Si Lang and Wu Lang returned crying, having received no meat at all. They cried and fussed upon their return, rolling on the ground and throwing tantrums, mimicking Grandma Jiang's every move. This amused the village neighbors, who watched with smiles.
Second Master Jiang found their behavior embarrassing and angrily slapped them a few times.
The two brothers, already feeling wronged and having been beaten unusually, immediately resented Jiang Yu.
They clearly remembered Jiang Wan saying it was Jiang Yu's fault they couldn't eat meat.
If Jiang Yu hadn't pushed Jiang Wan down the mountain, they would have been able to eat meat and wouldn't have been beaten.
So, the more these two rascals thought about it, the angrier they became. They lunged at Jiang Yu, pinning her down and beating her.
Although Jiang Yu was a girl, she was older than the two of them. If a real fight broke out, Jiang Yu wouldn't be easily bullied. However, in the eyes of Grandma Jiang and the second branch of the family, daughters were worthless. Being given food was considered a great kindness, and daring to hit the boys in the family was seen as rebellion.
Thus, after Jiang Yu instinctively fought back, she immediately incurred Grandma Jiang's severe beating. "You good-for-nothing, you dare to fight back? See if I don't skin you alive today!"
Si Lang and Wu Lang cheered and clapped their hands, delighted to see Jiang Yu being beaten and crying.
The neighbors watching this family couldn't help but shake their heads. However, considering Jiang Yu's character, they felt she deserved it.
Jiang Wan had no time to worry about whether Jiang Yu would be beaten to death. Her mind was solely focused on eating meat.
After all, she hadn't instructed Si Lang and Wu Lang to hit anyone, right?
Jiang Pan cut off a piece of rabbit meat and offered it to the village chief.
The village chief refused to accept it. "What are you doing? Everyone is having a hard time now, and your family is facing even greater difficulties. If you have some food, shouldn't you be taking care of yourselves? Why are you being so generous!"
He knew that Old Master Jiang hadn't given Jiang Pan's family a single grain of food. Therefore, he truly felt embarrassed to accept the roasted meat, even though his own grandchildren were drooling and biting their fingers.
Jiang Pan insisted on leaving the meat. "Village Chief, you must take it. You've taken care of me a lot over the years. It's just a piece of meat, it's nothing."
With that, Jiang Pan put down the meat and left.
The village chief called out to him several times, but couldn't stop him. He then looked at the children staring at the rabbit meat as if they were about to cry from hunger. After thinking for a moment, he asked his wife to pack three catties of grain. "Take it to Da Pan's family. We have no face to eat other people's things for free."
Moreover, he was worried that if other villagers saw Jiang Pan sending meat to their home, they would shamelessly ask for some as well.
As fellow villagers, refusing them would offend someone.
The village chief's wife carried the grain to Jiang Pan's house. As the village chief had predicted, some people had already shamelessly approached, bringing their children.
The village chief's wife quickly and deliberately opened the bag, revealing the grain inside.
Upon seeing the grain, Jiang Pan immediately said, "Auntie, what are you doing? Hurry and take the grain back."
The village chief's wife replied, "If you don't accept this grain, then my family won't take your rabbit meat either. If you want to repay us, we appreciate the thought, but we can't shamelessly accept things for free. Your family has seven mouths to feed, and your father hasn't given you a single grain. Even if you don't think of yourself, you must think of the others in your family. Take it quickly, or Auntie will get angry."
Jiang Pan understood the village chief and his wife's intentions and felt immensely grateful. He reached out and accepted the grain. "Auntie, thank you."
The village chief's wife waved her hand. "No need to thank me. You're a child we watched grow up. We know what kind of child you are. Remember this: don't be foolishly generous. No amount of favor or face is more important than your own family's sustenance."
"When people shamelessly come to ask for things, tell them directly to bring grain or money to exchange. If they want to exchange favors for things, they should see if their favors are worth anything!"
The village chief's wife's words were very pointed. The person who had shamelessly come to take advantage quickly said, "Auntie is right. We... we were also planning to use money to buy meat from Da Pan."
Saying this, the person awkwardly took out a few copper coins. "Brother Da Pan, can you sell some of your roasted meat to my family?"
As he said this, his heart was bleeding.
He had originally intended to rely on a friendly favor to get some meat, but now he had to pay for it.
He had no face to turn around and leave, otherwise wouldn't he become the kind of person the village chief's wife was talking about?
Chen Yuezhi nodded. "Of course, you can. However, as you know the current situation, grain is selling for almost fifty wen per catty, and the price of meat is even more outrageously high, so..."
So your few copper coins can't buy much.
Chen Yuezhi nimbly took a knife and cut off a piece of meat the size of a little finger from the rabbit, handing it to the person.
The person's hands were trembling as he took it.
Before he could even steady his grip, his unlucky child snatched the roasted meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
That small piece of meat wasn't even enough to fill the child's teeth. After chewing it twice, the child started to fuss. "Dad, I want more meat. That meat is so delicious, I want more!"
His father's face contorted with heartache. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Eat, eat, eat! You only know how to eat all day! Why don't you kill me and eat my meat! Get home quickly, don't embarrass yourself here!"
The child, who had innocently come out with his father to eat meat, found himself being scolded before he could even taste the meat. He immediately started crying, feeling wronged.
The father's embarrassment grew even greater. He quickly pushed the child and left.
The village chief's wife snorted at the man's retreating back. "Shameless wretch!"
Jiang Pan felt a bit awkward. "Auntie, thank you."
The village chief's wife waved her hand. "It's nothing. You all should eat quickly. I'm leaving."
Chen Yuezhi said, "Auntie, wait a moment. Let me cut some more meat for you."
The village chief's wife replied, "Don't cut any more. Our grain isn't much either. If we trade it all for meat, our whole family will have to drink the northwest wind."
With that, the village chief's wife hurried away.
Jiang Wan watched from the side, feeling quite pleased. When Jiang Pan had given away the meat earlier, she had been a little unhappy, fearing it would cause trouble. She hadn't expected the village chief's family to be so sensible. Not only did they not take her family's meat for free, but they also deterred some people from trying to take advantage.
The village chief's family was good to deal with!
With the precedent of that person spending several copper coins only to buy a piece of meat the size of a little finger, no one dared to approach Jiang Wan's house anymore.
They were all farmers. Who had much money? Trading for grain? They must be crazy! How precious was grain now!
People wouldn't die from not eating meat, but without grain, people would truly die.
Some ignorant children, seeing Jiang Wan's family happily eating meat, cried from envy, but their parents scolded them. Some even got beaten for it.
While Jiang Wan's family was feasting happily, Old Master Jiang's family was shrouded in gloom.
Third Master Jiang had a fever. Since the afternoon, he had been delirious. Now, his body was burning hot, and he was even talking nonsense.
Liu Shi cried, "Husband, wake up quickly! You can't be like this."
Grandma Jiang had people bring all the bedding to wrap around Third Master Jiang, hoping to make him sweat. But even though he was covered so much that he was almost invisible, Third Master Jiang kept shouting that he was cold.
Seeing his most favored son fall so ill, Old Master Jiang gritted his teeth and walked towards Jiang Pan's house.