"What are you two talking about behind our backs?"
The voice coming over suddenly interrupted Jiang Anning and Sui Ran's exchange of skills.
"Just as I was talking, how did sister-in-law Guicheng stew this meat? She wanted to steal a master, so that if she gets the chance later, she could stew it and eat it herself."
Jiang Anning smiled easily, without any hint of guilt.
Aunt Xiurong looked at the person suspiciously, feeling that what she just heard was not what she said.
She seemed to be in disbelief and said: "Why did I listen just now? You seemed to be talking about making money or not?"
"An Ning, we are all real relatives to you. If you really have some idea to make money and lead us all to live a prosperous life, you can't hide it. ”
Aunt Xiurong's voice suddenly became louder, causing several other people to look over.
Just hearing the words 'idea to make money' has made everyone prick up their ears and listen attentively, for fear of missing something.
Sui Ran instantly became embarrassed and nervous, and even couldn't breathe smoothly, as if he had been caught secretly doing bad things.
Jiang Anning was much calmer.
"What are Aunt Xiurong talking about? It seems like I'm hiding something..." She chuckled softly: "What have I relied on to make a living these years? All the aunts and uncles here, aren't you? Is it clear? ”
She frowned: "If everyone wants to learn, I will naturally teach you without hesitation. The price will remain as set before."
In the past, it's not like no one came to her to ask for advice on embroidery work. They also wanted to go to the embroidery workshop to take big orders and make a lot of money like her.
As a result, after only two days of studying, she was complaining of back pain and extremely uncomfortable. Everyone gathered around her to ask for advice on how to make a fortune quickly, become rich overnight, and live in a big house.
What was even more outrageous was that he secretly inquired about which embroidery workshop she took the work from, ran over to her and accepted many embroidery work that she had rejected before, and then threw them all to her.
As soon as she said she couldn't do it, she lay down in front of her house and rolled around, crying and shouting that she couldn't survive. The liquidated damages alone were enough to sell their family seven or eight times.
Later, Mrs. Zhang came forward and said that she would pay five taels of silver first, and then she would ask about this and that.
Because of this matter, Aunt Xiurong had several fights with Mr. Zhang.
However, Zhang won every time.
To be fair, Zhang did help her by standing up for her to block the constant harassment.
It was precisely because of this help that she began to regard Zhang as a benefactor, and gradually started to interact more with the Zhao family.
She was stupid at that time, believing in people's good intentions with all her heart and eyes, thinking that Mrs. Zhang was a good person.
Then she learned that Zhao Yuanshan gave her a piece of bran cake when she was dying.
Originally, she didn't remember it very clearly, only a vague shadow in her mind.
After being instructed by Zhao Yuanshan, Mrs. Zhang repeated it over and over again, and then she became more and more convinced of this 'life-saving grace'. She was very grateful to that family and wished she could give him everything within his power. People come forward to repay their kindness.
When someone mentioned the matter of paying money, Aunt Xiurong's face suddenly turned bad.
Obviously, she also remembered the argument she had with Zhang in the past.
Still the kind that always falls behind.
"You kid, what are you talking about? Why don't you learn from the good and the bad? Have you forgotten how Zhang's family treated you? Why are you still talking about people now? He followed his bastard words as if they were orders. ”
Aunt Xiurong glanced at the person sideways and said angrily: "Aren't you just like a bitch..."
Jiang Anning looked at her coldly.
Aunt Xiurong felt guilty inexplicably. She swallowed back her harsh and vicious words, turned to a straight face, assumed the attitude of an elder, and reprimanded people in cold words: "An Ning, it's really not that Auntie wants to say anything bad about you. However, when it comes to talking about it, we are all real relatives, people with the same surname. In terms of seniority, I am your elder, and I deserve some respect from you. Why are you talking about money? "< br>
"How much does it hurt the feelings of a family to say such heretical things?"
"It also seems like you don't have a tutor, doesn't it?"
Aunt Xiu Rong was exceptionally righteous and confident, speaking earnestly to others as if she was benevolent: "But I can't blame you completely. Your parents passed away early, and it's normal that no one taught you these principles."
Jiang Anning's originally kind face suddenly became cold.
