Chapter 15

Jiang Manyue took Lu Jun’an by the hand and went to the family plot to pick a bunch of fresh greens. Since they were having braised pork today, a simple stir-fry of greens would balance out the richness.

In the kitchen, Li Guifen was frowning as she tried to get the fire going to cook the rice. When she saw Jiang Manyue come back, she quickly wiped her face and pretended everything was normal.

Jiang Manyue didn’t notice her little act. She went to the well to wash the vegetables and even took the chance to wash Lu Jun’an’s hands.

Since the rice had just started cooking and the vegetables would get cold if stir-fried too early, Jiang Manyue left them by the well, planning to cook them when the rice was almost ready.

Lu Jun’an couldn’t wait. One moment he ran to the kitchen to check if the rice was done, the next he dashed to the gate to see if Grandpa was back yet.

Seeing how fidgety he was, Jiang Manyue simply told him to go fetch his grandpa from the field, so he wouldn’t keep bouncing back and forth in anxious anticipation.

Lu Jun’an thought that made sense—since the food wasn’t ready yet, he might as well go and tell Grandpa that Auntie had made something delicious again and hurry him home for lunch.

Task in hand, Lu Jun’an skipped off happily all the way to the fields. When he saw Lu Qingyou, he waved and shouted excitedly.

Lu Qingyou heard his grandson’s voice and saw him waving frantically by the edge of the field. Thinking something had happened at home, he rushed over in alarm.

“What’s wrong, Jun’an? Something happen?”

Lu Jun’an shook his head. “Nope. Auntie made really yummy braised pork and told me to come get you to head home for lunch.”

Lu Qingyou sighed in relief and patted his grandson’s head. “Alright then, wait here for Grandpa. I’m almost done.”

Lu Jun’an nodded and sat quietly on the ridge between the fields, waiting patiently for Grandpa to finish work and head home.

Lu Qingyou was just about done with his tasks. He wrapped up quickly, turned in the work, and walked home holding his grandson’s hand.

Thinking of the braised pork his grandson mentioned, he couldn’t help but feel a bit eager. He hadn’t looked forward to eating meat in a long time.

Li Guifen’s cooking had been the same bad taste for the past ten years—meat or no meat, everything tasted terrible. Lu Qingyou had basically given up hope on enjoying food again. But Jiang Manyue’s cooking had blown him away last time. He’d been thinking about it ever since. Now that she was making meat, he couldn’t help but speed up his steps.

“Auntie’s pork is so good, Grandpa! It’s tender and smells great! Why is Grandma’s meat so tough and hard to chew?”

Lu Jun’an was still young and only knew that Auntie’s meat was soft and tasty while Grandma’s was too tough. He didn’t think much of it and just asked straight out.

Lu Qingyou didn’t know how to answer that and just mumbled a few vague words to brush it off.

Lu Jun’an was easy to distract. When Grandpa didn’t answer, he simply moved on to another topic.

“Grandpa, Auntie’s been so nice to me lately, just like Auntie Jiang and Auntie Jiang No. 2 treat Brother Jiang Hong and Brother Jiang Cheng. But Brother Jiang Hong calls them ‘Mom’, and I have to call her ‘Auntie’. Why can’t Auntie be my mom? If she were, I’d have a mom.”

Lu Jun’an didn’t quite understand the difference between the titles—his question came from a place of innocent longing. But it left Lu Qingyou speechless.

And it made his heart ache.

His grandson was born after his eldest daughter-in-law had risked her life in childbirth. She died as soon as the baby was born. Then, before the child could even understand anything, his father passed away too. Now, the boy didn’t even know who his parents were.

“Auntie’s not your mom. Your mom… she went very far away, and she’s not coming back.”

Lu Jun’an didn’t know where “very far away” was, but he understood that “not coming back” meant she was gone forever—and that he would never have a mom.

“Then can I treat Auntie like my mom?”

Lu Jun’an still felt that Jiang Manyue was so kind, just like how he imagined a mom would be.

Lu Qingyou really didn’t know how to answer. He and his wife had already told their youngest son to divorce Jiang Manyue—but how could he explain that to a child?

Seeing Grandpa fall silent, Lu Jun’an didn’t press any further. He was a sensible child and simply grew a little quiet, a small sense of loss settling in his heart.

The two of them returned home in silence. Jiang Manyue happened to be carrying a dish past the gate. When she saw them come in, both looking somewhat downcast, she found it strange—but didn’t ask. She just called out that it was time to eat and brought the dish inside.

Lu Jun’an perked up at the mention of food and quickly dragged Grandpa over to the well to wash up.

Li Guifen brought the rice to the table last, and finally, the meal could begin.

The aroma of the braised pork filled the air, and Lu Qingyou stopped thinking about everything else. He scooped a big bowl of rice for himself and started eating heartily.

Lu Jun’an was even more enthusiastic. The moment there was food, he forgot all his troubles and dug in with gusto.

After all, a meal this delicious was a rare treat. Despite the unspoken thoughts around the table, the four of them focused completely on the food in front of them.

The braised pork and stir-fried greens were soon polished off. Lu Qingyou even mixed his rice with the remaining oil at the bottom of the bowl, leaving everything spotless.

After lunch, when Li Guifen finished cleaning up and returned to the room, she found Lu Qingyou sitting on the edge of the bed with a troubled look on his face.

“Old Lu, what are you doing? Why are you sitting there instead of napping?”

Lu Qingyou glanced at his grandson, who lay beside him with eyes closed, seemingly asleep, and sighed.

“Today Jun’an asked me why Auntie can’t be his mom—I didn’t know what to say.”

Li Guifen frowned too—this was a tricky issue, and both of them sat there, troubled.

“You were the one who made me send a telegram to Ah Lin, asking him to come back and get a divorce. He’s doing fine out there, why stir up this mess?”

Lu Qingyou couldn’t help blaming his wife a little. Everything had been fine, but she insisted on breaking up the marriage. Now that the daughter-in-law was behaving well and getting along with everyone, they were the ones left looking unreasonable.

Li Guifen regretted it too. She hesitated and said, “How about this—you send another telegram to Ah Lin, tell him not to get divorced. Let him come back and spend more time with Manyue. Maybe they’ll really develop feelings for each other.”

Lu Qingyou didn’t reply. Li Guifen went on, “Manyue’s actually very nice now. If Ah Lin really falls for her, wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“But didn’t Ah Lin say he was going on a mission? Who are you going to send a telegram to? He won’t even get it. Better wait until he comes back.”

Li Guifen thought about it and agreed—since Lu Lin wasn’t in the army right now, he probably wouldn’t even receive the telegram. It would be better to wait until he came back.

“If they really grow close, we can just let Jun’an call her Mom. His parents are gone anyway. Ah Lin can be like a half-dad, and Auntie can count as half a mom too.”

Lu Qingyou didn’t respond. He simply pulled up the blanket and lay down. “Let’s sleep. I’ve got work this afternoon.”

Seeing that, Li Guifen stopped talking and lay down too.

They both soon fell asleep, unaware that Lu Jun’an had quietly opened his eyes again.

His eyes were clear—nothing like someone who had just woken up.

Lu Jun’an hadn’t fallen asleep at all. He had simply kept his eyes shut—and had heard every word his grandparents said.

He didn’t understand all the words, but that didn’t stop him from remembering them.

Later in the afternoon, he planned to ask Brother Jiang Hong and Brother Jiang Cheng about what it all meant—they were older and would surely understand.