Chapter 63: Successful Composting, Planting Chinese Cabbage and Radish

She disliked it and despised it.

Yet as long as her own safety was not threatened, she could not spare the energy to care about other matters.

She never crossed the main gates of the Li residence, choosing instead to hand her goods through the back door to the gatekeeper every day.

In the usually serene and secluded long alleyway today, the murmur of voices could be heard. Jiang Li caught sight of two figures ahead, and something about their silhouettes struck her as strangely familiar.

Without quickening her pace, she maintained a prudent distance behind them.

She watched as the pair stopped at the back door and knocked it open.

She heard the gatekeeper’s disgruntled voice demand, "What do you want?"

The old woman forced an ingratiating smile and said, "Young man, we are family members of Concubine Luo from your estate, and we are here to see her."

"What Concubine Luo? There is no Concubine Luo in our estate!"

"The one who just entered the manor a few days ago."

The gatekeeper gave a cold snort. "Our household hasn't added any new masters in a long time. There is no Concubine Luo you speak of!"

Luo Dayuan grew somewhat anxious and raised his voice. "Impossible, we watched her enter with our own eyes."

Chunfu looked at Luo Dayuan, furrowing his brow in thought. Indeed, there was no concubine surnamed Luo in the residence, but speaking of those who had entered the manor a few days ago...

The estate had indeed purchased a batch of maidservants recently.

Could these two be looking for someone from that group of maids?

"Our household did buy a batch of maidservants a few days ago. Tell me her name, and I will ask for you!"

The old woman said in a deep voice, "Impossible, we did not sell her as a maidservant!"

Chunfu was instantly rendered speechless. Although many of the maidservants in their manor were bought from human traffickers, their contracts of indenture were always verified upon purchase; they never accepted anyone whose origins were unknown.

Standing behind them, Jiang Li overheard the entire exchange between the old woman and Chunfu.

The familiar wave of revulsion stirred within her once more.

So, failing to snatch away A-ning, they had gone back and sold their own flesh and blood instead.

Too weary to wait out their wrangling with Chunfu, she simply stepped forward.

The moment Chunfu caught sight of her, a smile instantly broke across his face. "You're here, Madam. Please wait a moment, and I'll deliver this inside."

"Thank you, young man."

As Jiang Li handed over the earthenware basin, Chunfu took it with a smile, saying, "Don't mention it. I'll be right back."

"There's no hurry today."

With that, Chunfu closed the courtyard door, slid the wooden bolt into place, and hurried off.

Upon realizing the newcomer was Jiang Li, the old woman and Luo Dayuan stared in wide-eyed shock.

Jiang Li stood off to the side, too disgusted to spare them even a glance.

The old woman rubbed her hands, glaring at her with venomous hatred, but remained silent.

Luo Dayuan, however, lacked her restraint. Looking down his nose at Jiang Li, he aggressively demanded, "You vicious shrew, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you sold A-ning just to pocket the silver for yourself!"

Jiang Li took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

Gazing at trash was an insult to one's eyes, and there was simply no point in wasting breath on idiots.

Seeing Jiang Li remain silent, Luo Dayuan assumed she was harboring a guilty conscience. He turned to the old woman and said, "Mother, she must have sold A-ning; she doesn't even dare to speak."

"How much did you sell her for? Hand over the money!"

"I'm talking to you, did you hear me?"

Finding the sound of this barking dog utterly grating, Jiang Li was just about to speak when the courtyard door opened and Chunfu returned.

"It's done, Madam." With those words, he handed over the coins along with the earthenware basin. Jiang Li accepted the items and expressed her thanks.

Catching sight of the money in Jiang Li's hand, the old woman suddenly lunged forward, cursing venomously, "Aha! You wretched hussy, you really did sell A-ning, didn't you? How much did you sell her for? No wonder you wouldn't let us take A-ning away—so it was you, this vixen, who wanted to sell her for a profit!"

