Chapter 101.2 - Buying Jiang Xiaomei
“Separation?” Butcher Jiang was stunned.
“Mom, Dad, if we separate my family from my second brother’s, if you follow me, you will still be able to live a good life. Otherwise, in the future, we will all eat wind together,” Jiang Chengxiang said. He felt that, by helping Jiang Chengwen pay off his debts before the family split up, he wouldn’t be able to get anything after. He might as well divide the family right there and let Jiang Chengwen sell his share of the family fortune to pay off his debts!
“No! Jiang Chengxiang, you are too vicious. You are trying to kill your brother!” Huang Min jumped up all of a sudden. If the family separated at this moment, it was estimated that there would be nothing left after the land allocated to Jiang Chengwen was sold to pay off his debts. Where could they live in the future?
“It’s hard to let him drag the whole family down with him. One hundred thirty silver is not a small amount of money!” Jiang Chengxiang said.
“It’s not like the family can’t afford the money! Jiang Chengxiang, why are you so vicious!” Huang Min sat on the ground and began to cry. “If you want to separate the family, alright, I will hang myself in front of your house tomorrow to let people know that you’ve forced your pregnant sister-in-law to death!”
Of course, Huang Min was reluctant to die, but that did not stop her from threatening people with her death.
Although Jiang Chengwen was very lazy, he was still good to his wife. What’s more, he also knew that if they were to separate at this time, he would be finished. He directly pounced on Jiang Chengxiang, and Jiang Chengxiang hit Jiang Chengwen. Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen started fighting.
When Zhu Shufen saw this scene, she went back to her room with a straight face. She regretted that she had married Jiang Chengxiang. But . . . looking at her growing belly, Zhu Shufen could only endure it.
People were selfish, and she had to take care of her own baby . . . After returning to her room, Zhu Shufen packed up a few things and went back to her own family house, intending to let her family force Butcher Jiang to separate his two sons. She also didn’t want to be with Jiang Chengwen and Huang Min anymore!
However, Butcher Jiang and old lady Jiang could follow them since both of them still had the strength to work for a long time.
There was a lot of noise in the Jiang family, and it soon attracted people around to watch the hustle. People were filled with different emotions as they watched this farce of the Jiang family.
“In the past, when Jiang Zhen was still in the family, they lived a good life. Look at how long it took . . .”
“In fact, I wanted to say before that only the eldest son of the three sons of the Jiang family could work.”
“I’m afraid the Jiang family will break up in the future . . .”
“That Jiang Zhen, it can be said that he is really a blessing . . .”
. . .
“Jiang Zhen, being blessed, may not necessarily be true . . . Didn’t he meet trouble when he went out this time?”
“I heard that they met pirates, and that Li Yuan died.”
“The people who went out didn’t bring anything back. I’m afraid they didn’t make any money.”
“For a man, it is better to buy land and cultivate it, working in a down-to-earth manner. When doing business, you might accidentally lose all your money.”
. . .
In the countryside, people believe in keeping their money secret, or else, what if someone came to steal it? Because of this, although Jiang Ming and others got a lot of money, they did not say a word about it, so much so that everyone in the village felt that Jiang Zhen’s trip did not go well.
Jiang Zhen also learned about the affairs of the Jiang family. Jiang Ping’s house was not far away from the Jiang family, so when Jiang Ming saw the situation of the Jiang family, he came to Jiang Zhen and told him about it vividly.
“Those people . . .” Jiang Zhen snorted coldly.
As a matter of fact, Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen were not necessarily that bad themselves, but they were spoiled by old lady Jiang without a doubt.
Even though there was so much work to do in the fields, old lady Jiang never let them do it, only asking him to do it alone . . . In modern times, some families preferred boys over daughters and let their daughters work while their sons didn’t have to do anything. Regardless of their thoughts, the girls raised in such families were very capable. But what about the son they raised? You can’t do anything about an opened bottle of oil after it falls down.
Without the hardworking eldest Jiang at home, how would the family be able to survive with these people?
There are some things that are better to end early . . .
Jiang Zhen looked to Jiang Ming. “You go keep an eye on things, and when they are almost done fighting, come and tell me.”
“Good!” Jiang Ming immediately ran away.
When Jiang Zhen looked back, he saw that Jiang Xiaomei was looking in the direction of Jiang Ming’s departure
In this small village, there was no rule of not marrying people with the same surname, as long as the two families were not directly related. Jiang family and Jiang Ping’s family had nothing to do with each other.
If Jiang Xiaomei liked him . . . Jiang Zhen thought that he could create some opportunities for the two of them to get closer and see if they were suitable or not.
Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang fought until they were finally separated by Butcher Jiang and some relatives and friends of the Jiang family. It was at this time that Jiang Zhen came.
Jiang Zhen . . . What was he doing here?
When Jiang Chengwen saw Jiang Zhen, he immediately looked at him angrily . . . Old lady Jiang wanted to jump out too, but there were many people behind Jiang Zhen.
