Chapter 3: Sending the Rotten Father to Prison

Gui Huilan sprang up briskly, pointing at Qi Yu and shouting.

“What’s wrong with wanting my granddaughter to marry early and enjoy a good life? The village chief’s youngest son may not be right in the head, but their family earns thirty yuan a month! You’re an outsider, coming to our village and bossing us around, and now my son and I have been beaten! Tell me, are you going to do anything about it or not?”

Jiang Cha, hiding behind Zheng Xiaozhen, sneered coldly. Gui Huilan was truly foolish—her words had landed right into the trap.

“Exactly! Why do you care if I want my daughter to get married? She’s not your daughter. And besides, a wife needs a beating every now and then, or she’ll climb all over the house. What did I do wrong?”

By now, Jiang Dazhu had mostly sobered up, his neck stiff with rage as he howled. Jiang Cha couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.

Let them wait and see—she was now the Jiang Cha of the twenty-first century, no longer the original pushover!

The man beside Song Yingjie noticed Jiang Cha’s cold smile, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Jiang Cha’s peripheral vision caught him watching her, and she shrank her neck, avoiding his gaze.

How odd. She didn’t know Song Bo at all, nor had they ever interacted. Why was he paying attention to her?

Qi Yu was no less fierce. To sit as chairwoman of the women’s federation, she wasn’t one to be trifled with, and she immediately got into a shouting match with Gui Huilan.

Song Yingjie, headache mounting, hurried to stop them before they could begin to brawl.

“I’ll say it again: domestic violence is a crime. If it happens again, I’ll send the culprit exactly where he belongs.”

At these words, Jiang Dazhu grew fearful—he didn’t doubt the truth of them, especially after what had happened just a few days ago.

Gui Huilan was still relentless. “Then what about that little brat unleashing snakes to bite us?!”

She lifted her pant leg to show Song Yingjie. Hearing his mother’s words, Jiang Dazhu immediately followed suit.

“That’s right! This brat somehow got hold of snakes, who knows if they’re poisonous, Secretary—you can’t ignore this!”

Their calves were covered in bite marks, some large, some small. Jiang Cha inwardly cursed; things were taking a turn. She promptly began to cry.

“Uncle Song, I didn’t release any snakes, I couldn’t possibly command snakes to bite people! Grandma and Dad kept snakes to harvest their gallbladders, saying it could make big money. I told them it wasn’t right, but Dad beat me and threatened to kill me if I told. Those bite marks must’ve happened when they were harvesting snake gall. It’s not my fault!”

She hadn’t lied—according to the original memories, Jiang Dazhu had always been fond of such shady schemes.

He’d heard somewhere that snake gall was valuable, so he’d gone into the rainforest to catch many snakes.

Jiang Cha had found it cruel, so she’d released the captive snakes when no one was looking. Jiang Dazhu had found out and beaten her half to death.

Jiang Cha knew that Song Bo, the secretary’s son, was a zoologist, passionate about animal protection. At this moment, he certainly wouldn’t stand idly by.

“What? Jiang Dazhu, you dared to harvest snake gall for your own profit? How dare you! That’s illegal hunting—a criminal offense!”

Song Yingjie erupted in anger, pointing at Jiang Dazhu’s nose and berating him.

Jiang Dazhu panicked. He’d warned his family never to speak of it, or he’d beat them to death.

“No, Secretary, let me explain—it wasn’t me, she’s lying! She released snakes to bite me and my mother, don’t accuse a good man!”

Jiang Cha was about to retort, but Song Bo’s clear voice rang out.

“Snakes are wild animals. Their brain structure and behavioral patterns mean they can’t form emotional bonds with humans, let alone be tamed—especially not in such large numbers.”

Jiang Dazhu was now completely flustered. Outside the bamboo house, neighbors had gathered in droves, eager for the spectacle.

“I saw him sneak into the rainforest before. So he was catching snakes.”

“He’s got nerve—doing such things when everyone’s been urged not to harm animals these past years. He must be out of his mind!”

“I’ve found many snake carcasses near his house and always wondered why there were dead snakes every day. Now I know!”

“This rainforest is a gift of nature—how dare he? Isn’t he afraid of retribution?”

Hearing all this, Jiang Cha inwardly cheered. She’d wanted to teach her rotten father a lesson, but hadn’t expected things to escalate so much. Now Jiang Dazhu had truly crossed a line.

“Get out of my house, all of you! What’s it to you? There are plenty of snakes in the rainforest—I catch a few, so what? Didn’t everyone used to do it? Why single me out?”

Gui Huilan, seeing the neighbors pointing fingers, stepped up to defend Jiang Dazhu.

“Exactly! What did our Dazhu do wrong? The rainforest is full of things belonging to our village. Our family is struggling—we only took a bit of snake gall to sell, what’s wrong with that?”

Tsk, tsk, the mother and son were not only wicked but foolish—ignorance had cost them dearly.

From then on, Jiang Cha didn’t need to say a word. Song Yingjie took decisive action and reported the matter.

If it was just domestic violence, they could only mediate, unable to do much else.

But now, with this involved, things were far from simple.

The next day, experts arrived and conducted a thorough search of the Jiang family’s bamboo house, discovering several snake gallbladders yet to be sold.

Among them were at least three gallbladders from black netted rat snakes.

These snakes were a protected species, and Jiang Dazhu had slaughtered so many.

Unsurprisingly, Jiang Dazhu was sentenced to three years in prison. When Zheng Xiaozhen received the news, she was utterly stunned.

Jiang Cha had wanted her parents to divorce, but Gui Huilan, the old woman, threatened suicide and refused to yield, so there was nothing to be done for now.

Still, Jiang Cha set one condition: she wouldn’t live with Gui Huilan. Anyway, once Jiang Dazhu was released, she’d arrange for the divorce.

Gui Huilan tried her usual tricks, but they didn’t work on Jiang Cha.

Jiang Cha simply ignored her tantrums and tears, swiftly gathering her things with Zheng Xiaozhen and Jiang Xi.

With Song Yingjie and Qi Yu’s help, they found an empty bamboo house on the edge of the rainforest.

“Thank you, snake babies. If it weren’t for your help, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”

Jiang Cha squatted in the corner of the bamboo house, crouching beside a pile of small snakes on the ground.

[Sister, we should thank you for rescuing us. If you ever need anything, just call us—we’ll be wandering this area.]

Listening to the snakes’ chirping childish voices, Jiang Cha smiled and patted their heads.

[Ding——]

[Congratulations to the host for escaping misery and teaching your rotten father a lesson.]

[Today’s task completed. Reward: five yuan, deposited in your system wallet and available for withdrawal at any time.]

[You now gain Beast Speech x1. Please make your selection.]

[1. Elephant Speech 2. Bird Speech 3. Tiger Speech.]

Jiang Cha rested her chin in her hand, thinking, and finally chose Tiger Speech—not for any particular reason, she simply wanted to talk to tigers. How cool would that be!

Remembering she now had five yuan—a small fortune—she patted her stomach, inspiration striking. She’d heard the supply cooperative had plenty of food; she had to go and treat herself.