She picked up the rough porcelain jar on the side and threw it to the ground.
The sound of broken porcelain exploded at Aunt Xiurong's feet, making her scream in fright and step back, staggering a few steps and almost sitting on the ground.
"You..."
Aunt Xiurong felt that she had lost face, glared at the person, gritted her teeth and wanted to rush over to teach Jiang Anning a lesson.
"I advise you not to be shameless!"
Jiang Anning's aura was full, and she glanced condescendingly at people: "Who are you? You have the nerve to put gold on your own face."
Aunt Xiurong was so angry that she stepped forward with her hands on her hips and cursed at people.
"How can you, a little girl, talk to your elders?"
She glared angrily: "Things raised without parents are..."
Snap!
He slapped Aunt Xiu Rong hard on the face, causing blood to flow from the corner of her mouth, loose teeth, and almost unable to stand still.
The vicious and mean words that he wanted to say were choked with blood foam and forced to swallow them all.
Aunt Xiurong took a moment to catch her breath and immediately wanted to fight back with her backhand. However, she was frightened by Jiang Anning's cold eyes. She froze in place, forgetting how to move.
Why does this girl look like she's been bitten by a venomous snake?
She didn't even think about why Jiang Anning was so angry.
She didn't say anything harsh just now, right?
"Who do you consider to be my elder? You have the nerve to lick your face and teach me a lesson!"
The quarrel quickly attracted everyone's attention.
Jiang Anning's eyes turned red in an instant, as if she was very angry: "I lost my parents when I was young, but I don't need you to poke the wound repeatedly to remind me."
"You still have the nerve to say that it is natural for me to be filial, and that I have no tutor!"
"Even if I really don't have a tutor, I still can't say those words without being ashamed!"
"Who do you think I am? You have the nerve to say that you want me to be filial. It's only natural."
Jiang Anning just refuted a few words, and her voice started to choke.
Everyone was a little frightened by the sudden throw of the porcelain altar by her. Now I feel pity for the person crying, and they are still a little unable to react.
Sui Ran came to his senses first, stepped forward to hug the person, and whispered softly: "Hey, what's going on? Stop crying, it makes people feel bad just looking at it."
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She patted Jiang Anning's back gently, and glared at Aunt Xiurong with a complaining tone: "You said you are also true. On a good day, An Ning invited so many of us to have dinner and lively, and we should be happy. Why do you have to expose other people’s sad things? How did An Ning offend you?”
"You are the only one who still claims to be an elder. Listen for yourself. Which words do you say like an elder?"
Aunt Xiurong was still confused.
"Didn't I say anything?"
No, what did she say?
She didn't say anything!
And it was obviously her who was slapped, but the one who hit her started crying first. This is unreasonable.
Jiang Anning originally just wanted to sob a few times to show off, but she didn't expect that grievances welled up in her heart, and she was a little out of control.
After a while, I was crying out of breath.
Aunt Fang was far away just now and was chatting with someone at the door again. She didn't pay much attention to the movement here. She was only startled by the sound of the jar being smashed just now. Now she has come back to her senses with a solemn look on her face. stepped forward.
"What's wrong? How have you been wronged?"
She took Jiang Anning from Sui Ran's arms and gently patted his back to help him calm down: "I don't want to cry like this. It will be terrible when my back is over!"
"What's going on? You were fine just now, why are you crying like this..."
Aunt Fang looked at Sui Ran, seeking the answer.
Sui Ran glared at Aunt Xiurong, but she didn't add any fuel to the fire. She said concisely and to the point: "Aunt Xiurong just talked about An Ning's deceased parents, and what she said was not pleasant."
To make people cry like this, can it be summed up in just four words, "not very nice"?
Aunt Fang immediately thought of countless scenarios in which Aunt Xiurong, with her foul-mouthed and vicious mouth, would bully a little girl who had no father, no mother, and no mother.
She pushed him into Sui Ran's arms, and slightly restrained her voice and temper: "Take An Ning back to the house first, and get her some water to wash her face."
Turning around, she softly coaxed Jiang Anning: "An Ning, don't cry. It will hurt your body if you turn around. Don't worry, Aunt Fang will decide everything for you."
