Chapter 415: Show Some Respect to Mom

“Show some respect to Mom. She didn’t mean to not call us—she must’ve had her reasons. As her kids, we should be more understanding, got it?” Jiang Yueyue scolded her younger brother like she was disciplining a subordinate.

How would Jiang Zhanpeng dare say otherwise? As soon as his older sister finished talking, he quickly voiced his agreement. “Got it. I know it’s not easy for Mom and Dad. I won’t do it again.”

“Mm, that’s more like it. Now move aside, don’t block Mom’s way.” Jiang Yueyue said with satisfaction.

“Oh, right. I’ll move right away.” Jiang Zhanpeng stepped to the side obediently.

Li Yiyi watched the siblings with an amused expression. Only now did she realize just how much the family dynamic had changed during her and Jiang Hong’s absence.

“Mom, don’t mind him. Come inside. Grandpa and the others have already made lunch. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Come on, let’s go eat.” As she spoke, Jiang Yueyue walked up to take one of the suitcases from her hand.

Li Yiyi looked at her filial daughter walking ahead with a face full of happiness. At that moment, she finally understood why people in the modern era always say, daughters are a mother’s closest confidante.

In the living room, the Jiang family elders and Aunt Huang greeted her with wide smiles.

As soon as she stepped in, the luggage in her hand was snatched up by the three elders.

“You child, you didn’t even call to let us know you were coming home. Sure, the three of us old folks can’t make it to the station to pick you up, but we could’ve at least made something special for lunch! Look, today’s meal is nothing fancy at all.” Aunt Huang followed behind her, voicing her concern.

Li Yiyi glanced at the table: there was fish, meat, and soup.

“Aunt Huang, this already looks like a feast. Everything’s been going well at home, I hope?”

“Very well, don’t worry. The team sees that we’re a family with both the old and the young, so they take extra care of us. They even send a soldier by every day to check in on us.” Aunt Huang replied.

Li Yiyi hadn’t expected the authorities to take such good care of her family.

Soon, the whole family sat down to eat lunch.

This time, little Jiang Zhanpeng was on his best behavior. “Mom, where’s Dad? Why didn’t he come back with you?”

While eating the dishes her kids had picked for her, Li Yiyi replied, “He’s right behind me. Should be here by this time tomorrow.”

“Oh, alright.” With that answered, little Jiang Zhanpeng dug into his food enthusiastically.

His sudden shift into carefree mode had everyone at the table laughing.

“This little rascal,” said Grandma Jiang, shaking her head with a laugh. “I thought he was asking about his dad because he missed him—but turns out once he gets an answer, he goes right back to stuffing his face.”

“Grandma, it’s because I know Dad’s fine now that I can eat without worrying!” Jiang Zhanpeng replied with a grin.

His words made everyone at the table laugh even harder.

Listening to all the laughter around the table, Li Yiyi’s heart felt full. She noticed that the smiles on the faces of the three elders at home had grown brighter since her return—especially Jiang’s parents. They had been gloomy for quite a while when they first arrived, upset about the troubles back home. But now, they both seemed noticeably more cheerful.

The family enjoyed a lively, happy lunch together. Since she had just returned from a work trip, Li Yiyi didn’t plan to go back to work that day. After eating and seeing the two kids off to school, she headed straight to her room for a nap.

When she finally woke up, the sky outside had already darkened.

The kids were back from school, working on their homework in the living room. Occasionally, the older sister would scold her little brother when he got distracted.

Dinner that evening was quite lavish—Li Yiyi could tell the three elders had really put thought into the meal.

“There’s chicken too? Is this one of the ones from the backyard?” Jiang’s father had gotten bored three days after they moved in, so he went around the family compound asking some of the other elders where to get chicks. He’d ended up bringing home a few from a nearby village to raise in the backyard.

The young couple figured it’d be a good way for the elders to pass the time, so they didn’t object.

Seeing the mushroom-stewed chicken on the table, Li Yiyi instinctively thought of those chickens in the yard.

“How could they grow that fast? Those chicks barely have any fluff yet,” Jiang’s mother replied. “If you want to eat those, it’ll be another year at least. This chicken is from a nearby village. Your dad bought it from a local farmer. Free-range, tastes way better than what you’d get outside. You’ve been away for so long, you must’ve gone through a lot—you need to eat well and replenish your strength.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Li Yiyi said with a smile.

Jiang’s father was the quiet type, always doing things without saying much. Even in his old age, he remained bashful. Now that his daughter-in-law had thanked him so sincerely, the old man’s face flushed red, and he mumbled, “N-no need to thank me. It’s… it’s what I should do.”

After dinner, the whole family sat together and watched TV for an hour. Once the elders started to get sleepy, everyone went back to their rooms for the night.

Since she’d napped in the afternoon, Li Yiyi wasn’t tired at all now that the house was quiet. Not wanting to waste time, she slipped into her space supermarket to make some medicine.

She spent about an hour in the space, and by the time she came out with two bottles of pills in hand, she heard movement from the living room.

At first, she thought one of the elders had come out for a glass of water. But as she stepped into the living room, she saw a tall figure entering from outside, holding a flashlight.

“When did you get back?” she asked, face lighting up with excitement as she rushed over.

Jiang Hong looked at her with concern. “Just got back not long ago. Where did you go? I came back and saw the room was empty. I thought you’d gone out, so I went out to look for you.”

“Oh—you went looking for me? I… I was just using the bathroom. That’s why you couldn’t find me.” She laughed awkwardly.

So he had come back earlier and realized she wasn’t in the room. That nearly scared her to death! Thankfully, she was quick-witted enough to come up with an excuse.

Jiang Hong looked at her guilty expression, then recalled the direction she had just walked out from. The next second, something clicked in his mind. He’d noticed a few suspicious things before—times when his wife suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But she always thought she was being sneaky enough to avoid detection.

Now, seeing her nervous expression and remembering where she’d just come from—he was sure of it. When he came back earlier, he had searched the entire room and even checked the bathroom first thing. But she hadn’t been there.