After hearing Jiang Suihe's words, the crowd began to whisper among themselves. Jiang Ling glared at Old Lady Lu, who was lying on the ground groaning, and turned to say, "Village Chief, I didn't have any land after I divorced them."
“If I don’t find a small business to do, what will my mother and I eat and drink? What I need is the ‘spicy grass’ from the back mountain. I can’t pick so much by myself, so I thought I’d ask the sisters-in-law of each family to take their children to pick some from the back mountain, and I’ll buy it from them at two copper coins a basket.”
"Who knew that this old woman would suddenly jump out and say that her grandson was injured while picking 'spicy grass' and demand five hundred copper coins from me? Before I could even open my mouth, she tore up my daughter's book!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone gasped in surprise, and the whispers around them grew even louder.
Jiang Ling glanced at the crowd around her and suddenly had an idea. She first bowed to the people around her and said calmly, "Sisters, thank you very much for bringing the spicy grass today. It was my oversight. You don't need to bring spicy grass anymore. If your children get injured, I can't bear the responsibility."
Jiang Ling spoke with a very firm attitude, even exuding an aura that made it impossible for anyone to refuse her.
The surrounding village women all glared fiercely at Old Lady Lu lying on the ground, inwardly cursing her for being so fond of causing trouble.
Zhao Erleng's wife was the first to step forward. She said softly, "Sister-in-law, you're being too polite. My children, Xiaoyu and Shandian, are naturally mischievous, and it's normal for them to bump into each other. Don't worry, even if my children get hurt on the mountain, they won't come to you for money..."
As soon as Zhao Erleng's wife finished speaking, the other village women began to chime in.
"Yaojie's mom, don't worry, my son has thick skin and isn't afraid of getting hurt!"
"That's right, Sister-in-law Jiang, we're not rich kids, it's normal for kids to be naughty! Please don't refuse this spicy herb!"
Jiang Ling knew very well that with a basket of mint a day, some families with many children could earn nearly ten copper coins a day, which would amount to nearly three hundred copper coins a month. Three hundred copper coins could buy a lot of things in the eyes of farmers, and these village women did not want to miss such a good opportunity to make money.
However, Jiang Ling remained silent with a stern face.
"Mother! What are you doing now?"
Just as the atmosphere became somewhat awkward, two figures, one tall and one short, suddenly pushed through the crowd. Lu Youyi hurriedly walked to Old Lady Lu's side, carefully helped her up from the ground, and asked her what was wrong.
When Old Lady Lu saw her family members arrive, she immediately perked up. Covering her swollen cheek, she pointed at Jiang Ling and mumbled, "You little slut! You worthless thing! Youyi, you'd better beat her to death today!"
"Mom! Can you please stop making a scene! Chengyun's arm injury wasn't caused by picking 'spicy grass' at all!" Lu Youyi looked helpless as he watched his mother throw a tantrum.
“Yes, Grandma, didn’t I explain to you before? I fell while playing with Dazhuang on the way down the mountain! My aunt is so kind; she accepted my ‘spicy grass’ and even gave me some copper coins!” Lu Chengyun said, taking out the two copper coins that Jiang Ling had given her earlier from his pocket.
“Village chief, you heard that too, right? This child’s injury has nothing to do with me. It’s not easy for me to run this small business. I finally managed to earn some money to buy a book for the child, and this old man… this old geezer has ruined it like this. What do you say we should do?” Jiang Ling stood there and looked at the village chief.
The village chief was furious with Old Lady Lu. He never expected that in less than a month, the Lu family would cause him trouble several times, and each time it was bigger than the last.
The village chief glanced at Old Lady Lu, whose face was almost swollen like a steamed bun. Due to the clan and family ties, he sighed and said to Jiang Ling, "Jiang, look, someone has been beaten, and beaten quite badly. How about we... call it even?"
Jiang Ling was furious when she heard this. She knew that the village chief was only saying this because of his surname and clan, but this old bastard always bullied her child so brazenly.
This matter must be resolved today. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling raised an eyebrow and looked at the village chief, saying, "Village chief, what do you mean by that? Are we even? Don't you know why I hit her?"
"This..." The village chief was at a loss for words, feeling guilty.
Seeing this, Jiang Ling put her hands on her hips and continued, "She framed me for no reason, extorted five hundred copper coins from me, and even tore up my daughter's books. Before, her son framed me because of the potatoes. Since I divorced her son, I have never gone to his house to make trouble. On the contrary, his family has been aggressive and harassing me again and again."
"Village chief, are you trying to take sides? Or do you mean this matter won't end until I take my four children and hang myself in front of their house?"
Jiang Ling's words left the village chief speechless.
If it weren't for the village chief's special status, he would have really wanted to give Old Lady Lu a good dressing down.
"Village chief, did my Jiang family take credit for the potatoes and water?" Jiang Ling continued to ask.
The village chief didn't know what to say. This was the first time he had felt pressured in front of so many people. What was even more frustrating was that the pressure came from a dark-skinned, thin, and divorced woman.
He rubbed his aching temples, glared at Old Lady Lu, and said, "If you cause any more trouble for the Jiang family in the future, I'll consider crossing your name off the family tree!"
"Ah! No! No! Village chief, I... I dare not!" Ancient people always held family genealogies in great awe. The village chief's words immediately terrified Old Lady Lu, who waved her hands repeatedly.
"Ms. Jiang, how much is this book worth?" The village chief asked, his gaze falling on the fragment in Jiang Suihe's hand.
"You can buy the book copied by the scholar in the bookstores in Changning Town. I just need you to compensate me with an identical copy!" Jiang Ling did not give a direct price, but simply stated what kind of copy she needed.
Upon hearing the words "scholar," the crowd erupted in uproar.
"The scholar copied it? My goodness, I heard it was worth at least a hundred or two copper coins!"
"Yes! My nephew studies at the academy in Pingxi County, and the writing materials there are quite expensive!"
"This...this Jiang family wouldn't be planning to make their daughter a female teacher, would they?!"
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, pushing the controversy to a new climax.
The village chief had heard a little about Jiang Ling's daughter going to school, but he didn't expect that Jiang Ling would be willing to spend so much money to buy books for a girl.
"Old Mrs. Lu, you tore up the book. What do you think we should do about this?" The village chief sighed helplessly.
“I tore it…so what if I tore it! This brat is my granddaughter, it’s only natural for me to hit her and scold her…”
"Mother...stop talking!" Lu Youyi tugged at his wife's sleeve and interrupted her with a frown.
“Mrs. Jiang, I’m so sorry, I’ll go to Changning Town tomorrow and buy you an exact copy of this book…” Lu Youyi said with a face full of shame.
Jiang Ling's expression did not soften at all. She looked coldly at Lu Chengyun beside her and asked, "Chengyun, tell me the truth, what exactly happened to the injury on your arm?"
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