"What?! You're saying Yao Yao can earn a hundred taels in one night? She never told me anything like that. She... she only said you opened a shop on North Street and asked me to come to you to collect the money..."
Old Man Jiang stared wide-eyed at Jiang Yuwei in disbelief.
Jiang Yuwei snorted coldly:
"Now do you understand? Your daughter, whom you pampered and raised with all your love, doesn't dare to say a word to you when she earns money, yet you shamelessly come to me asking for money. Not only am I not as rich as her, but even if I were, I wouldn't give you a single penny. You know perfectly well how you've treated me and Jiang Yaoyao differently since we were little! Put your hand on your heart and ask yourself, what face do you have to ask me for money?"
Old Man Jiang was so frightened by Jiang Yuwei's fierce aura that he retreated repeatedly, waving his hands and stammering:
"But, but I can't find Yao Yao lately. She's always avoiding me. If I knew she had so much money, I would definitely make her hand it all over. Otherwise, wouldn't it just benefit the madam if it stayed in that brothel?"
Jiang Yuwei looked at Old Man Jiang and nodded:
"What you said is true. You must keep all of Jiang Yaoyao's money in your hands and not let it fall into the hands of others. Now Jiang Yaoyao has climbed up a high branch."
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she gestured with her chin, indicating to Old Man Jiang that he should look at the Ge family paper shop across the street:
"If she serves that Master Ge well, that shop across the street will all belong to Jiang Yaoyao! Not to mention Master Ge's vast wealth. He is a well-known rich merchant in Ping'an Town. Now that Jiang Yaoyao is with him, she will never have to worry about food or clothing. Look at the tattered clothes you are wearing!"
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she stepped forward and tugged at Old Man Jiang's sleeve. Unexpectedly, with just a little force, she ripped the entire sleeve off. Before Old Man Jiang could react, Jiang Yuwei quickly said:
“Look at you, I’m not trying to be mean, but you, as a father, aren’t even dressed as well as Jiang Yaoyao’s servants. If you go out like this, people will laugh at you and who will laugh at you. If you ask me, if Jiang Yaoyao dares to avoid you, you might as well go to the shop across the street and ask for money. As long as you say you are Miss Jiang’s biological father, the people in that shop will have to give you some face.”
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she looked up at the excited old man Jiang and continued:
"If all else fails, you can just go to the entrance of the Ge residence and wait for Jiang Yaoyao. I've heard that she's often summoned by Master Ge to the Ge residence to keep him company. You're sure to catch her there!"
Old Man Jiang couldn't stay still any longer after hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, and he immediately headed towards the Ge family's paper shop across the street.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei stood with a smile on her face, arms crossed, ready to watch the show. But little did she know that the old man Jiang had only been inside for a short while when he was thrown out by the people inside.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei rushed forward to help the old man up and angrily said:
"You've really lost face! It's all Jiang Yaoyao's fault for keeping it a secret from Master Ge. Now, even the Ge family's servants don't recognize you as Master Ge's future father-in-law! This is simply outrageous!"
Jiang Yuwei glanced at Old Man Jiang, who was spitting angrily at Ge's Paper Mill, and continued speaking:
"If I were you, I would definitely go and talk to Jiang Yaoyao to get to the bottom of this. How can she just sit idly by and watch that Ge family's employee bully her father like that? How can she just sit idly by and enjoy a life of luxury in the Ge family while her own parents stay in Jiang Village and continue to live a life worse than a dog's?"
Upon hearing this, Old Man Jiang's anger intensified. He turned around angrily, forcefully shaking the half of his sleeve that Jiang Yuwei had ripped off, and strode towards the Ge residence, cursing all the while:
"I'm going to find Jiang Yaoyao today and get to the bottom of this, to see if she still acknowledges me as her father!"
Jiang Yuwei watched Old Man Jiang's angry back and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. "Serves you right, Jiang Yaoyao, for being so shameless and insisting on telling Old Man Jiang that you opened a shop on North Street. Now Jiang Yaoyao is probably asking for trouble!"
Seeing that Old Man Jiang had gone far away, Jiang Yuwei returned to her shop to continue tidying up. The fool and Tiezhu worked quickly and soon set up the awning and flower stand in the backyard, and also built the stove before dark.
Finally finished with her work, Jiang Yuwei saw that the simpleton looked unhappy. Suddenly, she remembered that she had tricked him into coming out this morning by saying that she would take him to buy delicious food. So she let the simpleton drive the oxcart to the market, leaving Tiezhu to watch the cart, while Jiang Yuwei took the simpleton to the market to do some serious shopping.
They even let the fool choose his favorite candied fruit and pastries, and only then did a smile appear on the fool's face.
The fool drove the carriage back again, and the three of them soon returned to the courtyard. The fool happily followed Tie Zhu to unload the things from the carriage, while Jiang Yuwei was busy going into the courtyard to see if Ning Huaizhi's rubbings had been carved yet.
Unexpectedly, upon entering the courtyard, Jiang Yuwei saw two uninvited guests, and her face immediately turned cold.
When Ning Huaizhi saw Jiang Yuwei return, he smiled helplessly and beckoned her over.
Chen Guixiang and Ning Yunyun, who were standing in the courtyard, looked at Jiang Yuwei with wary expressions when they saw her return.
Jiang Yuwei, seeing the two of them seemingly talking to Ning Huaizhi again, spoke up unhappily:
What are you doing here?
Chen Guixiang was furious when she heard Jiang Yuwei speak to her like that.
“I am your mother-in-law, Huaizhi’s biological mother. Can’t I come to your courtyard?”
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said calmly:
"Don't come if there's nothing wrong, and don't come if there is something wrong."
Chen Guixiang was speechless after being choked by Jiang Yuwei's words, and could only glare angrily at Jiang Yuwei, pointing and saying repeatedly:
"You, you, you, you...you're driving me crazy!"
Ning Yunyun, who was standing nearby, quietly nudged her mother and whispered a reminder in her ear:
"Mother, don't be angry. We're here today to talk about serious matters."
Reminded by her youngest daughter, Chen Guixiang steadied herself, glared at Jiang Yuwei, and then turned to Ning Huaizhi to ask:
"Huaizhi, Yunyun is your own sister. You can't just use other people and not your own sister, can you? If word gets out, people all over the area will laugh at you."
Seeing this, Ning Yunyun also hurriedly sobbed and said:
"Yes, brother, please help your sister. I've never asked you for anything since I was little. I really have no other choice now. I don't know what's wrong with Xu Ming. He just drinks all day long. When he's drunk, he even dares to hit me and say that I'm useless. He says that my older brother has such a lucrative business but doesn't even know how to help our family."
As Ning Yunyun spoke, she picked up a handkerchief to wipe her tears:
"I still have two children to support, I really have no other choice, brother, please help me! Otherwise, Xu Ming will really beat me to death!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com