Jiang Ming was a very easy-going man who was raised in a good family environment since he was a child. He has read some books and often went to the theatre. As soon as Jiang Zhen entered the Jiang family house, he moved the best chair over. “Boss, sit down!”
Jiang Zhen was stunned then sat down and looked around at his men then at the bruised and swollen Jiang family in front of him. Suddenly, he felt like a triad boss.
“You were going to sell Xiaomei, aren’t you?” When the Jiang family did not speak, Jiang Zhen spoke first.
“What sell? We just found her a husband! Letting her live in a country town and enjoy herself!” old lady Jiang said.
“What a nice thing to say.” Jiang Zhen laughed.
“Jiang Zhen, you’d better give your little sister back! Or I’ll go to the yamen and sue you for kidnapping and human trafficking!” Jiang Chengwen was so anxious; he forced himself to stand up to give a warning.
He was afraid that if Jiang Xiaomei would not go back, Butcher Jiang and old lady Jiang would really want him to separate from Jiang Chengxiang . . . Even if they didn’t separate, without the silver from selling Jiang Xiaomei, their family would definitely have a hard time in the future.
“Jiang Zhen, you weren’t afraid of me suing you before, but now what? Do you have the guts to go to the yamen and kill like you said before? At that time, the first person with bad luck will be the Zhao family and Zhao Jinge!”
The more Jiang Chengwen said, the more he felt that he was right. He was not as afraid of Jiang Zhen as before.
“Go and beat him up,” Jiang Zhen said to Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming went up and slapped Jiang Chengwen on the face, followed by another kick . . . This man’s mind was not clear. First, he was cheated out of money and now wanted to sell his own sister. He was simply not a human being.
The head of the village who came in a hurry to stop fighting was full of embarrassment. This . . . Why . . . Why was his son also hitting people?
“If you have something to say . . . ,” Jiang Ping said.
“Dad, we’re having a good talk.” Jiang Ming let go of Jiang Chengwen with a smile.
Jiang Chengwen, who just shouted that he would go to the yamen to sue Jiang Zhen, didn’t dare to say even a word.
Jiang Zhen was already extremely disappointed with this family, so he didn’t bother to talk with these people. “Yes, I am no longer the same. I am not open-minded . . . So I came this time to talk to you.”
Jiang Zhen sat in a chair, but the Jiang family was still standing, but they were still feeling that Jinag Zhen was looking down at them.
Jiang Zhen continued, “Aren’t you going to sell Jiang Xiaomei? It would be better to sell her to me than to someone else. But from then on, like me, she will have nothing to do with you and will be cutting off ties with you.”
“You want to buy Jiang Xiaomei?” old lady Jiang raised her head and said, “Two hundred silver! You pay me two hundred silver!”
“You guys beat up Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang,” Jiang Zhen said.
Jiang Ming pushed up his sleeves and went up with He Chunsheng.
Jiang Ping: “. . .”
“Fifty silver, you will sell whether you want to or not.” Jiang Zhen said directly.
In fact, it didn’t cost much money to raise a child in the countryside. It’s just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks. Moreover, when the child was seven or eight years old, they would be able to start working.
Although Jiang Chengxiang and Jiang Chengwen never worked, Jiang Xiaomei began to help old lady Jiang cook and wash clothes when she was still very young. Later, she was in charge of the chickens and ducks at home, so she didn’t need to work in the fields. Therefore, it would absolutely not cost Jiang family fifty silver to raise Jiang Xiaomei.
At this time, of course, old lady Jiang wanted to raise the price again, but how could she when her two sons are getting beaten up!
“Sell it or not?” Jiang Zhen asked.
Old lady Jiang finally agreed. “Sell.”
When Jiang Zhen heard the words, he said to Jiang Ming. “All right, you guys can stop.”
The village head Jiang Ping breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that these people finally stopped fighting. At this time, Jiang Zhen looked at him and said, “Village head, I would like to trouble you to be a middleman in this deal.”
Jiang Ping: “. . .”
The Jiang family was not easy to deal with. If they bought Jiang Xiaomei from them, they would definitely be able to cheat and deny the debt if he didn’t have a document, so he definitely wanted the deed of sale.
Jiang Zhen didn’t really know anything about the sale deed at this time, but Jiang Ping had seen it before. He discussed it with the Jiang family, confirmed with Jiang Zhen, and quickly wrote down a sale deed.
It was like this:
“Jiang Chengwen has a younger sister, named Xiaomei, who is sixteen years old, and is willing to sell herself to Zhao Jinge as a servant.”
It also stated, “The base price is 50 silver. If there are any problems, a middleman would take over the management of the person, and this person will have nothing to do with the buyer. Because there is no other proof, it is signed by the seller and kept by the buyer.”
Seller: Jiang Chengwen
Mediator: Jiang Ping, He Chunsheng
The writer: Jiang Chengxiang