"Yes! It’s all Liu Sanya’s fault!" the others echoed in agreement, and they too began to curse, with their words becoming increasingly offensive.
Mrs. Hongxia had always shown a kind heart and enjoyed a better reputation than Aunt Liu Hua; she had never been cursed at so directly. Now, with everyone pointing fingers and cursing at her, it felt like a tremendous disgrace.
Moreover, she was worried for her daughter, Liu Sanya...
Mrs. Hongxia’s anger surged like a tidal wave in an instant, but she refrained from cursing back. She still cared about her reputation and didn’t want to completely fall out with the villagers, so all she could do was storm off to find An Jing and Xiao Changyi, intending to settle the score with them.
As soon as An Jing and Xiao Changyi returned from town, they took Wang Youbao to the fields, and then began to catch fish to sell to him.
Watching An Jing and Xiao Changyi catch fish seemed quite fun, and Wang Youbao wanted to try as well. However, fearing he was too heavy and might struggle to get up if he stepped into the paddy, he held back. Instead, he had his two family servants help An Jing and Xiao Changyi with the fishing.
They didn’t catch too much, just sixty jin for the time being.
As for the rest of the fish, they planned to return tomorrow or the day after to avoid catching too much at once and risk the fish dying if not sold.
Wang Youbao and his two family servants left with the sixty jin of rice-field fish, while An Jing and Xiao Changyi stayed in the fields, continuing to fish. They planned to keep forty jin for their own family.
And the forty jin, An Jing and Xiao Changyi planned to catch right now.
On their way back from town, Xiao Changyi mentioned that he intended to give away ten jin.
As for to whom, An Jing didn’t inquire further.
Unable to find An Jing and Xiao Changyi in the thatched cottage, Mrs. Hongxia knew they must be in the fields. So, she went to the fields.
Upon seeing An Jing and Xiao Changyi indeed in the fields, Mrs. Hongxia berated, "You two black-hearted people! Especially you, Xiao Changyi! Sanya’s father was wrong to save you. Now you’ve gone to the officials and had Sanya arrested. If her father has any spirit left in heaven, he would be unable to rest in peace."
An Jing stopped fishing, straightened up, and said with a cold laugh, "You really have no shame. It was your daughter who couldn’t keep her hands clean and tried to steal our fish. If she hadn’t stolen our fish, why would we report her? Even if we did report, we couldn’t have arrested her if she hadn’t stolen. Truly, shamelessness knows no bounds."
"You!" Mrs. Hongxia was so angry she felt like jumping into the field to hit An Jing. This girl’s tongue was just too sharp; she could not outtalk her.
An Jing immediately retorted without any politeness, "What ’you’? The facts are clear. If you want to steal, go ahead and do it sneakily. Just don’t let us catch you, and that would be fine. But no, you had the audacity to steal from our field in broad daylight and even let us catch you. Don’t you think you deserve it?"
"You...," Mrs. Hongxia was furious and, knowing she could not get the better of An Jing verbally, turned her anger towards Xiao Changyi. She thought Xiao, this blockhead, would surely let her scold him. "Xiao Changyi, how can your heart be so black? She is the daughter of your benefactor, and yet you report her and have her arrested. Aren’t you afraid her father will come looking for you at night?"
Xiao Changyi continued fishing as if he hadn’t heard a thing, completely ignoring Mrs. Hongxia’s rantings.
Mrs. Hongxia felt like she was talking to a wall. Even though Xiao Changyi let her scold him, it still felt frustrating.
An Jing, however, couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed in this world, the only person who could get a reaction and replies from her husband, time and again, was her alone.