Jiang Chun was a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. Now that he saw Zhao Meiyun didn't want to make things too embarrassing, he took advantage of her as if he had found a handle to use against her and became even more demanding.
He slapped the woman's hand away, stood up abruptly, and pretended to dust off his pants.
"Sister Zhao, I'm not trying to criticize you, but at your age, you're still cleaning up the mess left by the children's funerals. If you ask me, since we're all in-laws anyway, why don't you come with me? We'll be even closer as relatives, and all the property will be ours. Wouldn't that be better?"
Jiang Chun pinched his chin, staring lecherously at Zhao Meiyun. Although she was a few years older than him, she was undeniably the most beautiful woman in the surrounding area. Just look at the three stunningly good-looking children she had given birth to.
The onlookers burst into laughter upon hearing this. Zhao Meiyun lost face, her expression darkened, and she distanced herself from the crowd.
"You old lecher, you really can't tell the difference between good and bad."
Zhao Meiyun knew what kind of person he was. If it weren't for the shame of losing face in front of the villagers, she would have already gone into the yard, grabbed a shovel, and given him a couple of whacks.
"I came here specifically to see Jiang Yu, but you just had to cause trouble and keep bothering me. I didn't even find you a nuisance, and you're complaining about me?"
Jiang Chun rolled her eyes. Because she was a good half a head shorter, she was worried that the other person couldn't see her, so she deliberately jumped up and down a couple of times.
What are you doing here?
As Jiang Yu approached and saw the man's face clearly, a wave of disgust welled up inside her. She had clearly severed all ties with this man, and he had sworn he would never see her again. What did he mean by coming here today?
"What am I doing here? How dare you ask? No wonder you're trying so hard to distance yourself from me. Turns out you've made a fortune and can afford to build a mansion, and you're afraid of being dragged down by your father. You heartless wretch, you'll go to hell when you die."
Jiang Chun, enraged, pointed at Jiang Yu and launched into a tirade. She had initially thought Jiang Yu was only building a few bungalows, intending to extort money and sever ties first. Had she known they were building such nice houses, she would never have signed that agreement.
He was thinking that once the house was built, his son would move in and live there. He thought that everyone in the surrounding villages would envy him and look up to him.
"You're really getting old and senile. Back then, you insisted on severing ties with money, and you even had the village chiefs of two villages witness it. It's all written clearly in black and white, and you even put your fingerprint on it yourself. Now you're coming here to play the victim? Yama, the King of Hell, is watching who will go to hell."
Jiang Yu rejected the moral blackmail from the group of gossiping women. From what they had just said, it seemed as if they had been hired by Jiang Chun to plead his case and complain.
"What if I said you took advantage of my illiteracy and tricked me into signing the agreement?"
In Jiang Chun's opinion, he has often acted like a scoundrel since he was young, and now that he is older, it would be a waste not to use his superb acting skills.
"You can't just target me, can you? There were two village chiefs, your precious son, and your precious daughter there too. If that's the case, they should all be included. Why don't you invite everyone to sit down and talk?"
Jiang Yu didn't indulge him at all. Others might be concerned about their reputation and being labeled unfilial, but she wasn't. Her reputation was already ruined, so what difference did a little more make?
After saying that, she grabbed Zhao Meiyun and called out to Shen Niannian as they walked into the courtyard. Jiang Chun wanted to follow, but seeing Shen Ying looking at him like he was a thief, he was frightened and retreated.
“In our surrounding villages, we’ve never heard of children neglecting their elderly parents. If their own father comes to their door, they can be kicked out. The village can’t tolerate such an unfaithful and unfilial woman.”
In the crowd, Zhang Xinhua, shouting at the top of her lungs, began yelling just as Jiang Yu was about to close the door. Her instigation fueled the righteous indignation of the crowd, as if they wanted to avenge Jiang Chun's anger.
Looking at the group of people picking a fight, Jiang Yu realized that most of them were just idle people at home with nothing to do, and couldn't stand seeing others doing well. They would sit in the corner all day, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds and gossiping for an entire afternoon.
The original owner was constantly criticized for not being a virtuous woman, and now that they saw Jiang Yu's family had built a new house, jealousy made them envious, and they wanted to find more trouble to make things difficult for her family.
"Alright, alright, since you're so filial, from today onwards, Uncle Jiang will be your father, Zhang Xinhua's father. You'll take care of him in his old age and see him off when he passes away. I'll definitely go to town to apply for a plaque for you, to bring honor to our ancestors."
Jiang Yu has been busy with her clothing store lately, leaving early and returning late, so she rarely runs into Zhang Xinhua, that lisp. She probably missed the woman after not seeing her for so long, and came chasing after her to her doorstep to vent her anger.
"Did you lose your mind and start spouting nonsense? Brother Shen Ying, you just stood there and didn't say a word, letting your wife do stupid things here? The child is right here, aren't you afraid of being corrupted?"
Before Zhang Xinhua could finish speaking, Jiang Chun, having found a willow branch somewhere, flung it at Jiang Yu. The man, quick as a flash, snatched it away, and Jiang Chun began cursing:
“I shouldn’t have kept you when your mother brought you home from outside. Whether you abandoned you to feed stray dogs in the back mountains or sold you, you shouldn’t have stayed in my house.”
I knew you were an unwanted bastard and you wouldn't be tamed. If you were a good thing, how could your parents have left you in the snow, freezing your face red and crying until you were almost dying?
I should strangle you.
Jiang Chun became increasingly agitated as she spoke, finally revealing a secret she had kept buried for nearly thirty years. It's said that the debt of gratitude for raising a child is greater than the debt of giving birth, so even if she had long exploited her adopted daughter, it was only right. Otherwise, how would she have had the chance to live?
Therefore, we should take good care of him.
'Boom.'
Something inside Jiang Yu seemed to collapse. She had thought that Jiang Chun and his wife's neglect over the years was because she was the eldest in the family. She never expected that this vampire was not the original owner's biological father.
While silently feeling sorry for the original owner of this body who had hurt her own flesh and blood for the sake of this old man and two siblings who were not related by blood, she felt incredibly relieved.
Since that's the case, then we shouldn't indulge their bad habits anymore.
"So Jiang Yu was adopted. She doesn't even know who her biological parents are, yet she dares to act so arrogantly here. She's wicked to the core."
"I've heard that there are people who are abandoned by their families because their birth date and time are considered unlucky. Wasn't she the one who caused Aunt Jiang's death after going to the Jiang family?"
The onlookers began to discuss the matter, and the noise grew louder and louder. Jiang Yu was worried that Shen Niannian would hear this and be hurt in her young heart, so she discussed with Zhao Meiyun that she would take the child back to the house first.
Turning her head, she glanced at the old man again. In her hazy memory, a safety lock that had been with her for a long time seemed to echo in her mind. And the material of that lock didn't seem to be something an ordinary family could afford.
Moreover, one cannot be entirely convinced by Jiang Chun's account alone. Perhaps there are other hidden stories about the original owner's background?
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