Chapter 18 – Top General, Incoming

She turned her head and pretended to enjoy the scenery, letting her gaze sweep across him.

Their eyes met for two seconds. Jiang Niannian casually looked away.

Her heart was beating a little fast. Was this guy really looking at her? What was wrong with him—what did he even mean by that?

The tractor chugged its way into the village.

Jiang Daguo hopped off and didn’t even go home first—he couldn’t wait to start matchmaking his real sister with Brother Xiao.

“Brother Xiao, come with me to the pig farm, let me tell you—”

Jiang Weiguo cut him off: “Enough. You’ve got a head injury—go home and rest. I’ll talk to Comrade Xiao.”

Xiao Jingyan could guess what he wanted to say. He glanced at Jiang Niannian for three seconds, then turned to Jiang Weiguo.

“Uncle Jiang, let’s talk while we walk.”

Jiang Niannian was curious and turned to her mom.

“Mom, I want to raise two dogs.”

Wang Yingxiu knew her daughter well and nodded immediately.

“Alright, I’ll ask around for you. You and your brothers head home first.”

As soon as Jiang Dafu got home, he went straight to the kitchen.

“Second Brother, you rest. I’ll cook. Little Sis must be hungry, right? I’ll roll out some noodles real quick. You go lie down.”

Jiang Niannian felt her eldest brother was truly amazing—capable in the kitchen and reliable at home.

She turned to her second brother.

“Can you cook too?”

Jiang Daguo lifted his chin proudly.

“Of course. Mom always said men should know how to cook. We shouldn’t just sit and wait to be fed. Besides, a man who can cook gets bonus points.”

Jiang Niannian: Our mom is awesome!

“She’s absolutely right. Whoever marries you two is really cashing in on some good karma.”

Under their modern and scientific mother’s… guidance, her two brothers would definitely be good husbands.

Just then, Jiang Niannian turned and saw a boy about 1.3 meters tall charging toward her like a little cannonball.

“You evil woman! Ever since you came here, nothing good has happened! Get out of my house!”

Jiang Niannian calmly reached out and pressed a hand against his head. No matter how hard he swung his fists, he couldn’t move forward at all.

Then, with a quick sidestep and a tug, the little brat went flying face-first into the ground!

“Ahhh! You dare hit me?!”

Jiang Niannian flexed her wrist. Truly, the ancient saying wasn’t wrong—start disciplining brothers early!

She grabbed him as he tried to rush at her again, flipped him over her shoulder, pinned his arms behind his back, and smacked him hard on the butt.

“I am hitting you. Hitting you because you don’t know your place!”

Smack! One slap.

“Hitting you because you can’t tell right from wrong!”

Smack! Two slaps.

“Hitting you because you can’t tell who’s close or distant!”

Smack! Three slaps.

“Don’t think just because you’re little, I’ll spoil you!

Why can’t I come home? I’m also our parents’ biological child. When I was born, you weren’t even around yet!”

Smack! Another one.

“This is my home too! Who gave you the right to tell me to leave? Who do you think you are? You’re just a little brother!”

Smack! One more.

Her hand was starting to hurt. Next time, she had to bring a firewood stick with her.

“Waaaah! Big Brother, Second Brother—come save me! This evil woman hit me! She’s really my stepsister! Wuuuuhuuu!”

Jiang Dafu, still rolling noodles, looked outside for a second, then calmly went back to kneading dough.

Jiang Daguo opened the door, glanced at the scene, then closed it again.

The kid cried to the sky—no one answered. Cried to the ground—no one helped.

Poor little brat, beaten to tears by Jiang Niannian.

“Shut up! No crying! If you keep crying, I’ll hit you again!

And if you say again that I can’t stay here—I’ll hit you again. You hear me?!”

“Wuuuh… I hear you…”

Only then did Jiang Niannian let him go. The kid sprang up dramatically and ran out of the courtyard.

She couldn’t be bothered to chase after him.

During dinner, each person had a bowl of noodles. Jiang Weiguo looked slightly grim and stole a few glances at Jiang Niannian. His hesitant expression made her uncomfortable.

After the meal, Wang Yingxiu sent her two sons to wash the dishes, then turned to Jiang Weiguo.

“You’ve got something written all over your face. Just say it—how did your talk with Comrade Xiao go?

If he said the engagement was because of Xiaolin, and he liked Xiaolin, then fine. We’ll say nothing more and consider the engagement void.”

Jiang Weiguo scratched his head.

“The engagement is canceled.”

Wang Yingxiu glanced at her daughter and immediately pressed further.

“Why is it canceled? Was it Xiao who brought it up?”

Jiang Weiguo quickly waved his hands.

“No, no. I just thought—since it was Xiaolin who arranged the engagement with him, it doesn’t feel right to have Niannian marry him now.

So I told Comrade Xiao it doesn’t count.”

As he spoke, he turned to Jiang Niannian.

“Niannian, Dad was just worried it’d make you feel uncomfortable.

If Comrade Xiao originally liked Xiaolin and agreed to the engagement for her, but ended up marrying you instead—I was afraid it’d make your life hard.”

Jiang Niannian nodded. She suddenly recalled how, back in the city, Xiao Jingyan had been at the guesthouse—likely to accompany Jiang Xiaolin.

That explained it.

“Dad, you did the right thing. If Comrade Xiao agreed to be engaged to Jiang Xiaolin, it must’ve been because he liked her.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have personally escorted her to the city.”

Wang Yingxiu frowned.

“He personally escorted her to the city?

Tsk, sounds pretty serious. Good—then canceling the engagement is the right move. My daughter’s still young. Let her stay home a few more years. I’m not in any rush to marry her off!

Once Mom makes money and becomes the richest woman around, you can marry whoever you want.”

Jiang Niannian laughed. Now that she understood what happened, she didn’t dwell on it.

What mattered now was catching the person who planned to poison the fish pond.

“Mom, the village chief’s dog—Da Huang—heard from Li Laosan’s mice that someone wants to poison my brother’s pond. We need to be on alert these next few nights.”

Wang Yingxiu was startled and immediately turned serious.

“Alright, let’s see which little bastard dares pull this crap.”

Jiang Weiguo looked totally confused.

Wait—what did his daughter just say?

Something about a dog and mice?

He turned to look at his wife, but Wang Yingxiu gave him a shove.

“I asked the village chief to help get us two dogs. You’ll pick them up this afternoon.

Oh, and you don’t know yet—Niannian can understand what dogs and birds are saying. Keep this to yourself. Don’t tell anyone.”

Jiang Weiguo was a quiet man, and once he heard his daughter had this kind of skill, he immediately promised earnestly.

“Don’t worry—I won’t tell a soul.”

Then he looked at his two sons, who were sneakily peeking in through the door.

“You two as well—keep your mouths shut. This stays in the family!”

Jiang Dafu and Jiang Daguo quickly promised not to say anything, then ran off to wash dishes.

Jiang Daguo’s brain started turning. He remembered that a household in Li Village owned a hunting dog.

With that, he jumped up.

“Big Brother, you wash the dishes. I’m gonna get our little sister a hunting dog.

I’ve always liked the one from Zhang Laosan’s family in Willow Village. If we can bring that dog back, it’ll be super cool.”

Second Brother’s favorite hunting dog—Niannian’s soon-to-be top general—Dahei!