NFBE Chapter 247 News about Jiang Chen
Chapter 247 News about Jiang Chen
Shen Qingshan felt that this group of people was simply shameful. What were they talking about in front of Nanzhi?
Send those people away quickly, get on the kang as soon as possible and enjoy it. As for whether your butt will be burned or not, go home and figure it out yourself!
Shen Nanzhi also needed to build a kang at home, but she didn't need to do it because Chen Hu could do it. Not only was he good at hunting, he could also do some masonry and carpentry work, and he could even weave baskets. He was very dexterous.
In the summer, he would weave small animals out of dogtail grass and coax the children to hang around him, and the parent-child relationship was very good.
Now people also use corn husks to weave some small animals, which are new toys for children.
Shen Nanzhi also likes it. She always takes part in what Chen Hu does. It feels good to be pampered by someone.
Shen Huai'en and the servants in the house helped to make the kang for Shen Nanzhi first. Actually, she meant to make the kang for Sister Xu and the children first. Chen Hu insisted on making it for her first. The children slept together, wearing the cotton-padded clothes and shoes brought back by Shen Nanzhi, and covered with thick quilts, so they were not cold.
Shen Nanzhi had no choice but to let him do what he wanted. With more people working together, the work became faster. They worked overnight and finally finished making all the kangs.
We need to use a low fire to burn off the moisture so that we can go to bed tomorrow. Everyone is tired after a day's work, so we just squeeze together and get by for the night.
While people in Yushu Village were busy preparing their kangs, life in the neighboring Shimo Village was not easy. This winter was particularly cold, and life was even more difficult for each family. They all stayed at home to hibernate.
But Jiang's mother was restless, as she was worried about her beloved fourth son. It had been such a long time, and there had been no news at all. She was so worried that she couldn't sleep or eat well. Coupled with the sudden change in the weather, she fell ill.
After that, the three daughters-in-law took turns to take care of the patient. Jiang's mother had a bad temper and always tortured her daughters-in-law. In addition, a lot of money was spent on buying medicine, so the Jiang family was in chaos and quarrels all day long.
There was talk of dividing the family property before, but because of Jiang Chen's disappearance, no division had been made for the time being. Now that Jiang's mother is sick, this topic has been brought up again.
Jiang's mother became even more ill due to their anger. Jiang's father was going to be mad to death if the family was not divided, so he thought about it and had to ask the village chief to preside over the division of the family property.
Before he could invite him, Village Chief Jiang came over first. Father Jiang hurried to greet him and said, "Village Chief is here. I was just thinking of going to see you for something."
"You speak first."
"Let the village chief speak first. My family...ah, I am incompetent. I am too embarrassed to speak."
Village Chief Jiang sneered, thinking to himself, you deserve it, you have been cheating on me, you have lost your integrity in your later years, and you can't control your children, this is retribution!
Why does he look so happy?
What Miss Shen said was true. To avenge your enemy by beating him to death with a stick is certainly satisfying, but to watch your enemy suffer a fate worse than death and struggle in the mud is even more satisfying.
"Then I have to tell you, there is news about your Jiang Chen."
Village Chief Jiang whispered, afraid of being heard, as if Jiang Chen was a criminal.
"Really? Where is he? Why doesn't he come home?"
Village Chief Jiang sighed, "You really don't understand the child's heart. He has always been a high and mighty scholar, and now he has been kicked out of the academy, how can he have the face to come back?
What are you doing here? Waiting for the villagers to come to you to collect your debts? Or to be laughed at? Can you as parents protect him?"
Father Jiang was ashamed. He was like countless parents in the world, waiting for his children to become successful and provide for him in his old age. However, he gave up on making progress and relied entirely on his children after his children became adults.
"Where is he?"
Village Chief Jiang: "It's in the prefectural city, which is a bit far. I went to the county to do some work, and the person in charge of the county government told me about it. It seems that he is living a good life. I have to say that your youngest son is smart and lucky. It might be a good thing for him to leave the county."
"The capital city?"
Father Jiang's heart was burning with joy, and he became even more proud. His youngest son had always been smart, and his talent could not be hidden anywhere.
Village chief Jiang knew what he was thinking just by looking at his expression, and he sneered in his heart, thinking, "The pit has been dug for you, waiting for you to jump in."
Father Jiang was happy for a while, then got down to business: "Village head, I'm worried that my son is sick and the children are noisy. If this continues, the family will have to break up. I mean just divide it among them."
Village Chief Jiang had heard about this a long time ago. The daughters-in-law were very resentful and were also worried that Jiang Chen would leave and the debts would fall on them. Now they had to take care of their sick mother-in-law. They were like fighting cocks and would fight each other whenever they met.
"Divide the family? Think about it carefully. In the future, when you are doing corvée service or conscription, you will be selected according to the household registration. If you divide the family, they will have their own household registration, and they will have to bear any problems on their own."
"Since they are making such a fuss and refuse to listen to me, I can't control them. Just let them do whatever they want."
"Okay, if you've made up your mind, I'll find a few uncles and village elders to be witnesses and divide the property among you. You should count all the property first, and then you'll have an idea of how to divide it."
Father Jiang would not tell the village chief about his family background, so he sent him out and told Mother Jiang the good news first.
