CH 100

Zhulan had memories of the Jiang family. Following the sound of crying, she saw that it was the room where her daughter lived. She ignored the Jiang family who came out of the main house and walked into her daughter’s room with a dark face. Sitting under the quilt, her wàisūnnǚ was crying and her three-year-old wàisūn was coaxing her.

The little girl’s face was flushed from crying. Zhulan’s heart skipped a beat, and she rubbed her hands to stop the cold, then she touched her wàisūnnǚ’s forehead. Fortunately, she didn’t have a fever, and she touched her wàisūn again. Luckily both didn’t have a fever. She exhaled and touched the temperature under the quilt. The kang was burned last when the girl left. At noon, no one lit the fire, and the house became cold. When she thought of the two young children in the house by themselves, no one watching them, talking to them, and not lighting the fire, Zhulan’s anger burned even higher.

Three-year-old Jiang Du saw that it was his grandmother, so he was very wronged and cried to his younger sister, “Wàipó, (1) wàipó, I miss you so much.”

He always wanted to go to his wàipo’s house, but his mother refused to let him. His good wàipo and wàigōng (2) always had such good snacks for him to eat.

While wiping her tears, Zhulan coaxed her grandson, “Okay, stop crying. wàipo will take you to her house. Be good and stop crying.”

The little wàisūnnǚ sniffled her nose and stopped crying. Zhulan didn’t let go of her clothes, and the little girl didn’t talk much, she sobbed and touched her flat stomach, “Hungry.” Zhulan took out the prepared candy from the purse and give it to the child, “Eat the candy first, and wait for wàipo to pack your clothes for you and have a snack later.”

Jiang Du hugged his sister obediently and watched wàipo go to the kang to pack the clothes. He was afraid that it was a dream, so he swallowed the candy in his mouth, the sweetness was not a dream, the thin smiling face was happy. He would not be hungry when he went to wàipo’s house.

Zhulan had the key given by the eldest daughter in her hand. Fortunately, Jiang’s family was not so shabby to rummage through the box, the lock was still on the box. Zhulan touched the dowry box. This was the dowry prepared by the original body. When Xuemei got married, the dowry was so abundant that it could rival those from the surrounding villages. The dowry chest was made of high-quality wood.

Zhulan became more and more guilty. The original couple really loved the eldest daughter, but she and Zhou Shuren forgot. She opened the box with the key.

Fortunately, the eldest daughter was not stupid, she didn’t think about sending things to resolve conflicts. She knew what was good to keep for herself. Both grandchildren’s clothes were good, Zhulan felt a little more at ease.

Zhulan had almost cleaned up, but still, none of the Jiang family’s wives came over. It suddenly dawned on Zhulan that the original owner was someone who acted without hesitation and was never afraid of confrontation. The fact that the Jiang family’s elders were all avoiding her made it clear that they were afraid of her.

Zhulan dressed the two children neatly, went to the cart and took two pieces of pastries that she had prepared, and brought back the hot water jug. The water was tightly covered, and the temperature was about 40 degrees, so it was just right to pour it out to drink.

The two children ate carefully one by one, and Zhulan patted the wàisūn’s head, “Xiao Du watch your sister eat, wàipo will go to the main room to chat with your naǐnai, (3) and I will take you back later, okay?”

Jiang Du licked the pastry at the corner of his mouth, “Well, wàipo, I will take good care of my sister, and you will come back soon.”

He wanted to go to wàipo’s house quickly, because wàipo’s house had delicious food, and he won’t be hungry.

Zhulan, “Okay.”

Zhulan closed the door and walked towards the main room with a dark face. There was only Zhou Shuren’s voice in the hall, and the tone had not changed. Zhulan listened to Zhou Shuren’s words, “In-laws, for the past year, the other rooms have been unwilling to contribute towards Jiang Sheng’s educational expenses. This is unfair. Initially, it was a decision agreed upon by you, in-laws, and Jiang Sheng’s older brothers. How is it that now they hold resentment? It’s extremely rare for someone from our village to pass the imperial examination, and even more so for someone to reach the level of a Tongsheng scholar. You should have been mentally prepared when you decided to support his education. Is it not going too far to place the burden solely on Jiang Sheng?”