Huang Min was said to have been a very diligent girl before her marriage, but now . . . no one knew if it was true, but since she married Jiang Chengwen, she got  lazier and lazier. Originally, there were many people working for the Jiang family, and as soon as she entered through the door, she got pregnant with a child and gave birth to the first grandson of the Jiang family. Old lady Jiang never let her work very much all that time and her nature hadn’t been exposed, but now . . .

After only a few days of working, Huang Min was tired. When Zhu Shufen was unwilling to feed the pigs, she did not mind feeding the pigs herself at first, but later, she was not happy about it. Why was Zhu Shufen acting like some lady and walked three feet away from the pigsty when she had to feed these stinking pigs? At the same time, Jiang Yuanwen’s body suddenly started feeling unwell, so Huang Min simply stopped feeding the pigs and said she would take care of her son.

Zhu Shufen had to cook for a large family alone, and then still had to wash the dishes and wipe the table, and then water the vegetables in the vegetable field outside. Now that Huang Min refused to feed the pigs, this job also fell on her shoulders.

Zhu Shufen, who had cut a handful of vegetables from the garden and was sorting out the leaves, saw that vegetable worms were writhing on the leaves and couldn’t help feeling sick. She didn’t want to work anymore. She simply threw away the leaves and went back to her room to sleep like Huang Min. If she didn’t have to work, so didn’t she either!

That day, old lady Jiang and Butcher Jiang came home very tired and found out that not only was the stove cold but no one had fed the pigs either. Butcher Jiang and old lady Jiang immediately got angry. But Huang Min held her son and said that her son was ill. Zhu Shufen was sobbing there in a low voice, and there was nothing they could do about it.

These two daughters-in-law had their sons to protect them, and unlike the original Eldest Jiang, they couldn’t be beaten or scolded. The days went by very quickly for the Jiang family.

Jiang Chengwen and Jiang Chengxiang used to have a good relationship, but now it was getting worse. Jiang Chengxiang thought that Jiang Chengwen was too lazy and ignorant. Jiang Chengwen thought that Jiang Chengxiang looked down on him as much as he did. In the end, they stopped talking. The Jiang family, which used to be happy, now had people quarreling every day, and the people in the village witnessed many funny scenes.

Old lady Jiang, who had always been a strong woman, grew even angrier and resented Jiang Zhen more and more. She didn’t dare to go find trouble with Jiang Zhen, and at first, she didn’t even dare to find the Zhao family to make trouble. But after more than twenty days since Jiang Zhen’s departure had passed, her courage grew. So she went to find the Zhao family.

“You think that this debt collector really thinks highly of you? But he just wants a free laborer. You can just wait and see . . .” Old lady Jiang pointed at Zhao Jinge and scolded him incessantly, singling out Zhao Jinge’s every mistake.

Zhao Jinge got angrier and angrier when he heard this. This old Madam Jiang said that Jiang Zhen didn’t like him, which made him even angrier. Throwing the iron pot on the ground, Zhao Jinge stood up and said to old lady Jiang, “Do you think Jiang Zhen won’t come back? Do you want Jiang Zhen to come to your house and make a scene when he comes back?”

Old lady Jiang was a woman in the end, and she was not very tall. She did farm work every day these days, so she looked even darker and thinner. Now, how could she dare to talk back to the tall Zhao Jinge?

At this time, Wang Yuer, followed by his younger brother Wang Daniu, ran towards their side. “My father is back! My father is back!”

“What about Jiang Zhen?” Zhao Jinge asked hurriedly.

“Uncle Jiang is back too!” Wang Yuer smiled happily and narrowed his eyes.

With a smile on his face, Zhao Jinge stood up and ran out. He couldn’t wait to see Jiang Zhen. Old lady Jiang also ran away quickly . . . She couldn’t wait to get away from Jiang Zhen.

It was true that Jiang Zhen and Wang Haisheng had come back, but there were so many things on board the boat that it was difficult for them to directly go home. He and Wang Haisheng stopped the boat by the river near the Zhaos’ house. Wang Yuer, who happened to be playing by the river, went back to ask Zhao Jinge and Zhao Fugui to help carry the things. Then they started packing up the various goods.

The people in Hexi could not see the silver Jiang Zhen got, but they could still see the things he had bought and the goods he had not yet sold.

Where did Eldest Jiang go? How could he bring back so many things? He . . . became rich?

