{"id":2666,"date":"2021-01-21T08:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T07:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/?p=2666"},"modified":"2021-01-21T08:30:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T07:30:09","slug":"tofuh-chapter-99-2-jiang-xiaomei-ran-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/2021\/01\/21\/tofuh-chapter-99-2-jiang-xiaomei-ran-away\/","title":{"rendered":"TOFUH &#8211; Chapter 99.2 &#8211; Jiang Xiaomei ran away."},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just like this, Jiang Chengwen was idling at home all day just like before.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Butcher Jiang did not take it seriously. But Jiang Chengwen became more anxious. Five days ago, after he returned home from the town, he broke down and cried.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It turned out that since Butcher Jiang was refusing to give money and Jiang Chengwen was reluctant to give up on this business, Jiang Chengwen actually ended up borrowing money to invest in that so-called business!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He borrowed 120 silver to raise it into the 150 silver with the thirty silver he had in his hand. Then those people who were reportedly traveling for ten days to buy precious medicinal materials from outside disappeared without a trace.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After waiting for a few days, Jiang Chengwen finally couldn\u2019t sit still. He went to those people\u2019s homes to look for them only to find that the buildings were already empty.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It turned out they rented this big house in the country town! The pharmacy they took him to also said that they didn\u2019t even know those two men at all.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jiang Chengwen was devastated; he had been cheated out of 150 silver! Of that amount, 120 silver was borrowed from loan sharks!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although Liu Heitou, the main moneylender, was accepted as Jiang Zhen\u2019s subordinate, in Hecheng County, Liu Heitou was not the only one doing such \u201cbusiness.\u201d But others were no more merciful than Liu Heitou.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jiang Chengwen has agreed to borrow it for a month and then return 130 silver. But now, from where was he going to take out 130 silver? If he couldn\u2019t pay it back, the interest would grow as well as his debt. He might even get his hands and feet cut off in the future!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As soon as Jiang Chengwen got anxious, he went home and began to cry.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Butcher Jiang and old lady Jiang were so angry that they cursed those who cheated money and Butcher Jiang beat Jiang Chengwen. But after they finished, they still had to find a way to solve the problem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter how unlikeable Jiang Chengwen was right then, he was still their son; they definitely needed to save Jiang Chengwen . . . Of course, at that point, there was no way for them to save him. Those people who lent money to Jiang Chengwen, if they couldn\u2019t get money, they would certainly come to them for it. Are they were . . . going to have to sell their land?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They sold their land last time, and right after, they needed to sell again . . . They would soon become poor people from being one of the rich in Hexi!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Butcher Jiang and old lady Jiang were both reluctant to sell their land, or at least they had to find a way to sell less of it. They thought about it and finally came up with one thing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wasn\u2019t Jiang Xiaomei being talked about by others? Jiang Xiaomei was sixteen years old. Someone has come to propose to her, but she still hadn\u2019t decided yet . . . Now, if they married her into a good family . . . maybe her bride price could cost forty, fifty silver or even more? This way, they would be able to sell less of the land!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After discussing it with Butcher Jiang, old lady Jiang thought it was feasible, but . . . For this who had decent face and a good family background and was able to afford a 40 to 50 silver dowry, who would be willing to marry Jiang Xiaomei? Such bride price was for a daughter of a scholar!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, there are many women who wanted to marry in such families. Some of these women or gers were cherished by their families, so they allowed the bride price to become part of dowry and go with the bride when marrying over!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usually, for ordinary people, a bride price of twenty silver with some betrothal gifts was already good. If the bride\u2019s family were to give more dowry, or they really liked her a lot, they would be willing to give more. Forty or fifty silver was not something that ordinary people were willing to give.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bride\u2019s parents who really wanted to receive this bride price, were not marrying their daughter but selling her. At the beginning, Zhao Liu\u2019s parents planned to sell her for 40 silver to a man who could be her father.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because of that, it was impossible for Jiang Xiaomei to marry into a good family, especially . . . the Jiang couple still needed money. But sometimes thing just happen even if it\u2019s coincidence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was a family in the county town who had previously married a daughter-in-law, but she couldn\u2019t give birth to children, so they wanted to take a concubine for their son, and they were willing to pay fifty silver.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This family was not really rich, even worse than the former Jiang family. They wanted concubine because there was only one son in their family, and they also wanted another woman to help with the work. Therefore, they required that the woman should be able to have children and work.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That household reputation was no good. It was said that their daughter-in-law was pregnant with their son\u2019s child before, but because her husband beat her up, she lost the child and couldn\u2019t get pregnant anymore . . .\u00a0 such a family still wanted a concubine. Of course, most people were reluctant to marry their daughter over, so they could only buy one with 50 silver.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It wasn\u2019t that Butcher Jiang and old lady Jiang didn\u2019t know about these things, but they still agreed. Jiang Xiaomei refused, but they told her such things.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThat man beat his wife, but he won\u2019t necessarily beat you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAlthough you\u2019ll be a concubine, you will still be the one to give birth. When you give birth, everything in that family will be yours. Isn\u2019t it good?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLittle girl, who else do you want to marry? If you can get married to a family like that, you will be happy!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. . .<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That was what the Jiang family said, but it was not the truth . . . Jiang Xiaomei inquired casually and heard even more information.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, although this family lived in the country town and run small shop selling soy sauce, they didn\u2019t make any money. The women in the family had to get up early and weave cloth from early morning to late night to sell for money.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, the son of that family beat his wife so badly, she was almost killed by him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Jiang Xiaomei married him, she would not only be a concubine, but she will need to kept working. . . Just thinking about it, Jiang Xiaomei was not happy. After that, the family came to their door to see Jiang Xiaomei. After seeing her, they on one hand agreed to pay the money; but on other, since she would be a concubine, there would be no need to hold a marriage.