Chapter 739

In truth, Grandpa Jiang had no real concept of distance at the time. He only knew that it was probably farther than Wujiang City.

But to Grandpa Jiang, that distance was far less important than the fact that his sister wouldn’t have to suffer like him anymore—bending over fields, toiling under the sun and moon, and living in hardship.

He had already endured every kind of suffering himself and didn’t want his sister to repeat his life.

Just like he later went to great lengths to marry off his daughter into town. Back then, he was able to marry her to this guy not just because she was pretty, but also because he had a similar issue like his sister’s husband—he was short. On top of that, he wasn’t the biological son of his current parents. He was adopted from his uncle, meaning his adoptive parents were his actual aunt and uncle, which made his identity quite awkward when it came to marriage in town.

Otherwise, a well-rounded, ideal family wouldn’t have even considered marrying someone from an extremely poor place like where Aunt Jiang came from, which locals mockingly referred to as “Henan” (south of the Sha River).

But Grandpa Jiang didn’t care about those issues. As long as the man’s character was solid, that was enough for him.

And time proved him right. Whether it was Aunt Jiang (his daughter) or Grandaunt Jiang’s husband, both of them ended up living far better lives than most village girls who married locally.

Still, because Grandaunt Jiang always felt mistreated by her sister-in-law, she harbored deep resentment toward her. Knowing that her sister-in-law’s elder sister was the one who arranged the marriage made her even more wary and resistant. To be married off to a man eight or nine years her senior, a widower with a child—on top of that, it was a long-distance marriage. One could imagine the fear and rejection she felt at the time.

Even after meeting the man, she still didn’t like him. He was short. Even if he was a city worker, she wasn’t impressed. She rejected the match in her heart.

What truly broke her spirit and filled her with anger was that her elder brother—who had always been like a father to her—actually agreed to the match.

At that time, Grandpa Jiang had been hauling coal for years on the charcoal mountain, and later became a forest ranger, always patrolling the mountains. He earned money to support his mother and siblings. At six or seven, Grandaunt Jiang was already doing laundry, cooking, taking care of her mother in confinement and her newborn brother. She was young, but she ran the household early. Unlike Grandpa Jiang and his younger brother, who were quiet and reserved, she was sharp and calculating.

She had been angry at Grandpa Jiang for agreeing to marry her off so far away. But her life in the city, truth be told, wasn’t bad. At first, she resisted it stubbornly, but her husband wasn’t the domineering type. On the contrary, he was gentle and accommodating. Aware of their age gap and her beauty, he always treated her with patience and care.

Grandaunt Jiang wasn’t ungrateful. She was just still mad at Grandpa Jiang—resentful that her marriage had been so far away, and that even returning home once was a hardship. She was heartbroken.

But anger, no matter how much there was, only lasted the first few years. Over time, all that was left was longing—for home, for family. Year after year.

Her brother, seeing how she refused to write letters home out of spite, yet clearly missed her family terribly, took it upon himself to write a few letters instead. He shared that she was pregnant, later had a son, and even sent back a photo—a black-and-white picture of the couple with their two children.

When Jiang Ning saw the photo, only the heads of Grandaunt Jiang and her husband were still visible. The rest had faded into a blur. Time had oxidized the photograph.

Grandpa Jiang had only ever attended literacy classes and knew about a hundred characters. For words he didn’t understand, he would ask the educated youth living in the mountains to read for him. Once he learned that his sister was doing well, he was at ease.

But he couldn’t write. Occasionally, when his sister-in-law called, he’d just have someone pass on a few words—telling her to live well, not to worry about home, that everything was fine.

In the 1990s, Grandaunt Jiang had actually wanted to return home to visit. But then her husband’s factory went bankrupt during the wave of layoffs. It wasn’t until recent years, when Wugong Mountain’s “Wugong Tea” appeared on CCTV, that Grandma Jiang decided to come back.

Grandma Jiang had actually seen Jiang Ning on TV before.

At that time, Jiang Ning’s report had been broadcast across the whole province. Since Qushui City hadn’t separated from Jiangnan Province, naturally, they saw the coverage about Jiang Ning too.

It’s just that back then, she hadn’t known Jiang Ning was her grandniece. So much time had passed since then, she couldn’t even remember where she had seen Jiang Ning before—she just found her face incredibly familiar and kind. She held Jiang Ning’s hand happily, looking at her from left to right, the more she looked, the more she liked her.

Jiang Ning bore a slight resemblance to Grandaunt Jiang in her youth. When Jiang Ning was little, everyone used to say she looked like her grandaunt.

In the past, Grandma Jiang only doted on the three eldest grandsons from her eldest son’s family. But now, with Jiang Ning not only bringing honor to the family but also securing a good life for them in their old age, she was filled with pride and joy. Even if Jiang Ning didn’t show her a fraction of the affection she gave to Grandpa Jiang, it didn’t stop Grandma Jiang from showing her off. Beaming with pride, she told her younger sister-in-law, “Ning Ning is really something! She’s more promising than all her brothers!”

Everyone around widened their eyes and gasped in amazement, staring at Jiang Ning in awe. In Yu Wenjie’s eyes, there was nothing but reverence.

That was the reverence a struggling student felt for a top student.

Yu Wenjie suddenly remembered why Jiang Ning looked familiar to him—he had seen her in newspapers and on TV.

As someone who had just graduated from high school last year, who hadn’t heard of Jiang Ning?

And now, this legendary Jiang Ning turned out to be his cousin.

He was truly shocked.

Even though Grandaunt Jiang had only attended basic literacy classes like Grandpa Jiang and knew just a few characters, she had heard of the university in the capital. Holding Jiang Ning’s hand, she couldn’t stop admiring her, “What a good girl, you can just tell she’s a good girl.” Then she pulled out a red envelope from her pocket, one she had prepared long ago, and stuffed it into Jiang Ning’s pocket before Jiang Ning could refuse. “Good child, this is just a small token from your grandaunt and granduncle.”

Everyone around chimed in, persuading her, “Exactly!”

Jiang Ning smiled and accepted it, saying to her grandaunt and granduncle, “Thank you, Grandaunt.”

Looking at this face that bore such a striking resemblance to her own when she was twenty, Grandaunt Jiang’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red again.”

“We had it so hard back then. My grandaunt married out and never came back her whole life. When people get old, the mountain roads are tough, and she can’t come back. We couldn’t visit her either.”

“It wasn’t easy for her—married off to a place that far away, and now she’s made it back. Thank goodness life’s better now.”

It was only after the millennium that people’s lives really began to improve at a rapid pace—especially in recent years. Compared to life before 2000, Jiang Village was like heaven and earth.

While everyone was talking over each other, Grandaunt Jiang turned her attention back to Jiang Ning, then looked at the others, and finally at the beautifully renovated big house. She turned to Grandpa Jiang and asked, “Why are you living on a barren mountain? There’s no housing land left in the village?”