Jiang Anning:......
She really didn't want to cry like this.
But I couldn't stop crying, as if there were springs in my eyes.
Sui Ran hugged someone and walked out of the kitchen. The sharp-eyed woman immediately poked the little daughter who was following him.
Jiang Yulan put down what she was doing and hurriedly followed. There was a six-legged high basin stand at the door of the main room. She picked up the copper basin placed on it and went to the well at the east end of the courtyard to fill half a basin of water: "Here comes the water. Sister An Ning, please wash your face first."
Sui Ran raised his head and glanced at the person. He didn't say anything. He just went over and brought a clean cloth, wet it and wrung it out, and handed it to the person: "Wipe it quickly. It makes me feel bad to see you crying like this."
Jiang Anning said "hmm" in a depressed voice.
She really didn't want to cry like this, it was quite embarrassing when she thought about it.
"Thank you, sister-in-law Guicheng."
She glanced past Sui Ran and landed on Jiang Yulan, who looked elegant and elegant next to her: "Thank you, sister Yulan."
"I'm so sorry for making you laugh."
Jiang Anning really felt a little embarrassed.
She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief moistened with cold water. The cool and refreshing feeling made her clear-headed and calm her down a lot.
"I was so excited just now that I couldn't hold back my emotions for a while."
Seeing the person's apologetic look, Sui Ran burst out laughing: "How can I blame you? I must blame Aunt Xiurong for speaking so incomprehensively, how could she..."
Sui Ran paused for a moment and stopped in time. His face also looked a little apologetic. He carefully glanced at Jiang Aning and saw that Jiang Aning didn't seem to be touched, and then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't be too greedy, that person just can't keep his head clear."
Jiang Anning said 'hmm' and soon laughed again: "Thank you sister-in-law Guicheng for speaking up for me just now."
Before, she really didn't realize that Sui Ran had such a cheerful temperament.
She thought about it carefully, and it seemed that she had not interacted with many people in her previous life.
"Why are you so polite to me?"
Sui Ran said openly: "I am not selfish."
Jiang Anning blinked and looked at her.
Sui Ran glanced at Jiang Yulan but said nothing.
Jiang Yulan chuckled: "There is still work to be done over there in the kitchen. I'll go over and take a look."
After saying that, he went out carrying the copper basin.
Jiang Anning raised her eyebrows, thinking that this girl was also interesting.
"Sister-in-law Guicheng, is there anything you want to tell me privately?"
She stood up and closed half of the door, but she was afraid that Sui Ran would be embarrassed to speak, so she took the initiative to ask.
A person who was originally straightforward and courageous could not help but become a little nervous at this moment.
"I was thinking of borrowing some money from you."
Sui Ran's voice was as quiet as a mosquito: "I know it's presumptuous to say this. If you find it difficult, just think of me as stupid..."
"How much to borrow?"
After Jiang Anning asked the question sincerely, she couldn't help but regret it.
She pursed her lips, her heart pounding in confusion.
Sui Ran blinked and looked at the person with surprise, as if he didn't expect that Jiang Anning would really want to lend her money.
When she came back to her senses, her eyes filled with excitement: "I, I want to borrow twenty taels from you... No, no, no, no, ten taels, do you think ten taels are okay?"
After saying that, before Jiang Anning could react, she dismissed herself first: "If you don't have enough money or it's inconvenient, you can do it with just two or five, do you think?"
Sui Ran grabbed the fabric of her skirt very uneasily.
"May I ask, what does Sister-in-law Guicheng want to do with the money?"
Jiang Anning was also very nervous.
Sui Ran sighed: "This is not me and your brother Guicheng. We want to buy a few more acres of land and have a better harvest next year."
She unconsciously raised her hand and rubbed her belly: "We have been married for almost a year. In the past, our family was not wealthy and we did not dare to think about children."
"What Guicheng means is that there are only a few people in the family and they are still struggling to make ends meet. If you have more children, you will have more mouths to talk about. Why bother letting the children be born into this world and suffer."
Sui Ran lowered his head in embarrassment.
Jiang Guicheng's idea is really unique in today's world.
