Chapter 430: Serious Business

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: Serious Business

Village Chief Meng trailed behind the Ji Family, his expression as sour as if he’d swallowed a fly.

And why wouldn’t he look sour?

Ji Huan had sent someone to invite him to the pig-slaughter feast, and he had left home in high spirits, only to be intercepted by the main branch of the Ji Family.

Ji Qingshan hadn’t sought him out for anything important, just to ask him to act as a mediator.

If it had been anyone else making such a request, he would have agreed without a second thought.

Harmony was precious, after all, and smoothing things over was his specialty.

But this was the main Ji Family, and the person they wanted to make peace with was none other than Ji Huan.

How absolute their words had been when the family split—"Birth, old age, sickness, and death—we shall have nothing to do with one another!"

It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to dissuade them. But what was the result? Ji Qingshan had washed his hands of the matter, and every word Granny Kang spat was as final as a nail in a coffin.

They had cast out their half-dead granddaughter to fend for herself, and now that they saw her living in a fine, large house and running a profitable business, they wanted to come crawling back to make peace.

Village Chief Meng felt embarrassed on their behalf.

He didn’t want this rotten job in the slightest, but he was the village chief. When villagers had conflicts and disputes and came to him, he couldn’t just ignore them.

The main Ji Family knew this full well and had forcefully dragged him along.

Village Chief Meng was thoroughly vexed.

’Even I, an outsider, am crystal clear on Ji Huan’s personality. I truly can’t understand how the main Ji Family can be so naive as to think they can take back spilt water after doing something so wicked.’

’It’s too late. Regret is pointless now.’

But little did he know, the main Ji Family didn’t regret their actions at all.

If they felt any regret, it was for falling into Ji Huan’s trap and letting her separate from the family so easily.

Since there was no repentance, their current attempt at "reconciliation" was naturally not sincere.

Of course, they knew you couldn’t take back spilt water. It was precisely because they knew this that they chose such a public occasion and dragged Village Chief Meng along as a shield.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, with the village chief present, they, as elders, were coming to apologize to a junior. If Ji Huan dared not accept their gesture and smooth things over, she’d be seen as ungrateful. From then on, she’d be branded as someone who defied her elders wherever she went.

Besides, they weren’t asking for much. Ji Huan should be able to recognize the gravity of the situation.

The arrival of the Ji Family made the cheerful atmosphere at West River Gully vanish without a trace. A brief, awkward silence fell over the scene—it couldn’t have been more uncomfortable.

The only one who seemed to feel no awkwardness at all was probably Mrs. Zhu.

"Oh my heavens! They killed two whole pigs! And they’re already cooking..."

Mrs. Zhu exclaimed while twitching her nose, sniffing the faint, meaty aroma in the air. Drool dripped from her mouth, and she wiped it again and again with her sleeve, a sight that made onlookers cringe.

It had been a while since anyone had seen her, and she had visibly lost weight. Even Ji Mingmao next to her had a sharper chin, showing just how hard life had been for the main Ji Family recently.

Mother and son both wore ravenous expressions, and Ji Mingmao began to wail outright.

"Mama, I want to eat pork! I want to eat pork..."

"Eat, eat, eat! Who would dare stop you? Mama will scoop a big bowl for you in a bit! Hey, you, over there tending the pot! How long has it been cooking? It should be ready soon, right?"

Mrs. Zhu acted as if she were right at home, as if the pigs had been slaughtered by her own family.

However, no one there answered her, not even Ji Huan, the host.

Mrs. Zhu was used to being shameless, but the other members of the Ji Family still had some sense of propriety.

"You disgraceful creature! Is it because we’re short on meat at home? Take a look at yourself and see if you even deserve any! Or if she’ll even offer it!"

Granny Kang was craving the meat too, but she didn’t want Ji Huan to get too smug. So, she feigned scolding Mrs. Zhu to make veiled jabs.

Unfortunately, Ji Huan acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. The only one who took the bait was that fool, Mrs. Zhu.

"Ma, stop pretending we’re well-off when we’re not. We haven’t smelled meat at home in months... Even if there was any, it wouldn’t be for us. Your favoritism is completely out of control..."

Granny Kang’s lungs nearly exploded with rage. "You idiot! Who do I favor? You tell me, who do I favor?!"

