Chapter 726

Though Jiang Aimin was a generation younger in terms of family seniority, he was close in age to Father Jiang—practically the same generation.

So he stabbed a knife right into Father Jiang’s heart, “Isn’t your eldest son coming back this year?”

How many times had they divided tea fields already? The mountain’s tea fields were shrinking. If Jiang Song didn’t come back soon, all the tea fields would be gone.

Especially this year, to get a share of the tea fields before the end of the year, all the unmarried young men rushed to marry and have kids. Although the second and third branches had already divided their tea fields in past years, the newly born boys and girls would also be entitled to tea fields once they were registered.

Now it was no longer about favoring boys over girls. Every child was precious. And it wasn’t allowed to say that girls were neglected after birth. If a child died, the tea fields would be reclaimed by the village.

Father Jiang’s heart was like it was soaked in bitter water, and when Jiang Aimin’s words hit, it felt like swallowing bile—bitter and painful. He smiled and said, “From my three children, Songzi was the smartest.’”

Of course, Father Jiang only heard “dragon” and ignored “worm”. He never thought about whether the principal was just being polite.

He turned the tea cup in his hands, refilled Jiang Aimin’s cup with some Wugong tea, smiling, “Unexpectedly, two of the kids turned out to be dragons and phoenixes. Baizi has always been steady and serious, now he’s been accepted to East China University of Science and Technology for graduate studies. He won’t do badly after he graduates. He even goes out for winter and summer break part-time jobs. This winter break he won’t come home, he’s filming in a drama crew.”

The clear, sweet tea turned bitter in Jiang Aimin’s mouth.”

He looked at Jiang Ning writing calligraphy, his eyes full of love and admiration. He truly believed his three children were more outstanding than any children of the same age. In the past, he only saw Jiang Song. Now, Jiang Ning and Jiang Bai were like gems wiped clean of dust, dazzling and impossible to ignore.

Especially his youngest daughter, like a rising star, shining brightly.”

That sentence made Father Jiang laugh. His previous melancholy vanished instantly. He pulled Jiang Aimin to appreciate the couplets Jiang Ning wrote and then excitedly went to deliver Jiang Ning’s hand-written couplets to other families, instantly boosting his presence in the village. The villagers’ praise made him feel like he was floating on air.

Dinner naturally was at Jiang Ning’s house.”

She cooked some noodles by herself in a small copper pot on the gas stove, eating alone quietly.

Father Jiang liked lively atmospheres; he couldn’t stand such cold loneliness. Seeing Mother Jiang had already started eating, he came to Jiang Ning’s house. The dinner was lively and delicious. This time, he finally felt like he belonged.

During cooking, his sister-in-law had asked him to wait outside and just eat, but he insisted on helping in the kitchen. After dinner, he even washed the dishes. When he finished cooking and washing, he roughly got a sense of where everything was in Jiang Ning’s kitchen—where things belonged, where the daily supplies were kept, where to drain dishwater.

Father Jiang secretly decided that for the New Year’s Eve dinner, no matter what, he wouldn’t let his sister-in-law cook. He would do it himself.

Father Jiang stayed at Jiang Ning’s until very late, frying meatballs, sticky rice balls, lotus root balls, radish balls, and so on, working until around ten at night. When he finished, he was completely satisfied. He knew Jiang Ning’s house had a bathroom with a heater and a stove, so showering wouldn’t be cold. He planned that after the ancestor worship ceremony on New Year’s Eve, he’d come over to Jiang Ning’s to take a bath.

That night, returning to his own house, he faced a pitch-dark, freezing cold home.

He turned on the lights and saw the kitchen was cold and empty.”

Father Jiang smiled and said, “I told you to go eat at Ning Ning’s but you refused, insisted on eating alone. We wrote couplets all afternoon, then fried meatballs and cut rice candy at night.”

He took a basin to wash his face and brush his teeth, soaked his feet in hot water, took off his clothes, and climbed into bed. Holding the remote, he switched channels to watch TV. Mother Jiang was so angry she wanted to kick him out. She sulked the whole night while Father Jiang snored like thunder.

The next day was the tea field division. Jiang Song didn’t come back. Jiang Ning and Jiang Bai were unmarried with no children. This year, the tea field division still had nothing to do with Father Jiang’s family. Father Jiang stayed at home hanging couplets—not just on his own house, but also on the old house, which had become a pigsty and mud house. Then he went over to Jiang Ning’s house, busy putting up couplets everywhere.

Jiang Ning’s house had four floors. Therefore, it had many room doors and many windows—it was quite a big project. To avoid sticking dirty patches on Jiang Ning’s beautiful new house, Father Jiang was especially careful; he didn’t use paste but small transparent tape, so it would be easy to peel off next year.

Mother Jiang was left alone in the empty house. She wanted to chat with someone, but there was no one. She wanted to cry but dared not, fearing that crying during the New Year would wipe away a year’s worth of good fortune.

Because that day every household was busy preparing for the New Year, only the Jiang family—who usually made meatballs, rice candy, and fried treats—wasn’t busy this year. Mother Jiang sat alone at home, wrapped in boundless coldness.

At night, Jiang Guotai and Jiang Guoding returned to the village. This time, they didn’t come to the Jiang house but went directly to Jiang Ning’s house. Father Jiang wanted to listen to their conversations, even if he couldn’t join in, so he stayed there listening until late before coming back.

With both sons away, Mother Jiang waited alone at home for Father Jiang.

After Jiang Guotai and Jiang Guoding returned, they didn’t stay in their old house but moved the whole family into the new house.

Everything inside was ready-made; Jiang Guotai had prepared everything in advance, so they could stay there as soon as they arrived.

They weren’t afraid of running out of firewood; a shout in the village asking to buy two bundles of firewood meant plenty of people would bring it over.

Because they returned, the barren mountain became lively again. The crowd shifted from the village to the mountain. Jiang Guoqi’s sister, Jiang Guoge’s two children, and Jiang Guoqi’s youngest son ran around the mountain holding firecrackers, occasionally throwing one on the ground—bang—or mischievously throwing some into the paddy fields below the mountain, watching the water splash over a meter high, laughing out loud.

That lively atmosphere had completely erased the old loneliness and desolation.

Next door, Jiang Gangqin and her husband were also back for winter break. Jiang Gangqin had secured a civil servant position and worked as a teacher at Tanshan Primary School, staying in her own house on weekends.

She wasn’t good at tidying up herself, and her father worried her husband wouldn’t be either, so he came over to prepare New Year’s goods and clean up, even inviting Jiang Gangqin to celebrate the New Year at her brother and sister-in-law’s place.

Jiang Gangqin and her husband didn’t want to go. The young couple fumbled through their own preparations. Jiang Gangqin was a chatterbox; though her husband wasn’t good at it, he indulged her. The couple lived in their two-person world. Initially, Jiang Gangqin felt nothing but brotherly affection for her husband, but as time passed, their life became sweet and warm.”

Her sister-in-law rolled her eyes secretly, thinking, How old is this little sister? Still treating her like a baby.

But Jiang Gangqin’s brother agreed with their father. Hearing that his sister’s life was smooth, he felt at ease.

The next day was the ancestral memorial. Because Jiang Guoding had become deputy county chief, the village held a grand ancestral hall opening.