Jiang Chun’s grandmother and maternal grandmother in modern times were all gentle and polite elderly ladies. As for the likes of Li Shi, who was used to unreasonable pestering, and at every turn would roll around and make a scene like a shrew, she had only seen such types in TV dramas.
Today could be considered an eye-opener.
But she wasn’t going to indulge that one.
Jiang Chun looked down from above at Li Shi and coldly snorted: “Granny, you better not cry for my grandpa. In case he really gets cried back by you, and finds out you’re trying to sell off his precious granddaughter, maybe out of rage he’ll just take you with him.”
Li Shi’s crying stopped abruptly.
Then she flew into a rage, loudly scolding Jiang Chun: “You dead girl, how dare you curse your own granny! Is this how a granddaughter should behave?”
Jiang Chun immediately cried injustice: “Granny, don’t go wrongly accusing people. I was kindly reminding you not to recklessly cry about my grandpa. How can you take good intentions as donkey liver and lungs?”
[“Donkey liver and lungs (驴肝肺)” is a Chinese idiom meaning mistaking someone’s good intentions as malicious.]
After crying injustice, she ignored that one, and turned her head to look at Jiang Hu, urging: “Uncle, hurry and pay me my medicine money, don’t waste time! Once our account is settled, Sixth Grandpa can also talk to you properly about this matter of you wanting to sell Sister Liu.”
Although asking for money was important, stopping Li Shi and Jiang Hu from selling Jiang Liu was also important—couldn’t prioritize one and neglect the other.
When Jiang Zhaonian heard this, the bit of fire he had just cooled off immediately flared up again, and he coldly said: “Erlang, you being the uncle should keep your word. Hurry up and pay Chun-niang the medicine money!”
Jiang Hu, hearing this, immediately looked down at Li Shi lying on the ground.
Li Shi still wanted to start crying and making a scene again.
But just as she opened her mouth, Jiang Zhaonian cut her off with a shout: “Second Sister-in-law, you’re already an old woman, crying and making a fuss in front of the younger generation—what kind of appearance is that? Still not getting up quickly!”
Li Shi was still quite afraid of Jiang Zhaonian, this strict eldest brother-in-law. Seeing him angry, she quickly rolled up from the ground.
Seeing her youngest son looking at her with a troubled face, she could only reach into her sleeve and pull out a dirty little handkerchief. Unfolding the handkerchief, she picked out a bean-sized piece of broken silver from among several bits wrapped inside.
She weighed it, then weighed it again, and finally, with a pained face, tossed it onto the kang, saying in a bad tone: “Take it!”
Still didn’t forget to insult Jiang Chun with a sentence: “Really a money lice!”
In farming households, the chances to spend money on daily life were few. Normally carrying a dozen copper coins on one’s person was already considered a lot—Li Shi, this penny-pinching spirit, was just like that.
That she could now casually pull out a handful of broken silver from her body was only because these past few days, she had been scraping together the fifty taels of silver for compensation to Matchmaker Wang. That’s why she was carrying a “large sum” on her person.
Jiang Chun picked up that bit of broken silver and weighed it too.
Couldn’t weigh anything out of it.
But knowing Li Shi’s stinginess, this piece of broken silver definitely wouldn’t exceed half a tael. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be willing to compensate her.
Jiang Chun didn’t argue with her—whatever she could grab was something.
After all, treating Song Shi’an only cost fifty-five wen in total, and she had audaciously reported ten times that amount. Even if what she got in hand was shrunk down, it was still quite a gain.
That day Li Shi snatched her white flour steamed bun, she had already said her advantages weren’t so easily taken. And now look—retribution in this life, isn’t it?
Seeing that their dispute here was concluded, Jiang Zhaonian immediately returned to the old topic, questioning Jiang Hu: “Erlang, tell me the truth—are you really planning to sell Liu-jie’er?”
“Big Brother, don’t listen to Liu-jie’er talking nonsense. There’s no such thing.” Jiang Hu still wanted to muddle through.
Jiang Zhaonian turned to look at Li Shi, and asked: “Then is it Second Sister-in-law who wants to sell her granddaughter?”
Li Shi immediately refuted: “Big Brother, don’t you wrong me. Why would I properly go selling my granddaughter? There’s no such thing!”
Jiang Zhaonian nodded his head: “Since Erlang and Second Sister-in-law both say there’s no such thing, then I’ll believe you.”
Just as Jiang Hu and Li Shi secretly let out a breath of relief, he coldly added another sentence: “If later you secretly behind my back go and sell Liu-jie’er, then I, as the eldest brother, will stand in for Second Brother and write a divorce letter for Li Shi, and also, in the name of the clan head, expel Erlang from the clan!”
Jiang Chun nearly jumped up to clap her hands for Jiang Zhaonian—decisive enough, ruthless enough!
One must know, in ancient times, for a woman, the most disgraceful thing was being divorced by her husband’s family; for a man, the most humiliating thing was being expelled from the clan.
This was basically hitting the snake right on its seven-inch spot [打蛇打七寸 — Chinese idiom meaning to strike at the most vital point], firmly taking hold of Li Shi and Jiang Hu.