Mrs. Zhu glanced at Ji Liantang and curled her lip.

"Everyone has eyes; it’s not like our sockets are empty. Do I even need to say who you favor? Some people are hardly ever seen coming out of their room for meals, yet they get plumper by the day. If that’s not because he’s been eating and drinking well behind our backs, you can twist my head off and use it as a stool for you and Dad!"

"Even if the Fourth is getting fat, it’s because his wife feeds him well! If you had any private savings, you could fatten up the Third Son too. It’s not like anyone’s stopping you! If you want to blame someone, blame your own family for being dirt poor!"

Mrs. Zhu craned her neck and retorted, "You wanted a rich daughter-in-law, but you misjudged. The phoenix who married into our family turned into a plucked chicken overnight. That plucked chicken’s private savings must be running dry by now, right? Otherwise, why would you be in such a rush to have the Fourth Brother..."

’Ever since this simple-minded woman had wised up, she’d become much harder to fool.’

The fourth son’s wife had indeed brought some private savings with her, and Granny Kang had tried everything from coaxing to tricking, but she just couldn’t get her hands on any of it.

Du Caizhu only had eyes for Ji the Fourth; she couldn’t care less about anyone else. But since she was willing to spend money on him and often made him special meals, Granny Kang had tolerated it.

Not that she had a choice. She couldn’t win a fight against the woman.

However, she had ultimately overestimated Du Caizhu.

Recently, Ji the Fourth had started looking sallow. When asked, it turned out he hadn’t tasted meat for seven or eight days straight because Du Caizhu had run out of money.

Not only was Du Caizhu’s dowry a fake, but even that little bit of private money had been secretly slipped to her by her mother before the wedding.

Granny Kang was absolutely sick with resentment.

’How could that mother-daughter pair be so useless! Sitting on a mountain of gold, yet utterly defeated by a mere concubine—fine. But to not even know to hide away a few large pieces of silver to take with her when she married!’

After stewing in her resentment, Granny Kang urged Du Caizhu to go back to her maiden home and ask for money, unaware that things at the Du Family residence had completely changed.

Cuizhi had turned hostile, refusing to even acknowledge her. To guard against the formidable Du Caizhu, she had even hired several burly guards.

Mr. Du never even showed his face, right up until Du Caizhu was escorted out of the Du Family home.

The in-laws were a lost cause. No matter how much rage burned in Granny Kang’s heart, she didn’t dare take it out on that fierce daughter-in-law. She bottled it all up until she fell ill.

Ji Qingshan disapproved of Ji Liantang lazing around at home all day. Since it wasn’t time for farm work, he wanted his son to find a job outside. It would supplement their income, and all his learning wouldn’t go to waste.

The initial plan was rather grand: find a position as a resident teacher at a school in town.

But they hadn’t considered that Ji Liantang was merely a child student, his scholarship mediocre at best. Worse, after the county examination, the huge scene Mrs. Zhu and Ji Lianhuai had caused turned him into a local "celebrity." What school would possibly hire him now?

Since he couldn’t go to town, trying for a position at a village school was another option.

But Ji the Fourth was utterly disdainful of the idea. He felt that teaching a bunch of little mud-monkeys from the countryside would be an insult to the Holy Books he had spent so many years studying.

Besides, the teachers at village schools were generally poor, so there was no real money in it. Thus, they didn’t force him.

Just when they were at their wit’s end, Ji Xiu’e, who was visiting from her husband’s home, offered a suggestion.

’That liability, Mrs. Zhu! We had all agreed to present a united front before coming, but things haven’t even started and she’s already turning on her own family!’

Granny Kang really wanted to give her a hard slap across the face!

Seeing their family’s dirty laundry being aired in public, Ji Qingshan’s already strained expression turned utterly foul.

He leaned on his cane and thumped it hard on the ground, cutting Mrs. Zhu off before she could reveal everything.

"Be... be quiet! Let’s... let’s talk business..."

The Ji Qingshan of today needed Granny Kang’s support just to stand steadily, and even speaking a complete sentence was a great effort for him.

The only thing that hadn’t changed was his eyes. When they looked at Ji Huan, they held nothing but coldness and calculation.