Chapter 5

In the next few days, Jiang Chunzao made fish for the little ones every day in various ways—braised carp, clear stewed carp, fried fish…

The two little ones, upon hearing the word “carp,” went from swallowing saliva to completely changing their faces. It wasn’t easy for them.

Today was another sunny day. The hot sun hung high in the sky, and in the small courtyard of the Lu family’s Third Family, Little Shitou and Xiao Moli, two little brats, were sitting on small stools, holding their faces, looking troubled.

What were they troubled about? Of course, it was about when they would finally finish the fish at home.

In the past, when Jiang Chunzao wasn’t so good to them, the two little ones ate poorly, dressed poorly, and when their little stomachs were hungry, they could only drink water to fill up.

But now, their “mom” treated them so well, cooking delicious food for them every day, even washing Xiao Shitou’s face and making Xiao Moli all clean. However, this sweet life had become a burden for the two little ones.

They really didn’t want to eat fish anymore.

Xiao Moli, who was holding her face, said in a soft, childlike voice: “Mm! Brother, although the fish that Mom cooks is really tasty, Xiao Moli wants to eat plain rice. I don’t want to eat fish anymore.”

Xiao Shitou who was next to her, nodded in agreement, scratching his head in frustration. Speaking like a little adult, he said: “But we still have a few more fish at home. Mom bought more than ten fish earlier, we’ve eaten a few, and she gave three to grandpa. What are we going to do with the rest?”

That’s right, it was indeed a big problem.

Xiao Moli nodded slowly, his little voice sounding a bit confused: “Brother, what do you think we should have for lunch today?”

What else could they have? More fish, of course!

At lunch, when the two little ones saw Jiang Chunzhao coming out of the kitchen with a big bowl of fish stew and a smile, they both sighed in unison.

See? Still fish for lunch.

~

The carp soup on the table smelled delicious. Jiang Chunzao sat at the table and, seeing the two little brats return from washing their hands, she broke two pieces of steamed bread and handed one to each of them. Happily, she said to them:

“Little ones, after lunch today, Mom will take you both to see Grandma and Grandpa, and we’ll also bring some fish for them.”

As soon as the two little ones heard this, they were thrilled. Xiao Moli, chirping like a little bird, began asking her Mom all sorts of questions.

“Mom, when are we going to Grandma’s house? Moli hasn’t been there in so long!”

While Jiang Chunzao was serving the little ones their food, she replied: “After dinner, we’ll go to Grandma’s house. Does Moli miss Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Yes! Moli really misses Grandma and Grandpa!”

Xiao Moli was so happy to know that after lunch, they would be going to Grandma’s house.

She kicked her chubby little legs in joy, and didn’t even notice that Mom was putting vegetables she didn’t like into her small plate.

After Jiang Chunzao finished serving her little girl, she turned her attention to the calm Xiao Shitou: “After a while, we’re going to Grandma’s house. Is Shitou happy about that?”

Xiao Shitou pursed his lips and smiled a contented smile: “Happy.”

How could he not be happy? Since Xiao Shitou had been adopted by Lu Lin, the Old Lu Family treated him poorly, except for Grandpa Lu, who was the only one who treated him kindly.

As for Grandma Lu, she was always cold and indifferent whenever she saw Xiao Shitou. Lu Dashan and his wife, the Eldest Sister-in-law, didn’t hate Xiao Shitou, but they simply saw him as an ordinary child—whether he was there or not didn’t really matter to them.

Liu Hongyan, Lu Ershan’s wife, was just as annoyed with Little Shitou as Grandma Lu was. Especially Liu Hongyan—whenever she saw him, she would grind her teeth in frustration, looking like she wanted to pick up Xiao Shitou and throw him up the mountain.

In Liu Hongyan’s mind, Xiao Shitou was nothing but a nuisance, a “little brat” who was there to steal her family’s money.

The Old Lu Family only had two grandsons. One was Lu Xuedong, the eldest son of the family, who was studying in the county. The other was the precious son of Liu Hongyan and Lu Ershan, named Lu Mutou.

Although the Old Lu Family wasn’t a rich, influential family, and Lu Dashan and Lu Ershan weren’t particularly wealthy, Old Third, Lu Lin, was a company commander.

Old Third’s monthly salary was over a hundred yuan, and with future pay increases, it would be even better. Not to mention, his wife, Jiang Chunzhao, had only given birth to a daughter, Xiao Moli, who was seen as “worthless” in their eyes.

If Old Third and his wife never had a son, their family could become extinct, and then all the money Old Third had saved would go to Lu Xuedong and Liu Hongyan’s family.

But little did Liu Hongyan know that while she was making her plans, an unexpected event occurred!

Old Third had adopted the unwanted little brat, Shitou, and was raising him as his own son! To Liu Hongyan, this was an outrageous insult—Xiao Shitou, who she thought was nothing more than a burden, was now a part of her son’s inheritance. She was furious!

But no matter what, Liu Hongyan was powerless to do anything.

Now, let’s talk about Jiang Chunzao’s family, the Jiang family. Unlike the Old Lu Family, the warm-hearted old man and woman of the Jiang family absolutely adored Xiao Shitou. Although Xiao Shitou wasn’t their biological grandson, that didn’t matter to them—they loved him just the same!

Every time Xiao Shitou visited his maternal grandparents’ house, Grandpa and Grandma would secretly give him candy. Xiao Shitou loved his grandparents and his uncle, who was still missing a few teeth.

