Chapter 9

When Fengyin returned from outside, she heard Shuanzhu and Tiezhu talking about a girl named Jiang Jiang.

She slowed her pace, but before she could ask, a boy called out Shuanzhu’s name at the door.

Shuanzhu responded and then ran out with Tiezhu. Fengyin went back inside and saw her mother rummaging around in the room.

“Mother, I just heard Shuanzhu and the others talking about someone named Jiang Jiang.”

“That’s the daughter of Jiang Fusheng from the west end of the village.”

Li Hongmei was busy looking for a needle and thread to sew on a button, not even looking up. “Your third uncle and aunt brought her back home. I guess they’ll take her to the county after the New Year.”

At the mention of this, Li Hongmei couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

“Why can’t the third family just adopt their own niece or nephew? Why do they have to adopt an outsider’s wild girl? Now look, she’s getting all the benefits.”

“They actually brought Jiang Jiang home?” Fengyin’s voice became sharp, and the yellow-green medicinal paste on her wound stung painfully.

“You useless girl, why are you suddenly shouting so loudly?! You almost made your mother deaf!”

“You usually get along well with your third aunt, don’t you?! Why isn’t she taking you to the county to live a better life?!” Li Hongmei poked her forehead in frustration.

Fengyin wasn’t in the mood to listen to Li Hongmei’s scolding; she turned and ran outside.

If Lin Youqing and his wife were going to adopt Jiang Jiang, then wouldn’t she have to stay in this broken village for the rest of her life?

No, she couldn’t let that happen!

“You useless girl, do you need to be beaten to get your act together?”

In the distance, Fengyin could hear Li Hongmei scolding and grumbling.

As she ran, she gradually slowed her pace. Only Grandma Lin could drive Jiang Jiang away, so she headed straight out of her house to find her.

Grandma Lin hadn’t done any farm work for many years and no longer took care of household chores. Instead, she wandered around every day, snacking on sunflower seeds and gossiping. Countless villagers envied her carefree life in Dongxi Village.

Her face was smeared with yellow-green herbal paste, and passing villagers cast curious glances at her. Fengyin felt embarrassed, her face flushed; she wished she had washed off the herbal paste before going out.

Li Hongmei found this herbal remedy based on local folk remedies. Fengyin felt that the paste was making her wound worse instead of healing, and it even showed signs of festering. She had no idea if this herbal remedy was effective at all.

If she really ended up with a scar, she would never let Jiang Jiang off the hook!

Fengyin wandered around the village and spotted Grandma Lin at the village entrance, basking in the sun and gossiping with others.

She hurried over. “Grandma, Third Uncle brought Jiang Jiang home!”

“What? Your Third Uncle brought Jiang Jiang back?”

“Yes! That Jiang Jiang has caused me to end up like this. Grandma, you can’t just let her stay in our house. She’s a disaster and will bring calamity to our family!”

Grandma Lin’s anger flared instantly. “Let’s go home!”

—o—o—o—

As the sky began to darken, Lin Youqing asked his daughter to stay inside while he stepped out to wait for Grandma Lin.

Grandma Lin spotted Lin Youqing from a distance and scoffed. “Third, you really brought that wild girl home?”

“Yes,” Lin Youqing nodded. “Mother, we’ve made up our minds to adopt Jiang Jiang as our daughter. We won’t go back on our word.”

“Third, you really have been blinded by greed! With so many children in the family, if He Guijuan truly can’t have any, why not adopt one of her own? Why adopt an outsider’s wild girl?! There’s no blood connection; you can’t raise her as your own!”

Grandma Lin thought she had made the biggest concession by tolerating her daughter-in-law’s inability to have children. But she couldn’t accept bringing that wild girl to the county; why should that girl get such a fortune for nothing? Good fortune should first go to the children of the family.

“Jiang Jiang is well-behaved and sensible; both Guijuan and I like her very much.”

