She hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the door of Old Lady Lu's house. Everyone's eyes immediately focused on Jiang Ling, and they all froze on the spot.
The village chief was the first to react. He jogged over to Jiang Ling, bowing and scraping politely, and said, "Mrs. An..."
Everyone seemed to wake up from a dream, and they all called out to Jiang Ling, "Madam An."
Jiang Ling was speechless. At this moment, she really didn't want to put on airs. She just wanted to get along with the people of Lujia Village, except for a few unruly individuals.
Jiang Ling coughed lightly and said to the village chief, "No need to be so polite, village chief. Just treat me as the Jiang family from before. What are you up to now?"
As she spoke, Jiang Ling deliberately pointed with her nose at Old Lady Lu, who was still throwing a tantrum.
"This..." The village chief was, after all, a man. Although he was of grandfatherly age, there was still a need for men and women to keep their distance since ancient times. After hesitating for a moment, he finally looked at Granny Cao next to him and said, "Sister Cao, you should tell me about this. It's inconvenient for me, a man, to do this!"
Granny Cao was usually good-tempered, but she was clearly quite angry at Granny Lu. Her face was pale and her lips were trembling as she said to Jiang Ling, "Jiang, although I am from outside your Lu Family Village, I have taken in hundreds or even thousands of children in Lu Family Village over the years, and they are all alive and well!"
Listening to Granny Cao's words, Jiang Ling fell into deep thought. The original owner had been married into Lu Family Village for about seven years, and it seemed that Granny Cao had delivered both Suihe and Wenxi. Although she didn't know about what had happened before, judging from Granny Cao's eyes, she guessed that Granny Cao was not lying.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling nodded and looked at Granny Cao, saying, "Granny Cao, please continue. What exactly happened?"
"In principle, you should give the midwife a red envelope when she gives birth. I, this old woman, never set a price. I'll accept a copper coin or a silver ingot from the employer, after all, it's a joyous occasion of the addition of a new member to the family! But today I've seen something I don't understand. This woman insists that I cut off her daughter-in-law's private parts, which is unlucky, and refuses to give me a red envelope no matter what. She won't even give me a cup of water!" Old woman Cao became angrier and angrier as she spoke, and her face grew paler and paler.
Jiang Ling knew that Granny Cao wasn't greedy for money. Every profession has its rules, and anyone would feel uncomfortable if those rules were broken. Jiang Ling was worried that Granny Cao would get sick from anger, so she quickly comforted her, saying, "Granny Cao, I know you're a good person. Don't get yourself sick in this hot weather."
Jiang Ling turned to Jiang Yaojie and gave him a look. Jiang Yaojie put his hand on Granny Cao's arm and said, "Granny, don't be angry. Come to my house and sit for a while. Leave this to my mother; she will handle it!"
Jiang Ling was, after all, the title "Lady An" bestowed by the Emperor, and in the eyes of these people, she naturally possessed official authority and credibility. Granny Cao rubbed her aching temples and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Then...then this old woman will trouble Lady An!"
As he spoke, he gave a fierce glare to Old Lady Lu, who was still standing there chattering away.
"Village chief, what do you think we should do about this?" Jiang Ling asked as soon as Granny Cao left.
The village chief stroked his chin, looking somewhat embarrassed, and glanced at Old Lady Lu beside him, saying, "Sister-in-law! How could you be so confused? You have to pay this money! You can't break their rules!"
"Pah! Give it to me? Why should I give it to you? That old man cut my daughter-in-law's private parts open, how can he give her anything? If he had damaged her, how would my daughter-in-law have given birth? I haven't even asked him for money yet, that's already giving him face!" Upon hearing the village chief's words, Old Lady Lu immediately glared at him, put her hands on her hips, and launched into a tirade against him.
The village chief was genuinely afraid of this unreasonable old woman. If it were any of the other able-bodied men in the village, he could scold or reprimand them, but faced with Old Lady Lu's relentless barrage of words, the village chief could only suppress his anger and then turn his gaze to Jiang Ling, who was standing to the side.
Jiang Ling nodded in understanding and walked up to the village chief. She looked down at Old Lady Lu with the air of a high-ranking lady and said to Old Lady Lu, "Don't be so quick to judge. If it weren't for Granny Cao, your daughter-in-law would have died along with her unborn child long ago! And you'd still be holding your grandson?"
Jiang Ling's imposing aura made Old Lady Lu tremble all over. Recalling the changes in Jiang Ling over the past few months, she couldn't help but tremble and uncontrollably took half a step back.
The scene of Jiang Ling slapping her face before appeared in her mind like a nightmare. Now she was no longer the same person she used to be. She was a lady with an official position. If she wanted to deal with her, it would be easier than crushing an ant.
Even though Old Lady Lu was a bit of a rascal, she could still figure things out on her own. She looked at Jiang Ling with some fear and finally shut her noisy mouth.
"Money!" Jiang Ling stretched her hand out right under Old Lady Lu's eyes and uttered a single word.
Although Old Lady Lu was angry, she was still intimidated. She carefully pulled a few copper coins from her bosom and threw them into Jiang Ling's hand, glaring at Jiang Ling resentfully.
Jiang Ling ignored Old Lady Lu, took the money, and turned to leave.
Granny Cao glanced at the copper coin in Jiang Ling's hand, then thanked Jiang Ling profusely again. Granny Cao sighed helplessly and said to Jiang Ling, "Peace..."
“Mother-in-law, you can call me Jiang Shi or Yao Jie’s mother, we don’t need to be so polite!” Jiang Ling said quickly when she saw that Granny Cao wanted to be polite.
"Oh, dear Yaojie's mother, you know, I'm an outsider who fled famine. If it weren't for the village chief's kindness in taking me in back then, I'd probably be dead by now. But... Yaojie's mother, you know, there are rules for gossipy women like me. If I break those rules, I'm afraid I'll go to the eighteenth level of hell!" As she spoke, tears welled up in Cao's cloudy eyes.
Jiang Ling knew that Granny Cao was indeed wronged. She patted Granny Cao's back and gently comforted her, "Granny Cao, I know you're wronged, and I understand. Every family has its rules, and every profession has its regulations. No one should break any of the rules. Please don't take this to heart!"
"Everyone acknowledges your delivery skills, including Old Lady Lu. Otherwise, why would she have asked you to deliver her baby? Widow Wang's case was an accident; the baby was breech, and if you hadn't made the decision, who knows what might have happened!"
Listening to Jiang Ling's comforting words, Granny Cao's mood gradually improved. She looked at Jiang Ling with some curiosity and asked, "Yaojie's mother, where did you learn about this method? I've been delivering babies for so many years and I've never heard of such a method before."
Granny Cao's sudden question startled Jiang Ling. She stammered, "Oh, this? My maternal grandmother's ancestors were a family of doctors. This is their family's unique method, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it, Granny!"
"Oh? Is that so? No wonder you know so much! Alright, alright, it's getting late, I won't bother you any longer! I'm leaving now!" With that, Granny Cao left Jiang Ling's house with faltering steps.
Watching Granny Cao's departing figure, Jiang Ling suddenly felt a surge of panic.
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