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Butcher Jiang and old lady Jiang made an agreement with them about Jiang Xiaomei, but as it turned out . . . that day, they couldn\u2019t even find Jiang Xiaomei.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, they sought out the Zhao family.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cZhao Liu, hurry up and hand over Jiang Xiaomei! If you don\u2019t hand her over, I won\u2019t be polite!\u201d old lady Jiang said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zhao Liu\u2019s was a bit shocked. \u201cI really don\u2019t know where Jiang Xiaomei is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow could you not know? Someone saw her coming towards you!\u201d Old lady Jiang looked at Zhao Liu angrily.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI really don\u2019t know. Anyway, why would I hide your daughter?\u201d Zhao Liu only felt wronged. She had heard that the Jiang family had set such a marriage for Jiang Xiaomei, and she pitied her a little, even saying a few words to someone, but she definitely wasn\u2019t hiding Jiang Xiaomei.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Jiang Zhen away, she didn\u2019t dare to offend anyone.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDidn\u2019t you say we weren\u2019t good to Jiang Xiaomei before? Who is it if not you?\u201d Old lady Jiang already hated Zhao Liu for some time, so she slapped her. \u201cYou\u2019re not a good person, you abducted my son and now tried to take my daughter away. You just can\u2019t see me live a good life, can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cJiang family, how can you just hit someone?\u201d Village Chief Jiang Ping rushed in and was startled.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with me beating her up? She wanted to hurt me! Why can\u2019t I just hit her?\u201d Old lady Jiang cried, \u201cMy daughter is missing. She probably abducted her. Village Chief, you must make it right for me!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow could she have abducted her?\u201d Jiang Ping said; however, his words were quickly drowned in the voices of the Jiang family members who came along with old lady Jiang.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSomeone saw Jiang Xiaomei coming here. If she didn\u2019t hide her, who would do it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cZhao Liu\u2019s, you\u2019ll be fine if you hand over Jiang Xiaomei.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOr let\u2019s search.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. . .<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The life of the Zhao family was getting better and better, making many people in the village jealous. Jiang Zhen had been away for more than four months, and they did not know when he will come back or if he would even come back. So they came with the Jiang family to take advantage of it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After hearing this, old lady Jiang had another idea. \u201cZhao Liu, you need to pay! If you got my daughter and ruined her marriage, you will need to repay money for me!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis . . . Why should I repay you money?\u201d Zhao Liu covered her face. Sun Xiaoshan tried to protect her, but she was already shivering.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m not leaving until you pay me money,\u201d old lady Jiang said again. At first, she didn\u2019t want Zhao Liu to pay her money, but the more she thought about it at the moment, the more she thought it was a good idea, making her eyes lit up.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNonsense! Jiang family, your daughter is not a child. She ran away by herself. Why should Zhao Liu pay you money?\u201d Jiang Ping said. At the same time, more people from the village came.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These people were all close to the Zhao family or did not like the Jiang family, so they naturally criticized old lady Jiang.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cJiang family, you not only sell your daughter but also come to blackmail!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cJiang family, you have gone too far.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhy should Zhao Liu pay you money?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s crazy to want money!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. . .<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of these people was much greater than those brought by old lady Jiang. When she saw these people, she knew that her request for money from the Zhao family was probably not going to work.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What was even more unfortunate at that time was the person who pulled a red-eyed Jiang Xiaomei. \u201cXiaomei was hiding in the forest by the river, crying . . .\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jiang Xiaomei was not in the Zhao family at all, and the place where she was found was far away from the Zhao family.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The villagers\u2019 eyes suddenly changed when they looked at old lady Jiang. Even people who came with her became embarrassed. They listened to what old lady Jiang said and decided that Jiang Xiaomei was indeed in the Zhao family, but it turned . . . Jiang Xiaomei was not there at all?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Old lady Jiang was stared at by so many people; she couldn\u2019t face it for a moment. But then she suddenly scolded Zhao Liu, \u201cZhao Liu\u2019s, don\u2019t be so proud of yourself even if your family is better off now. In the end, he is still my son! Your Jinge can\u2019t give birth to a child, so in the future, my son, who wants to pass his family name, will definitely need a concubine. You\u2019ll just help raise my grandson!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. . .<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou\u2019re talking nonsense!\u201d Zhao Liu wasn\u2019t mad about being slapped before, but right then she was really angry.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhere did I talk nonsense? I\u2019m telling the truth! Matchmaker He has said that your son can\u2019t give birth,\u201d old lady Jiang said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then not knowing who it was, someone suddenly shouted, \u201cJiang Zhen is back!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jiang Zhen is back?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Old lady Jiang shivered and wanted to turn around and flee. However, Jiang Zhen pushed the crowd aside and already reached them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>Edited by: Faro<\/p>\r\n<p>Proofreader:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Support translation:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=25191841\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"217\" height=\"51\" class=\"wp-image-338 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/become_a_patron_button.png?resize=217%2C51\" alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 217px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 217\/51;\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/lajnaa\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/kofi3-3.png?resize=185%2C47\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is kofi3-3.png\" width=\"185\" height=\"47\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 185px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 185\/47;\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>\r\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just like this, Jiang Chengwen was idling at home all day just like before. Butcher Jiang did not take it seriously. But Jiang Chengwen became more anxious. Five days ago, after he returned home from the town, he broke down and cried. It turned out that since Butcher Jiang was refusing to give money and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tofuh","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/14193s.jpg?fit=200%2C280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2666"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2667,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666\/revisions\/2667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}