Soon, Ning Huaizhi drove the oxcart to the small courtyard. Jiang Yuwei directed Ning Chunlin to move all the paper mulberry bark to the backyard, and Ning Wu was responsible for weighing it.
As soon as Chen Guixiang entered the courtyard, she looked around furtively. How she wished she could live in such a courtyard, in such a big house! Just as Chen Guixiang was thinking about her dream, she noticed Ning Daya and Ning Wan cooking in the courtyard and asked curiously:
"Da Ya, it's so late, aren't you afraid your grandma will beat you for not going home?"
Ning Daya looked up at Chen Guixiang and smiled:
“I don’t need to go back anymore, and I don’t need to go back anymore. Sister Yuwei paid me to work as a long-term laborer.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Guixiang immediately flew into a rage:
"Bah! A bunch of peasants wasting money trying to emulate wealthy families by hiring farmhands! Don't they even know their own worth? I think they've got a little spare cash and they've gone too far! They're born with no sense of the value of money! If they're worried about their money going bad in their hands, they should just hand it over to me for safekeeping! That would save them the trouble of wasting money hiring farmhands who eat and drink for free and then have to go around giving money to them!"
Jiang Yuwei had just come out of the backyard when she heard Chen Guixiang's offensive words. Seeing Ning Daya's embarrassed expression with her head down, she stepped forward, patted her shoulder, smiled slightly, and then stared at Chen Guixiang, saying:
"We don't need you to worry about our family affairs. I really don't know how you have the nerve to say that. Tsk tsk, you're supposed to be holding our money safe? Did you ever help us take care of our two children or give us a single penny when we were in our most difficult time? How dare you stand here and keep asking for money?"
Seeing Jiang Yuwei's sharp tongue, Chen Guixiang's face flushed red with anger:
"Me? How could I not have cared for your kids? Those two ungrateful wretches ate and used my things every day when they were little. Did I ever worry about them less? And now you're turning around and accusing me of not caring for them!"
Jiang Yuwei snorted coldly:
"How dare you say that? Don't think I don't know how your family treated these two children, and don't think they don't remember what you did to them just because they're young! And you know best how their mother died, yet you come to our yard pretending to be a kind elder! Bah!"
When Ning Huaizhi heard Jiang Yuwei mention the two children's biological mother, his face immediately darkened, and he looked at Chen Guixiang and asked:
"Mother, what did Yuwei mean by those words just now? The child's own mother..."
Before Ning Huaizhi could finish speaking, Chen Guixiang interrupted him with a scream:
"How would I know what your wife means by that? I've never seen her make such baseless accusations against the elderly! How would I know how the children's mother died? Her death has nothing to do with me! Don't ask me! You've been away in the army for so many years and never came home. The mother of both children died young, and now you're blaming me!"
After saying this, Chen Guixiang didn't wait for Ning Huaizhi to speak, and directly pulled Ning Chunlin, who came out of the backyard, and ran out of the yard:
"What are you standing there for? You've finished weighing the bark and you're still not leaving? Are you going to stay here and work as a farmhand for them too?"
Ning Chunlin had no idea why his mother was so angry. He was inexplicably being dragged out of the house by the arm, while she kept muttering:
"Mother, Mother, wait a minute. My sister-in-law hasn't paid me for the extra tree bark yet, what's the rush..."
Watching the two figures leave, Jiang Yuwei instantly felt that the courtyard was finally quiet. Then she turned to Ning Daya and smiled:
"Don't listen to what they say, they can't make decisions for my family. Just focus on your work!"
Ning Daya nodded gratefully at Jiang Yuwei and then went back to cooking.
Ning Huaizhi waved to Jiang Yuwei and said:
"Yuwei, come here, I have something I want to ask you."
Jiang Yuwei walked over to Ning Huaizhi, picked up a bamboo stool, and sat down.
"What? You want to ask me about the biological mother of my two children?"
Ning Huaizhi looked at Jiang Yuwei and nodded solemnly:
"I...I want to know how she died..."
Jiang Yuwei waved her hand and said:
"To tell you the truth, I don't know either. When I first married into the family, some people in the village whispered rumors in my ear, but they weren't true. However, every time I brought up this topic, your mother acted very strangely. So, I think she probably didn't die of illness as your mother said. I saw with my own eyes how her family treated the two children when I first came into the family. Therefore, even if I know her death wasn't normal, I'm not surprised. After all, your mother is capable of anything."
Ning Huaizhi's face turned very ugly after hearing Jiang Yuwei's words. Of course, he could see that Chen Guixiang was acting strangely. He knew that Jiang Yuwei was not lying to him. After all, Chen Guixiang's methods had been used on him since he was a child. Because he was the first wife, he was not favored, and his wife and children also suffered humiliation as a result.
He never expected that Chen Guixiang would actually drive the two children's biological mother to her death. He was the one who had harmed her. He shouldn't have listened to Chen Guixiang and married her. He never thought that it would cost her her life.
Looking at Jiang Yuwei, who appeared calm and collected, Ning Huaizhi felt a wave of fear wash over him. If he hadn't survived the battlefield, and if Jiang Yuwei had also been a soft-tempered and timid woman, would she have been driven to her death by Chen Guixiang? He dared not think any further.
Ning Huaizhi grabbed Jiang Yuwei's hand and said with red eyes:
"Wife, thank goodness for you, no, thank goodness for you. Don't worry, I will always stand by your side from now on."
Jiang Yuwei looked at Ning Huaizhi, smiled, and nodded, saying:
"I hope you will remember what you said today."
Jingli Academy
Ning Zhao and Ning Chen introduced the Yuwei paper to their close classmates. Everyone saw that the paper was of very high quality and the price was very reasonable, so they all contributed money to buy some. The paper that Ning Zhao brought to the academy was quickly sold out, with only a few rolls left. He planned to keep them for Ning Chen to use for their daily homework.
"Hey, isn't this Ning Zhao, the one who sells paper everywhere? Did you come to the academy to study or to do business?"
A lean scholar blocked Ning Zhao's path and stared at him disdainfully.
Ning Zhao frowned:
"If you want to buy Yuwei paper, we're out of stock now. Maybe next time. I have to go now!"
At this moment, a slightly chubby boy jumped out and shoved Ning Zhao to the ground. Young Master Ge, who had been shielded behind the chubby boy, stepped forward, stomped on Ning Zhao's face, and raised an eyebrow with a smile:
"What? I heard you're selling paper? You dare to bring things made by you country bumpkins to our Jingli Academy to sell?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com