Jiang Yu was slightly taken aback, and only when she saw the eggs on the ground did she understand what was going on. They were complaining that she hadn't taken enough things.
Before she could speak, a boy of about 17 years old entered through the door. He was short and chubby and didn't seem very bright.
Jiang Dalong looked at the cloth bag on the ground and kicked it. Chen Niannian was terrified; he hid behind the man, watching everything in front of him with trepidation. This was nothing like the description the children had given him. There was no love from his grandparents, no new friends to play with, and this place made him unhappy at all. He wanted to go home...
Jiang Yu was also stunned. In her memory, this younger brother's temper was even worse than Jiang Meier's. It seemed that this was more troublesome than she had imagined.
Jiang Dalong didn't care what she was thinking. He walked to Jiang Yu's side, extended his hand, and said matter-of-factly:
"Give me two yuan, I want to buy snacks."
In the past, when the original owner came home, he would ask for money in the same way. His family would either turn a blind eye or side with their son, saying, "It's just two yuan. As his older sister, if you give it to him now, he can stand up for you if you are bullied by your in-laws in the future."
Under the moral pressure from her family, the original owner had to spend money every time. But compared to her so-called father's exorbitant demands, this was just a small amount of money.
Seeing that Jiang Yu was unmoved, Jiang Dalong couldn't help but kick her, but because of his clumsy movements, the woman dodged it.
Are you deaf?
His cursing was extremely loud and vile. A man nearby, unable to bear it any longer, was about to step forward to stop him when Jiang Chun quickly reprimanded him:
"Da Long, that's enough."
In the past, the eldest daughter would always go home alone, and no matter how much she was bullied, it would be fine. But this time she brought her husband along, and the man didn't look like someone to be trifled with. The old man was afraid his son would get beaten up.
"Dalong just wants two yuan. As his older sister, you should just give it to him. Why make everyone unhappy?"
Jiang Meier, who had remained silent, scoffed at the family, her tone full of mockery. Jiang Yu, who used to be so easy to manipulate, even now that she's more capable, still goes back to her parents' home, doesn't she? She refused to believe that Jiang Yu could turn the tables in front of her father.
“Yes, as the older sister, why don’t you give it to him? Besides, he hasn’t called me ‘sister’ since he came in. I thought he was an unruly wild child.”
Jiang Yu's words insulted the entire family, infuriating Jiang Chun, who was lying on the kang (heated brick bed), causing him to cough violently. If he weren't pretending to be sick, he would have definitely given her a good beating with a shoe. He'd rather die than not beat her until she was crying for her parents; otherwise, his life would have been wasted.
“Dad, I told you before that Jiang Yu had a bad temper and looked down on us, but you didn’t believe me. Now look at her! With a man backing her up, she’s arrogant and doesn’t care about anyone. She can scold us today, but if she’s not happy tomorrow, she might come and attack us with a knife.”
Jiang Meier helped the old man up, gently patting his back to help him catch his breath. She appeared to be concerned for him, but her unspoken intention was to stir up trouble.
Jiang Chun felt that what was said made sense, so she lifted the quilt and was about to get out of bed when her youngest daughter coughed twice to remind her.
If those two see through my act and realize that I lied about breaking my leg to scam money, I might not get a single penny.
Jiang Chunqiang suppressed his anger, pulled his leg back, and changed his demeanor. His acting was so clumsy that Jiang Yu saw through it all and made a plan.
“Da Ni’er, I really have something to tell you. Yesterday, the village doctor said I need to go to a hospital in the city for some kind of surgery to fix my leg, otherwise it will be useless. Your younger brother isn’t married yet, and if he can’t earn enough money to get married, our family will be without an heir.”
The surgery will cost a total of one thousand yuan. Would you like to pay that upfront?
After saying this without a shred of shame, Jiang Chun, worried that she wouldn't be able to portray the pitiful situation convincingly, didn't forget to glance at Shen Ying:
“Son-in-law, I heard you’re going to build a house. That’s great news, but I need to heal my leg first. How about you put the house building on hold for now?”
If Jiang Yu wasn't sure what he was up to just now, she was absolutely certain now. He definitely wanted money; after all, who wants to have surgery for a thousand yuan?
"No."
Jiang Yu's refusal was so decisive that Jiang Chun almost forgot how to continue the act. Looking at this ungrateful daughter, he really wanted to slap her across the face.
Seeing that he couldn't reason with his eldest daughter, he turned his attention to Shen Ying. Seeing the man looking him up and down, completely ignoring him, he got so angry he stood up from the bed.
The short, elderly man, barely five feet tall, looked particularly comical as he jumped up. He pointed at the two of them and began to hurl insults:
"Jiang Yu, I've really been too kind to you. You've been eating and drinking my food all your life, and now you don't even care when I'm sick. I should have strangled you back then. And this son-in-law from Shenjiazhuang, when your mother was in such a hurry for you to get married, besides me, which family would have agreed? Which family didn't look down on you?"
Now that life is better, are you starting to see us as a burden?
Jiang Meier tried desperately to hold him down, but to no avail. Seeing that her plan was failing, she spoke directly:
"I didn't dare ask for more from your family in previous years because I saw you were poor. Now I'm giving you two choices: either you give me a thousand yuan, or I'll make Jiang Yu divorce you."
Seeing that Jiang Yu showed him no respect, Jiang Chun didn't bother arguing with her and began negotiating with Shen Ying. In his view, his daughter's unruly behavior must be due to his instigation. He would settle this score later.
Jiang Yu chuckled. In this day and age, the dowry in rural areas was capped at 200 yuan. He not only asked Shen Ying's family for 500 yuan, but didn't even give them a quilt as part of the dowry. Now he dares to ask for money again; he's really not satisfied at all.
"You tricked us into coming here to ask for money by threatening to break your leg, but you know that if you just ask directly, no one will give you any? In that case, let's not waste each other's time, we'll leave now."
She glanced at the man, and their eyes met; they immediately understood each other's meaning. Knowing there was no point in chatting there, they figured it was better to leave as soon as possible.
Seeing Jiang Yu pat his bottom and about to leave, Jiang Meier panicked. She glared at the old man Jiang, giving him a look that said, "It's all your fault."
"Jiang Yu, if you dare to step out of this house today, don't even think about coming back."
In his opinion, if he didn't teach this girl a lesson, people would really think he was just playing around with her.
Jiang Yu chuckled to herself upon hearing his words. Rather than being continuously exploited, she thought it would be better to sever ties with them.
She stopped, as if she had thought of something. Jiang Chun, however, mistook this for fear, still wondering if asking for a thousand yuan was too little. Then, she heard a question she desperately wanted to avoid:
"How exactly did my mother die back then?"
This question struck like a bolt from the blue, silencing the room completely. Even Jiang Meier, standing nearby, showed a look of horror.
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