Chapter 733

Grandma Jiang scolded him, “Your granddaughter gave it to you, so take it!”

She said this in front of Jiang Ning. How would Jiang Ning feel hearing that?

But Grandma Jiang wouldn’t think too much about it anyway. As long as her grandchildren gave her money, she accepted it. If not, she would just live with her eldest son and daughter-in-law, having food and drink, living a good life.

Not only that, because this year she also took the income from her own tea plantation, she gave Jiang Ning a big red envelope of 600 yuan—at the start of this century, that was really a big red envelope.

She also gave a red envelope to her great-granddaughter Jiang Lingling, then happily turned on her flashlight and went dancing disco at the square outside the cinema.

Grandpa Jiang was used to being scolded by Grandma Jiang and didn’t retort. He happily took the red envelope Jiang Ning gave him and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

He felt he was now the richest old man in the whole village. No other old man was as lucky as him—his wife was clearly just jealous that Jiang Ning got along best with him.

Grandma Jiang and Grandpa Jiang never saw eye to eye in their entire lives—their minds were always elsewhere.

Uncle Jiang’s wife also handed out red envelopes she had prepared in advance to Jiang Ning and her little granddaughter, even to her pregnant second daughter-in-law’s unborn child—everyone got a share.

Jiang Ning also prepared a red envelope for the youngest in the family, Jiang Lingling.”

Uncle Jiang’s wife was surprised, hurriedly stuffing the red envelope back, “No, no, how can you give me a red envelope?”

To everyone, Jiang Ning giving red envelopes to Grandpa and Grandma Jiang was filial and proper, but no one expected that Jiang Ning would also prepare a red envelope for her uncle’s wife.

All the sons and daughters-in-law hadn’t even prepared red envelopes for their parents yet, because Uncle Jiang and his wife were still earning money, had tea plantation income, and it wasn’t time for them to be supported early like this.

But Jiang Ning insisted on giving her money.”

Uncle Jiang’s wife knew it was the New Year and shouldn’t cry, but her eyes were still unbearably watery.

Uncle Jiang felt even more bitter. Watching from the side, it was like his teeth were aching. After waiting so long, he still hadn’t seen Jiang Ning give him a red envelope.

Only after everyone finished cleaning the restaurant and Jiang Ning went to wash up did he glance at the big red envelope in Uncle wife’s hand and the neatly folded new clothes stacked carefully, then said sourly, “I’m her blood relative uncle and I got nothing. She bought you clothes, and still gave you a red envelope!”

What he said implied that Jiang Ning was already in her early twenties, and his wife still treated her like a child by giving her lucky money. It also said that his wife wasn’t old enough to be given red envelopes by Jiang Ning, making him so jealous he couldn’t stand it.

He had lived this long and had several sons and daughters-in-law, yet he hadn’t received a single red envelope.

Looking at the fur coat carefully hung in the floor cabinet, Uncle Jiang sourly said, “With your height, wearing fur?”

Hearing his words, Uncle Jiang’s wife just smiled and chuckled. 

Uncle Jiang, being curious, moved closer, asking, “Let me see the red envelope. How much did she give you?”

Now he was truly sour, as if he had been soaked in a sea of vinegar, watching his wife put the red envelope away without giving him a single one.

Uncle Jimag tried to ask for some, but his wife slapped his hand away, “I’m saving this money for Ning Ning’s dowry.”

Hearing that, Uncle Jinag scoffed, “As if I need those two thousand yuan.”

That one sentence silenced her.

Actually, in a previous life, Mother Jiang had told Jiang Ning more than once that when she married, she would only get a few quilts as dowry and nothing else, because she had two older brothers who needed lots of money to marry, and Jiang Ning had studied outside all these years without bringing a single penny home.”

Sometimes Jiang Ning thought about these words and they weren’t wrong. She hadn’t earned money for the family; all the family money came from Father Jiang and Mother Jiang. Their giving her a dowry was like sucking their blood. From Mother Jiang’s point of view, her words made sense.

Jiang Ning nodded in agreement.

It was just that, maybe because of some psychological reason, Mother Jiang kept repeating such words to Jiang Ning many times.

Actually, Jiang Ning could tell what Mother Jiang meant—Mother Jiang knew that giving her daughter only a few quilts as dowry was shabby, especially when it was fashionable for brides to bring household appliances and furniture. She also feared Jiang Ning wouldn’t understand or feel comfortable with her behavior, so she kept giving Jiang Ning warnings to prepare her psychologically, hoping Jiang Ning would understand the hardships of being a parent and why they didn’t prepare anything else for her dowry.

But the actual situation was, after giving her all those warnings, Father Jiang took the initiative to prepare a dowry for her that included a TV and a washing machine.

This was also the reason Jiang Ning had told herself since she was young—never to be like Mother Jiang  in personality and way of doing things. In Jiang Ning’s heart, Mother Jiang did everything, said all the bad things, yet in the end, she got no thanks; she was always the bad guy.

Father Jiang went to buy her the TV and washing machine—what was that different from Mother Jiang preparing the dowry? It was the same thing. It just so happened that the good guy was Father Jiang, and the bad guy was Mother Jiang .

In the previous life, Uncle Jiang’s wife was just a housewife who didn’t earn money. What she could give Jiang Ning was very limited—only when she came back could she eat a few decent hot meals, and when leaving, she’d bring some homemade cured meat and sausages, and some dried mountain delicacies she prepared herself.

This life, she earned money on her own and had tea fields, so she wanted to save some dowry for Jiang Ning but feared the three daughters-in-law would complain, so she planned to save it quietly for her.

Uncle Jiang didn’t know of her thoughts and got more resentful, complaining to her wife, “Why is this little girl so stingy? Her heart is as small as a sesame seed. When she was a kid eating at my place, I never said anything to her.”

Uncle Jiang thought Jiang Ning remembered how he once scolded his wife for letting her freeload at their home, but in reality, Jiang Ning always remembered how he persuaded Father Jiang and Mother Jiang not to let her continue studying.

But Uncle Jiang had no awareness that what he said might have changed Jiang Ning’s whole life. In his mind, Jiang Ning coming to his house to freeload and his sarcastic attitude hurting her were worse than her being denied education.

His wife just glared at him and said, “You reap what you sow.”

Uncle Jiang said, “Her temperament is unlike her dad, unlike her mom, I don’t know who she’s like.

If it weren’t for Jiang Ning’s obvious Jiang family looks—a face made up entirely of Father Jiang and Mother Jiang ’s best features—he would suspect Jiang Ning’s genes were mutated. Otherwise, his family was all mild-tempered people, so how did they end up with someone as petty and vindictive as Jiang Ning?

Seeing Uncle Jiang confused, his wife smiled lightly and whispered, “Who do you think she’s like?”

Uncle Jiang said, “You mean like Ah Lian?”

When Grandma Jiang was young, her personality was truly strong. Her parents starved to death during a disaster year, yet she managed alone to bring her younger brother and marry him into the family, pushing the mother-in-law to live in a pigsty of a mud hut, sending the little sister-in-law far away in marriage, and splitting off the little brother’s family. Over so many years, they barely had contact. Grandpa Jiang often stayed in the mountains, only bringing home his salary.

She raised the younger brother and helped him marry, which showed how tough her temper was when young.

Everyone praised Uncle Jiang’s wife for being kind and honest. When she first married into Jiang Village, Grandma Jiang laid down rules for her.