Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 31

Compared to other girls in the village, except for Huahua in the brigade secretary’s house and Qinqin from the second household, she enjoyed the most leisurely and contented life.

Father Jiang struggled to comprehend how she could attempt self-harm when she seemingly led a comfortable life.

Father Jiang’s heart still trembled with fear as he spoke to Jiang Ning, his voice heavy with heartbreak, “You’re being selfish. You don’t consider me or your mother. You don’t even think about your grandfather. If something were to happen to you, what would I do? Your grandfather would follow you immediately.”

In his view, Jiang Ning’s actions were merely a result of youth and impulsivity. He believed that in a few days, when the incident was forgotten or when she matured, she would regret her behavior.

Upon returning home, he planned to have a serious conversation with Mother Jiang, emphasizing that she must refrain from hitting their child. As their child entered adolescence and developed self-esteem, it was unacceptable to treat her as she did when she was younger.

However, Father Jiang felt helpless in dealing with his wife’s violent temper.

Afraid to leave Jiang Ning alone at night, Father Jiang remained in the hut, his eyes fixed on her without rest.

In the silence of the midnight hour, with no one around, fatigue and fear caused a thin layer of cold sweat to trickle down Father Jiang’s back, prompting him to recall Jiang Ning’s unsettling words.

She had said he was not worthy of being a father, a statement that struck Father Jiang deeply. He sat on the bamboo chair, resting his forehead in his hands, weighed down by her words.

He was aware of his wife’s bad temper and her tendency to spank their children. In the countryside, spanking children was common practice; even he had been spanked by Grandmother Jiang during his upbringing.

The boys were often naughty, and with the adults exhausted from their laborious work, they had little energy left to manage the children. Disobedience often resulted in a beating.

To them, spanking was not a big deal. A little skin trauma from bamboo silk wasn’t considered a wound.

Recalling the moment when Jiang Ning attempted to cut her neck, Father Jiang felt a surge of shock and fear. The decisiveness and resolve in her actions left him unsettled.

Why was this girl so brave? 

He sat on the chair, gazing at his daughter as she slept peacefully under the mosquito net.

There were a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains, especially behind the hut where a bamboo forest stood. For the convenience of getting water, there was a flowing stream and well within the bamboo forest. The proximity to the water attracted many mosquitoes, and the ones in the mountains were particularly large. In no time, Father Jiang was bitten numerous times on his arms and legs, but he didn’t dare swat at them for fear of waking his sleeping daughter.

He didn’t dare to sleep, but Jiang Ning slept soundly. After the sudden burst of strong desire receded, all that was left was calm. After the calm, there was regret again. She really didn’t think about her grandpa. If she died like that, her grandpa would be devastated.

She feared that her death would lead to her grandfather, a white-haired man, having to bury a black-haired descendant, an event that could affect his lifespan.

Yes, this world was so beautiful, with the sky in April, the wind in May, swaying lotus flowers in summer, the fragrance of osmanthus rain in autumn, so many delicious foods, beautiful scenery, and her grandpa.

Thinking of her grandpa, her heart seemed to be filled with warmth, filling her chest.

She lay on the bed, sleeping happily and peacefully.

After waiting until midnight, when he was sure that his daughter was really sleeping soundly and wouldn’t do anything stupid if she got up in the middle of the night, he quietly got up, opened the door, and hid the kitchen knife, scissors, hatchet, and sickles.

He hid them in the firewood pile behind the house, very deep. Even Grandpa Jiang’s wood-cutting knife was hidden in the firewood pile against the wall of the house.

After staying up all night, Father Jiang was tired and sleepy.

Jiang Ning, on the other hand, rested very well. When she woke up, the action of swiping her neck impulsively felt like a distant dream, a little unreal.

Sometimes she couldn’t tell whether it was reality or a dream. She didn’t know whether it was a dream or if the moment she woke up was a dream, or maybe it was all a dream.

Jiang Ning woke up in the morning in good spirits, her eyes bright and clear, her face flushed. She didn’t look crazy and decisive like the previous night at all. She was well-behaved and cute. Father Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, his cautious look softening. He smiled and asked her, “Ning Ning, what do you want to eat? I saw there are crayfish in the tank. Should Dad cook crayfish for you?”

Thinking that it was because of the crayfish incident that Jiang Ning was afraid to go home for fear of being beaten, he quickly changed his words and said, “Ning Ning, do you want to eat crabs? There are crabs in the mountain stream. I will catch them and fry them for you.”

The crabs in the mountain stream were not big and were hidden in the cracks of the rocks. The water was so clear that they could pick up crabs as long as they lifted the rocks. Many children in the village liked to catch crabs and eat them when they herd cattle.

Grandpa Jiang liked to make fried crabs for Jiang Ning.

Speaking of crayfish, Father Jiang thought of the half-tank of crayfish in the tank at the door, and asked her with a smile, “You caught all the crayfish in the tank. How can you keep them on the mountain?”

Jiang Ning glanced at Father Jiang faintly, saying, “I want to sell them for money.”

Father Jiang was stunned for a moment. He really didn’t expect that his daughter would want to make money on her own. In his heart, making money had always been a matter for adults like them. He and Mother Jiang worked hard to make money and pay off debts to support their three children in school.

Thinking of the more than twenty yuan he earned from selling crayfish, he said, “You can make it. I’ll help you sell it, and I’ll give you the money.”

Jiang Ning smiled, shook her head, and said, “No, I will sell it myself.”

Originally, she had no money, not even for the ferry, but her grandfather gave her all the money he had saved. Although it was not much, it was enough to take the boat back and forth.

It wasn’t even market time, so Jiang Ning decided to catch some more crayfish.

After these two days of sweeping, the fish on the river had been basically cleaned up, and the remaining small fishes had been picked up by the children who were at home during the summer vacation.

Father Jiang spent the whole morning, but he didn’t catch a single fish. He only caught two snakehead fish as long as forearms. Father Jiang simply released them and concentrated on picking up some field snails and river clams, and kept them in the yard.