Sure enough, the two of them, upon hearing Jiang Zhaonian’s words, were struck as if by a thunderclap on a sunny day, completely dumbfounded.
Especially Li Shi—her man Jiang Zhaofeng had been dead for over ten years already, who would’ve thought she still ran the risk of being divorced?
She immediately plopped down on her butt, preparing to make a scene.
Jiang Zhaonian coldly said: “Second Sister-in-law, even making a scene won’t work. I, Jiang Zhaonian, have always been one to mean what I say. If you dare sell off Liu-jie’er, I’ll make sure you two have no place to stand in Daliushu Village.”
Jiang Hu, anxious for money, risked it all and shouted: “Liu-jie’er is my daughter. Whether I sell her or not, what does that have to do with Big Brother? Big Brother, can you not meddle so much?”
Jiang Zhaonian sneered coldly: “Among our Jiang clan members, there’s no such rule as selling people. Even in those famine years when life was unlivable, everyone still helped each other and pulled through.”
“Now your family lives in a house with blue bricks and big roof tiles, farms twenty mu of land, living better than most families in the clan—and you still want to sell a person? What would the clan think?”
“In any case, this precedent of selling people cannot be opened. Whoever dares to sell a person—women will be divorced, and male members expelled. No exceptions!”
Seeing Jiang Hu’s face full of unconvinced expression, just short of asking “based on what?”, Jiang Zhaonian sneered again: “I’m the clan head, so I have the final say. If you’re not convinced, then go convince all the clan members to let you Jiang Hu be the clan head. At that time, whoever you want to sell, sell them—even if you sell your own old mother, no one will dare say anything.”
Li Shi: “……”
Selling the granddaughter—she agreed. In fact, she was the one who brought it up first.
But letting a son sell his own mother—that gate couldn’t be opened. What if one day her son got egged on by a fox spirit like that Matchmaker Wang and sold her off for money—what then?
Looks like this dead girl Jiang Liu can’t be sold after all.
So Li Shi glared at Jiang Hu, then forced a smile and said to Jiang Zhaonian: “Big Brother, what are you saying? Erlang is rough and stupid—how can he compare even half a bit to his Cousin Wan? Even if one day Big Brother steps down, it should be Cousin Wan taking the post—nothing to do with this idiot here, don’t insult him anymore!”
Jiang Zhaonian coldly snorted: “Even if Hua-ge’er’s father wanted to sell Mian-jie’er, I’d still expel him from the clan!”
Jiang Mian was Jiang Wan’s daughter, Jiang Zhaonian’s granddaughter.
“Listen to Big Brother talk—his Cousin Wan would never do something like that.” Li Shi laughed dryly.
Then she reached out and shoved Jiang Hu, urging: “Alright, it was all a misunderstanding. Just explain clearly to your Big Brother and that’s enough. Let’s quickly go home and work—the cabbages and radishes in the field are still waiting to be harvested.”
As she spoke, she cast a slanted glance at Jiang Liu and snorted: “Liu-jie’er, don’t be lazy either, hurry up and follow!”
Jiang Liu didn’t talk back—just going to the fields to work. It’s not like she hadn’t done that plenty of times before—who was she supposed to be scared of?
As long as they didn’t sell her, doing more work was just doing more work—nothing to fuss over.
She sincerely thanked Jiang Zhaonian for standing up for justice on her behalf.
After coming out of his house, she secretly said to Jiang Chun: “Big Sister, thank you for giving me the idea, and also for bringing me to Great-Uncle’s place to have him uphold justice. I don’t have much to thank you with—later I’ll embroider you a handkerchief.”
Jiang Chun rolled her eyes at Jiang Liu: “Cut it out, would you. With how stingy our granny is, she’s got the number of every single colored thread in the house memorized. You’d only get scolded. I don’t need your little handkerchief.”
Afraid she’d feel bad, she took the initiative to raise a request: “If you really want to thank me, go to the back mountain and knock down some spiky chestnuts later, give me half a basket. I love eating those.”
Behind Daliushu Village there was a not-too-big, not-too-small mountain. Not many other things grew on it, but there were a lot of chestnut trees.
In late autumn, when the farmers finished the work in the fields, if they were idle with nothing to do, they’d go up the mountain to chop firewood, and along the way knock down some spiky chestnuts to let the little brats at home have a treat.
Jiang Liu happily agreed: “Okay okay okay! I’m great at knocking chestnuts. Later I’ll bring my Big Sister a whole big basket!”
Jiang Chun couldn’t help laughing and crying: “What would I do with that much—eat it as a meal?”
“Don’t care. I’m giving it to you anyway. If you can’t finish it, feed it to the pigs.” Jiang Liu waved her hand domineeringly.
Then she suddenly hugged Jiang Chun’s arm, sniffled, and earnestly said: “Big Sister, in this family, you’re the one who treats me the best. When I marry into a good family in the future, I’ll definitely work hard to squeeze my husband’s family’s money to help you out.”
Jiang Chun: “……”
Everyone else is a Brother-enabling fool.
You, you’re trying to be a Sister-devoted fool?
Totally unnecessary!