Madam Ye sighed and muttered beside them, "Aunt Feng, I don't know if I should say this... A'Tang and A Yi have lost their father, and their mother is not by their side. Being driven out to live in that dilapidated thatched cottage is simply not a long-term solution."
"Their parents originally contributed money for that new house. In the future, when A Yi needs to marry a wife, if there isn't a decent house, which family's young lady would be willing to come?"
She was genuinely worried for these two children.
Hearing this, Aunt Feng felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. She had just crawled back from the Gate of Hell and was struggling even to speak; how could she have the strength to fight for these things for the children?
"Aunt, don't worry, we can take good care of ourselves," Jiang Tang said with a firm tone. "A Yi will definitely be able to marry a wife in the future."
She had no intention of moving back into the new house, but if her Uncle wanted to occupy their house, he would have to pay for it with silver.
Aunt Feng leaned against Jiang Tang's back, secretly marveling; this granddaughter seemed like a completely different person.
In the past, she was always mild-mannered and never argued with anyone, but now she dared to speak and act, and she didn't hesitate even when it came to using force.
As they neared the entrance of their home, they saw the Village Chief being dragged by his sleeve by a young lady, jogging all the way over.
"Dad, hurry up!" The young lady had a loud voice, and she pulled the Village Chief so hard he staggered.
The Village Chief was over thirty years old; he was panting from being dragged along, sweat seeping from his forehead.
The young lady looked up and saw Jiang Tang and the others, immediately shouting, "A'Tang! A Yi! Are you okay? I dragged my dad here to save you!"
It was Song Jiuxi, a good friend who used to go Sea Gathering with the original owner. Her temperament was carefree and boisterous, much like a young boy.
"I'm fine, no need to run so urgently." Jiang Tang looked at her hurried appearance, and the corner of her mouth couldn't help but curve upward.
In her previous life, she was lonely and had no friends. She never expected that here, not only would she have relatives, but also friends who treated her with such sincerity.
It was worth it!
Song Jiuxi ran up close, leaning on her knees to catch her breath, but she didn't stop talking: "I saw something was wrong on the tidal flats just now, so... so I ran home to find my dad. Who knew he had gone to town with my mom? I just dragged him off the ox cart as soon as he got back. Are you really okay? You weren't hit by that wicked Wife, were you?"
As she spoke, she looked Jiang Tang and Jiang Yi up and down, her eyes full of concern.
"I'm really fine," Jiang Tang confirmed again.
Song Jiuxi finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped inquiring further.
"It's good that you're all fine. I've been dragged by this girl until my arm is almost broken," the Village Chief finally caught his breath, rubbing his reddened arm and teasing.
"Sorry to trouble everyone," Aunt Feng said, leaning on Jiang Tang's back, her voice carrying a hint of dejection.
"Is Aunt Feng feeling any better?" the Village Chief asked with concern.
He had gone to the county seat on business that day and only learned upon returning that Jiang Laoda and his wife had driven them out. He had specifically come to check on them, but seeing that both Jiang Tang and Aunt Feng were unconscious, he had been worried about them ever since.
"I'm feeling better, thank you for your concern, Village Chief."
Just as the group was about to enter the house, a sharp voice came from behind: "Village Chief! You must uphold justice for my mother! Jiang Tang used some kind of sorcery to dislocate my mother's jaw and she can't even lift her arm!"
Her gaze was fixed greedily on the bucket in Jiang Yi's hand; she had already calculated that she would make the Village Chief force Jiang Yi to compensate her family with everything in the bucket.
She also wanted medical expenses; ten taels wouldn't be enough, thirty or fifty would be even better!
The Village Chief and the others turned back to see Jiang Laoda supporting Madam Li outside the Walled Courtyard. Madam Li's face was pale from pain, she was making "ah-ah" sounds, and her arm hung limply.
"Village Chief, my Wife has been beaten like this by that wretched girl Jiang Tang!" Jiang Laoda chimed in, his tone filled with indignation.
The Village Chief ignored them and turned to look at Jiang Tang, his eyes showing clear protection.
Jiang Tang met his gaze calmly: "I did hit her, but I only dislocated her jaw and arm."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Madam Li's legs, her words carrying a sharp edge: "If you dare to touch a single finger of A Yi's again, it won't just be a jaw and an arm that I dislocate..."
Before she could finish, Madam Li's legs went weak from fear, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
When Jiang Tang had acted earlier, she clearly hadn't used much strength, yet her jaw and arm felt as if they no longer belonged to her. This girl's methods were truly terrifying.
"Mom! Jiang Tang is acting so lawless, aren't you going to do something about it?" Jiang Laoda was also scared, looking at Aunt Feng with a plea for help.
Jiang Rou also chimed in: "That's right, Grandma. If my Female Cousin acts so crudely toward her Elders, who would dare to marry her in the future? Her reputation will be completely ruined!"
These words struck right at Aunt Feng's heart. She knew better than anyone how important a reputation was for an unmarried young lady.
