Upon hearing this, Ning Chunlin knew he could no longer hide it, so he knelt down before Ning Huaizhi, grabbed him, and sobbed:
"Brother, please let me go, you little pig! I sold myself to town to pay off my gambling debts. I had no other choice. If I didn't pay them off today, they would come to our house demanding money. I... I don't dare let them come. You know the kind of people they are; they'll make our family's life miserable. I... I really had no other choice, so I had some wicked thoughts..."
Chen Guixiang, who was still sitting on the ground clutching her tailbone, widened her eyes and cursed upon hearing Ning Chunlin's words:
"You spendthrift son! Didn't I tell you not to gamble? You're going to squander our family fortune! I'm so guilty! How could I have given birth to such an unfilial son? Your older brother is a good-for-nothing who only knows how to listen to his wife. I might as well just die."
As Chen Guixiang spoke, she began banging her head against the ground repeatedly. Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei rushed forward and grabbed her by the collar. She was determined not to try to clear Ning Chunlin's name with such unreasonable behavior.
Jiang Yuwei looked coldly at Chen Guixiang and said:
"Mother-in-law, if you're going to die, wait a bit. Let's finish this first!"
Seeing that this trick was ineffective against Jiang Yuwei, Chen Guixiang could only sit on the ground, listlessly watching her good-for-nothing second son as Jiang Yuwei grabbed her by the collar.
Ning Huaizhi didn't want his family to be laughed at by the villagers, so he shook off Ning Chunlin's hand and said:
“You’re a grown man, and you’re brave enough to take responsibility for your actions. I’ve told you long ago that you’re not allowed to gamble anymore, but you’ve never learned your lesson. I can’t let you off the hook this time for stealing the pig. I can refuse to take you to the authorities, but you must return the money for the piglets to our family. If this happens again, I will personally take you to the authorities!”
Upon hearing that he wouldn't be taken to see the official, Ning Chunlin was overjoyed. He hastily wiped the snot and tears from his face and continued:
"Brother, let's just let it go this time. I really don't have the money. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done something like this!"
Jiang Yuwei found Ning Chunlin's pretentious act laughable; such an explanation could only fool Ning Huaizhi. So she spoke up:
“Now that we’ve separated, don’t even think about taking advantage of us. I bought this piglet for 100 coins. Since you don’t have the money, go up the mountain and peel paper mulberry bark to pay off your debt. A pound of dried paper mulberry bark is worth four coins, and a pound of wet paper mulberry bark is worth three coins. I’ll give you three days to get 100 coins worth of paper mulberry bark and deliver it to our house, and then this matter will be over!”
Upon hearing this, Ning Chunlin frowned and said:
"How could I possibly collect that much paper mulberry bark in three days? You're trying to kill me with exhaustion!"
Looking at his shameless demeanor, Jiang Yuwei said in a deep voice:
“I don’t care how much we can get, or whether we can get any at all. I only know that if I don’t see enough paper mulberry bark in three days, then we’ll go to the government and discuss this matter. All the villagers here today can be my witnesses!”
Upon hearing this, Ning Chunlin immediately lost his temper, hanging his head and muttering to himself:
"I understand, I'll figure something out."
Once the matter was resolved, Jiang Yuwei pushed Ning Huaizhi's wheelchair and led everyone away. The village head and the others also went back to their own fields to work.
Jiang Yuwei smiled as she looked at Ning Huaizhi's serious expression:
"Do you think my approach just now was too inhumane?"
Ning Huaizhi snapped out of his reverie and shook his head:
“Chunlin’s habit of stealing cannot be tolerated. He dares to steal from our house now just to gamble. He will definitely cause trouble for the family when he goes out in the future. I’m afraid that my parents will not be able to enjoy their old age in peace if they live with Chunlin.”
Upon hearing Ning Huaizhi's words, Jiang Yuwei's heart tightened, and her hand pushing the wheelchair involuntarily clenched tighter.
"You...you want to bring your parents to live with us?"
Ning Huaizhi spoke with a grave expression:
"No matter what, they are still my parents..."
Jiang Yuwei interrupted him before he could finish speaking:
"Don't even think about it! Have you forgotten how your so-called parents treated you and Ning Zhao on the day the family split up? Have you forgotten how they mistreated the two children while you were gone? If you want to live with them, I won't stop you, but don't even think about dragging the three of us back into that hellhole!"
Ning Huaizhi had never seen Jiang Yuwei so emotional before, so he quickly took her hand and comforted her:
"Yuwei, that's not what I meant. I know, I know how much you and the two children have suffered at the Ning family's house. I know all of that. I just want to help Chunlin get rid of his gambling addiction so that I can feel more at ease knowing that his parents are with his second son's family in the future!"
Jiang Yuwei felt that she couldn't understand Ning Huaizhi anymore. He himself had suffered so much humiliation in the Ning family, so why was he now thinking of helping that family of bastards? Was this what blood ties were all about?
Jiang Yuwei felt ridiculous. She had poured her heart and soul into managing this family, but in the end, she was still an outsider. The more Jiang Yuwei thought about it, the colder she felt. She left Ning Huaizhi behind and went back to her courtyard.
When Ning Zhao and Ning Wan saw Jiang Yuwei return looking lost and dejected, they quickly went out to greet her and asked with concern:
"Mother, how is it? Have you caught the pig thief?"
Jiang Yuwei nodded blankly, looked at the two well-behaved children, and pulled them into her arms:
"Zhao'er, Wan'er, if one day your father and I are separated, would you two be willing to come with me?"
Ning Zhao had a bad feeling and looked at Jiang Yuwei with concern, asking:
"Mother, what happened? Where is Father? Why didn't he come back with you?"
Ning Wan also held Jiang Yuwei's hand and said coquettishly:
"Mother, Wan'er doesn't want to be separated from you, nor does she want to be separated from Father."
Seeing Jiang Yuwei's red eyes and tears streaming down her cheeks, Ning Zhao quickly used her sleeve to wipe away Jiang Yuwei's tears.
"Mother, don't cry, did my father make you angry?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and shook her head:
"It's nothing, Mother. I was just asking casually. I'm fine, don't worry. Your father is behind us. You two go out and greet him."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei let go of the two children and went into the house alone. Her mind was in turmoil. She didn't know what to do. Should she try to poison Ning Huaizhi, divorce him, or secretly run away with the two children and leave Ningjia Village forever?
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