young man was not there, and the wooden house was shabby and empty.
I turned around and went back to Ye's house, and the doctor just came out of the house.
The old doctor had examined Zhou Jingchen's leg the last time, so he naturally recognized it. Ye Su shook her head, furious. Furthermore, his health had been weak over the years, and this had hit him hard. She said that even with the medicine, it wouldn't heal completely, and she was afraid he wouldn't be able to do heavy work anymore.
The old man of the Ye family's face suddenly became gloomy, and his hunched back became even more hunched.
Medicine is expensive, and there's a woman in the west room who needs medicine every day, and now the old woman is in trouble again. The three men in the family are not up to the task, and the farm work depends on the second daughter-in-law alone. He moved his mouth for a long time, but he couldn't bring himself to not give the old woman medicine. His old eyes were red, and he asked after a long while, "How much does the medicine cost?"
"At least three taels." The old doctor was not asking for anything without thinking. Ye Su's body needed to be nourished by eating ginseng. "Forget it, you guys think about it again."
Ye Jia was watching from the side and unexpectedly came into contact with Zhou Jingchen.
He didn't say anything else, just "Send the old doctor out." Ye Jia hadn't even drunk a sip of water during his time away. He silently went to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it slowly, his eyes drooping as he remained silent.
Ye Tongsheng let out a sullen breath. He glanced at Ye Jia and said sadly, "Your mother gave birth to you all, but she never enjoyed any happiness in her life. She suffered endless hardships. Now that she's old, she's suffered such a sin. What a sin she's committed..."
Ye Jia didn't say anything, and Ye Tongsheng continued, "First it was your youngest brother, then it was you, and now it's Yuanniang... It's all fate!"
As he spoke, his face turned pale: "Your mother has a miserable life, a miserable life..."
"It's not just fate." Ye Jia didn't want to say anything, mainly because she was afraid of revealing the truth. But Ye Tongsheng said to her clearly: "This is your own fault. If you can control your sister-in-law, you can avoid a lot of trouble."
Ye Tongsheng's face turned pale, his head drooped, and he hunched over like a shadow.
Ye Jia looked pitiful, but sometimes one has to admit that people's lives are difficult because they can't see clearly. Ye Jia wasn't cold-blooded, turning a blind eye to matters of life and death. But she had to know her limits. How could anyone help a bottomless pit? After all, the original owner had been sold by the Ye family, hadn't he? Even if it was a business transaction, there was no reason to take back something that had been sold once and sell it a second time.
Besides, I didn't make much money from selling 120 cakes today, and after buying all the other things, I only had half a tael of silver left. I put two taels in my pocket when I left this morning, and now I still have two and a half taels left.
She did have money in her hand, and she looked up and asked Ye Wangshan, "Dad, what are your plans for sister-in-law?"
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