Chapter 31: Chapter 31 Aren’t you asking for the lives of everyone in the village?_1 Chapter 31: Chapter 31 Aren’t you asking for the lives of everyone in the village?_1 Xiao Changyi had thought he was already very accustomed to An Jing’s directness, but now, discussing such a private matter as the bed they would sleep on with this maiden, he still couldn’t help but remain silent for a moment before asking, “What style do you want?”
“Just a regular wooden bed will do.” Other beds seemed quite expensive to her—the two taels of silver looked like a lot, but once spent, it would be gone quickly.
“Okay, then I’ll go find Carpenter Zheng to make one right now.”
“Money.” Seeing Xiao Changyi get up, An Jing quickly handed the purse back to him, knowing that a down payment had to be made for the bed.
Xiao Changyi took out a tael from the purse and then handed the purse back to An Jing, “You manage.”
An Jing’s smile deepened involuntarily. How kind was this man to actively let her manage the money.
But An Jing didn’t take the purse back, instead saying, “There’s no need for now, but once we are married, even if you are not willing to let me manage the money, I will snatch it to manage.”
Even though Xiao Changyi could clearly see that An Jing was joking, he still replied with utmost seriousness, “I’m willing.”
With Xiao Changyi off to find Carpenter Zheng to make the marriage bed, An Jing became bored again and lay down on the creaking wooden bed, idly staring at the thatched roof.
Feeling a bit thirsty, the bored An Jing sat up and then, leaning on a wooden stick, walked out of the inner room.
The inner room was connected to the main hall, with no door but only a full-length curtain serving as a partition. Lifting the curtain to step out led her directly into the main hall.
Without water in the main hall, An Jing had to step out and go to the kitchen to get something to drink.
After drinking water in the kitchen, An Jing walked out, planning to return to the inner room, but then she saw Aunt Liu Hua entering the yard with a hurried expression.
“Aunt?” An Jing paused at the entrance of the main hall.
“An Jing, are you alright?” Aunt Liu Hua began asking anxiously before she even got close. “I’ve heard that your parents, bringing the Lin Clan, came looking for you.”
“That’s a relief,” Aunt Liu Hua sighed greatly. But moments later, her expression turned grave again. She glanced outside the yard, saw people occasionally passing by, and said, “Come on, let’s go inside to talk.”
Once inside the main hall and seated with An Jing, Aunt Liu Hua scolded her, “You child, you’re eighteen already, how can you speak without thinking first?”
“What’s the matter, Aunt?” An Jing was utterly confused.
“What’s the matter!” Aunt Liu Hua glared at her with a stern face. “The whole village is spreading rumors that you want to report to the officials, angering Landlord Wang, making it so that no one in our village can rent land from Landlord Wang anymore. Without land to farm, what will people eat? Aren’t you asking for the lives of everyone in the village! Now everyone can’t wait to find the village chief and drive you out of Jiuping Village!”
An Jing’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, “Aunt, what I said was that if Lin Daqiang and the others keep pestering me and demand the money from selling me from Changyi and me, then I would report it to the official for handling; if they don’t pester and force me, how could I possibly want to report to the officials?” She wasn’t doing it just for the sake of causing trouble.
Seeing An Jing call Lin Daqiang, her father, by his name, Aunt Liu Hua frowned with some discomfort, but remembering that An Jing had already been sold by Lin Daqiang and was no longer his daughter, she didn’t say anything about that.
However, after hearing An Jing’s words, Aunt Liu Hua became angry, “The idea of reporting was only because you were being pressured; you didn’t really want to do it. But do you know how people are talking about you outside? They’re saying you have a bad heart, and you’re too selfish, caring only about yourself, not a bit about the life and death of the people in the village!”