Jiang Yuwei rushed back to the house to check on Ning Zhao after receiving the family division document. At this time, Ning Zhao was curled up in pain on the kang, her face as pale as paper, and beads of sweat on her forehead.
Seeing her brother so badly injured, Ning Wan silently stayed by Ning Zhao's side, holding Ning Zhao's hand and wiping away her tears.
Looking at the scene before her, Jiang Yuwei felt a lump in her throat and gently stroked Ning Wan's head, saying softly:
"Wan'er, be good. Your brother is fine. You go to sleep first. Tomorrow, Mom is going to see our new house. You stay home to take care of your brother and your father, okay?"
With tears in her eyes, Ning Wan nodded obediently to Jiang Yuwei, then glanced at Ning Zhao one last time before lying down on the kang (heated brick bed) to sleep.
Ning Huaizhi said to Jiang Yuwei in a hoarse voice:
"Yuwei, it's all my fault. I've dragged you all down. I..."
As Jiang Yuwei used a handkerchief soaked in spiritual spring water to wipe Ning Zhao's body, she whispered:
"Stop talking. I'm already satisfied with getting the family division document. From now on, we'll have to rely on ourselves. You're the father of two children, and I won't abandon you. I don't want to see a grown man like you complaining all day long. You need to get better and pull yourself together. You go to sleep first, and I'll stay with Ning Zhao for a while."
Seeing that Jiang Yuwei said this, Ning Huaizhi didn't know what else to say, but silently remembered her kindness in his heart.
Jiang Yuwei stayed up until midnight, constantly wiping Ning Zhao's body with spiritual spring water. Seeing that Ning Zhao did not have a fever, she was relieved. She fed him some spiritual spring water, and seeing that he was no longer curled up in pain, she went to sleep peacefully.
The next morning
As soon as Jiang Yuwei opened her eyes, she quickly tidied up, changed Ning Zhao's dressing, helped Ning Huai go to the toilet, served them breakfast, and then went to find the village head to show her the small house at the east end of the village. The village head called his wife and daughter, who came along with some cleaning tools.
After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the house at the foot of the mountain at the east end of the village. Behind the house were two acres of barren land. Looking at the land in front of her, Jiang Yuwei finally understood why Chen Guixiang had so readily agreed to give her these two acres of land. It was because the land was far from the village and had been abandoned for many years, making cultivation difficult, which was why Chen Guixiang was willing to share it with her.
The village head looked at the ground and shook his head helplessly.
The village head's wife, Aunt Ning, said with a look of indignation:
"Old woman Chen is trying to kill your family. You, a woman, have been given such barren land. Spring planting is almost over, and you have to start cultivating it all over again. How can you manage to farm it all by yourself?"
Jiang Yuwei said with a smile:
"It's alright, it's already a great thing that we were able to escape from that man-eating den of monsters."
The village head could only sigh helplessly:
"Today, I'll have your Aunt Ning and Ning Qiu help you tidy up the house a bit so you'll have a place to sleep. You can stay here for now. If you want to build a courtyard wall in a few days, come find me, and I'll assign someone else to help you. Also, the roof needs repairs."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded, saying:
"Thank you very much, village head. I'll have to trouble Aunt Ning and Ning Qiu today. Let's tidy up first, and I'll do a major renovation on this house once I've saved up some money. Right now, there's only one small room, and it's a bit cramped for everyone, so we'll just have to make do for now."
The village head waved his hand and said:
"No need to thank me. You are a woman taking care of the whole family, so it's naturally difficult. We villagers will help out as much as we can."
As they were talking, the village head went back to the village to attend to his own business. Aunt Ning and Ning Qiu didn't sit idle either and immediately started helping to clean the dust and cobwebs off the walls and the kang (a heated brick bed). Jiang Yuwei went to the pond next to the field to fetch some water for sweeping. The three of them worked all day to get the basics sorted out.
Jiang Yuwei smiled shyly at Aunt Ning:
"The house has only just been cleaned up and is not yet ready to be used for cooking, so I cannot invite you two to stay for a meal. I will come to thank you in person once I have finished my work for the next few days."
Aunt Ning laughed heartily and said:
“We are all women, and we know how hard it is for you. You don’t need to be like this. Now that you’ve married into Ningjia Village, we’ll inevitably visit each other often in the future, so there’s no need to rush.”