If Jiang Tang couldn't get married because of this, how would she have the face to see her Younger son after she passed away?
"I already said on the tidal flats that I was the one who told A'Tang to hit Madam Li," Aunt Feng took a deep breath, her voice weak but firm. "As her Mother-in-law, am I not allowed to discipline a disobedient Daughter-in-law?"
"Grandma, no need to reason with them, because they don't deserve it."
Jiang Tang didn't care about her reputation, and she had never thought about marrying just anyone.
She wasn't like the girls in the village who would marry blindly without even knowing what the other person looked like. Whoever wanted to live that kind of life could go ahead; she wanted to build her own career and rely on herself to live a good life.
She looked at Jiang Laoda and added slowly: "If her arm and jaw aren't set back into place soon, I'm afraid they will stay like that forever."
She said this on purpose. Just listening to Jiang Rou earlier, she knew they didn't understand that this was just a dislocation.
Sure enough, Jiang Laoda's face turned pale instantly.
Madam Li was even more anxious, making "ah-ah" sounds, her eyes full of fear. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life with her mouth unable to close and her arm unable to lift!
The Village Chief stood beside them, remaining silent from beginning to end.
Even though Jiang Laoda kept signaling him, he pretended not to see, only secretly observing Jiang Tang, calculating how to cooperate with this girl to settle the matter.
"I can set it back for her, but..."
Jiang Tang deliberately dragged out her tone, watching them get anxious and restless before slowly continuing: "We must first settle the matter regarding the new house. Don't even think about going to town to find a doctor. I'll put it this way: if you don't reach the town, this will likely never be set back again."
These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last bit of hope in Jiang Laoda and his wife's hearts.
They had indeed thought about sneaking to town to find a doctor, but upon hearing this, they suddenly lost their confidence.
Those seven brick and tile houses were their capital for holding their heads high in the village. Even the Village Chief's family only had five rooms, and they felt incredibly proud living in theirs. Their children could also use the house to find a good match.
Madam Li was so anxious she twisted in Jiang Laoda's arms, making "woo-woo" sounds.
No one could understand her, except for Jiang Tang, who saw clearly that she was afraid of the pain but also reluctant to return the house.
But the heart-piercing pain was unbearable; she tugged hard on Jiang Laoda's arm, her eyes full of pleading.
"For the three rooms that belong to my family, you must pay me in hard cash if you want them," Jiang Tang went straight to the point. "As for Grandma's room, see if she is willing to go back and live there. If she isn't, and you want it, you must buy it at the market price."
"Wherever you are, I am," Aunt Feng held Jiang Tang's hand tightly, her voice soft but firm. "Let's exchange my room for silver as well." She had to help her Younger son protect these two children.
"No! Why should we give you silver?" Jiang Rou was the first to jump out and object, shouting in a sharp voice, "This house should have been ours a long time ago! You've already been driven out, and you still want to turn the tables?"
She didn't care that her mother was whimpering in pain beside her; her mind was filled with the envious gazes of the young ladies in the village and the eldest son of the Wang landlord's family in the neighboring village.
With this house, she would have the confidence to pursue that match, and her dowry would be more impressive.
Jiang Laoda ignored his daughter. Seeing that the Village Chief refused to help and his Wife was in so much pain she was about to faint, he finally gritted his teeth: "How much money?"
"For our three rooms, a total of twenty-eight taels, two mace, and eight candareens. For Grandma's room, nine taels, four mace, and two candareens."
Jiang Tang stated the numbers. It had cost sixty-six taels to build the seven rooms, averaging nine taels, four mace, and two candareens per room; she wasn't asking for more.
Upon hearing this, Madam Li felt even more pain and kicked her legs in Jiang Laoda's arms.
This added up to over thirty taels, which was equivalent to two or three years of living expenses for the family!
But the pain of the dislocated jaw felt like needles, and her arm hung limply; any slight movement felt like her bones were about to crack. She couldn't bear it anymore and could only glare fiercely at Jiang Tang.
Jiang Laoda looked at his wife's painful appearance and then at the Village Chief's cold, indifferent face. He finally closed his eyes: "...Fine, I'll pay."
"Dad, you can't give it to her, she's just trying to scare you," Jiang Rou was still thinking about her dowry.
"Shut up," Jiang Laoda roared at her, already feeling annoyed.
He had thought that getting the Grouper would mean getting a lot of silver, but he hadn't expected to have to pay out so much instead.
At his request, the Village Chief brought paper and a brush and wrote a Document on the spot, clearly stating the conversion of the house into silver.
Jiang Tang, her brother, and Aunt Feng pressed their handprints, and Jiang Laoda paid the money, which also represented his family's agreement. The Village Chief, acting as a witness, solemnly signed his name at the end of the Document.
As soon as Madam Li's jaw and arm were set by Jiang Tang, she immediately raised her voice and began to curse: "You wretched, shameless hussy! Why didn't the heavens take you away? Just look at how you're ruining my family!"
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