Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 201 - 150 I’ll Just Marry Her_3

Chapter 201: Chapter 150 I’ll Just Marry Her_3

Qian Dagui and Lady Wang, after hearing what Qian Sangui and his wife had said, were both angry and worried, fearing the worst. They thought that the Old Yang family was shameless beyond belief. How could they demand such a large dowry not even a month after their daughter-in-law had entered their household, and yet the mother-in-law still felt it wasn’t enough. The thing people fear the most is shamelessness; once someone has abandoned all sense of shame, there are no limits to how low they might stoop.

Anxious about what other great losses Qian Mandie might have suffered, they sent a young lad from Lady Wang’s maternal side to discreetly gather information in the town, even giving him some silver as a bribe.

The youngster returned in less than half an hour, reporting that he had inquired with two neighbors of the Old Yang family.

The Old Yang family was notorious for being stingy and disagreeable, disliked by their neighbors, who also sympathized with the family’s two daughters-in-law. Having received a bribe, the neighbors told everything they knew.

Qian Mandie’s father-in-law, due to his stinginess, had earned himself a nickname - Yang Laokou. Though miserly and tight-fisted, he was still a decent person and quite astute in business. That’s how he managed to go from being an ordinary farmer to owning an oil dealership in town within just over two decades.

But his wife, Old Lady Yang, was truly detestable; she was aggressive and shameless, endlessly quarreling with the neighbors over trifles and known for having stolen chickens from others a few times, which made people reluctant to interact with her.

She was even colder towards her daughters-in-law, often heard berating them in the courtyard. As soon as the elder daughter-in-law had entered the family, her entire dowry was taken, and she wasn’t even allowed a sip of chicken soup from her maternal family during her postpartum recovery, yet was still expected to do all sorts of chores. Her husband, Yang Youcai, was no better – a troublemaker who would beat his wife at the slightest provocation from his mother.

The elder daughter-in-law’s family were poor country folk who saw her marriage to the Yang family as an honor. Aware of their daughter’s plight but powerless to intervene, they would occasionally bring a chicken or duck in the hopes of pleasing the Old Yang family and earning some kindness for their daughter.

Perhaps satisfied with the success of subduing the elder daughter-in-law, they sought to utilize the same tactics on the second daughter-in-law. Moreover, the latter had brought a dowry that incited jealousy, being several times larger than that of her sister-in-law.

The day after the second daughter-in-law married into the family, neighbors could hear Old Lady Yang cursing loudly in the courtyard, apparently because the second daughter-in-law was unwilling to let her take charge of her dowry.

Luckily, the second son was somewhat fond of his wife and defended her with a few words, only to be cursed by his mother himself and beaten, though it was unclear whether mother was hitting the son or the daughter-in-law. The situation only calmed down after Yang Laokou intervened and stopped the escalation.

Peace lasted in their house for less than two days before the old pious woman began her daily tirades, and Yang Laokou no longer supported his second son and daughter-in-law. Perhaps the second daughter-in-law, hoping for an easier life, conceded some items; she didn’t understand Old Lady Yang’s nature – a woman who couldn’t stand her daughters-in-law having so much as a needle to their names. Having just taken something in the morning, she would begin cursing again by evening, insisting on having whatever was left.

Unwilling to give in, the second daughter-in-law faced more severe verbal abuse from Old Lady Yang, who even threatened to starve her. As things got worse, the second daughter-in-law could often be heard crying.

Yang Youzhi had a nature similar to her mother’s, both greedy and spiteful. The second daughter-in-law’s dowry consisted of many fine things, which Yang Youzhi lusted after, constantly trying to coax her mother to demand the dowry...

One neighbor’s daughter said, "Today, when I visited the Old Yang family to collect the money they owed for the pancakes, I saw Yang’s second sister-in-law watering clothes in the courtyard – her left cheek was all bruised, and her eyes were red and swollen."

Lady Wang and Old Woman Qian burst into tears when they heard this. Mandie had only entered the household less than a month ago and was already this battered; if things continued, might she not be beaten to death before they could even talk about separation from the family? Yet, they were loath to simply hand over the dowry to that old pious woman; it was what they had scrimped and saved for their daughter’s future—why should it be used by that shameless mother and daughter?

Old Man Qian said, "If it really comes to it, we’ll bring Mandie back home. I refuse to believe that Manchuan won’t provide her with a meal to eat in the future."

Qian Dagui still hesitated; if the family had a daughter known for having separated from her husband, it could tarnish the reputation of the younger generations and make matrimonial arrangements for the girls more difficult. He said, "Mandie once mentioned that her son-in-law treats her well. If it really comes to it, can’t we find a way to have them separate their household?"

But separation was an even more difficult matter than divorce.

Qian Sangui said, "If Mandie’s son-in-law is not bad and the two of them wish to stay together, let’s have them separate. There are ways to achieve separation. I’ll invite Steward Wong over. He has a great relationship with Landlord Li, the leader of the local authority. The Yang family is unreasonable, and the neighbors can all bear witness. With Landlord Li mediating for justice, no matter how stubborn the Yang family is, they won’t be able to avoid separation."