Chapter 722

They finally waited for Jiang Ning to return, came over to take pictures with her, took pictures with her house, the swing, and even didn’t miss the cat, which also became part of the group photos.

That evening, those tourists all had a free meal of Kitchen God cakes at Jiang Ning’s place.

The Kitchen God cakes were made by Uncle Jiang’s wife herself, using locally grown fresh rice ground into flour. After kneading the dough, she stuffed it with a filling of pickled snow mustard greens, finely chopped dried tofu, and minced cured pork stir-fried together. The dough was formed into baby palm-sized cakes, pan-fried golden on both sides — truly delicious.

This was also a local specialty, not found elsewhere, and rarely made except on special occasions.

These out-of-town tourists were all amazed at tasting the local Kitchen God cakes for the first time.

The Jiang parents also ate at Jiang Ning’s house that night. Uncle Jiang’s wife was the chef, with Father Jiang and her sister-in-law helping out. After the meal, it was she who felt like the one living there, while the Jiang parents seemed like the guests.

Though Father Jiang wore a smile from start to finish, actively hosting the tourists staying at Jiang Ning’s house, only he himself understood the bitterness behind it.“You’re not married yet; you should live at home. How can you live somewhere else?”

Jiang Ning took off her coat and sat cross-legged deep into the sofa, Song Peifeng sitting beside her.

Holding a cup of Wugong tea, Jiang Ning smiled brightly and said, “Dad, this is my own home.”

At that moment, Father Jiang almost shed tears.” But his lips trembled, and with sorrow in his eyes, he looked at Jiang Ning, unable to say a word.

Mother Jiang suddenly tugged at him, “If she won’t come back, she won’t come back.”

If said privately, it wouldn’t be so bad. She had always been like this—speaking without regard for others’ feelings, her words like knives, stabbing exactly where it hurts.

But that day, Song Peifeng was still there, and she said such things right in front of him—extremely rude and inappropriate.

However, Jiang Ning was used to it. She sipped her tea, smiling gently at Father Jiang, “You only just came back yesterday, the house hasn’t even been tidied up yet.” She laughed and comforted her father, “Besides, my house has a firewall and is warm. The quilts were even sun-dried by Auntie, smelling so good. Your quilts at home probably haven’t been sun-dried, right?”

She said she would sleep at her house, but never said she’d go home to sleep.

This phrase pierced Father Jiang painfully, yet he didn’t understand why his daughter was like this.

If he hadn’t left her a room, she might have reasons to complain—but he did. Why did it have to be like this?

He thought Jiang Ning was estranged from them because of the beatings when she was little. Now, trying to make amends, his daughter had grown up and no longer needed that.

He felt somewhat disheartened.

Trying to lift his spirits, he looked at the firewall in Jiang Ning’s house and sighed helplessly, “Alright then, your house is really well-built, warm too.”

He sighed again, “Your mother has suffered a lot these years. These past few years she’s been selling boxed lunches with me, waking up before dawn to wash and chop vegetables. Your mother’s a thrifty one—in the cold winter, she saves on charcoal and washes vegetables with cold water instead of hot.”

He said this deliberately, hoping Jiang Ning would feel sorry for her mother and maybe suggest letting her stay. Though he knew, given her mother’s temper, she would never live at her daughter’s place. He just wanted his daughter to give her mother a way out, say something kind for her sake.

When Jiang Ning was little, she cared for her mother the most. Whenever something happened, if her mother shed a few tears or said a few soft words, she would back down.

But now, Jiang Ning acted as if she hadn’t heard anything, lowering her head to sip her tea.

Mother Jiang grabbed Father Jiang and started walking out, “Let’s go! How can you expect anything from her?”

As Jiang parents left the yard, though this winter was mild, the river wind at night still cut through like a blade, chilling to the bone, seeping from the skin down to the marrow, and even deeper into the heart.

But no matter how cold, early the next morning Father Jiang was already preparing a return gift for Song Peifeng.

Actually, Father Jiang had already given a red envelope—enough by etiquette—but human feelings weren’t  fixed. Whatever someone sent, one must return accordingly.

With the economy getting better, Father Jiang’s habit of spending lavishly had somewhat restrained under Mother Jiang’s pressure. Still, he bought quite a lot of things: four-piece bedding sets, blankets, not to mention three sets of clothes for the kids, plus shoes and socks—cheap and good stuff from where they sold lunchboxes.

As for other return gifts, he just came back from and didn’t have much, so he gave Song Peifeng a well-packaged blanket from there. Uncle Jiang’s wife also packed a lot of homemade cured meat, sausages, goji berries, and free-range chicken.

Song Peifeng felt a bit embarrassed, but she smiled, “Good kid, they are all homemade. Take them back to your parents to try.”

This made Mother Jiang seem less like a proper mother-in-law.

It wasn’t that Mother Jiang didn’t want to prepare gifts—she came back late, her own home wasn’t even sorted out yet. Besides the blankets and bedding sets, there really wasn’t anything to offer as return gifts except what her sister-in-law gave Song Peifeng.

When leaving, Song Peifeng carried a bamboo basket with live chickens in one hand and blankets and sausages in the other.

Jiang Ning walked him all the way to the dock, holding his hand with some reluctance. People going to the water port town for the market noticed and smiled like aunts watching over their children.

Only when the boat sailed away did Jiang Ning watch it recede, hands in pockets, walking on the old hometown’s dike, gazing at both banks.

Now the Linhe brigade had developed better than it did even ten years after in her previous life. Back then, the dike was still just a dirt road. The tea mountain had only one Huolu Shan tea field under contract. The drowned lotus was left untended, and it took five or six more years to restore the endless original view. There was nothing like the bustling tourist scene now.

She really had changed this land.”

“Just looking at how our Linhe brigade has changed, right? Look at the cobblestone road below.”

At this moment, the willows on both sides of the dike hadn’t sprouted yet, still bare, but willows grew fast. The green trees planted two years ago had grown taller than people after a year of growth, thousands of slender branches dangling over the water surface of the river embankment. One could imagine how beautiful the peach blossoms and green willows would become in spring.

Uncle Jiang’s wife planned to move to her youngest son’s place a few days after Jiang Ning returned.

The house she and Uncle Jiang planned to build hadn’t started yet.

Mainly because Uncle Jiang saw how good his wife was at making money, the situation changed suddenly. They originally planned to quickly build a four-story small building and open a guesthouse, but his wife was making money fast. Uncle Jiang felt strange not going out to earn money. Plus, many people were building houses that year, so he stayed in the brigade helping others build, and came back at night to help his wife clean.

Because of this delay, their own house wasn’t built.

She had lived at Jiang Ning’s place most of the past half-year, more or less separated from her youngest son’s family. Moving back now didn’t seem very suitable.

Jiang Ning held Uncle Jiang’s wife’s arm and acted cute, “Auntie, don’t move. It’s just me and Grandpa at home. After Peifeng left for the New Year, it’s just me and Grandpa here alone.”

Actually, Jiang Ning was quite good at cooking, but cooking was a skill she could choose to have or not have when convenient.

Uncle Jiang’s wife stroked her hair, “Silly child, how can you spend New Year apart from your parents?”