Seeing the old woman attempt to snatch the money, Chunfu immediately rushed to Jiang Li's defense.

He shouted sharply, "What are you doing? How dare you try to rob someone right outside the gates of the Li residence? Do you believe I can have you hauled off to the yamen?"

The money was naturally not taken. Turning to Jiang Li, Chunfu asked, "Does Madam know these two?"

Jiang Li replied indifferently, "My stepdaughter's maternal grandmother and uncle. A few days ago, they burst into my home attempting to snatch the little girl away and sell her."

"Could the person they were looking for earlier actually be your daughter?"

Jiang Li shook her head. "No, my daughter is safe at home. It was this string of coins that lured these two mangy curs in, making them assume I had sold my stepdaughter for profit."

Finding the pair increasingly repulsive, Chunfu said to Jiang Li, "You should be on your way, Madam. If these two dare to rob you of your money, come straight to our manor and look for our master; we can certainly have these two thrown into the dungeons."

Reluctant to entangle herself any further with these vile wretches—fearing that even striking them dead would dirty her own hands—Jiang Li thanked Chunfu and departed.

The primary objective for the old woman and Luo Dayuan remained finding Luo Yinyin.

Watching Jiang Li walk away, and realizing she hadn't sold A-ning after all—yet had somehow earned so much silver simply by selling food—only made their hearts burn with intense envy and bitterness.

The moment Jiang Li's figure vanished from sight, Chunfu stepped back inside the courtyard and firmly shut the door.

Luo Dayuan stood outside, pounding furiously on the wood. When Chunfu refused to open it, he began shouting Luo Yinyin's name at the top of his lungs.

Fearing that the commotion might disturb Master Li, Chunfu hurried off to find the elderly steward.

Once informed of the situation, the head steward accompanied Chunfu back. Hearing the incessant shouting from afar, his expression darkened with deep displeasure.

Quickening his pace, he threw open the courtyard door and snapped coldly, "What are you hollering about?"

Recognizing the head steward from the day he had escorted Luo Yinyin into the estate, Luo Dayuan immediately spoke up: "We are Concubine Luo's parents, here to see Concubine Luo. This servant here insists on claiming there is no such person!"

A heavy frown creased the head steward's brow. "The person you are looking for is Luo Yinyin?"

Overjoyed, the old woman repeatedly nodded. "Yes, yes, that's her! I'm her grandmother."

Luo Dayuan shot a vicious glare at Chunfu, wearing the expression of a man preparing to settle scores very soon.

"She is working as a maidservant in our household, not any concubine!"

At the steward's declaration, both of them froze in shock.

"Impossible! That Mother Zhou made a clear promise—she said she was sending Yinyin to the manor to be a concubine! She even promised a betrothal gift of ten taels of silver, and she's only given four so far!"

The head steward frowned deeper. "A matchmaker told you this?"

"Then you must have been swindled. What status does our master hold? Would he ever need to purchase a woman to be a concubine?"

"Let me hear either of you utter another word about selling a woman into our estate as a concubine, and I will show you no courtesy!"

"Luo Yinyin is nothing more than a maidservant bought by our household. Since the two of you already signed away her life indenture, what business do you have coming here now?"

Luo Dayuan glanced at the old woman, who stared back at her son in utter bewilderment.

Had they been cheated?

How could she possibly be just a maidservant?

They had assumed that since Luo Yinyin had been in the manor for over a month, she must have firmly established her position. They had come to collect the remaining six taels of silver, fully expecting Luo Yinyin to provide them with a bit of financial support as well.

How could things have turned out like this...*

"We want to see Luo Yinyin!" the old woman demanded.

The head steward let out a cold snort. "All maidservants purchased from outside our gates have signed contracts of absolute indenture. Without the master's permission, they are forbidden from seeing outsiders in private!"

"If you intend to redeem her indenture, I can report the matter to the master. Our master is benevolent; he will likely consent."

"Are you redeeming her? If so, I will go fetch her."

Redeem her? Where on earth would they find the money to redeem her indenture?