“Even if she is well-behaved, she’s still Jiang Fusheng’s daughter! You’re helping someone else raise their child!” Grandma Lin pounded her chest in frustration.

“Isn’t raising Eldest Brother and Second Brother’s children also helping someone else raise kids?”

“You…you…” Grandma Lin was so angry she could hardly speak.

At that moment, other family members heard the commotion and came out. Seeing her two sons, Grandma Lin felt as if she had found her saviors. “Eldest, Second, you must help persuade him. The Third has been blinded by greed and insists on adopting that wild girl, Jiang Jiang!”

Upon realizing what was happening, Eldest Brother Lin thought for a moment and didn’t know what to say.

Whether Third adopted Jiang Jiang or not had little to do with him; it was just an extra child in the family.

Besides, Third wouldn’t consider adopting Shuanzhu and Tiezhu, his own children.

Even if it were to happen, his wife wouldn’t agree.

“Mother is right. No matter how sensible Jiang Jiang is, she’s still Jiang Fusheng’s daughter…”

Second Brother Lin was opposed to Third adopting Jiang Jiang. Since Third and his wife didn’t have children of their own, they would send money, clothing coupons, food tickets, and nutritional supplies home every month. Would they still treat them the same way if they had their own children?

Seeing his second brother intent, Lin Youqing interrupted, “Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I’ll say this today: if you want Guijuan and me to continue supporting the family like before, you need to accept Jiang Jiang. Don’t say anything unpleasant that the child might hear; it would leave a bad impression.”

“Mother, there’s no need to keep calling her a wild girl; Jiang Jiang will be your granddaughter from now on. It’s really inappropriate to call her that. I’m determined today; even if you refuse to recognize me as your son, I will raise Jiang Jiang as my own daughter.”

It was clear that Third was determined; he had even mentioned severing ties.

Eldest Brother Lin glanced at Second Brother—noticing that he had no intention of intervening further in the matter. He then spoke up to persuade, “Mother, since Third and Guijuan don’t have any children of their own if they truly want to raise Jiang Jiang, you should grant their wish.”

With both sons not supporting her, Grandma Lin realized she couldn’t persuade Lin Youqing.

Feeling a knot in her chest, she angrily went inside the house.

Fengyin saw Grandma Lin enter and understood that her hope of stopping her uncle from adopting Jiang Jiang was shattered.

A chill ran through her; was she destined to stay in the countryside for the rest of her life?

Eldest Brother Lin patted Lin Youqing on the shoulder, sighed, and followed their mother inside the house.

The noise at the door was quite loud, and Jiang Jiang heard a bit of it from inside.

When she heard Lin Youqing say, “Even if you refuse to recognize me as your son, I will raise Jiang Jiang as my own daughter,” she felt a sudden pang in her chest.

Her eyes stung; she hadn’t expected her father’s determination to adopt her to be so strong.

—o—o—o—

Dinner consisted of corn buns, sweet potato porridge, cabbage braised with vermicelli, and stewed radish. As winter approached, only storage-friendly vegetables like radishes, potatoes, and cabbages were available, but when many struggled to have enough to eat, having such meals indicated that the Lin family was quite well-off.

From the moment Grandma Lin laid eyes on Jiang Jiang, her expression had been sour. Withouweren’ton’s presson’s she would have likely thrown down her chopsticks and left.

Second Brother and his wife also wore disapproving looks, while the several children eyed Jiang Jiang with more curiosity than anything else.

He Guijuan served Jiang Jiang a bowl of porridge and handed her a corn bun.

Seeing that Grandma Lin didn’t comdidn’tursing but instead sat down for dinner, she knew her husband had successfully persuaded his mother.

As for how he had done that, she didn’t cardidn’tnow.

Grandma Lin wasn’t kinwasn’tny of her daughters-in-law.

The harsh words she had shouted at He Guijuan the night before still echoed in her ears, but what Grandma Lin thought was none of her concern.