~

After the two little ones finished their meal, Jiang Chunzao tidied up the table, changed them into nice, clean clothes, and freshened herself up. She grabbed two large carp she had bought in town, tucked three pounds of brown sugar and two pounds of sponge cake from the county into her bag, and headed out with the kids.

Over at the old Lu family courtyard, Grandma Lu had just woken up from her afternoon nap. She was thinking of taking advantage of the good weather to air out the winter quilts and coats outside. As she was tidying up in the room, she bumped into Fuzi’s Mother, a neighbor who had come to visit.

Fuzi’s Mother was an old friend of Grandma Lu. The two women got along very well and often spent time gossiping about the villagers when they had nothing else to do.

At that moment, Fuzi’s Mother, carrying some insoles, entered the Old Lu Family house, stepping in with small, quick steps.

“Old sister? Is she at home?”

Grandma Lu, who had been inside sorting winter clothes, quickly responded upon hearing Fuzi’s Mother’s voice:

“Fuzi’s Mother, I’m in here.”

Fuzi’s Mother entered the room and saw Grandma Lu sitting on the kang (heated platform), busy with her chores. With a raised large rear, Fuzi’s Mother plopped herself down and began gossiping:

“Old sister, I saw that troublesome woman from your family earlier on the road. She was holding two big fat fish and had the two little brats with her. Looks like she’s heading to her own family.”

What?!

That Stinky Woman from Old Third’s house was taking her kids to her maternal family?!

Grandma Lu was a little surprised, then muttered irritably: “That Stinky Woman from Old Third’s house, always taking our Old Lu Family’s things and giving them to her own family!”

Just then, Liu Hongyan, who had come out of the house, overheard and loudly exclaimed: “That’s right, Mom, I’ve been saying it for ages—Old Third’s family is so unfilial!

Old Third earns all that money in the army every month, but his family never buys anything nice to take care of his parents! All they do is think about her parents every day!”

“I’ve lived all these years and never seen such an unfilial daughter-in-law as the one from Old Third’s family!”

Liu Hongyan was ranting away in the yard when Grandpa Lu came out of the house, ready to scold her. But before he could say anything, Grandma Lu, seeing Fuzi’s Mother’s curious look as she listened to Liu Hongyan’s words, felt a surge of anger rising inside her. She couldn’t let her old friend see her family being mocked like that!

Fuming, Grandma Lu slammed open the window next to the kang, glared with her old eyes at the confident Liu Hongyan in the yard, and shouted:

“Old Second’s wife, can’t you hear the old hen at home clucking because it’s hungry? What are you standing around for, talking nonsense in the yard?! Why don’t you go do something useful for once! Go on! Don’t stand there bothering everyone!”

Liu Hongyan, who had been so confident just moments ago, stood stunned by the scolding from her mother-in-law. Grandpa Lu didn’t give her any sympathy either. Feeling deeply wronged, she could only turn to the Eldest Sister-in-law, who was washing clothes in the yard, to complain:

“Big Sister-in-law, what’s going on with my mother-in-law? It’s Old Third’s family that’s unfilial, not me! Why is she scolding me?”

The usually quiet Eldest Sister-in-law glanced at Liu Hongyan but didn’t say anything.

Why was she scolding you? Because you deserved it.

The Eldest Sister-in-law, though she didn’t speak much, was closer to Jiang Chunzhao compared to her other two sisters-in-law.

Despite Old Third’s short temper, she remembered how, when her own daughter turned eight, she had wanted to buy her a new dress for her birthday but couldn’t get the money from her mother-in-law. Just as she was struggling, it was Old Third’s family who secretly gave her some beautiful fabric for the dress.

The Eldest Sister-in-law had always remembered that kindness. She only had one son and one daughter, and she knew that Old Third’s family genuinely cared for her daughter, Mianhua. That was why she thought of them as good people.

——

At this moment, Jiang Chunzao and her two children had left the village and were heading to her maternal home.

As they walked, they passed through a small market where Jiang Chunzao took her time shopping. She bought three pounds of pork, some of her mother’s favorite snacks, and ice-cold orange juice to help her kids cool off.

The three of them, with their arms full of bags, happily made their way to Jiang Family Village. It wasn’t far from Lujia Village—just about seven or eight miles. The path had both mountain roads and main streets, and after walking for about half an hour, they finally reached Jiang Family Village.

“Mom, I see the Mimosa tree in front of Grandma’s house!”

Xiao Moli stood on a small dirt mound at the village entrance, looking up at the faint sight of the Mimosa tree in the distance.

Jiang Chunzao, hearing her daughter’s words, also looked up and smiled. Sure enough, the only Mimosa tree in the entire village was planted right in front of her home. This tree was planted by her father, Grandpa Jiang, the year Jiang Chunzao was born. He believed that planting a Mimosa tree at the door would ensure a life full of happiness for his daughter.

Thinking of her parents brought tears to Jiang Chunzao’s eyes. Thankfully, with Xiao Shitou and Xiao Moli by her side, laughing and playing, it was enough to stop her from crying.

“Why cry? This is a good thing!”

Jiang Chunzao sniffled and quickly wiped her eyes, eagerly leading her two children back to the house. When they entered, Grandma Jiang was busy with chores inside. Upon seeing her daughter and grandchildren arrive, her old face lit up with a huge smile, and she quickly hurried over to greet them.

Jiang Chunzao, feeling a mix of emotions after being away for so long, was still deep in thought when Grandma Jiang, holding a plate of candy and snacks, cheerfully came from the back room. She immediately noticed Jiang Chunzao’s slightly rounded belly and, with a sparkle in her eyes, assumed the best.

“Daughter, are you expecting again?”

Jiang Chunzao and the two kids: !!!