Jiang Yuwei was extremely grateful that Aunt Ning's family, even though they were strangers, had taken such good care of her. Now, compared to them, the Ning family seemed even more heartless and ungrateful.
Ning Qiu looked back at the small house and still felt it was a bit cramped for living, so she said:
"Sister Jiang, look, this house doesn't even have a stove. How will you cook after you move in? Why don't you ask my dad to find someone to build a stove for you tomorrow?"
Jiang Yuwei quickly waved her hand and said:
“My family has already troubled the villagers enough with our affairs. I can handle these small things myself. I’ll go find some suitable materials and come back to build the stove tomorrow. Aunt Ning, you should go back first.”
After seeing Aunt Ning off, Jiang Yuwei looked at the small, dilapidated house in front of her. Although it was run-down, at least it was her own house, and she wouldn't have to live a life of dependence on others anymore.
With this in mind, Jiang Yuwei was full of energy. She went to the wasteland behind the house, dug up a lot of soil, found a lot of withered grass, and some square stones.
They moved all these things to the front of the house. There used to be a small stove in the house, but it had collapsed after a long period of disuse. The stove was connected to the kang (heated brick bed), so the house would be warmer when the fire was lit.
Jiang Yuwei first smashed and cleaned up the remaining stove, then mixed yellow mud with water and dry straw to patch up the cracks and collapsed areas on the kang (a heated brick bed), before she felt at ease and returned to the Ning family.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei entered the room, she saw Madam Sun twisting Ning Wan's ear and screaming:
"You shameless hussy, you've got some nerve, daring to steal eggs now. I'll beat you to death, you're just as annoying as your jinxed mother who just came into the house."
Seeing Ning Wan being dragged out of the kitchen by Sun Shi by the ear, Jiang Yuwei rushed forward, pulled Sun Shi away, and hugged Ning Wan tightly, glaring at Sun Shi angrily:
"You're going to torture such a young child? Do you have any humanity left?"
Sun snorted indifferently:
"Hmph, get this straight, we've already separated the family, why are your family still stubbornly refusing to leave? Your bastard daughter is also very wicked, she even dared to steal things from the kitchen."
Ning Wan tugged at Jiang Yuwei's clothes, her face flushed, and quickly shook her head, whispering:
"Mother...don't steal, brother...brother is hungry."
Jiang Yuwei was both surprised and delighted to see Ning Wan speak. Ignoring the clamoring Sun Shi beside her, she carried Ning Wan into the house and excitedly called out to Ning Huaizhi:
"She just called me 'Mother,' Wan'er has spoken! Our Wan'er isn't mute, she can talk!"
Seeing Jiang Yuwei's joyful face, Ning Huaizhi couldn't help but smile as well. This was the first time he had seen Jiang Yuwei smile so happily, and he was naturally moved by her emotions, saying:
"Wan'er is very good, thank you Yuwei."
Jiang Yuwei put Wan'er down, then looked at Ning Zhao, who was still lying down, and smiled:
"No need to thank me. Is Zhao'er feeling better?"
Ning Zhao opened her eyes at this moment, and smiled weakly at Jiang Yuwei, saying:
"Mom, I'm much better now, you don't need to worry about me."
Jiang Yuwei first fed Ning Zhao some spiritual spring water, then wiped his body and changed his medicine before taking out the cherry tomatoes and roasted corn from her basket. She had long anticipated that the Ning family had already separated and would no longer leave food for the eldest branch of the family.
Just then, the vegetable and corn seeds she had bought at the market had all borne fruit. Jiang Yuwei also discovered that crops that normally take several seasons to harvest could bear fruit in just a few days by irrigating the fertile fields in her space with spiritual spring water. This was just what she needed to solve her family's immediate crisis.
Ning Huaizhi looked at the roasted corn in Jiang Yuwei's hand and murmured:
"Where did you get this corn from this season, Yuwei...?"
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei waved her hand impatiently and said:
"Just eat, I won't hurt you."
Then he said to Ning Zhao and Ning Wan:
"You must never tell outsiders what we eat at home, understand?"
The two children didn't ask why, they just nodded obediently. They only knew that their mother wouldn't harm them or let them go hungry.
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