Old Jiang struggled to climb up, and as soon as he looked up, he saw Ning Huaizhi at the courtyard gate. He frowned and said:
"How come this son-in-law is a cripple?"
Hearing what Old Man Jiang said, Ning Zhao angrily replied:
"I don't like talking about my dad like that! Humph!"
After saying that, he picked up the ladder from the pit and went into his own yard without looking back.
Jiang Yaoyao turned around and glared at her father, then whispered:
"Father, don't forget why we're here today. If you offend the son-in-law before you even enter the house, you can forget about everything else."
Old Jiang then realized he had talked too much, so he quickly spat on the ground a few times, put on a smiling face, and limped into the yard, dragging his injured leg.
"You must be my son-in-law. Where's my daughter? Why aren't you coming out to greet me and her mother?"
Seeing that his father-in-law had just looked at him with disdain, but now had a smiling face, Ning Huaizhi felt helpless.
"You must be my father-in-law. Yuwei went up the mountain to collect firewood early this morning and hasn't come back yet. Let's go inside."
Jiang Yaoyao pulled Li Cuihua along behind, her eyes occasionally stealing glances at Ning Huaizhi.
As soon as everyone entered the courtyard, Ning Huaizhi said to Ning Zhao:
"Zhao'er, go and get the herbal tea your mother made."
Ning Zhao reluctantly went into the kitchen to get some herbal tea.
Once inside the courtyard, Li Cuihua's sly eyes darted around, taking in the impressive sight of the grand courtyard. She wondered which family in the surrounding villages could afford such a large courtyard, let alone a brick and tile house.
Old Man Jiang went straight into the house as soon as he entered the courtyard. Upon entering the kitchen, he saw meat hanging from the rafters, and his eyes lit up. His family hadn't had any meat for months, and now his eldest daughter's family had more meat than they could eat. Old Man Jiang muttered to himself:
"That wretched daughter of mine, she really is like water spilled out after marriage. She doesn't even think about me when there's meat to eat at home."
He then found a stool, stepped on it, and took the meat drying on the roof beam.
Seeing this, Ning Zhao quickly shouted:
"What are you doing? This is meat my mother dried. Don't touch it."
Seeing that the child dared to obstruct him, Old Man Jiang shoved Ning Zhao to the ground and glared at him fiercely, saying:
“Your mother is my daughter, so it’s only right that she takes care of me. Even if I eat two pieces of her meat, it would be perfectly reasonable for her to bring me to live in this courtyard.”
Ning Huaizhi frowned as he watched everything unfolding in the kitchen. He was about to explode in anger, but then he remembered that these were Jiang Yuwei's family members, so he suppressed his rage and said to Ning Zhao:
"Zhao'er, get up by yourself and go inside. Don't concern yourself with the adults' affairs."
Seeing that Ning Huaizhi was staring intently at him, Old Man Jiang quickly smiled ingratiatingly and said:
“My son-in-law is so polite. Old woman, since our eldest daughter isn’t home, let’s wait for her to come back. I was so busy coming to see her this morning that I didn’t even have time to eat. I’m quite hungry now. Go and cook this meat.”
Seeing the meat in Old Man Jiang's hand, Li Cuihua had been drooling with envy. Hearing this, she quickly took the meat and began rummaging through the kitchen cabinets to start cooking.
Jiang Yaoyao blushed a little when she saw her parents' unworldly appearance. Then she saw Ning Huaizhi's sullen face and his silence, and she felt resentful again. If she had known that Jiang Yuwei would live such a good life after marrying into the family, she would have preferred to kill Jiang Yuwei and marry in her place. Now she could be married to such a handsome brother-in-law.
Thinking this, Jiang Yaoyao felt a little sorry for Ning Huaizhi's crippled legs. If they could be healed in the future, he would be a husband who would be one in a million.
As Jiang Yaoyao was lost in thought, Xu Qianqian, dressed in a pink jacket, swayed into the courtyard. Ignoring everyone else, she immediately squatted down beside Ning Huaizhi, looking at him pitifully.
"Brother Huaizhi, did you manage to get what I asked you for yesterday?"
Looking at Xu Qianqian's pitiful eyes, Ning Huaizhi immediately recalled what Jiang Yuwei had told him yesterday. Was Qianqian feigning helplessness in front of him? Ning Huaizhi thought for a moment and then said:
"Qianqian, I told your sister-in-law about this yesterday. She said that we don't need any extra hands right now, so we can't take you to the market."
Xu Qianqian's face immediately turned cold upon hearing this:
“If you don’t need more people, then don’t bring Ning Qiu along. After all, she’s the village head’s daughter, so it doesn’t matter whether she gets paid or not. But I’m different. I… I really need this money.”
Ning Huaizhi gave Xu Qianqian a complicated look:
"Qianqian, you can't say that. When your sister-in-law first started setting up her stall, she was very grateful for Ning Qiu's help. How can you just say you don't need her anymore? You have to have a conscience."
Jiang Yaoyao, who was standing to the side, was already unhappy to see Xu Qianqian squatting in front of her brother-in-law like this. Seeing that Ning Huaizhi seemed somewhat displeased, she quickly stepped forward and interjected:
"That's right, my brother-in-law is the most reasonable one. How could my sister do such a despicable thing for a woman like you?"
Xu Qianqian noticed Jiang Yaoyao standing to the side at this moment, glanced at her sideways, and then stood up and said:
"Are you your sister-in-law's younger sister?"
Jiang Yaoyao, not to be outdone, stepped forward and stared at Xu Qianqian, saying:
“Of course, my sister doesn’t even take me, her own sister, with her when she goes to the market to earn money, so why would she take a woman like you who doesn’t live a virtuous life with her? Wouldn’t that be like inviting a wolf into the house?”
Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was a bit awkward, Ning Huaizhi quickly spoke up:
"Qianqian, your sister-in-law's family is here today, and things are too busy at home, so you should go back first."
Xu Qianqian felt sad when she saw that Ning Huaizhi wanted to send her away. She secretly hoped to discuss it with Jiang Yuwei when she returned, and even if she received less pay, she would still be willing to go to the market. Thinking this, she gave Ning Huaizhi a gentle smile.
“Brother Huaizhi, I’m not an outsider. My sister-in-law’s family has come, so of course I have to stay and help. There’s no reason for me to leave now.”
"Hey, I don't know if you want to stay and help out, or if you want to stay and seduce people."
Jiang Yaoyao was a little angry when she saw Xu Qianqian's feigned gentleness. Seeing that her brother-in-law couldn't get rid of her no matter what he said, she said irritably.
Seeing that Jiang Yaoyao made no attempt to hide her disgust for her in front of Ning Huaizhi, Xu Qianqian turned her gaze and squatted down again, directly burying her face in Ning Huaizhi's lap and sobbing softly.
Seeing this, Ning Huaizhi hurriedly said:
"Qianqian, what are you doing? Get up quickly and stop crying."
Jiang Yaoyao really didn't expect Xu Qianqian to be such a shameless woman, so she directly said:
"Brother-in-law, my sister wasn't home, and you did such a disgusting thing with this woman! If we hadn't been here today, I really can't imagine what you would have done..."
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