Chapter 731

As for Grandma Jiang, Jiang Ning only brought her a coat once a year—sometimes a down jacket, sometimes a cotton coat for elderly women.

But Grandma Jiang never minded that her granddaughter didn’t get as close to her as she did to Grandpa Jiang. She had never been affectionate with Jiang Ning as a child, had never held her or raised her. It was only natural that the girl didn’t grow attached.

Grandma Jiang relied on Uncle Jiang’s family in her old age. So even if her granddaughter didn’t stick close, she didn’t care. In fact, just having a coat from her granddaughter was already something to show off. She’d wear the clothes Jiang Ning bought for her and go out to flaunt them, praising her everywhere she went.

Every year when Jiang Ning came back, she’d buy clothes and shoes for Uncle Jiang’s wife, but never gave Uncle Jiang anything. It made his eyes sting with envy, but there was nothing he could say or do about it.” Jiang Ning smiled warmly again, raising her glass to Father Jiang and Mother Jiang.

Father Jiang’s eyes were filled with complicated regret, while Mother Jiang kept her gaze lowered, staring at her wine glass without moving.”

Her eyes crinkled with a smile as she looked at Father Jiang, but her gaze was startlingly clear. “I know that after I graduated junior high, when Mom wanted me to drop out and go work, you agreed with her too. But no matter what, I’m still grateful to you. Thank you for at least appearing to support and encourage me when I insisted on staying in school.’”

She chuckled lightly. “Whether that promise was ever kept or not, at least the attitude was there. Sometimes, I feel quite lucky that I was born in Jiang Village — and even more so that I’m your daughter. If I were Uncle’s daughter, I probably wouldn’t have even gone to junior high. But as your daughter, at least I got to go to junior high and high school.”

She raised her glass to Father Jiang, “Dad, this one’s for you.”

Father Jiang really did send her tuition and living expenses in this life. In the previous life, after she got into a top university, he’d sometimes remember and send her some money — occasionally, her bank card would have a couple hundred more. But most of the time, he simply forgot.

She drank the wine in her cup in one gulp — yet it was as if she had torn the skin off Father Jiang’s face and stomped it into the dirt, leaving him drowning in shame and regret.

He’d always had a soft ear, never really a ruthless person. Jiang Ning’s words struck right into the deepest core of his guilt and exposed it fully.

From values and beliefs, he truly did think education was important — that regardless of whether the child was a boy or girl, if they got into college, they should be supported to study no matter what.

But in the face of real-life pressure and personal gain, when it came down to a choice between letting his daughter stay in school and having his son repeat a year, his instinct was to sacrifice the daughter for the son.

When Mother Jiang said to let Jiang Ning work for two years and then go back to school, he agreed — not just because she was persuasive, but because that was exactly what he was thinking too. In the conflict between son and daughter, he chose the son. Deep down, in his heart, the eldest son always mattered more than the daughter.

No one had said anything before, so he could always pretend to be the kind, good-natured father. But that day, Jiang Ning had ripped the ugliest, most shameful part of his soul out into the open, without softening the blow at all.”

He raised his head and drained the wine in his cup, unable to lift his face again.” She just stood there, smiling gently and calmly — serene, composed. Her beautiful eyes shifted slightly, and then landed on Mother Jiang.

Whether it was from all these years of not being able to find Jiang Song, or just the wear and tear of life — compared to a few years ago, Mother Jiang’s face had clearly aged a lot.

Father Jiang left every morning for the wholesale market, and after bringing goods back home at night, he’d wash up and go to bed first. Mother Jiang had to clean up, wash pots and dishes, usually staying up till eleven or midnight before getting to sleep. She’d be up again at five or six to start prepping — washing duck heads, wings, legs, putting them into large steel pots to stew. Each day, she got no more than five to seven hours of sleep.

Whether it was the worry over Jiang Song or the long-term sleep deprivation, the once thick hair she had in her youth — so big it couldn’t be held in one hand — was now cut to shoulder-length, casually tied. In the strands of black hair, a few wisps of white were peeking through. Her once thick hair was now thinning, and deep wrinkles had formed around the corners of her eyes.

“Speaking of which,” Jiang Ning was still smiling — even joking, like telling a funny story.”

Jiang Ning knew that everyone was telling her how hard her mother’s life had been.

Everyone hoped she would give Mother Jiang a way out, be filial, and be the dutiful daughter in others’ eyes.

Everyone was just smoothing things over.”

Yes, her mom had it hard, and she could understand the struggles and difficulties her mother faced when she was young. But that didn’t stop her from not forgiving her.

That night, she hadn’t planned on saying any of this. Everyone was supposed to be happily celebrating the New Year. Afterward, she would leave.” Were those hardships really for her? Did she ever benefit even a little from the difficulties her mother went through?

No!

She never expected to gain anything from her mother—only wished one thing: that she would stay far away from her.

She lived very well with Grandpa Jiang up in the mountains. If she hadn’t had a mother, maybe her childhood and youth would have been tough, but far happier.

All her mother brought her was nightmares.

Even though she had grown up to be seen by others as a winner in life, sometimes when she dreamed of her childhood, she was always running away, but never fast enough to escape Mother Jiang.

In her dreams, she ran with all her might, yet still was caught.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, “You might not believe it when I say this, but my biggest nightmare in life is my mom.73 meters tall—with these long legs, but even in my dreams, I can’t outrun her.”

Her eyes were full of laughter, as if talking about someone else’s story, not her own. She said, “Don’t be fooled by the fact that I got into Peking University and seem successful and impressive now. I was born as my mother’s scapegoat.”

She said nothing else.

The eldest cousin’s wife awkwardly kept quiet, no longer uttering those “Your mom had it hard” words.

Actually, the eldest cousin’s wife was a good person—honest and hardworking. After having her own daughter, she understood the hardships of parenthood. Seeing how much Mother Jiang had suffered all these years, and that Jiang Ning didn’t sympathize at all with Mother Jiang—even knowing how Mother Jiang treated Jiang Ning before—after a while, she still believed there was no perfect parent in the world.

Jiang Ning should be magnanimous; Jiang Ning should forgive her mother. Between the lines, she wanted the mother and daughter to reconcile.

But Jiang Ning tore through that thin veil directly.

The second and third cousins’ wives didn’t know what Jiang Ning had been through as a child—they only saw her glamorous side.”

Jiang Hongbing and Jiang Jun didn’t quite know how to answer.

Maybe because Uncle Jiang’s wife was easygoing, the three brothers never got beaten. At eleven or twelve, they started working as laborers for Uncle Jiang. Jiang Hongjun finished junior high, while Jiang Hongbing and Jiang Jun left school after elementary and worked as bricklayers. Probably because these three brothers were so easy to handle, Uncle Jiang and his wife never worried about them.

They were several years older than Jiang Ning. Jiang Ning spent most of her time with Grandpa Jiang in the mountains.