Xiao Yifeng obediently supported himself against the table and stood up. Without a measuring tape, Jiang Yutong used a piece of straw instead.
When she stepped in front of Xiao Yifeng, she suddenly felt a sense of pressure. Just how tall was he? Standing in front of him, she only reached his chest. The original body was simply too short and slender.
Fortunately, she had been eating and drinking well recently and felt that she had grown a little taller.
“Raise your arms.”
Xiao Yifeng obediently lifted his arms.
Jiang Yutong slipped the straw underneath his arms. Unfortunately, the straw was a little too short, so she had no choice but to move a little closer.
Both Jiang Yutong and Xiao Yifeng held their breath.
Jiang Yutong did so because the smell coming from Xiao Yifeng was overwhelming. How many days had it been since he last changed his clothes? The smell was really quite strong.
This was exactly why Jiang Yutong was so eager to make clothes for him. Without a change of clothes, not only would Xiao Yifeng be unable to stand it, but Jiang Yutong wouldn’t be able to stand it either.
As for Xiao Yifeng, he held his breath and his body tensed because a faint, pleasant fragrance had drifted into his nose.
It was Jiang Yutong’s scent.
Jiang Yutong looked at the straw, which still wasn’t long enough to go all the way around his chest, and thought to herself, He doesn’t even look that muscular.
She had used the longest piece of straw she could find.
Jiang Yutong released the straw.
“Wait a moment. I’ll see if I can find something else.”
After Jiang Yutong left, Xiao Yifeng’s expression finally relaxed.
Jiang Yutong searched for a long time before finding a piece of rope and bringing it back. She measured his size again.
After quite a bit of effort, she finally finished taking all his measurements, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Using the measurements, Jiang Yutong began cutting the fabric. She wasn’t concerned about whether the clothes looked good. As long as they could be worn, that was enough.
Once everything had been cut, she began sewing the pieces together with needle and thread. Meanwhile, the medicine in the clay pot was bubbling away, steam rising from it.
“Yutong, are you there?”
When Jiang Yutong heard the voice, she recognized it as Aunt Wang’s.
She quickly hid the fabric and ignored the steaming medicine pot.
“Hide for a moment,” she said toward the side room.
As she answered, she opened the courtyard gate.
“Aunt Wang, what brings you here?”
Aunt Wang had some vegetables in her basket.
“I just picked some vegetables from the fields and thought I’d bring you some.”
“Thank you, Aunt Wang.”
“Why does it smell like medicine?”
Jiang Yutong quickly explained, “Ma the Butcher shoved me around a few times yesterday, and I felt a little unwell afterward, so I brewed some medicine for myself.”
Fortunately, Aunt Wang believed her explanation.
“That Ma the Butcher really got what he deserved. You heard about it, right? He didn’t come home at all last night, and his family was frantic with worry. They eventually found him by the roadside. I heard his arms and legs had all been dislocated.”
Aunt Wang described everything vividly, while Jiang Yutong merely smiled and said nothing.
“It’s really satisfying. I wonder who did such a good deed. But Ma the Butcher definitely won’t let whoever dislocated his arms off easily. I heard he’s already gone to the county town to find his brother-in-law.”
Jiang Yutong frowned.
Is this Ma the Butcher still not done?
Aunt Wang hesitated before saying, “There’s one more piece of news. Your mother’s family home was smashed up by the Ma family.”
Jiang Yutong’s eyes widened.
“My mother’s family home was smashed up by the Ma family?”
Why did she actually feel a little happy about it?
Good. They deserved it.
“Yes. I heard they smashed everything they could. Your stepmother was beaten too, and she’s lying in bed now. Do you want to go back and take a look?”
Jiang Yutong shook her head.
“We’ve already cut ties. I’m not going.”
Aunt Wang sighed.
“That’s fine. A family like that is better off not having them at all.”
The two of them chatted for a while before Aunt Wang finally left.
