Chapter 7

“Yes, those four grandsons of the Xie family sure eat well. I don’t think all that food ends up in their mouths though, does it?”

Ma Yueying widened her eyes and shouted at the person behind her:
“They’re my grandsons! Shouldn’t they be eating well?”

The crowd shifted with the wind and agreed:
“That’s right, what’s wrong with kids eating a little more?”

In this era, many elders still favored boys over girls, and when it came to grandsons, they usually gave them whatever they wanted.

Jiang Tian sniffled.
“Your grandsons are human, but isn’t my husband human too? Since you treated him like that before, then I’ll have to ask the village chief to make the decision today—let’s cut ties with the Xie family.”

Chen Meiling was unwilling. Just now, when she heard Jiang Tian mention ginseng, her heart had been stirred—one root of ginseng could fetch over two hundred yuan.

“Sister-in-law, you can’t talk like that. We’re family after all.”

“Family? Family poisons people? Family starves someone until he’s skin and bones? My husband’s clothes are patched all over, while you lot wear new ones every year?”

“That’s true,” someone chimed in. “I’ve seen the Xie family, they don’t spend extravagantly, but they don’t wear patched clothes either.”

Jiang Tian knew exactly what kind of people the Xie family were.
“So you were trying to push him to death. Poisoned and left untreated, neglected like this—truly the work of a stepmother!”

Then she turned to look at Xie Chen.
“Brother Chen, do you agree to cut ties with the Xie family?”

Her tear-stained face carried a trace of hope. Even though Xie Chen knew she was putting on an act, his heart still ached. He reached out and gently wiped her tears.

“Mm. In our household, you’re in charge. Whatever you decide.”

Having his answer, Jiang Tian turned to Lin Jingguo, the village chief.
“Village chief, could you help us with this? I’m not asking for any other compensation—I just want to sever ties with the Xie family.

You’ve seen it yourself. My husband has lived with them all these years, unable to eat well or sleep well, and now he’s riddled with illness. If it weren’t for that ginseng I had at home, today I’d probably be accused of being a husband-killer.”

Chen Meiling quickly tried to dissuade her.
“Sister-in-law, what’s this talk of severing ties? With us around, we can at least lend a hand now and then.”

Jiang Tian stepped forward with a cold laugh.
“Lend a hand? My husband’s illness has been delayed for so many years. Do you really think a single ginseng root can cure him? And when my mother-in-law was pregnant, someone poisoned her. That matter needs to be reported to the police.”

Old Liu, seeing through the thoughts of the Xie family’s mother and daughter-in-law, fanned the flames:
“This illness won’t be easy to cure. Girl, that ginseng of yours can only keep this lad alive for a few more years. After that, it’ll take a lot more money.”

When Ma Yueying heard that the poisoning might be investigated, she panicked and quickly said:
“Sever ties! We must sever ties!”

The village chief looked at the mother and daughter-in-law, who stayed silent.
“Xie family, are you sure about this?”

“We’re sure.”

Chen Meiling glanced at her mother-in-law suspiciously—could it be that she was the one who poisoned?

The village chief turned to Jiang Tian.
“Then we’ll have the Party branch secretary write a letter of severance. Both families will sign and press their fingerprints. After that, you’ll have no further ties.”

Jiang Tian nodded firmly.

In front of the village office, the entire Xie family arrived, thinking something had happened when they saw the crowd.

“Village chief, what’s going on?”

It was Xie Tianming who spoke, followed by his four chubby grandsons and the rest of the eldest branch of the family.

Lin Jingguo explained what had happened. Xie Tianming turned to Xie Chen.
“You really mean to sever ties with us?”

Xie Chen gave a quiet “Mm.”

“In that case, from now on, we’re no longer connected.”

Without another word, Xie Tianming signed his name.

Then the rest of the family signed and pressed their fingerprints one after another.

Ten minutes later, the village chief distributed the severance documents to both families.

“From now on, you’re separated. Jiang Tian’s family has already said they don’t want any compensation. So, best to have little contact from now on. There are three copies of the document: one for the Party branch, and one each for your families.”

Jiang Tian carefully put away the document and bowed to the chief.
“Thank you, village chief.”

