This definitely stabbed right into Old Master Jiangâs heart!
After Fifth Master Jiang barked that out, he seemed like he still wanted to say more, but he couldnât hold back and started coughing hard, completely unable to get another word out.
His eldest daughter-in-law, Song Wanyu, let out a soft, wordless snort, then made a show of smoothing a few stray strands at her temples. Without much sincerity, she said to Old Master Jiang, "Uncle, I speak a bit bluntly, I donât think much before I talk, donât hold it against me. Iâm just worried about the householdâs livelihood and got anxious for a moment."
"What, have we been treating you poorly all this time? All your food, drink, and clothing, hasnât it always been covered by the public funds?"
Hearing that spiel from Song Wanyu, Old Master Jiang only felt his heart go icy cold.
He had always treated them all as one Jiang Family. All these mouths were fed by the public account. Although it was called "public," in reality, most of that money was originally earned by his own branch.
All these years, his branch had only him and a few helpers in the courtyard, while the other branches really were three generations, four generations of grandparents to grandkids, a huge crowd of people.
How much did they eat?
How much did the rest of the Jiang Family eat?
It basically meant he was earning the money to support this whole big clan.
Never mind that they also chipped in to make moneyâwhat they cared about was that little slice of business where the profits belonged entirely to them. The big business, the broader matters, were still all in his hands.
So he works himself to this age, raising such a large family, and they still want to whine to him, afraid thereâll be no food on the table?
It was enough to make a man die laughing!
Old Master Jiangâs face was dark as he looked at Song Wanyu and said, "Since you know the words coming out of your mouth donât pass through your brain, then talk less in the future. Otherwise, make that brain of yours actually work!"
Although Song Wanyu was his cousinâs daughter-in-law, she was no longer young either. A woman in her fifties or sixties being criticized like that in publicâher face instantly burned, as if someone had slapped her.
She snorted, "Uncle..."
"Enough! How could Uncle ever let our business lose money?" Her husband, Jiang Jiting, snapped, "Stop nagging here! If youâve got nothing to do, take the two grandsons out for a walk!"
"Uncle, you donât need to be angry either," Fourth Master Jiangâs fourth son smiled and said, "Wanyu probably just thought wrong for a moment. Right now we only have some misunderstandings with the Lu Family, itâs not like weâre little kids quarrelling and then shouting weâll never speak again. Thatâd be too childish, wouldnât it, Uncle?"
Jiang Shiheng had kept quiet the whole time, just listening to them all talking at once. Every attitude from the Jiang Family, he was taking it all in.
"Weâre in business, so we value harmony above all. We also need to keep expanding outward. I think we canât give up Pingzhou, and we canât give up other places either. I think we could first invite Old Master Lu to sit down and have a proper talk. Didnât they say before that theyâd be our escort, watch our backs? Letâs not bring up this whole Lu Shuangshuang matter, but the Lu Family still has..."
"What are you trying to say?"
Old Master Jiang shot him a cold glance.
At a time like this, heâs still calling it a mere misunderstanding with the Lu Family?
Still wants to sit down and have a nice talk?
Are the people of the Jiang Family all this spineless?
This Jiang Jiwu was Jiang Yunqing and Jiang Yuncunâs biological grandfather. In the past he had always been the one backing this pair of grandchildren in getting close to Lu Shuangshuang, and he had been the one fanning the flames to have Jiang Yuncun adopted into Jiang Shihengâs householdâ
No, it should be said, adopted under the name of Lu Shuangshuang, the Sixth Young Masterâs wife.