The woman felt much less angry after hearing Jiang Yihuan say this.
Seeing there was nothing more to watch, Su Yaoguang sneered and turned away.
Jiang Yihuan glared at Su Yaoguang’s back, her eyes full of disgust.
She finally understood why her mother disliked Zhang Zhaodi so much. Her current disgust for Su Yaoguang was like her mother’s hatred for Zhang Zhaodi; this mother-daughter duo was their nemesis.
Jiang Yihuan gave the woman five hundred cents and promised to introduce Zhong Jianghe to some work, finally sending the woman away.
Zhong Lanhua was furious, cursing and swearing, saying that the Zhong Family member were ungrateful and greedy despite her years of assistance.
"Your aunt dared to come extort us; it must be with your grandmother and grandfather’s approval. You’re introducing him to work, you kidding? I’ll never give them a cent again."
"Mom, cousin indeed got injured because of our carriage, and we had to hire people to carry him back. They have valid points, we can’t shirk this, we’ll just have to take the loss. If we don’t try to appease them, and if cousin stays bedridden for half a year, we’ll have to keep him well-fed. Now, we can only send aunt back and let her know there’s no benefit from causing a ruckus."
"The carriage is gone, and we still owe Steward Feng’s son at the horse market several tens of taels of silver, how do we repay this?" Zhong Lanhua frowned, "even if we work as seamstresses and don’t eat or drink, it would take a year to repay."
"Don’t worry, I can handle it." Jiang Yihuan said, "Worst case, I’ll sweet talk him. Once he’s happy, the money won’t be an issue."
When Su Yaoguang returned, Aunt Li happened to be peeking outside the courtyard. Seeing her return, she excitedly came out to greet her: "Yaoguang, do you still need flowers?"
"Absolutely." Su Yaoguang replied with a smile, "Aunt Li, keep collecting them. As much as you can get. But you know my rules, make sure they’re good quality."
"Rest assured, I won’t delay your matters." Aunt Li felt relieved and turned back to discuss the matter with her daughter-in-law.
Su Yaoguang pushed the door open and called out loudly, "Mom, Aunt, Uncle, I’m back."
Zhang Zhaodi emerged from the kitchen, her hands covered in flour, clearly kneading dough.
"Tonight, we’ll have your aunt’s specialty noodles." Zhang Zhaodi said, "You must be tired. Rest inside for a bit, we’ll call you when it’s ready."
After going inside to change clothes, Su Yaoguang came out to find Jiang Jing and Jia Chunni.
Jia Chunni was helping her mother make noodles.
Jiang Jing checked Wang Huanzhi’s pulse and said to Zhang Yingdi beside her, "Little Aunt, don’t worry, Uncle’s health is improving. As long as he doesn’t catch a cold, he can walk around the village without issue."
Zhang Yingdi thanked her profusely. Wang Huanzhi held her rough hand, looking at her with concern.
Zhang Pandi’s craftsmanship was indeed excellent; the noodles were thin and wide, very chewy.
While she was preparing the noodles, Su Yaoguang wasn’t idle either, frying eggs in a small pan and concocting sauce with various seasonings.
"You wasteful brat, use less oil." Zhang Zhaodi said, heartbroken. "This little oil was enough for us for a month in the past, now you’re using so much just for frying eggs."
"We’re earning money now, of course we should treat ourselves better. Mom, just look, all of us together don’t even weigh a thousand pounds."
Zhang Zhaodi looked at the slim Su Yaoguang, the similarly thin others including herself who scarcely weighed a hundred pounds, and fell silent.
The family sat at the table eating noodles.
While eating, Su Yaoguang recounted what she had said to Jia Chunni earlier, then asked Zhang Pandi’s opinion: "Second Aunt, do you want to go back?"
Zhang Pandi hesitated: "I certainly don’t want to return to the Jia Family, but if I divorce, my grandmother and grandfather would beat me to death and never recognize me as their daughter again."
"Second Aunt, have they cared about your life after so many years of marriage? They must have contacted you, but it’s never been about caring, they just want something from you. Let me guess, the Jia Family aren’t easy people, and likely you haven’t given them what they want, so they haven’t cared whether you and Chunni live or die, right?"
Zhang Pandi’s eyes welled up, and she bowed her head to eat.
"Mom, I don’t want to go back to the Jia Family. I’m still young, if I go back, they’ll eventually sell me for a high bride price. Mom, think about me." Jia Chunni laid down her chopsticks and pleaded to Zhang Pandi. "Last month, I overheard grandma and Aunt discussing that old bachelor in the neighboring village willing to pay twenty taels for a wife. I’ll turn fourteen after this year; how long do you think they’ll keep me? That old bachelor has killed three wives already, and if I end up with him, my fate could be worse than yours."
"If it were in the past, I’d have accepted my fate too. But now it’s different, Aunt and cousin are willing to help us! If we miss this opportunity, I’ll never escape in this lifetime, Mom."
"What are you hesitating for? Just crying, you only know how to cry, unlike your daughter who has brains." Zhang Zhaodi banged the table, "If you want a beating, go back tomorrow, don’t ask me for help anymore, I’ll pretend I don’t have a sister."
"Sister, please don’t be angry." Zhang Pandi held Zhang Zhaodi’s hand, "I’ll listen to you, and to Chunni. But that family won’t let Chunni and me go easily. Chunni, despite being a girl, is still a descendant of the Jia Family. I can’t leave Chunni to suffer there!"
"Want to break free from the Jia Family, means you’ll have to use some tactics." Zhang Zhaodi said, "When we separated from the Su Family second branch, it took a long time to get rid of them."
"Actually, it’s not hard to get rid of them." Wang Huanzhi interjected, "The Jia Family are selfish, deceitful, and shameless; as long as we exploit their nature, they’re easy to control."
"Brother-in-law, what’s your strategy?" Zhang Zhaodi asked.
"My strategy may require Second Aunt and Chunni to suffer a few days back at the Jia Family." Wang Huanzhi explained, "Once you endure this period, you’ll be free from the misery."
"If it means escaping the Jia Family completely, a few days of hardship is nothing compared to the years of misery we’ve already endured."
"Then today rest early, and tomorrow let Yaoguang take you back. However, you can’t return looking like this; you must appear more disheveled." Wang Huanzhi said.
After discussing the Jia Family, Su Yaoguang brought up the lease of the shop today. Zhang Zhaodi exclaimed at the high cost of the shop rent and the one-year commitment, repeating Jia Chunni’s worries. Su Yaoguang then explained her high orders intake, and planned to rush the goods during the shop’s renovation period, ensuring the costs would be covered.
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