After speaking, she paused and looked at Niley. "So? If you buy my son, you won't lose out. He might look ugly, but once it's dark, everyone looks the same, right? Besides, even a turtle can find love with a green bean!"
"Pfft~"
People around couldn't help laughing when they heard Jiang Yu's words.
"Jiang Yu, are you calling her a turtle in a roundabout way?"
"Exactly! You keep saying your second son is capable, then why are you trying to sell him? Even the village head's dog had pups, and they asked for something in return. You're worse than that dog!"
"You're the first in Zhukeng Village to sell your own son! Bravo!"
Jiang Yu quickly realized she'd said too much and patted her own mouth.
Even though she hadn't been to school, years in gambling dens and brothels taught her that the crowd was mocking her. Her small eyes widened as she put her hands on her hips and yelled, "Get lost! Can't I sell my own son if I want to? You all want to sell yours, but no one would take them anyway!"
Everyone in the village knew what Jiang Yu was like. When she got mad and glared, they quickly moved away, afraid she might actually hit someone. They had seen the red marks on her son's arm—if she could beat her own son, she'd hit anyone.
Once people stepped back, Jiang Yu didn't actually hit anyone. She had more important things to deal with right now.
She clasped her hands and smiled apologetically at Niley, saying sorry over and over. But her smile only made her wrinkled face look worse.
Niley cared a lot about appearances. Seeing her face made Niley frown even more, clearly unwilling to talk.
But Jiang Yu, not understanding the situation, kept trying to get closer to Niley, afraid she'd lose the money.
Mier had been staying carefully by Niley's side. Seeing that the people from Yichun Courtyard weren't coming any closer, he finally felt some relief and had time to look at the woman next to him.
He noticed her frowning and trying to lean away from Jiang Yu, clearly disgusted. He narrowed his eyes slightly, turned his body to shield her, and said in a low voice while trembling, "Mother, you can say what you want from there. No need to get so close."
As soon as he said that, Mier turned pale. Jiang Father and Jiang Mother stared at him in shock.
Normally, he was the most afraid of Jiang Yu and always got hit. But today… Jiang Father looked at the person Mier stood in front of, half proud and half sad. He nodded in approval.
Jiang Yu was furious at being interrupted. She raised her hand to slap Mier and cursed, "You think you can talk back to me? You're tired of living, huh?!"
Mier didn't move, bracing for the hit, his body shaking.
But the slap didn't land. A warm hand grabbed his and blocked the blow.
He looked down at the person protecting him, but the figure became blurry.
Niley stared coldly at Jiang Yu. "Can't you speak properly?"
She looked back at the trembling man behind her, her eyes full of pity.
Jiang Yu's wrist was tightly gripped. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Mier.
Then she noticed how the girl protected her son and became bolder. She broke free from Niley's grip and sneered, "Fine. I'll say this now—whoever pays more today gets to take him. Otherwise, I'll beat him to death, and it's none of your business!"
—
"Oww! My hand!"
Jiang Yu couldn't get away. Instead, Niley tightened her grip, and the pain in the cold weather made her break out in sweat.
Only then did Niley let go.
"Jiang Yu, are you trying to drive us to a dead end?" Jiang Father's face went pale. When he heard Jiang Yu say she'd beat Mier to death, he realized this had to end today. Or else all his sons would suffer in the future.
But he didn't know what to do.
"A dead end? And what about me? The people from the gambling den are already after me! Is it that hard to help me pay them back? Are you just going to watch me get chopped to pieces and not let me figure out a way to get money?"
Jiang Yu scratched her head in frustration, accidentally touching her injured hand. The pain made her curse, "Damn it! Normally you don't even dare breathe in front of me. What's gotten into you today? Found someone to back you up?"
She glared at Niley and spat, "Five silver taels! If you don't give me five silver today, don't even think about taking him!"
Five taels?!
Jiang Father and Mier both turned pale and looked like they might collapse. They leaned on each other silently, tears falling.
The owner of Yichun Courtyard, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke up and scoffed, "Jiang Yu, now you're just raising the price on the spot. We agreed on two taels. Why the sudden jump to five? What, is your son made of gold?"
He had done business for many years and believed in fair deals. This wasn't a respectable trade, after all.
He only insisted on buying today because Jiang Yu's son had caught the eye of some wealthy patrons. But now Jiang Yu was raising the price unfairly. Normally, two taels was already the highest they'd pay. Yichun Courtyard didn't need someone like this badly.
And that woman didn't look easy to mess with either. The owner thought for a moment and quickly made a decision.
"I just raised it. So what?"
"Hah! With how your son looks, two taels is the limit. Five taels? Keep dreaming!"
After saying that, the brothel owner waved to his men and left.
Jiang Yu watched them go, wanting to act tough. She opened her mouth to call them back but couldn't say a word. She could only watch them disappear at the village entrance, fuming.
She turned to Niley, eyes burning with anger.
"Five silver taels. Hand it over, now!"
She had scared off her buyer. Now, even if she had to scam the money, she wasn't leaving without it.
"Jiang Yu, f-five taels is t-too much! Just two!" Jiang Father and Mier finally relaxed once Yichun Courtyard left. But five taels was way too much to ask.
Normal families didn't even pay that much to marry a husband. Two taels was already a high price.