Liu Dagen finally lifted his head and looked at Ah Tie, his eyes filled with complexity.
He had truly cared for this child before.
For over ten years, Ah Tie was his only son. He had sent him to school, hoping he would have a bright future, and even when Ah Tie fell ill with an incurable disease, he did not mind.
But his later wife disliked the child’s smell and drove him out, and he had no way to stop it.
Later, when the wife gave birth to another son, his heart slowly shifted towards the younger son.
Sometimes he even forgot he had another son outside the home.
Forget it, selling him might be better.
If he stayed at home, they would have to spend money on his marriage in the future.
Liu Dagen finally nodded, "Alright."
Yun Jiao smiled at Zhao Lizheng, "Then please trouble you to write a document."
She gestured to Liu Lang, who was watching the commotion, "Go home and fetch some paper, ink, and brush."
Liu Lang dashed off.
At this moment, Madam Yang shouted, "I say, Da Lang’s wife, you’re really going to spend three taels of silver to buy someone back?"
"Our parents won’t agree for sure!"
Yun Jiao just glanced at her without speaking.
Mrs. Chen put her hands on her hips, "What’s there to be afraid of?"
"Our household has already split up, besides, Yun Jiao has her own silver, she’s not spending anyone else’s!"
Many people in the village still did not know that the Jiang family’s elder household had split, and there was a lot of chatter, with everyone asking why the family divided.
Mrs. Chen listened to the various speculations of the people around her, not saying a word, as she was content with her life now and didn’t care what they thought.
Liu Lang quickly came back with a basket of paper, ink, and brush.
The child was really clever. He set up the paper and pen and started grinding the ink.
Zhao Lizheng wrote the document, read it aloud in front of everyone, and warned, "Now that this person has been sold, from now on there is no relationship."
"Today, everyone here is a witness. If any trouble arises, no one will side with them."
The onlookers all replied, "Yes, we won’t side with them."
Yun Jiao took out three taels of silver and gave it to Liu Dagen.
Then she took another tael and gave it to Zhao Lizheng, "I’ll need to trouble you to help handle the official document at the government office."
"This matter is not urgent, it can be done before the end of the year."
Now it’s almost October, and Jiang Youzhi’s leg needs a few more months to heal, which will bring them close to the year’s end.
To go to the Prefecture City, it will have to wait till after the new year.
So there’s no rush.
Zhao Lizheng smilingly accepted the silver, "Then I’ll keep this contract for you first. I’ll give it to you when it’s exchanged."
Yun Jiao bowed to him, "Thank you, Uncle Li Zheng."
Zhao Lizheng waved his hand, "What’s there to thank for such a small task? Speaking of which, we are relatives, aren’t we? Hahaha—"
Zhao Lizheng left, and Yun Jiao looked at Ah Tie, "Let’s go, let’s go home."
Ah Tie was stunned for a moment, then looked back at his father, knelt on the ground, knocked three times on the ground, got up, and followed Yun Jiao.
Liu Lang carried the basket, with Gu Chuan and San Ya following behind him.
Mrs. Chen walked at the very back.
Madam Yang came over, gloating, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you’ve now got another mouth to feed, and they all eat without being able to work, let’s see how you live."
Mrs. Chen rolled her eyes at her and walked away quickly, not wanting to respond.
Yun Jiao walked along and asked Ah Tie, "Can you read?"
Ah Tie nodded, "I can. Before I got this illness, I went to school for two years."
Yun Jiao nodded and didn’t say anything more. The group arrived at the doorstep, and Liu Lang, San Ya, and Xiao Chuan all went in, but Ah Tie stood at the entrance, hesitating to go in.