Tian Jing grabbed Grandma Tian's wrist and looked at Grandpa Tian, her face still calm and collected. "When the brigade sends people, I'll say you forced me into a marriage swap. Our country advocates for freedom of marriage. Once this gets out..."
"Shut up!" Grandpa Tian's voice rose in panic. "Do you know the consequences of your nonsense?"
"I don't care!"
Tian Jing released Grandma Tian's wrist, who was already trembling with fear. She didn't look at her, who had collapsed onto the ground, but stared into Grandpa Tian's cloudy eyes. "I'm an outsider. Killing all 18 members of the Tian family would be a fair trade!"
Her calm tone delivered a brutal threat, and her faint smile made the usually shrewd Grandpa Tian tremble. "How did you know?"
"I heard it from Tian Ping," Tian Jing sneered, watching Grandpa Tian's face relax again. "She said it in her dream, that she overheard you talking about how the Chen family and..."
"Stop talking, I agree to this condition," Grandpa Tian interrupted before Tian Jing could continue. What was the point in denying it? As soon as anyone investigated the Chen and Xiao families, everything would be clear.
"Old man," Grandma Tian softly called from the ground.
Grandpa Tian shook his head at her and looked at Tian Jing. "State your conditions."
"Second, I want to sever all ties with the Tian family. From now on, whether I live or die, whether I'm well or unwell, it has nothing to do with the Tian family. I won't beg at your doorstep, and if I prosper, you're not to come asking for favors. Of course, this must be settled before my wedding. Whether we marry on the same day as the Li family or stagger it to avoid suspicion, I'll cooperate."
"Third, I want a set of cotton clothes, from inside out, and a new set of clothes for my wedding day, also from inside out. They must be newly made. I refuse to wear anyone else's old clothes; they're too dirty."
As she spoke, she looked down at her own clothes, full of patches and filthy.
"How much money and tickets will that cost?" Grandma Tian clutched her thighs in distress. The crucial part was the cotton; even with money and tickets, it might not be possible to buy it.
"Or perhaps," Tian Jing looked at Grandma Tian, who was wincing at the thought of the cost, "I could ask the militia comrades to search the Tian family to see if there are any..."
"Enough!" Grandpa Tian cut her off. "I agree to all your conditions. Is that all?"
"That's all for now. I'll tell you if I think of anything else. These three conditions are the most important."
Tian Jing had no intention of mentioning the rest; they were minor issues. "Oh, I'll be taking care of myself for a while. If I look too thin and frail, what if the Li family disapproves? After all, they have a sickly mother to look after."
Grandpa Tian readily agreed. It was a small matter that wouldn't cost money or effort. He just wondered how this girl knew so much. "I agree to everything. Go wash up."
"Alright, Grandpa, please go ahead!" Calling him Grandpa was already showing him respect. If it weren't for not wanting to be accused of lacking filial piety, she would have called him by his name.
Grandpa Tian gave her a deep look and turned to leave the woodshed.
Grandma Tian also scrambled up and followed him out. She was afraid; the cold indifference in Tian Jing's grip on her wrist earlier was more frightening to her than Grandpa Tian's rage.
Tian Jing stepped out of the woodshed, stretching her arms and kicking her legs. She had been sitting for too long. Although her abilities would dissipate the numbness and stiffness with a circulation, her joints still needed to be moved.
She took the opportunity to survey the Tian family courtyard. In the original host's memory, the Tian family courtyard had many rooms, but to her, only the houses were plentiful.
Originally, there were three main rooms. The central one was the main hall, the east room was Grandpa and Grandma Tian's bedroom, and the west room was the eldest son's bedroom. Later, two more rooms were added to the west of the west room, each with a separate door, serving as bedrooms for the second son's family and the third son's family of four.
The three side rooms on the east were bedrooms for the eldest cousin Tian Liwen, second cousin Tian Liwu, and elder brother Tian Lifu, respectively. There were no side rooms on the west originally. When the two western rooms were added, three side rooms were built alongside them. One room was for Tian Guigui, who pretended to be a twin with the original host. Tian Ping and Tian Jing shared a room, and the remaining room was the kitchen.
The woodshed was a wall made of wooden boards and bamboo between the kitchen and the courtyard wall, with a thatched roof.
The main house of the Tian family had a stone foundation and adobe walls. The roof was half tiles and half thatch, with tiles laid from the triangular apex downwards.
In rural areas, main rooms were generally three meters wide. There were five main rooms in total. The side rooms were two and a half meters wide. Including the woodshed, there were four rooms. This front courtyard, including the houses, was about 150 square meters.
At this time, the two fruit trees in the courtyard and the wild grass along the wall were brown. The fruits on the trees were also brown. Tian Jing looked up at the roof of the main house. The two paulownia trees behind the main house, which extended more than a meter above the roof, were also brown. Heh, no hope for making furniture. Judging by the situation, the vegetables in the backyard were also doomed.
The backyard had two small plots of land for vegetables, as well as an outhouse, a pigsty, and a chicken coop. It was slightly larger than the front courtyard.
What a shame. If she had activated her abilities on the mountain, with more plants, she might have reached level three or four!
She should go to her room, find some clean clothes to change into, and wash up before breakfast.
...
Grandma Tian followed Grandpa into the east room. As soon as the door closed, she lowered her voice and asked, "Are you really giving that gold pendant to that little slut?"
Grandpa Tian pressed tobacco leaves into his pipe. "Let's wait. Tonight, I'll dig out a small yellow croaker, and I'll have Old Uncle make one. She might not know what it looks like."
In Grandpa Tian's mind, the gold pendant always felt extraordinary. Otherwise, why would it be made in the shape of a key? He was reluctant to part with it.
Grandma Tian still felt pained. She couldn't even bear to make fake gold bars.
Seeing his wife's distressed expression, Grandpa Tian reminded her, "If you provoke her and she spills everything, we'll get nothing. She knows quite a lot. Don't mumble about these things in the future. Ping Ping might overhear. That cursed girl can't keep her mouth shut; she says everything in her dreams."
"I know," Grandma Tian replied. "Then, how should we set the date?"
Grandpa Tian took a puff of his pipe and exhaled two streams of smoke from his nostrils. "Tomorrow, let the eldest daughter-in-law go to the Li family and inquire. See if they are marrying theirs first or if we are marrying ours first. Stagger the time, or people will know it's a marriage swap."
"Of course, they should marry first," Grandma Tian's anger flared up again when she thought of Tian Jing. "She already wants to live off the fruits of our labor. Do we keep supporting her? Let's marry her off to the mountains first, then we can rest easy."
"Alright!" Grandpa Tian exhaled smoke. "Tell the eldest daughter-in-law to speak with the Li family and get things sorted."
"How should we sort it?" Grandma Tian looked at Grandpa Tian with delight. "Should we tell them to..."
"Shut up!" Grandpa Tian reprimanded her. "I mean to agree on a date and then present a united front to the outside world. Don't be clever on your own. Do you want the Li family to know Jing'er's identity?"