Zhang Tianhe quickly stuffed the steamed bun in his mouth into Xiaoyun's mouth, then picked up his shoes and ran into the yard, where he bit his finger and pressed his fingerprint on the document that Jiang Yuwei handed him.
Aunt Zhang also came out to thank Jiang Yuwei:
"Yuwei, I really don't know how to thank you."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"Aunt Zhang, if you have time, why don't you come and work today? We need to find a few day laborers to rush a batch of new products. The pay is thirty coins a day. Is that alright with you?"
When Aunt Zhang heard that Jiang Yuwei wanted her to work as well, she happily nodded repeatedly.
Seeing that everything was settled, Jiang Yuwei didn't linger at Aunt Zhang's house. She went straight back to her own courtyard, found Tiezhu and Ningwu, and gave them instructions:
"Tiezhu, you'll come with me to the shop in town today. Ningwu, you'll stay home and take charge of the paper mill. Daya, remember to cook for them on time, and teach Aunt Zhang and Aunt Zhou how to make rubbings. When Liu arrives, she'll be in charge of binding the books."
After receiving their instructions, everyone went about their business. Jiang Yuwei called out to the side room:
"Silly boy, let's go, I'll take you to town to buy some good food!"
The door to the side room opened immediately, and the idiot slid in and rushed in front of Jiang Yuwei.
"Let's go."
The fool looked at Jiang Yuwei and said impatiently.
Jiang Yuwei smiled helplessly and was about to drive the oxcart when the fool jumped on first and said:
"You're too slow to catch the train, let me take it!"
Jiang Yuwei didn't know that a fool could drive an oxcart, so she nodded and got on the cart with Tiezhu.
Jiang Yuwei first directed the simpleton to drive the oxcart to the foot of the mountain, where she dug up the few flowers she had her eye on. Then she cut down some bamboo and found some large leaves to load all of them onto the cart.
The group then hurried towards Ping'an Town.
When they were halfway there, the oxcart suddenly stopped. Jiang Yuwei frowned:
"You still complain that I'm too slow? When you drive, even the oxen won't move. Fine, fine, I'll drive!"
The fool raised his hand to signal Jiang Yuwei to be quiet, and then the ox let out a low moo.
The fool immediately got off the oxcart, circled it once, and then looked at the ox's right front hoof. Suddenly, the fool also mooed at the ox.
Jiang Yuwei was shocked. This idiot's cries were exactly the same as a cow's moo. Was his learning ability that strong that he could even talk to a cow?
Upon hearing the ox's response, the fool lowered his head to lift the ox's hoof, much to Jiang Yuwei's astonishment:
"Fool, what are you doing? Don't overturn the oxcart! Hey, don't, don't let the ox kick you."
To everyone's surprise, the cow obediently raised its right hoof for the fool to examine. The fool simply sat down and removed a sharp pebble stuck in the cow's hoof, then handed it to Jiang Yuwei and said calmly:
“The cow said this pebble was making it hard to walk, so it’s fine now that it’s out.”
Jiang Yuwei and Tie Zhu exchanged a glance, then asked in shock:
"Wait! Can you understand cows?"
The fool nodded, threw the stone in his hand far away, then got on the oxcart and drove it on its way.
Looking at the fool's nonchalant demeanor, Jiang Yuwei murmured to herself:
"Does this fool know how to control animals? No wonder he likes that puppy so much..."
It has to be said that the oxcart driven by the fool was fast. The group soon arrived at the shop. The fool and Tiezhu carried things to the backyard, while Jiang Yuwei dug holes in front to prepare to plant flowers.
Just as everyone was busy, a familiar voice rang out behind Jiang Yuwei:
"My good daughter, you've really made something of yourself! You even own a shop in Ping'an Town now!"
Jiang Yuwei gripped the shovel tightly, frowned, and turned to look at Old Man Jiang, who was wearing patched clothes and standing with his hands on his hips, examining his shop.
What brings you here?
Old Man Jiang chuckled at Jiang Yuwei:
"Hehe, my daughter is opening a shop, so as her father, I definitely have to come and oversee it for you. Don't be silly and let your in-laws swindle all the money you've worked so hard to earn. By the way, if you have any spare money, give it to your father. It's safest to keep it for you."
Jiang Yuwei raised an eyebrow, glanced at Old Man Jiang, and sneered:
"You've got a good plan, but if I were foolish enough to hand over my money to you for safekeeping, it wouldn't be foolproof; I'd probably lose everything!"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Jiang looked at Jiang Yuwei with displeasure:
"Tsk, how can you say that about your father? It's fine if you don't let me keep the money, but have you found a good manager for this shop? Anyway, we've sold all our land, and I have nothing to do in Jiangzhuang. Why don't I just stay here and be your manager? After all, it's our family business, and we'll feel more at ease if our own people are there to look after it."
As he spoke, Old Man Jiang was about to step into the shop.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yuwei coldly shouted:
"Stop! Take your foot back! Tell me, what exactly do you want today?"
Old Man Jiang was startled by Jiang Yuwei's shout. When he came to his senses, he wanted to curse Jiang Yuwei, but then he remembered Ning Huaizhi's fierce face. He quickly peeked into the shop to see if Ning Huaizhi had come today.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei spoke calmly:
"Speak quickly if you have something to say, my patience is limited!"
Old Jiang withdrew from his position, then reached out and tugged at his wrinkled, patched clothes, saying sheepishly:
"It's nothing urgent, I'm just a little short on cash and wanted to ask you for some money."
Jiang Yuwei looked coldly at the old man Jiang and said:
“You can’t get any money from me. I made it very clear that day in Ningjia Village that I was sold to the Ning family to pay off a debt, so I’m no longer a member of your Jiang family.”
Old Man Jiang glared and roared:
"But you still have the surname Jiang, and my blood flows in your veins. You are my child, so you have to give me money and support me!"
Jiang Yuwei glanced at him indifferently, then lowered her head to tend to her flowers and plants, and spoke softly:
“I don’t have to be surnamed Jiang, and I don’t have to be your child.”
Old Man Jiang was so angry at her words that his liver ached, and he pointed at her and cursed:
"Pah! You'll be my child until you die. How come you've become a completely different person after marrying into Ningjia Village? Who taught you to say such things?"
"I don't need anyone else to teach me. You are my best role model. I've learned by being around you for so long."
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she threw the shovel in her hand to the ground, stood up abruptly, put her hands on her hips, and cursed:
"Don't forget you have a daughter named Jiang Yaoyao. From childhood to adulthood, all the good things have been hers, and all the bad things have been mine! Now that you're broke, why don't you ask her for money? You sold her to a brothel for a good price. Now Jiang Yaoyao is the top courtesan. Do you know she can sell for a hundred taels of silver a night?"
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