Which family takes a wife back, not just to have children and expand their family?
What's more, in rural areas where strong labor is scarce, families only look forward to giving birth to more sons, not only to pass on the incense, but also to raise more laborers who can work and make money.
This was the first time Jiang Anning heard someone say that because her family was poor and she was worried that she would not be able to provide for the child, she did not want to have a child.
She blinked her eyes, feeling that this statement was very novel.
However, most of her thoughts on matters such as having children came from Zhang's indoctrination.
Mrs. Zhang told her that women should take care of the housework at home, take care of themselves, have more children, and then support their husbands and raise their children.
But Jiang Anning felt strange again.
Madam Zhang said that a woman should be responsible for the food, drink, and toileting of the whole family, and should work diligently and quickly. However, Madam Zhang's daughter, Zhao Yinlian, never worked in the fields, washed in the kitchen, or took care of the food and drink of the whole family.
Later, when she got married, Mr. Zhang never did any housework, and made her do all the work that needed to be done.
It seemed that those standards and requirements were only for her.
Even Zhao Jiang's wife, who later married in, had never done any work.
Jiang Anning looked at Sui Ran and thought, maybe Sui Ran and Jiang Guicheng are right?
"But not long ago, sister-in-law Guicheng told me that crops like ours always don't grow well even if they are taken care of carefully."
She straightened her mind and expressed her worries and doubts: "If I really lend you money to buy land, I'm afraid it will take a long time to pay it back based on the little harvest."
"That's true..." Sui Ran said without confidence: "But we, with our background, apart from doing hard work, we can only eat from the soil."
Sui Ran was relieved and felt that Jiang Anning's words of rejection were already obvious.
If she continued to talk, she would be a little shy.
But she was unwilling to give up like this...
"An Ning, I know we haven't had many interactions in the past. I'm really embarrassing you by borrowing money from you so rashly, and I'm bound to be frightened. Thinking that if the money is really loaned out, can your brother Guicheng and I... Come on.”
Sui Ran gritted his teeth and planned to risk it all: "I promise you, if you borrow this money, I will pay it back within two...three years. I will pay it back within three years!"
"I will give you an IOU, no, I will give you an IOU with your brother Guicheng. According to the standard of borrowing money, we will give you interest, is that okay?"
She thought about it and felt that it was better to borrow money from Jiang Anning than to risk borrowing money from those loan sharks.
Originally, she and her family planned to take out a loan that day.
As soon as they left the house, they heard people in the village saying that the Zhao family had come to collect debts. When they came over and saw how ferocious the group of people were, clamoring to cut off their hands and feet, they were so frightened that they immediately stopped going.
Not long ago, I heard Aunt Xiurong showing off proudly at home: "Now that Mrs. Zhang has entered, she has taken advantage of us and got more than ten taels of silver in vain."
After listening carefully, she realized that Aunt Xiurong's grandson was suffering from an emergency and could not get the money for medicine, and he was about to die.
It was Jiang Anning who lent him fifteen taels of silver and used good medicine to hang him up to save his life.
It's just that this IOU was somehow transferred from Jiang Anning's hands to Zhang's.
It was obvious that these two people were always noisy and quarrelsome when they got together.
Sui Ran wasn't very concerned about the two people's private dirty laundry, but he was inevitably tempted to borrow money from Jiang Anning.
She mentioned this plan to her man.
Jiang Guicheng was originally reluctant.
After thinking about it over and over for a whole night, I finally relaxed.
"Peace..."
Sui Ran decided to fight for it again.
Suddenly there was a noise outside, mixed with women's screams and cries. One of them sounded like the leader of the Jiang clan, and the other sounded like Aunt Xiurong?
Jiang Anning and Sui Ran both turned their heads and looked into the yard.
"Come on, come with me and apologize to An Ning. You're not ashamed. You don't understand people at all."
Hearing what seemed like a crowd of people outside walking toward the house, Jiang Anning patted Sui Ran's hand: "Sister-in-law Guicheng, please let me think about this first."
As soon as he finished speaking, the half-closed wooden door was pushed open.
Aunt Xiurong's man, Jiang Xiurong, stood at the door with a stern face and angry eyes, searching for her.