Chapter 20
Putting on a good show
On the way out, Jiang Gu couldn’t help but stare at her sister in surprise. Was this her second sister? The sister who had to lower her head when she walked? The sister who was too afraid to speak most of the time? The changes were too good to be true!
Jiang Xia felt the young lady staring at her so intensely that she raised her head helplessly and asked, “Xiao Gu, do you have a question for me?”
Jiang Gu thought she had been staring very carefully, not wanting to be caught, but she was obviously wrong.
Jiang Gu’s face turned red as she whispered, “Sister, you’re amazing! How dare you talk to grandma like that?”
In the past, Jiang Xia had wished for rockets on her leg so that she could escape whenever she saw her grandparents. She did not dare to speak too loudly with the two of them and would occasionally lose her voice.
Jiang Xia’s eyes glinted coldly as she said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. When we almost starved in the mountains, I realized that grandma was nothing compared to death. I almost died once. Why should I be afraid of grandma?”
Jiang Xia’s words did not matter to Jiang Gu. All she knew now was that her sister had become a strong girl, and she would not be bullied in the future.
From Zhou Lan’s point of view, she could see her younger daughter’s admiration for her second sister. This made Zhou Lan feel a little jealous.
The three of them continued walking quickly and soon arrived at the village chief’s house. Jiang Chuan was already there, and he was talking to the chief.
The village chief’s wife saw the three of them standing outside the door and rushed to open it and welcomed them in.
“Zhou Lan! Are you two ready to separate from the Jiang family?”
“Yes.” Zhou Lan nodded.
“Alright then! I understand your family’s situation, so get Jiang Fu and the others here! Let’s announce it before everyone and sign the agreement to move out. When you get to town, you can divide the household register. Jiang Chuan will then have to set up a separate household register.”
After explaining the process, the village chief asked his wife to look for the servants. A neighbor of the Jiang family happened to pass by the chief’s house, so they asked him to pass on the message to the Jiang family.
Jiang Fu and his family quickly arrived because as soon as Jiang Chuan’s family left, Wang Fen went to look for her husband to discuss their problems.
From Wang Fen’s description, Jiang Fu was sure that Jiang Chuan was determined to separate from the family. At the same time, he was annoyed at his wife for acting too fast. They hadn’t even thought of a way to deal with Jiang Chuan, but Wang Fen had already driven them away.
If Jiang Chuan were still a part of the family, even if he didn’t work for a while, there would always be a way to force him back to work in the future. However, if they split up and completely cut off all connections, where would they find an excuse to make him do hard labor?
“Jiang Chuan! Your father and mother are still here! How can you suggest splitting the family?” Wang Fen took the initiative and started acting.
When she saw the Jiang family, Jiang Xia had already displayed her usual cowardly attitude.
The village chief’s house was far from the Jiang family’s house. The people who had witnessed what had happened last night were the Jiang family’s neighbors, so many people in the village didn’t know the actual situation. When they heard Wang Fen’s voice, their first reaction was that Jiang Chuan had no reason to move out of the family.
In this country where filial piety was the priority, Jiang Chuan’s act of splitting up for no reason would be despised.
The village chief had heard Jiang Chuan’s reason for the separation, and he knew a lot about the Jiang family’s situation. Seeing that Wang Fen had already started acting, the village chief was annoyed and waved his hand to quiet the old lady.
“Mrs. Jiang, I’ve already sent someone to invite a few clan elders in the village to be witnesses. Perhaps they can help to mediate any misunderstandings between you two.” the chief said.
The clan elders were seniors from the village, and they were all people of virtue and prestige. In the past, many villages were formed by people of the same clan, and this village was formed by many of the Wang clan members. Due to the increase in the number of people from other areas, the village was renamed Tong Shan village. The entire village also elected the elders.