"I'm going to teach you a lesson today on behalf of your father. Didn't your father teach you to respect the elderly and care for the young? Or is your mouth just naturally foul?" Jiang Ling said, hands on her hips, glaring at Zhao Qianyu.
Zhao Qianyu was just a child, and besides, people in ancient times were very reserved. Even when they cursed, they wouldn't be too explicit. Jiang Ling, on the other hand, had learned all sorts of things from a young age, from the most vulgar to the most vulgar. The kind of words she just said were just beginner-level for her in the future.
Zhao Qianyu's face flushed with anger at Jiang Ling. He jumped out of bed, puffed out his cheeks, and said to Jiang Ling, "You shrew, try touching me! I'll have my dad throw you in jail! I'll kill you!"
Jiang Ling slapped him again, leaving a clear handprint on Zhao Qianyu's other cheek.
He covered his face with both hands and glared fiercely at Jiang Ling, as if he was about to attack her at any moment.
"Mother..." Disordered footsteps came from outside the door, and Jiang Yaojie's worried face appeared in front of Jiang Ling.
"This is none of your business. Zhishan, take them out and close the door!" Jiang Ling said coldly to the crowd.
Everyone was startled by Jiang Ling's expression, especially Jiang Zhishan, who always listened to his eldest sister the most. Seeing Jiang Ling's cold face, he quickly signaled the children to leave and to close the door carefully.
Jiang Ling found a bamboo rattan in the bedroom and lashed it out at Zhao Qianyu's body.
Zhao Qianyu, who had never been beaten before, screamed in pain as he was whipped. His screams carried outside the door, and even the four usually well-behaved children felt a chill run down their spines when they heard them.
"You have no manners! I'll teach you to be ill-mannered! You called me a shrew, and today I'll show you what a shrew is like!" Jiang Ling swung the bamboo rattan and hit Zhao Qianyu hard.
"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me, Aunt Jiang... Aunt Jiang, I was wrong, I'll never do it again!" Before long, the fair-skinned Zhao Qianyu was beaten to his knees and begged for mercy. His face was covered in snot and tears, and he looked extremely disheveled.
Jiang Ling threw down the bamboo rattan in her hand and said coldly, "If you know you're wrong, then hurry up and wipe away your tears and snot and come out to eat! This isn't your father's mansion; we don't have any of your favorite foods here. If you don't eat, then go hungry!"
He turned and walked outside.
Zhao Qianyu stood there, looking around in a daze. He realized there was no handkerchief or coarse paper to wipe his tears. He thought about going out to ask someone, but then he remembered Jiang Ling's fierce look. In the end, Zhao Qianyu could only use his sleeve to wipe the snot and tears off his face.
He cowered by the doorway, staring at Jiang Ling's back for a long time without saying a word. The children and Jiang Zhishan were busy eating, completely ignoring Zhao Qianyu.
Zhao Qianyu was also feeling a bit hungry. He hadn't eaten much during the day because of all the commotion, and now his stomach was starting to rumble loudly.
"Once you're out, hurry up and eat. There are no servants here to wait on you, and you're not some young master!" Jiang Ling said coldly, placing the extra set of chopsticks and bowl on the empty space on the table without looking up.
The sudden noise startled Zhao Qianyu. He quickly ran over, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and started eating. The meal was indeed hard for Zhao Qianyu to eat, and he even had the urge to smash the bowl and chopsticks several times. But as soon as he had that thought, Jiang Ling's fierce expression would suddenly appear in his mind.
He was shivering and could only continue eating the rice that felt rough on his throat and the vegetables that had almost no meat flavor.
After a depressing dinner, Jiang Ling began announcing tomorrow's plans. Jiang Yaojie was assigned to continue running the business of peppermint balm and peppermint water. Sui He, Wen Xinianci, and Zhao Qianyu were to go to the fields to check on the crops. She and Jiang Zhishan would go to town tomorrow.
After hearing the arrangement, Zhao Qianyu was very dissatisfied, but before he could speak, Jiang Ling gave him a cold look, and Zhao Qianyu immediately lowered his head and dared not say anything more.
As night fell, Zhao Qianyu looked at Jiang Ling's cramped room, hesitated for a long time, and then asked in a low voice, "Please... Aunt Jiang, where... where will I sleep?"
“You can sleep with us! You can have my bed!” Jiang Yaojie said as he walked to Zhao Qianyu’s side.
"I'm not sleeping there! Your bed is hard and dirty, I don't want it!" Zhao Qianyu rolled her eyes and refused.
"Yaojie! Go find some hay, then put the remaining sheets on his bed. He'll be sleeping on the floor from today onwards, take it or leave it!" Jiang Ling glared at Zhao Qianyu and said to Jiang Yaojie.
Jiang Yaojie nodded, went to the corner to get some hay, spread it on the ground, then took out a bed sheet that was almost entirely patched and spread it on the hay. He turned to Zhao Qianyu and said, "Okay, this is your bed!"
"What? What?" Zhao Qianyu was greatly surprised. Even the lowest-ranking servants in his own home didn't have to sleep on the floor; at least they had a large communal bed. Here, he couldn't even get a bed. But he didn't dare say anything. He felt that just looking at the fierce-looking Jiang Shi made his whole body ache.
Frustrated, Zhao Qianyu took off his shoes and lay on the ground, unable to fall asleep for a long time. At home, he would bathe every night and use aromatherapy to smell nice before going to bed, but this time the stench of his feet was intermittent, snoring was constant, and even the dry grass he had laid was irritating his skin. And so, Zhao Qianyu endured his first night in Lujia Village with dark circles under his eyes.
As dawn broke, the golden sun slowly rose from the east, dispelling the darkness of the night. Zhao Qianyu felt as if he had just fallen asleep when he was woken up by various noises.
He sat up abruptly, about to yell at the outside, when the image of Jiang Ling slapping him immediately flashed into his mind. He quickly shut his mouth, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and looked around at everything.
He patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he hadn't yelled out, or he probably would have gotten another beating.
"You're awake? Let's eat together." Jiang Yaojie pushed open the door from outside and saw Zhao Qianyu sitting on the ground "resting with his eyes closed," so he quickly patted him gently.
Zhao Qianyu was startled by Jiang Yaojie again. He glared angrily at Jiang Yaojie but ultimately said nothing.
Jiang Ling's family usually has a simple breakfast: a few buckwheat pancakes, a bowl of millet porridge, and a small dish of pickled vegetables. Zhao Qianyu hadn't eaten enough last night and wanted to have a hearty breakfast, but when he saw the meager breakfast in front of him, he couldn't help but frown.
Jiang Ling saw through Zhao Qianyu's thoughts at a glance and said meaningfully, "If we don't eat soon, there won't be any left to eat. I won't be back for lunch today, so dinner will probably be served in the evening!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qianyu immediately ran to the table, grabbed a buckwheat pancake, and stuffed it into his stomach without saying a word. Perhaps because he was so hungry, he felt that the buckwheat pancake didn't taste as bad as he had imagined.
After breakfast, Jiang Ling instructed Jiang Suihe to keep an eye on Zhao Qianyu and prevent him from causing trouble. Jiang Suihe agreed.
Jiang Ling, Jiang Zhishan, and Jiang Yaojie left their house and sat on Uncle Lu's oxcart.
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