“From now on, the three of you should live a good life together. If you run into difficulties, come to me. Our village isn’t rich, but we can help a little now and then.”

With Jiang Er helping to support Xie Chen, the three left together. The crowd gradually dispersed.

Back home, the food had gone cold. Jiang Tian added some water to the pot, put in the steamer rack, set the dishes inside, and threw a few sticks of firewood into the stove to reheat them.

She placed a few eggs into a basket and spoke to the older and younger one at home.

“I’m going out to bring something to Auntie Zhang. You two eat first once the food’s hot.”

Xie Chen started to say something:
“No rush. We’ll wait for you.”

“Alright then, I’ll be quick.”

At Auntie Zhang’s house, two children happened to be playing at the gate.

“Zhuzi, Xiaoxiao, is your grandma home?”

Zhuzi stared in surprise.
“Big Sister Jiang, you’re all better?”

Jiang Tian pulled two fruit candies from her pocket and handed them over.
“Mm, I’m better.”

Zhuzi held the candy tightly and ran inside to call his grandma.
“Grandma, Sister Jiang is here!”

Auntie Zhang wiped her hands on her clothes and came to the door.
“Jiang girl, what brings you here?”

Jiang Tian handed over the basket with a smile.
“Auntie, you’ve looked after us siblings for so many years. And just now, without your help, we might not have been able to cut ties with the Xie family.”

Auntie Zhang peeked into the basket and was a bit surprised to see meat and eggs inside.
“This is…”

“Auntie, please accept it. We have enough to eat at home. This little bit is nothing compared to all you’ve done for us.”

In the end, Auntie Zhang accepted it, then went inside and brought out some pickled cabbage.
“Take this. I know you probably haven’t made any at home. Try it, and if you like it, come back for more.”

Jiang Tian didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted it.

Auntie Zhang hesitated, but finally asked:
“Jiang girl, are you truly no longer… simple-minded?”

Jiang Tian nodded.
“Mm. Yesterday I ate some ginseng, and after one night’s sleep, I woke up fine.”

Auntie Zhang sighed in relief.
“That’s good. From now on, live your life well. If you run into trouble, come to me. Back then, plenty of people in this village received kindness from your father. Everyone remembers.”

After saying goodbye, Jiang Tian also visited Old Liu’s house, the village chief’s, and the Party secretary’s.

She used the same explanation everywhere. Word spread quickly through the village—Jiang Tian, the “foolish girl” at the end of the village, was no longer foolish, and she had also severed ties with the Xie family.

“If I’d known the Jiang family had ginseng, I would’ve sent my grandson there as a live-in son-in-law!”

“Oh, please. With your son’s shifty eyes, do you really think Jiang Tian would want him?”

“What’s wrong with shifty eyes? At least my son is healthy. What’s so good about that sickly Xie lad? I heard my daughter-in-law say Old Liu diagnosed him as not having long to live. If Jiang Tian hadn’t fed him ginseng, he’d probably be gone in a few days.”

“That ginseng’s really wasted. Even with it, Old Liu says the Xie boy won’t live many more years.”

“Exactly. She’d be better off finding someone else. I even saw Jiang Tian handing out gifts today—must’ve been something good.”

“Of course. Her father must’ve left behind plenty of wealth.”

At the educated youth camp, Jiang Ying hadn’t received word from Chen Meiling. Instead, she heard that Jiang Tian wasn’t foolish anymore—and that she’d cut ties with the Xie family.

She sat on the kang, listening to Lin Yue gossip.

“They say the Jiang family even has ginseng.”

Jiang Ying grabbed her sleeve in disbelief.
“What did you say? The Jiang family has ginseng?”

“That’s right. Thanks to that ginseng, the sickly Xie lad can live a few more years.”

Lin Yue thought of the ginseng with envy. A single root could sell for several hundred yuan! With that money, she could eat meat again.

Life at the educated youth camp was tough. She didn’t earn many work points, so there was little grain—life was hard.

Jiang Ying was stunned. According to the plot, in her previous life Jiang Tian wasn’t supposed to recover. Could it be that Jiang Tian had been reborn too?

She hadn’t paid much attention to how Jiang Tian ended up last time. No, she’d have to find an opportunity to test her.