“I need to go home and cook. Come over to my house when you have time. It was better when you were staying with me. The two of us always had so much to talk about.”
Jiang Yutong agreed with her and saw Aunt Wang out of the courtyard.
She hurried back to check the medicine.
It was almost ready.
Meanwhile, in Xiayuan Village, Wang Chunhua was lying in bed, howling in pain and cursing.
“Hurry up and go tie that wretched girl up and bring her back! She’s gone completely out of control! I found her such a good marriage, and she refused it. My silver! And all my things were smashed too!”
This time, Wang Chunhua was truly furious.
She couldn’t even get out of bed. Part of it was because she had been shoved around by the Ma family, and part of it was because not only had her belongings been smashed, but the money she had received had also been taken back.
Her heart was practically bleeding.
If she could have bitten Jiang Yutong, she would have gladly sunk her teeth into her.
The previous night, Wang Chunhua had been sleeping soundly in bed. She had been imagining how Jiang Yutong was probably being beaten by Ma the Butcher, crying and begging for mercy, and the thought had filled her with satisfaction.
Unexpectedly, someone began pounding on the door in the middle of the night.
She hurriedly told Jiang Dainian to get out of bed and see who it was.
Before she could even put on her coat, there was a loud bang.
Then Ma the Butcher’s fierce mother shouted from outside.
“Wang Chunhua! Get your shameless self out here!”
Wang Chunhua’s heart jolted.
What happened? Didn’t I send Jiang Yutong to Ma the Butcher?
She hadn’t even put her shoes on properly before rushing out of the room.
Several tall and burly men from the Ma family were standing there. Madam Ma had her hands on her hips and was cursing furiously.
Meanwhile, Jiang Dainian was lying on the ground, groaning.
Wang Chunhua trembled, her words becoming incoherent.
“Madam, let’s talk this out. What happened?”
Thinking about the miserable state her son was in, Madam Ma was furious.
Their Ma family had never suffered such humiliation before. They had always been the ones bullying others. When had they ever been the ones getting beaten?
“Wang Chunhua, your Jiang family raised quite a daughter! She actually dared to beat my son! Do you know what my eldest son looks like now? Today, I’m going to teach you people a lesson. Otherwise, you’ll think our Ma family is easy to bully.”
Madam Ma waved both hands.
“Smash everything!”
Besides Ma the Butcher, the Ma family had three younger sons. All three were tall and burly, and they clearly weren’t people to mess with.
The reason the Ma family could act so arrogantly in Shangyuan Village had a lot to do with these three sons.
As soon as Madam Ma gave the order, the three brothers immediately began smashing things, destroying anything they could get their hands on.
Wang Chunhua tried to stop them.
“Madam, please, let’s talk this out. Jiang Yutong is just a young girl. How could she possibly beat Ma the Butcher? There must be some mistake.”
Madam Ma slapped Wang Chunhua across the face.
“Are you saying I’m lying?”
Wang Chunhua covered her face and timidly said, “No, no. I just mean… could there have been some misunderstanding?”
“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? Are you saying my son made it up?”
With that, Madam Ma shoved Wang Chunhua hard, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Jiang Yaozu had been awakened by the commotion. Realizing that something was wrong, he hid on the bed without daring to make a sound.
He was so frightened that he even wet the bed.
After everything in the house that could be smashed had been destroyed, Madam Ma demanded that Wang Chunhua return the betrothal money they had originally given her.
“Give the money back. Not a single coin less. And you’ll also pay for my son’s medical expenses.”
The silver Wang Chunhua had barely managed to get her hands on had to be handed back.
Not only did she have to return the betrothal money, but the family’s only ten taels of silver were also taken away by Madam Ma.
All Wang Chunhua could do was lie in bed and curse Jiang Yutong.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yutong had no time to worry about Wang Chunhua.
Knowing that the constable would be coming, she was already thinking about how she should plan her next move.