When Jiang's mother heard that Jiang Chen had settled down in the capital, she was so happy that she almost recovered from her illness: "Let's go to our youngest son. Look at them, they are so heartless. They only served me for a few days and they acted like they wanted my life. I've had enough."
What a bunch of unfilial people! Mother Jiang wished she had never given birth to them.
"Then should we split up the family? What the village chief said makes sense. The conscription next year will be based on household registration. If we split up the family, I'm afraid they will all have to serve in the military."
Jiang's mother already had a younger son, so why would she care about the older ones?
"It must be divided. Let them all get out. If they are not willing to serve me, I will not care about their food and shelter.
This house was built by me, and the money was saved by me. If anyone is not happy living here, get out and figure out a solution yourself."
Jiang's mother wanted them to leave the house, but Jiang's father couldn't bear it: "It's so cold, isn't it a torture?"
"It's what they deserve. Who told them not to serve me?"
Jiang's mother was as hard as iron and didn't care about the lives of her older sons at all.
The two discussed for a long time, and Jiang's father went to the village chief's house and asked him to find out the whereabouts of Jiang Chen. He was thinking of going to live with his youngest son.
Village Chief Jiang did not refuse, "I also asked someone to find it. There is no reason to let people work for nothing."
"I know."
Jiang's father gave ten taels of silver, and Village Chief Jiang accepted it without hesitation, as it was what he deserved.
"Okay, I'll go ask around as soon as possible, but whether I can find him or not depends on luck. After all, he only took a quick look, and the city is so big that it's hard to find someone."
"I know. If the money is not enough, you can talk later. You must find the person."
Village Chief Jiang asked again: "Do you still want to separate the family?"
"We have to do it, but they are not filial, so it is impossible for them to share the family property. Give them some food. If they want to split the family property, they can move out. Don't expect to eat up my wealth."
Village Chief Jiang bared his teeth and said, "Are you asking them to leave the house with nothing? You won't give your huge house to the children?"
"No, that was covered with the dowry of the fourth son's wife, and the money was paid back by the fourth son. Why should it be divided among them?"
Village chief Jiang understood that they wanted to leave the house to Jiang Chen. These two old people were really partial to their youngest son.
The three older ones are really pitiful. They have worked so hard for so many years just to make things easier for their younger brother, but they have nothing in return.
But no one can help them in this matter. Their parents are partial to each other, and the children can only endure it. Now they are said to be unfilial. If they dare to make trouble, their parents will directly kick them out of the house, and no one can say anything.
One form of unfilial piety is the natural suppression of children by parents.
The daughters-in-law are also stupid. The mother-in-law holds the family property in her hands. If you don't serve her well and make trouble all day long, won't that give the mother-in-law an excuse to deal with them?
"Village Chief, Jiang Chen's father, please go back and take a look. Something happened at your house."
Father Jiang was surprised and asked, "What happened in my family?"
The visitor had a strange look on his face and said, "You, your third daughter-in-law is pregnant."
Father Jiang said, "Isn't this a good thing?"
The man said, "Your third son wants to beat her to death, saying that she is having an affair and the child is not his."
"This bastard has no evidence at all. How stupid is he to say this about his wife!"
Father Jiang hurried back, and Village Chief Jiang followed closely behind him with cheerful steps. There were so many dramas in Jiang Chen's family!
He would never admit that he was gloating, he was there to uphold justice.
The sound of men scolding and women crying could be heard from a long distance away. The Jiang family was surrounded by villagers again. They were not afraid of freezing even in such a cold day.
"Let's go home, aren't you afraid of freezing your ears?"
"It's not cold, it's quite warm."
Who would feel cold while watching the fun?
Village chief Jiang was just pretending. There was nothing he could do if they refused to leave. He also wanted to watch the fun.
Father Jiang didn't bother to chase the man away, and first grabbed his youngest son, "That's enough, aren't you ashamed? You've turned a good thing into a bad thing, stop hitting people."
Jiang San squatted down with his head in his hands, unable to express his pain.
Jiang Da and Jiang Er both knew very well that the child of the third brother's wife was definitely not the third brother's. She must have cheated on him, and it would not be unfair to beat her to death.
Jiang San's wife was beaten and was crying and wiping her tears. When she saw Village Chief Jiang coming, she immediately hid behind him and said, "Village Chief, you have to make the decision for me."
Village Chief Jiang: "Of course. Tell me, what do you want?"
Jiang San's wife was also hesitant. She knew her own business and she was in the wrong, but she had to risk everything to save her life. "Village chief, I'll tell you the truth. This child is definitely not the third child's. It's my cousin's from my mother's side."
"what?"
A stone stirs up a thousand waves. Jiang San's eyes turned red and he grabbed a stick to beat her to death: "I will beat you to death first, and then go find that adulterer. You two will both die miserably."
Jiang San's wife shouted, "Why would I cheat on you? Don't you know? You are the one who is incompetent. If I follow you, I will never have a child. All of you in the Jiang family are eunuchs, not men. Do you really have to tell me?"
The villagers were even more surprised, is this true?
Father Jiang almost fainted. "Shut up, what nonsense are you talking about? You cheated on me, and now you admit it. You should be put in a pig cage or beaten to death. How dare you throw dirty water on my family? You are so vicious!"