Chapter 19: Envy

“◎How about we build a mud stove?◎

Second Sister Jiang is not very eloquent, and she was always the most overlooked one in the family when she was growing up. She doesn’t dare to refute her husband’s accusations and can only listen in silence.

Although Second Sister Jiang’s husband is also from the city, his family has many children, and their living conditions are not particularly good. The main reason he was interested in her was because of her father, who was a factory director.

However, after marriage, the reality turned out to be quite different from what he had imagined.

He once tried asking his father-in-law if he could speak a few good words for him in front of his superiors, but not only did his father-in-law refuse to help, he even scolded him in front of the whole family, leaving no face for him. Since then, his father-in-law has treated him with disdain, barely acknowledging him.

“Hmph, if it weren’t for your sake, do you think I’d be interested in coming to your Jiang family! I have to come and still be treated like a servant, being ordered around as if I were some grandson!”

“What is this?” Second Sister Jiang’s husband got increasingly angry as he spoke, pointing at her and shouting, “From now on, you better stay away too, got it?”

Second Sister Jiang could only nod in response as her husband continued angrily cursing her side of the family. She walked home blankly, trying to ignore the harsh words.

As for Third Sister Jiang, both of them were carefree and simple-minded, so they wouldn’t dwell on the matter. At most, Third Sister Jiang would mumble a few words about her younger brother’s growing temper.

Third Sister Jiang’s husband, however, felt even more envious of Jiang Che. Although he had always envied Jiang Che for having good parents and leading a carefree life without worrying about food and drink, deep down, he still looked down on this younger brother-in-law.

Later, when Jiang Che got married and he heard that he was marrying a rural girl, he couldn’t help but feel a bit schadenfreude. But as it turned out, Jiang Che’s luck was as good as ever, and he couldn’t help but feel resentful. Not only did he marry a rural girl who was even more beautiful than a city girl, but she was also skilled, able to make so many delicious dishes.

“It’s truly exhausting to even be envious.”

On the Jiang family’s side, after everyone had dispersed, Mother Jiang and Father Jiang went back into their room and started arguing.

Eldest Brother Jiang furrowed his brow as he heard the argument coming from inside the room. He wanted to go in and try to mediate, but felt it wasn’t quite appropriate. He glanced at his wife, hoping she would come up with a solution, but his wife, Jiang Da Sao, picked up their little daughter and turned to leave for her own room.

“Whoever wants to handle it, let them. I don’t care to meddle in other people’s business,” she thought. “Let them argue. If you ask me, the louder they argue, the better.”

However, the real situation inside the room was that only Mother Jiang was speaking passionately, while Father Jiang sat calmly, just listening.

When Mother Jiang finally ran out of steam, Father Jiang spoke up: “Can you quiet down for a moment and let me say something?”

He stood up, poured a glass of water, and handed it to his wife. Still angry, Mother Jiang huffed and turned her head away, refusing to take it.

Seeing this, Father Jiang placed the cup beside her hand and then spoke, “Didn’t we agree last time that we wouldn’t interfere with the children’s matters and let them figure it out for themselves? I thought we had reached a consensus, so why is there another argument today?”

“Is that just an ordinary matter? When it comes to children, it’s not an ordinary matter.”

Father Jiang replied, “Our son only said that he doesn’t want to have children right now. Why are you so anxious? They’re still young. Let them have a few years of fun; it’s not like they can’t wait. Besides, do you lack grandchildren? If it’s really an issue, we have two granddaughters. Would you like to bring one of them over to live with us for a while?”

Mother Jiang felt that Father Jiang was just messing with her, and she was almost amused by her frustration. No matter how many children others have, none of them are Jiang Che’s children.

Father Jiang seemed to know exactly what she was thinking and tried to calm her down. “Jiang Che is an adult now. You can only give him advice on his matters. If you keep interfering too much, he’ll get annoyed and won’t come back. What will you do then? And did you hear yourself at the dinner table today? You said you’d quit your job to help him take care of the kids. How do you think Elder Brother and his wife felt about that?”

“Well, I just got anxious and blurted it out, didn’t I?” Knowing she was in the wrong, Mother Jiang’s attitude softened a bit, but she still wouldn’t admit defeat. “Fine, I’ll agree not to pressure them for now, but there has to be a limit. The children might not understand, but as the adults, we can’t just let them do whatever they want.”

Father Jiang let out a long sigh of relief when he saw that she was finally willing to back down.

He immediately reassured her, “You don’t need to say anything. If they still don’t have any plans after a while, I’ll talk to Jiang Che myself, whether you say anything or not.”

Once the Winter Solstice passed, the Spring Festival was just around the corner.

Wei Xuan and Jiang Che also started getting busy at home. Besides the regular supply of braised meat, they also had to start making sauces.

They had originally planned to supply thirty jars of goods separately, making two batches a month, with fifteen jars each time. However, they later realized that even if they made the supply in two batches, they still had to make five jars of one sauce each time, and the pots at home couldn’t hold it all. They had to split it into two separate pots for cooking.

This made things a lot more troublesome, and by the time they finished cooking, it was already very late.

In the end, Jiang Che couldn’t stand seeing his wife staying up late. He spent twenty-five yuan to buy a large iron pot from outside, which finally solved the problem.

Wei Xuan looked at the oversized iron pot in front of her and smiled, saying, “Where did you get this from? It’s really great. With this pot, we’ll only need to make the sauce once a month from now on. I think it could easily handle ten jin of sauce at once.”

Jiang Che rarely saw his wife this happy, and he felt a deep sense of satisfaction. “Don’t worry about it. As long as you’re happy with it, that’s all that matters.”

“Good, it’s definitely good.” After saying this, she turned her head, looking around, and then added, “But this pot is so big, it definitely won’t fit on the stove. How about we build a mud stove outside and give it a try?”

A mud stove? This really stumped Jiang Che. He had grown up in the city, and the first time he saw a mud stove was at Wei Xuan’s house. The second time was here, in the house they were living in now. At that time, he had brought people to smash the mud stove in the kitchen.

But Wei Xuan became more and more excited as she spoke, and she had already gone outside to start looking for a spot to build the mud stove.

Jiang Che followed her outside and said, “Wife, if you want to build a mud stove, we’ll need materials. This isn’t something that can be done in a day or two. How about we go eat first? After we’ve eaten, we can take our time and discuss it.”

Wei Xuan thought he made a good point. “Right, let’s eat first.”

For dinner, they had noodles, served with a savory meat sauce. The taste was absolutely delicious, and both Wei Xuan and Jiang Che ate until their bellies were round and full.

After dinner, the two of them curled up in their chairs, not wanting to move. Eventually, the cold became too much, and they got up to wash up.

After washing, they lay down on the heated bed, snuggling under the covers and casually chatting.

Wei Xuan placed her cold feet on Jiang Che’s legs. “The weather’s getting colder. I see you have two winter coats, but not much to wear underneath. When we have some free time, I’ll make you a couple more pieces.”

Lately, they hadn’t had much free time.