The villagers all looked at Jiang Zhen in shock, but no one dared to ask. At that moment, suddenly someone came running towards them while calling for help.

“Help! Help me!” A ger stumbled in the distance, and behind him were several men.

The ger was petite and did not run fast; soon he was caught by a fierce-looking man in his late thirties. The man directly slapped him. “Damn it! Your father has already sold you to me, and you still want to run!”

The ger was hit so badly that he burst into tears. This ger was no stranger to the villagers, and even Jiang Zhen knew him. It was He Qiusheng, the most beautiful ger in the village, who had once asked Jiang Zhen for the snake.

Jiang Zhen had just come back and didn’t know what happened, but everyone in the village already knew about it. It all started when He Qiusheng’s gambler of a father got indebted to Liu Heitou from Qiaotou Village for a large sum a few days ago. Although He Qiusheng’s father loved to gamble, he had no money on his hands and his family’s land had already been sold by him. Under such circumstances, let alone his relatives and friends, even loan sharks were unwilling to lend him money. Therefore, even if he wanted to gamble big, he had no chance to do so. In short, he stole some money from home and continued to lose. As a result, this man borrowed 30 silver from Liu Heitou some time ago and lost it all.

How could their family pay back 30 silver? Not to mention that Liu Heitou had said that he was not interested in money, but was thinking about a ger. So in the past few months, the amount Father He owed Liu Heitou had already increased to sixty silver. If he didn’t pay it back, it would become 120 silver next month.

At first, when he got indebted, he kept it hidden from his family, but later, he couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. Liu Heitou came to their house with several of his brothers!

As soon as these people came to the door, they beat up Father He and He Qiusheng’s two brothers and then asked the He family to pay back the money. The He family had to pay it back within five days, otherwise, they were going to take He Qiusheng and let him become Liu Heitou’s concubine. That day was also the day when they came to take away He Qiusheng.

There were many men in the village who liked He Qiusheng, but no one dared to offend Liu Heitou. They could only watch him be taken away by Liu Heitou. However, no matter how bad Father He was, he was still He Qiusheng’s father. If he wanted to sell He Qiusheng, the villagers couldn’t stop him.

“You’d better be nice to me, or you’ll see!” Liu Heitou slapped He Qiusheng again.

Just as Jiang Zhen was now the bully in Hexi Village, Liu Heitou was the bully in Qiaotou Village.

Liu Heitou’s father and three brothers were all bold and ruthless. At present, no one in Qiaotou dared to provoke them. Later, his three brothers got married and had children respectively. In Liu Heitou’s generation, the Liu family had ten cousins. Liu Heitou was the eldest of the ten.

Life wasn’t easy if there were too many people in the family. Liu Heitou had several younger brothers and sisters, so he often couldn’t eat enough, and his thinking grew twisted. At first, he took advantage of other people in the village, and then he began collecting debts with his younger brothers in order to make money. In just a short time, he started gaining a “great reputation.” There was a reason why he lent money to Father He this time—he accidentally saw what He Qiusheng looked like.

Liu Heitou already had a wife and children and his eldest child was even twelve years old. But He Qiusheng looked so fine that it made his heart itch. And so he lent some money to his father . . . If Father He could not pay, He Qiusheng would be his.

“Tie him up and bring him back with us,” Liu Heitou pushed He Qiusheng to the ground and instructed his two younger brothers. He liked He Qiusheng’s face, but he did not belong to the men who usually admired him. He had no pity for He Qiusheng. He just wanted to have him in his bed as soon as possible.

He Qiusheng cried even more; he had also thought about his own future. He wanted to find a rich man for his family, and marry him and live a good life in the future. But in the end . . .  marry Liu Heitou or die young. He knew that if he were to marry him, he would not have a good life and might even be tortured to death . . . This Liu Heitou once married a woman in order to give birth to a child for him, but she died within two years . . . They said that Liu Heitou not only liked to hit people but also liked to give his woman to his brothers to play with . . . At this moment, He Qiusheng’d rather die immediately. 

Jiang Zhen had also recalled some things about Liu Heitou from Eldest Jiang’s memories. When he saw this scene, he couldn’t help but frown. He wasn’t one to meddle, and he didn’t even have a good impression of He Qiusheng. However, He Qiusheng was only fifteen years old this year, and in modern times, he would still be a minor in junior high.

Edited by : Faro

Proofreader: Taalia

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