In the scorching heat, her heart felt as if it were being blasted by icy winds, cold to the very marrow of her bones, as though she had aged a decade in an instant.
She clenched Song Sanliang’s trembling hand tightly and kept whispering to him, "My son, as long as the green hills are there, there is no fear of no firewood. Let’s just endure it this time. In the future, we’ll surely have our revenge. Even Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between someone’s legs..."
Song Sanliang felt a sweet and metallic taste in his throat and did not speak for a long time.
Only then did Madam Zeng relax slightly and, gritting her teeth, said to Song Jiyun, "Then you act as the mediator and see what Wong Dahai’s conditions are?"
Madam Li could not accept this and had just uttered "Why should we" when she was silenced by a cold glance from Madam Zeng.
She looked at Song Jiyun indignantly.
Song Jiyun did not even spare her a sidelong glance but after a moment’s thought, agreed in a straightforward yet modest manner, "Since everyone feels it’s suitable for me to manage the kiln factory and since Head Shopkeeper Wong is from the kiln factory, then I will overestimate my ability and act as the mediator for everyone!"
The crowd cheered.
Song Jiyun then instructed the servant girls and boys from the third household to rearrange the furniture in the hall, invited everyone to take their seats, and asked Madam Zeng and Song Sanliang in a gentle voice, "Grandmother, Uncle Three, what do you think?"
Song Sanliang sat there woodenly, paying no attention to anyone.
Madam Zeng then said, "My view is the same as before, to settle it privately without going to the Yamen."
Song Jiyun advised Wong Dahai, "Since you’ve asked me to be the mediator, let’s both make a concession."
Wong Dahai sighed with a bitter smile, "As long as Third Old Master agrees not to kill me, everything else is negotiable."
Madam Zeng gently patted the back of her son’s hand, fearing that in a burst of anger, Song Sanliang might do something irrational, and she soothed him.
Song Sanliang remained motionless.
Feeling a little reassured, Madam Zeng declared, "Agreed! I guarantee that Third Old Master will not pursue the past matters any further!"
Wong Dahai said, "Then just like the bet that Third Old Master made with the young miss before, let’s sign a deed."
Madam Zeng felt so choked she could hardly breathe.
Once written down in black and white, wouldn’t that mean they could dredge up old issues whenever they wished?
"No way!" Madam Zeng refused without a second thought.
Wong Dahai responded, "Then I don’t agree to a private settlement either."
There was a stalemate on both sides.
Song Jiyun then sought advice from Ninth Master Song, "With your vast experience, do you see any other solution to this matter?"
After speaking, she added, "With Uncle Three’s temperament, if we don’t cut through the mess quickly, who knows what other people or things he might drag into this."
Those were words within words!
Ninth Master Song looked at Song Jiyun intently.
If Song Jiyun had not reported Wong Dahai as missing at the beginning, it might not have been so easy for Wong Dahai to accuse them at this point.
Could it be that she had calculated all of this from the very start?
As he stroked his beard, Ninth Master Song was wary of Song Jiyun, fearing that if he did not agree, Song Jiyun might have other moves planned, or even that she had already anticipated his unwillingness to act and was laying a trap for him.
Ninth Master Song pondered and said, "How about we still sign a deed, not specifying any reasons but simply promising that from now on, Third Old Master will stop troubling Wong Dahai. What do you think?"
Madam Zeng grudgingly agreed.
Wong Dahai had something to say, "We all live in the same town, where we can’t avoid seeing each other; if Third Old Master and I meet on the street, and he insists that I give way to him, does that count as causing trouble?"
Ninth Master Song said helplessly, "Then how do you propose we write the deed?"
"I think unless Third Old Master agrees never to set foot in Liang County for the rest of his life, there will always be a chance of running into each other," Wong Dahai said. "And that’s a risk I’m not willing to take!"
"Bullshit!" Madam Li said fiercely. "Why should we be the ones to leave Liang County? If anyone should go, it’s you!"
Everyone, including Song Jiyun, acted as if they hadn’t heard anything, but Song Jiyun continued thoughtfully, "That might be a solution."
She looked up at Madam Zeng and said, "I remember our family has an old house in the countryside, and Uncle’s field is also there. Why don’t we have Uncle move there? It would be convenient for us to visit him when we have the time."
Madam Zeng nearly fainted. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
That old house had been built by Third Old Master’s great-grandfather and had been unoccupied for so long that only a few walls remained standing. To live there would require more effort than building a new house from scratch.
Furthermore, it had taken several generations for the Song Family to establish themselves in Liang County. Returning to their ancestral home would be like being thrown back into the past overnight.
"No way!", she said without thinking. "That old house isn’t fit for habitation anymore."
Song Jiyun said, "Living elsewhere is also an option, but since you allocated the ancestral fields to Uncle, living somewhere else might not be very convenient for him."
This reminded Song Daliang.
The pain of the eldest son not being able to inherit the ancestral fields was a lifelong sorrow for him.
He immediately blurted out, "Exactly! If Uncle doesn’t want to return to the old home, he could go to Liang County or to his sisters’ home in Shangrao. Sell the ancestral field to me, and you can buy another piece of land in Shangrao."
"Over my dead body!" Madam Li could no longer hold back and argued with him. "That’s what our ancestors left us, why should we sell it to you? We will not sell our ancestral property."
The two of them began to quarrel.
Song Jiyun continued to persuade Madam Zeng, "If Uncle sells this house here, he can build an even larger one over there, and he will still have silver to spare. ’Picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the South Mountain.’ That’s something others can’t even beg for."
Then why don’t you go?
Madam Zeng thought to herself and suddenly realized.
Wasn’t this Song Jiyun’s true intention?
Not only to seize control of the kiln factory but also to drive her son out of Liang County.
"Viper!" she glared hatefully at Song Jiyun. "Aren’t you afraid of retribution?"
Song Jiyun smiled softly, but the words that came out near her ear were dark and ominous, "If there is retribution, it will fall upon you first. What do I have to fear?"
"You!" Madam Zeng pointed at her, unable to speak.
Song Jiyun continued whispering to her, "Grandmother, you might as well think it over carefully! Otherwise, if we keep quarreling like this, it won’t just be about driving out of Liang County anymore!"
Madam Zeng, dizzy from anger, took a while before finally saying, "Fine! Sanliang will move to the old house."
As to whether he would "never set foot in Liang County for the rest of his life," she made no promises.
Song Jiyun didn’t pursue it either.
If she allowed them to move out and they were still able to move back in, then she would be too incompetent!
Song Jiyun smiled faintly.
Song Sanliang, who had been silent throughout, suddenly collapsed, his mouth bleeding as he slumped to the ground.
"Sanliang!" Madam Zeng and Madam Li cried out in grief as they threw themselves onto him...
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