Farmer girl swaps husbands: buys a sickly villain and pampers him

Chapter 195 Escape from Debt

Zhong Lanhua clung to the pillar beside her, refusing to let go.

She clung tightly to the pillar, using both her hands and feet. In the end, it took four thugs all their strength to pry her off.

"Are you all dead? Hurry up and report this to the authorities!" Zhong Lanhua shouted at the shop's employees. "If something happens to me, no one will pay your wages."

The worker, who originally didn't want to get involved, started to get restless after hearing this, thinking about the wages he hadn't received yet.

One of the waiters stepped forward to stop the brothel staff from taking Zhong Lanhua away. However, the madam had brought too many thugs, and the skinny waiter was no match for them.

The people at the gambling den started moving things out. They took everything of even a modicum of value. Judging from the current situation, they'd probably only leave a few pillars for Feng Hua Pavilion.

The once-prosperous Fenghua Pavilion has become an empty shell in a short period of time. The proprietress, Zhong Lanhua, was even kidnapped by the brothel madam.

"Oh dear, are they taking Boss Zhong to a brothel to pay off her debts?" The blacksmith shop owner's wife, who was at odds with Zhong Lanhua, said gleefully. "That's right, she's a widow anyway, and hasn't had a man for so many years. If they send her to a brothel to pay off her debts, she can not only save her son but also get to taste a man's flavor. Haha..."

The blacksmith was an honest man. When he saw his wife saying such hurtful things, he quickly pulled her inside.

The blacksmith's wife cursed, "You feel sorry for her? Don't think I didn't see it. This slut has been hanging around you lately, her ass is practically crawling with maggots."

"Wife, nothing like that. She just asked me to make some things and we exchanged a few normal words," the blacksmith explained anxiously, his face flushed.

"It'd better not be, or I'll skin you alive."

Zhong Lanhua struggled but was still taken away by the brothel madam. Before leaving, she called out in the direction of Fenghua Pavilion, "Yang Quan, Yang Quan, find Huan'er, bring Huan'er back."

In the dead of night, Zhong Lanhua's crying carried far and wide, sounding eerie.

Yang Quan came out from inside.

The other workers were disheartened to see the store empty. It was too late to go home now, so they had to stay the night and head home the next day.

"Fortunately, the people from those gambling dens and brothels didn't cause trouble for us guys. If they had taken us to pay off their debts, we wouldn't have been able to resist."

“No, that won’t happen,” another female employee said. “The debts that Feng Hua Ge owes, the debts that the young master owes, are their own problems. We didn’t sell ourselves to them.”

What will happen to our wages?

"The Jiang family, mother and son, owe so much money that Fenghua Pavilion might not even survive. Where would they get the money to pay our wages? We were just unlucky to end up in Fenghua Pavilion. If we had gone to Taoyao Fang across the street, we would be living a much better life. The owner of Taoyao Fang is very generous and pays his employees quite well."

The group sighed simultaneously, looking as if they were all in the same boat.

Yang Quan went out and disappeared into the alley. The next day, Taoyaofang was still busy as bees, while Fenghuage across the street was sealed off.

"The authorities have awarded Fenghua Pavilion to the gambling den. The brothel madam has sent people everywhere to search for Jiang Yihui, saying that if they see him, they should break one of his legs first. Jiang Yihui has not shown up yet." Chun'e brought the latest clothes and took the opportunity to tell everyone in Taoyaofang about today's news.

"I really don't know what's wrong with this person's brain. He just lost several thousand taels of silver like that, without even thinking about whether he could pay it back," Jia Chunni said. "I thought I was stupid enough, but this person has studied for several years. How come he's not as smart as a little girl like me who can barely read a few words?"

“Chunni, you mustn’t underestimate yourself,” Jiang Jing said. “You’re more than just a few words now, and you’re very smart. You’ve learned everything I’ve taught you.”

Jia Chunni was a little embarrassed.

She just said it casually, but she didn't expect Jiang Jing to be so concerned about her. However, Chunni, who originally lacked confidence in herself, had her fighting spirit rekindled after hearing what Jiang Jing said.

With Feng Hua Ge closed, Tao Yao Fang has become much quieter.

Yang Quan brought Jiang Yihuan back. When Jiang Yihuan returned to the shop, she found it sealed off by the authorities. She also heard from others that Jiang Yihui owed a huge amount of money, and the authorities had awarded their Fenghua Pavilion's property to the gambling den and the brothel. She was so angry she almost fainted, but regained her composure and told Yang Quan that she had long since severed ties with this family. They had kicked her and her husband out of their home, and from now on, the family's honor or disgrace was none of her concern.

"A body was found in the river, and someone recognized it as Jiang Yihui." Zhang Pandi returned from outside carrying a basket.

"Jiang Yihui is dead?" Su Yaoguang asked in surprise. "How did he die?"

In her previous life, Jiang Yihuan did not die and lived a good life with Xiao Yanci's support. Not only did she marry a beautiful woman, but she also had two concubines.

At the time, she was quite resentful, feeling that Xiao Yanci was too nice to Jiang Yihui; anyone who didn't know better would think he was her brother-in-law. Now it seems, isn't he really her brother-in-law?
Jiang Yihui didn't die in her previous life, so why did she die so young in this one? Is it because of this incident that the plot is no longer following the course of her previous life?

Jiang Yihui's body was quickly claimed by Zhong Lanhua.

These past few days, Zhong Lanhua had been living in constant fear in the brothel, enduring humiliation from the madam. Exhausted both physically and mentally, she was utterly despondent when she received news of Jiang Yihui's death.

"Hui'er, Mother is taking you home, home..." Zhong Lanhua threw herself onto Jiang Yihui's body, crying desperately. "Wake up, son, don't scare your mother. It doesn't matter how much money you owe, Mother will help you pay it off. Hui'er, wake up..."

“Madam Zhong, please be understanding,” said Constable Qian beside her. “We found his body by the river. The coroner has examined the body and determined that he died accidentally. If you wish to take him back for burial, you can simply sign your name.”

“Mother…” Jiang Yihuan and Xiao Yanci walked over.

When Zhong Lanhua saw Jiang Yihuan, she took her hand and pleaded in her eyes: "Your brother is just joking with us! He must owe too much money and is afraid we won't take care of him, so he's trying to scare me like this. Wake him up and tell him that I will definitely help him pay off his debts, so he won't scare Mother."

"Mother, accept reality, brother is dead." Jiang Yihuan ruthlessly shattered her illusions. "Mother, you don't have brother, but you still have me, and Brother Xiao. We will take care of you and be filial to you."

"It's you, you jinx!" Zhong Lanhua lunged forward and bit Xiao Yanci's neck hard. "Give me back my son, you jinx!"