Yet how could it be an absolute contract? In this day and age, who didn't sell their sons and daughters? Since she wasn't actually dead, why couldn't they see her?

Observing their shifting expressions, the head steward said indifferently, "You may go find that matchmaker. If you are prepared to redeem her, you can have the matchmaker speak with me. But as long as she remains in our estate for even a single day, she is a person of this household. Without the master's permission, she is strictly forbidden from privately communicating with outsiders."

These words left the old woman and Luo Dayuan rooted to the spot in utter stupefaction.

Shaking his head, the head steward turned and walked back into the courtyard.

As Chunfu bolted the door shut behind him, he heard the old woman shrieking hysterically outside: "Let's go! We're going to find that murderous matchmaker!"

Mother Zhou's home was not far from the Li residence.

Cursing and ranting, the old woman and Luo Dayuan stormed right up to Mother Zhou's doorstep.

"You murderous wretch! Didn't you promise that my granddaughter was being sent to be a concubine? How is it that she was sold into absolute indenture as a maidservant instead?"

Mother Zhou had only just gotten up a short while ago and was still harboring a belly full of morning irritability.

With a sour expression, she snapped, "Which one of you is talking about your granddaughter?"

"Luo Yinyin!"

Frowning deeply, it took Mother Zhou a long moment of thought before she replied indifferently, "Oh, so it's that wretched girl who expected me to fawn all over her before she was even sold? How laughable! Lacking any self-awareness, people wouldn't even take her as a maidservant, let alone a concubine!"

Both the old woman and Luo Dayuan were driven nearly insane with rage.

All their previous expectations had come to nothing.

A terrible premonition gnawed at the old woman's heart, her mind entirely consumed by those missing six taels of silver.

"That isn't what you told us in the beginning! Ten taels of silver, not a single cash less! You still owe us six!"

Squinting at her sideways, Mother Zhou's mouth curled in utter mockery.

"Old woman, what did you tell me at first? You swore the girl was a peerless beauty, top-tier in every way. That's why I agreed to send her as a concubine for a ten-tael betrothal gift. And what kind of freakish creature did you send me? Never mind her looks—with that arrogant attitude of looking down her nose at everyone, I almost got stuck holding onto her! I even gave you four taels upfront; I took a loss just getting rid of her! And you still have the nerve to ask me for six more?"

Taking a closer look at the pair, Mother Zhou frowned.

"You didn't actually go causing a scene at the Li residence, did you?"

When neither of them answered, Mother Zhou laughed derisively.

"Being a maidservant in the Li residence is already a blessing for your granddaughter. Though she signed an absolute contract, Master Li is benevolent; if parents wish to redeem her, he will consent!"

"If you feel so cheated, you can always bring back the four taels of silver, and I'll take you to buy the girl back."

The old woman's face flushed a deep, angry purple. Before she could catch her breath, she collapsed backward in a dead faint.

Mother Zhou let out a disdainful snort and told Luo Dayuan, "Hurry up and carry her to a medical hall before she drops dead in my courtyard!"

Instead of taking his mother to a medical hall, Luo Dayuan hoisted her onto his back and hauled her straight home.

On the way back, the old woman regained consciousness.

Yet she looked entirely like a soul detached from its body.

"It's all the fault of that wretched Jiang woman! If not for her, how could Yinyin have ended up a mere maidservant? How could we have been left with only four paltry taels of silver?"

"Heavens above... My six taels of silver! Ruined just like that by that accursed creature!"

Luo Dayuan remained silent. Beneath his impotent hatred lay a crushing despair of not knowing what to do.

Just as his mother said, had it not been for Jiang Li, they would never have been forced to sell Yinyin.

Had they sold A-ning instead, she wouldn't have been reduced to a mere maidservant, nor would they have received a mere four taels.

It was all Jiang's fault!

Yet that Jiang woman was far too vicious; last time, she had shot an arrow straight through the old woman's hand without even blinking an eye.