On the third day of the New Year, the Jiang family drove two horse-drawn carriages to Zhangjia Village.
Sure enough, Zhang Jia was not there, and Yu Kun, who was paying New Year's greetings at Uncle Zhang's house, couldn't tell where his father had gone.
Jiang Dalang then took everyone to the county town and to Jiang Yun’s parents’ home.
When everyone rushed into the house, they saw Zhang Jia holding a one-year-old child in his arms and eating at the table with his young mistress. It looked like they were a happy family.
Seeing the Jiang family rushing in, the woman screamed and threw herself into Zhang Jia's arms.
Zhang Jia was also panicking. He hugged his frightened loved one and child tightly and shouted angrily, "What are you doing?"
Jiang Sanlang sneered, pointed at Zhang Jia and said to Jiang Yunniang: "Sister, do you see clearly? This is the good husband you mentioned."
Jiang Yunniang looked at the couple hugging each other tightly, tears streaming down her face.
Hearing about it is one thing, but actually seeing them together is another.
Jiang Yunniang had a lot to ask Zhang Jia, asking him why he lied to her, but she choked and couldn't say a word.
My husband kept telling me that he was set up and lured by someone and had no way to escape, so he had to spend money to buy peace.
But in this situation, there is no seduction at all, it is clearly a mutual affection.
Jiang Sanlang asked: "Sister, do you want to live with him like this, or divorce him?"
Without waiting for Jiang Yunniang to answer, he continued, "You can continue to live with Zhang Jia, but don't expect the brothers to help you anymore. If you want to divorce, you can go back with us and take the children with you. We will take care of you and the children in the future."
Jiang Dalang also said: "Yunniang, this kind of man is not worth having. Not only did he cheat on you, but he also ignored his own children. If he had a conscience, he would not have secretly given the family shop to outsiders."
Jiang Yunniang was silent for a long time, then said, "I won't divorce."
She was unwilling to accept it.
I have been married to him for more than ten years, served him for half my life, and even gave birth to children for him. Why should I give up my position to someone else when I am old and ugly
Even if he has a new wife, so what? There are people out there who have three wives and four concubines.
I am the legal wife. As long as I stay here, I will be the mistress of the family. No one can surpass me, including this bitch and those two little bastards.
Since he is unkind, I am also unjust.
Jiang Sanlang knew that his eldest sister would make this choice, so he was not surprised, but Jiang Erlang and Jiang Dalang were furious.
"Yun Niang! Are you possessed by a ghost?" Jiang Dalang wanted to slap his sister in the face to wake her up.
Jiang Yunniang just lowered her head and said nothing.
Jiang Sanlang looked at Zhang Jia with a cold gaze: "Zhang Jia, who is this woman? Who are these two children?"
Seeing that Jiang Yunniang was unwilling to divorce, Zhang Jia immediately stood up, let go of Jiaoniang, stood up, straightened his clothes and said arrogantly: "Who she is is none of your business."
Jiang Yunniang suddenly spoke up: "She is my husband's new concubine. As for the two children, they are just a burden brought by the concubine."
When the woman heard this, she threw herself into Zhang Jia's arms again and cried, "Husband..."
Zhang Jia held Jiao Niang in one hand and pointed at Jiang Yun Niang with the other hand, shouting, "Jiang Yun Niang! What nonsense are you talking about?"
Jiang Yunniang wiped away her tears and said slowly, "My husband, how could I be talking nonsense? Isn't she just a concubine I bought for more than two hundred taels?"
"Bullshit!" Zhang Jia's face flushed red, and he pointed at Jiang Yunniang and cursed, "When did you spend two hundred taels to buy her?"
Jiang Yunniang said coldly: "My husband, you are so forgetful. Didn't you use the more than 200 taels I gave you last year to buy someone else?"
Zhang Jia: ······
"I didn't buy her." Zhang Jia roared: "I spent that money on her."
Jiang Yunniang straightened her messy hair and glanced at the woman coldly: "Oh, so she is a prostitute. Why did your husband bring a prostitute home? It's New Year's Day, and you brought back such an unlucky thing. Be careful not to ruin the fortune of the Zhang family."
Zhang Jia and the woman were stunned for a moment.
Jiao Niang burst into tears, holding the child in one hand and hitting Zhang Jia with the other.
Zhang Jia was unable to dodge and was scratched by Jiao Niang, leaving several marks on his face.
"She is not a prostitute! She is my concubine." Zhang Jia quickly explained.
Jiang Yunniang: "Since she is a concubine, where is the document for taking her as a concubine? My husband, you didn't even write the document for taking her as a concubine. What kind of decent girl would go home and sleep with a man without knowing the reason?"
Zhang Jia: …
I don't understand why my wife suddenly became like a different person. Not only is she aggressive, but she also uses foul language every time she opens her mouth.
Zhang Jia was so angry that he wanted to rush over and beat her, but it was obviously impossible now, so he could only perfunctorily say: "I will write you the documents for taking a concubine later."
Jiang Yunniang: "Husband, why don't you write it now? It will be convenient to submit it to the government office for filing after the New Year."
I have to get this done while my brothers are here, because in the future, maybe no one will help me.
Zhang Jia looked at the beautiful woman in his arms, then looked at his brothers-in-law who were staring at him covetously, and had no choice but to nod.
After writing the document for taking a concubine and having Jiao Niang put her fingerprint on it, Jiang Yunniang handed the document to her eldest brother Jiang Dalang and asked him to keep it for her.
After coming out of Zhang Jia's house, the three Jiang brothers all looked unhappy.
Although he sternly warned Zhang Jia before leaving, he was still worried about Jiang Yunniang.
"Forget it, let her be."
It's no use for her brothers to worry about her. She is determined to go down that dead end and no one can stop her.
It's already February.
Jiang Sanlang and Sun Lizheng were talking about the flood that would occur in the Sichuan River in May and June this year.
Sun Lizheng actually didn't believe it, but Jiang Sanlang insisted that it was true, so he had to think about it.
If a flood really happens, if I, as the village head, do nothing, I would be ruining my own future.
So he took a few villagers with him to walk along the river to have a look, and he really found many things wrong.
Many fields are not only low-lying, but also close to rivers. Once a flood occurs, it is estimated that there will be no harvest.
Sun Lizheng was very conflicted.
One of his duties was to encourage people to engage in farming, but this was the first time he had persuaded people not to farm.
How can I ask this
What if there is no flood
Forget it, just tell them the truth first, it’s up to them whether to plant it or not.
So, Li Zheng Sun called the village heads of more than a dozen villages under his jurisdiction and told them that there might be a flood this year.
However, when the village chiefs learned that it was Jiang Sanlang who leaked the news of the flood, they had no objection and expressed that they would take it seriously.
Chen Changsheng, the village chief of Xichen Village, was the most nervous and convened a villagers' meeting as soon as he returned to the village.
Not only are the farmlands in their village close to the Chuan River, but the village is also built not far from the river.
If a flood occurs, the farmland being washed away is the least of the problems, but the biggest concern is human lives being lost.
"Jiang Sanlang from Dongchen Village said that there might be a flood in May or June. If you have farmland near the river, please be careful and don't plant crops if you can, so as to avoid losing the seeds..."
Before Chen Changsheng finished speaking, Chen Laoshuan sneered, "Can Jiang Sanlang predict the future? Changsheng, don't believe everything you hear. If we don't plant for a season, how will we pay the taxes?"
"Yes, we can choose not to plant, but how can we pay the summer tax?"