Chapter 718

Jiang Ning said nothing. Aunt Jiang didn’t notice anything wrong with her and continued, “Ah, your eldest brother didn’t come back again this time.” She sighed and worried aloud, “Where do you think your brother has run off to? He’s a good person — why would he just disappear without a trace? No news at all!”

Jiang Song simply didn’t have the habit of writing letters.

Last year, when he planned to bring his girlfriend home, a woman from a nightclub appeared with a child and broke them up. He spent the entire first half of the year trying to win back his girlfriend. With that woman stuck between them, their relationship was on and off, hardly able to recover.

Now they were completely broken up.

After the breakup, Jiang Song was quite lost for a while and couldn’t stand the nightclub woman anymore.

But that woman knew how to act humble and submissive. Jiang Song wasn’t a hard-hearted man — what people called “soft-eared” — plus there was a child involved.

That woman’s heart was only set on Jiang Song; the child was just a tool to keep him around. She focused all her energy on Jiang Song, and since Jiang Song softened toward the child, she paid even less attention to the kid, concentrating solely on Jiang Song.

Jiang Song, originally carefree and irresponsible, ended up taking care of the child himself.

He was naturally sentimental and romantic. Throughout the year, he was caught between two women, neglecting his career. Many of the workers who had been following him to earn money gradually drifted away since he didn’t manage his finances properly. By the end of the year, the boss stopped paying him, and Jiang Song didn’t go ask for the money. The workers were all waiting for their pay to go home for the New Year. Who would be happy without money? One by one, they started causing trouble with Jiang Song, and as a result, he couldn’t go home for the New Year this year.

While selling goods, Aunt Jiang kept chatting with Jiang Ning, “Ah, your parents have been stuck in Shenzhen for years looking for your brother.”

Seeing Aunt Jiang busy, after finishing the noodles, Jiang Ning went to clear her bowl and head to the kitchen. Aunt Jiang called out to Mingyue, “Mingyue, Mingliang, how can I ask your cousin to wash dishes?”

Business was just too good, and she really couldn’t leave for even a moment.

Because the year-end was so busy, and business so brisk, Wang Dawei (her husband) stopped working as a bricklayer and helped out in the family store instead. But being socially awkward and a man of few words, he silently worked away, packing a large bag of return gifts for Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning politely said it wasn’t necessary, worried the boat would leave soon and they’d have to go home.

When they were leaving, he insisted on carrying the big bag himself to the boat. Since his parents sold live chickens and ducks, he even grabbed a chicken and a duck to take along. If Jiang Ning hadn’t worried about carrying too much back, he would have caught two more for her.

Wang Mingliang kept pestering to go visit his maternal grandparents.

Aunt Jiang, troubled by the noisy children, said hurriedly, “No way at the end of the year. Wait until the second day after New Year, I’ll take you all there together.”

Wang Mingyue and Wang Mingliang cheered together.

Aunt Jiang politely wanted to keep them a while longer, but considering the boat schedule, she asked Uncle Wang and Wang Mingliang to escort Jiang Ning to the boat.

After they left, Aunt Jiang finally took a good look at the festival gifts Song Peifeng had brought. Seeing they were all valuable items, she was happy about how much the Song family cared for her niece. She hurried upstairs carrying the gifts, afraid that too many people downstairs in the store might cause trouble.”

Though Jiang Ning’s ID had her age raised by three years, many still knew her real age. After all, she and the original Town Mayor’s daughter — now Deputy County Head Jiang — were born only hours apart, and many people remembered their birth years.

The conversation soon turned to Jiang Ning’s and Jiang Yanyan’s birth charts. Someone said, “I remember the day Ning Ning was born.”

Many had long forgotten about the fiery phoenix, but the village elders, unconsciously passing on the extraordinary omen at Jiang Ning’s birth, fueled by Grandpa Jiang’s tall tales, made it sound true. They even made many elderly villagers’ fuzzy memories clearer, who then chimed in, “Yes, yes, I remember that too!”

Many young people returning home at year-end, unaware of the truth, listened to these forty-, fifty-, sixty-year-olds bragging, stunned.

Some didn’t believe it, but hearing the elders speak so convincingly, they were gradually persuaded.

Why so convincing?

Because they spoke about how good Jiang Ning’s and Jiang Yanyan’s birth charts were.

“Look at those two girls—one was born at night, the other in the morning, just a few hours apart. One got admitted to Peking University and is doing so well now. And look at the Fourth Uncle, he’s already deputy county head.”

“That doesn’t make sense though. Their birthdates are both good.” Someone approached Hua Dian, confused and asked.

Those who thought themselves knowledgeable immediately came up with an explanation, “That’s obvious, right? Even if two people are born just a few hours apart on the same day, one born at night, the other in the morning, their fate differs greatly. The one born at night—during the dark hours—her birth chart favors her parents, so Fourth Uncle’s official career soared, he even became county head back then! But Ning Ning was born in the morning, just as dawn breaks. That’s when the literary star descends. Think about it—there are countless stars in the night sky, how could the star descend then? It has to wait until dawn to come down.”

“That’s not right, is it? Doesn’t she also bring prosperity to our entire Linhe Brigade?”

“You’re wrong again. She not only brings prosperity to the Linhe Brigade, but also to Shuibu Town and Wucheng together.”

At the end of the year, almost every day felt like market day. The entire Shuibu Town dock was packed with people; from the dock all the way to the real market, vendors were everywhere. Even the temple fair stall owners had moved their booths to Shuibu Town, which further attracted more people with the concentration of goods.

People on the boat looked at the bustling scene of Shuibu Town’s crowded docks and nodded approvingly, “Ah, this birth chart stuff is really strange. Even if born on the same day, differing by a minute or an hour completely changes their fate. Look at Yan Yan and Ning Ning, those two girls.”

From these people’s mouths, Jiang Ning was sometimes said to be the reincarnation of a fiery phoenix, sometimes the literary star descended from the heavens. She didn’t refute their claims but rather nodded in agreement. They analyzed the birth charts seriously.

Jiang Ning sat right beside them, but they spoke as if she wasn’t there, which made the young people who had been staring at her and Song Peifeng like gorillas even more openly look at them.

Indeed, the two of them sitting on the dark old boat looked like two suns had fallen among the crowd, dazzling and impossible to look away from.

Though Jiang Ning was embarrassed enough to pick castles out of her toes, her face remained calm and composed. Whenever her eyes met anyone’s, she smiled openly and nodded. Song Peifeng and she held hands in the boat’s canopy, smiling teasingly. Jiang Ning used her fingers to scratch his palm, signaling him not to laugh, but he instead held her hand tighter.” He cupped her hand in his palm.

This winter was a warm one; the temperature was six or seven degrees higher than previous cold winters. Jiang Ning wore a down jacket and carried a backpack. She had just come from Aunt Jiang’s house to the boat, passing through a crowded gate and sweating heavily. Her scarf was loosened and zipper pulled down, revealing a plain, high-collared sweater underneath.”

Her physical condition in this life was much better than in her previous life, when she suffered from poor nutrition during puberty and was very weak. This time, she paid attention to nutrition, exercise, warmth, and health. She was as strong as an ox.