stingy landlady

Chapter 209 Gui Xiang Suffers (1)

A lively day passed, and it wasn't until evening that Dazhu and the others realized they hadn't seen Guixiang.

Guizhi thought that Guixiang was throwing a tantrum in her room and refusing to come out because she saw that Guihong had gotten engaged first. So she went to Guixiang's room to comfort her.

But Gui Xiang's room was spotless, and even her usual belongings were gone. Gui Zhi immediately had a bad feeling.

The cabinet wasn't locked, so Guizhi gently opened it. It was empty inside, with only a few old clothes scattered about. The boxes where she usually kept her jewelry were also gone.

Guizhi's first reaction was that she had been kidnapped? Had Guihong's engagement today attracted bandits? Were they going to rob her of her money and her virtue? With so many people in the house, why didn't Guixiang, a grown woman, know to shout? Or was she being threatened? But how did so many people manage to get Guixiang out the door?

Guizhi didn't dare delay and quickly found Dazhu and Li Shi. She questioned Old Zhou, the gatekeeper, and the other servants. Old Zhou recalled:

"Master, Madam! The eldest young lady went out by herself with a bundle on her back. I asked her about it, and she said she was delivering something to the old house."

They asked the other servants, and they all said they saw Guixiang leave alone with her bundle in her arms.

Guizhi found it strange. Was this some kind of runaway? But why? Guizhi couldn't figure it out. Li's expression changed, and Dazhu, realizing something, turned to face Li:

"Did they run off with that Jiang kid? They haven't given up on their feelings! They really don't learn their lesson even after being beaten!"

Li hesitated for a moment, then said in disbelief:

"Honey! It's probably that Jiang boy trying to seduce Guixiang again! Guixiang is still so naive..."

"Is she still so immature? How old is she? She's the eldest sister in the family. If she were like those who got married young, she could be a mother by now!"

It's all your fault for spoiling her! I told you to hit her and discipline her, but you wouldn't do it! I'm a grown man, and I'm afraid I'll break her bones if I kick her or hit her with a stick!

"If I'd known she'd have the guts to elope with someone, I would have broken her legs long ago, so she wouldn't have been able to run away!"

Gui Hong pursed her lips, not daring to utter a sound. Gui Zhi thought for a moment, then calmly said:

"Dad! Mom! Stop arguing! It's no use arguing! Let's send someone to Jiang Xiaoyu's house to check. What if she's not there? Whether she's at her house or not isn't something we can just guess from home."

Dazhu immediately said, "Then I'll go right now! If she's really there, I'd rather beat her to death than let her do such a shameful thing."

Guizhi comforted Dazhu and Li Shi:

"Father! Mother! Let Uncle Zhou and Brother Pan Qiang go! You stay home and wait for news! Father! Mother! We can't act impulsively! My eldest sister is probably overthinking things. We just need to make sure she's not lost!"

Let's take things slowly from now on. Parents, you can't be too impulsive! If you really want Jiang Hongliang, as long as they're happy, it doesn't matter who you marry, you'll still have a good life!

Parents! If my eldest sister marries someone else and doesn't live well, she'll blame us, and besides, we won't feel at ease. If she's doing well in the Jiang family, we'll be at ease.

If my eldest sister isn't doing well at the Jiang family's house, we can bring her back home later. Anyway, she doesn't have a marriage certificate, so to outsiders she's still an unmarried woman!

Even if you get married, you can still get a divorce! Aren't there plenty of widows who remarry, or women who have been divorced but have been remarried? Aren't they all doing just fine?

Dazhu and Li were stunned by what Guizhi said.

Li asked in confusion:

"Guizhi! Where do you get so many fallacies?"

Dazhu chuckled:

"Hehe! Guizhi! I must say, your twisted logic is actually quite to my liking! This Guixiang is so stubborn and narrow-minded! If she's not doing well, as long as she's willing to come home, I'll have to acknowledge her as my daughter no matter what!"

Alas! Children are all enemies from a past life!

Li looked helplessly at Dazhu and his son:

"You two are just talking about it at home, don't go around saying it outside. What will people think of our daughter? Does she think she can't handle one man and has to choose another?"

Choosing a son-in-law is like choosing some random thing. You keep picking one after another, but people just let you choose whatever you want.

Just like you two said, getting married is like playing house!

Gui Hong also said with a smile:

"Father! Mother! I agree with Third Sister! If Zhou Shaoyu ever treats me badly again, I'll go home and find someone else who will treat me well!"

Li cursed:

"Alright, you lot! You're really getting carried away! And you, Guihong! You just got engaged today and you're already saying such unlucky things. Spit three times, and good things will come true!"

He then pulled Gui Hong along and watched her spit three times before stopping.

As soon as Gui Xiang and Jiang Hongliang returned to the Jiang family, Jiang Hongliang handed the bundle in his hand to Granny Jiang.

"Mother! These are Guixiang's things, please put them away for her. Guixiang! Come with me."

Gui Xiang was staring blankly at the low thatched huts. Only when Granny Jiang entered one of the rooms with her bundle did Gui Xiang finally open her mouth:

"Jiang Lang! Aunt Jiang, those things are mine!"

No one paid any attention to her, but Jiang Hongliang suddenly reached out and pulled her into another room.

"Oh! Forget about what's yours and mine! We're all family now, why be so particular? Leave it with my mother. She only has one son, and she'll give us all the money she earns."

"Gui Xiang! This is my room, it'll be ours from now on! That room is for Mom and my little sister!"

Jiang Hongliang's room was clean and tidy, without even a wardrobe, only a few sets of clothes, neatly folded on a book box at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed). There was also a quilt that hadn't been folded, piled haphazardly on the head of the kang.

There was a low table with books, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on it. There wasn't much paper, but it was clear that Jiang Hongliang was indeed a scholar.

Gui Xiang looked at the quilt and asked:

"How are we supposed to cover ourselves with just one blanket?"

Jiang Hongliang, thick-skinned, said flippantly:

"We're sharing a bed, why do we need so many blankets?"

Gui Xiang blushed and said:

"Then I'll fold the blanket up! It's not dark yet, I'll make it up tonight."

"No need! We don't have that much firewood, and it's not cold now, so we don't need to burn so much firewood. Just put the quilts on the kang (heated brick bed) and it'll be warm whenever we sleep!"

Gui Xiang, you're just sitting around doing nothing anyway, why don't you go collect firewood with your little sister tomorrow? She always collects only a tiny bit of firewood to bring home, and besides cooking and boiling water, she has no firewood left.

Neither of the two kang beds gets warm! If more people helped gather firewood, we could burn more.

Gui Xiang asked in confusion:

"In our family, it's always the men who go up the mountain to gather firewood. Jiang Lang! Aren't you going to help?"

Jiang Hongliang felt as if he had heard a big joke:

“Me? Can your farmers who toil in the fields all day compare to me? Of course I want to study! A gentleman stays away from the kitchen! You're the ones who do the hard work.”

Gui Xiang thought for a moment and then asked:

"Jiang Lang, isn't Aunt Jiang going to help?"