Later, when Zhang Qian and the others stood outside Jiang Sinian’s house, they were still stunned.
They carefully replayed the sequence in their minds.
They came to confront Jiang Sinian, but he said nothing, so they tried to reason with him. Then his wife came out, treated them politely, explained the pros and cons, and courteously saw them off.
Yes, Jiang Sinian personally escorted them out.
After going through all that, they were still in shock.
The clearest-headed among them, Zhang Qian, remembered what Ye Shizhi had said. If the situation escalated, the older, more cunning men would seize the opportunity, exploiting his mistakes to take him down.
He glanced back at the wooden door. Jiang Sinian was handing Ye Shizhi a cup of water inside; they were talking quietly.
Seemingly noticing his gaze, Ye Shizhi nodded at him through the crack of the door before returning to her conversation with Jiang Sinian.
Zhang Qian quickly looked away and silently walked off.
“Captain Zhang seems a little afraid of you,” Ye Shizhi observed. More accurately, he was cautious.
Jiang Sinian sat beside her, mimicking her as he sipped from a cup of water, speaking calmly.
“I ran into him during past fights. Later, I don’t know what he imagined, thinking I had close ties with the town police. That’s why he’s always like this.”
Jiang Sinian found them genuinely annoying. Every time someone like that clung to him, pretending as the village captain that he had to take care of everyone equally, every word implied he wanted Jiang Sinian to set things up for him.
Before, he might have watched their disgusting antics for amusement. Now, he simply dismissed them. There was no need to entertain them politely.
With a faint, knowing smile, he said, “Ye Shizhi, you’ve got some guts.”
Ye Shizhi, understanding his meaning, winked and relaxed her hands. “I didn’t do anything!”
She had only made a few remarks, slightly exaggerating the consequences. It wasn’t her who was causing trouble.
Besides, she was merely referencing Zhang Qian’s original fate in the story. It wasn’t really a threat.
In the original plot, Zhang Qian had caused a scene with the Jiang family and escalated it to the county. Step by step, he was stripped of all his hidden dealings, bribery, and scheming. Everything was exposed, and he went to jail.
For someone like Zhang Qian, it was better to give up his position early.
Of course, Ye Shizhi wasn’t that kind-hearted. Since it didn’t affect her, there was no reason to intervene further.
“Am I kind-hearted?”
Before Ye Shizhi could ponder this, Jiang Sinian repeated the words with ambiguous emphasis, watching her.
Ye Shizhi: “…”
“Actually, the word is somewhat related to you,” he said, hinting at “evil” as the antonym of “kindness.”
Ye Shizhi’s forced explanation didn’t convince him. His eyes darkened with emotion as he stood, cleaned up the teacups, and left, leaving behind a vague comment:
“Ye Shizhi, I hope you can keep it that way.”
Ye Shizhi watched him leave to handle the things he had bought, pretending not to hear it.
The episode quietly ended; Jiang Sinian didn’t pry further, and Ye Shizhi also held back.
“Where’s the sugar I asked for?”
The steamed buns she had eaten earlier that morning tasted like dry flour, hard to swallow. Today, with sugar, just thinking about it made her happy.
“It’s on the table in your room.”
“???” Ye Shizhi had a bad premonition, recalling the candies she had seen earlier—the large white cat milk candies and fruit candies.
“Did you buy white sugar?” she pressed.
Jiang Sinian finally understood the misunderstanding. “….”
Silence was golden; they stared at each other, speechless.
Given Ye Shizhi’s personality, Jiang Sinian hadn’t thought about the sugar, hence the mix-up.
Ye Shizhi rubbed her forehead. According to the original character, who threw a tantrum every few days, the “sugar” she mentioned likely wasn’t white sugar.
“It’s okay, I didn’t explain clearly.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Sinian nodded, satisfied.
Suddenly, the two of them had nothing to say.
Ye Shizhi wasn’t curious about Jiang Sinian’s early morning activities. He was a closed book, and if no one asked, he wouldn’t volunteer.
Their current dynamic was like a newly paired couple, familiar yet with faint traces of unfamiliarity.
Luckily, neither of them felt awkward. Jiang Sinian busied himself with cooking; Ye Shizhi had wanted to showcase her culinary skills as a female lead in a period novel, but Jiang Sinian wouldn’t let her into the kitchen.
Before she stepped in, she received a death stare. Fearing he’d accuse her of “harming my son,” she instead went to tidy the room. This arrangement was surprisingly harmonious.
At Jiang Sinian’s house:
As soon as she got home, Jiang Aunt slapped Jiang An’an’s face.
The sharp smack made An’an’s head tilt aside. She instinctively raised her hand, clenching her fingers, and her killing intent surfaced in her eyes.
Jiang Aunt’s harsh face was full of anger, and she jabbered incessantly:
“You worthless thing! Didn’t you say Jiang Sinian had left? Now he’s back like a ghost?!”
Jiang Aunt’s harsh face was full of anger as she jabbered non-stop:
“You good-for-nothing! Didn’t you say Jiang Sinian had left? And now he’s back like a ghost?!”
Jiang Jian, who had just returned, hadn’t realized what was happening. He glanced over, then shrugged and wandered off to drool over the free-range chicks nearby.
“Mom, when will these chickens grow up? I really want to eat them!”
Jiang Aunt’s furious expression softened slightly. She spoke in a gentler tone:
“Jianbao, be patient. When they’re big enough, I’ll stew a whole chicken soup for you. Make you fat and healthy.”
Once Jiang Jian went off to play elsewhere, Jiang Aunt ignored the faint blush on Jiang An’an’s darker little face, her impatience returning.
“I’m not going to argue with you about today’s matters. Jianbao goes to school tomorrow, but you? You won’t go to school—come back and help me with the chores.”
Jiang An’an, who had been keeping her head down, immediately lifted it in disbelief.
“Mom, school has already started!”
Jiang Aunt was displeased by An’an’s words, feeling as if her authority had been challenged. Her annoyance—and even dislike—toward An’an grew.
But after a moment of consideration, she somewhat restrained herself. Her tone softened slightly:
“I already asked your uncle to help. Jianbao is of age now; you really should go to school.”
“You’re just a girl. Go find a husband early—I think the Peng family in our village isn’t bad…”
“Mom, I can earn the money for my schooling myself,” Jiang An’an said with difficulty.