Chapter 20: The Eldest Sister Regrets

The return journey was exceptionally quiet.

As it was getting late, Wu Jianguo responsibly took Jiang An’an to the Nanxi Brigade, arriving just as the workers were finishing for the day.

The villagers were left dumbfounded, standing dumbly in place, staring blankly at the military-green pickup truck parked at the village entrance.

What made them even more envious was seeing Jiang Degui’s daughter bend over to get out of the truck.

By the time Jiang Degui and his wife received the news, the pickup had already driven away, leaving Jiang An’an surrounded by enthusiastic villagers.

“An’an, which is more comfortable, riding in the pickup or the tractor?”

“Your luck is really good; you happened to catch a ride from the Public Security Bureau going to the county.”

“What did the Women’s Federation say? Will they help your eldest sister get a divorce?”

…

Lin Meiru stood with her hands on her hips, her presence imposing: “Everyone disperse, disperse! Can’t you see my An’an is exhausted from running around all day?”

“We’re just concerned about An’an,” someone argued.

“Fine then,” Lin Meiru said with a half-smile. “Since you’re all so interested, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight and have a few drinks?”

As soon as she said this, the villagers quickly made their excuses to leave. With food shortages at home, who had the time to entertain Jiang An’an’s family?

And drinks?

Lin Meiru must be dreaming!

“What nice things did your second sister have you bring back?” Jiang Degui noticed the heavy military bag strapped to her daughter’s chest and helped her take it, discovering it was indeed quite heavy.

His dark face instantly broke into a smile, full of wrinkles.

“Let’s go home; I’ll show you a trick,” he said.

Jiang Degui had never received much attention growing up; his mother prioritized feeding his older brother, leaving him hungry every day.

However, he was clever and good with words. By helping Jiang Old Madam in the kitchen, he learned how to cook and often secretly prepared meals for himself.

Jiang Degui’s cooking skills were even better than Lin Meiru’s, frying fish until both sides were golden brown, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

The braised pork was put back into the pot with chunks of potatoes to stew, and a circle of steamed buns was placed around the large iron pot, covered with a lid to simmer.

Twenty minutes later, the buns soaked up the broth and the potatoes were cooked, so they were served on a plate.

In the past, Lin Meiru would have definitely picked out a few pieces of the fried fish to send to Jiang Old Madam. But after Jiang Degui didn’t mention it twice in a row, she pretended to be deaf and mute.

The family enjoyed their meal under the crescent moonlight, their bellies round and full.

In the end, Duobao let out a satisfied burp.

He hugged his watermelon-like belly, wishing he could eat meat every day!

“An’an, how about we forget about the lawsuit?” Suddenly, the eldest sister, Jiang Shulan, said this.

Jiang An’an, who had been squinting and dozing off, suddenly opened her eyes wide: “Eldest sister, can you tell me why you changed your mind all of a sudden?”

Seeing that her younger sister wasn’t angry with her, Jiang Shulan sighed in relief. She looked down at the table, her voice still soft: “Duobao still has to live in the Nanxi Brigade. The bigger this gets, the harder it will be for him when he grows up and understands. I’ve thought it through; I have hands and feet, and with my family’s support, I can always live a good life.”

Jiang An’an furrowed her brows, piercingly asking, “Did Zhou Kang talk to you about this?”

The one most affected by this was Zhou Kang. If the divorce caused a stir, it could impact his political review. If he went to court, he might never return to the capital.

Jiang Shulan’s personality was soft; she was gentle and virtuous, putting her husband and children first, a very traditional rural woman. As long as she could handle Duobao, she wouldn’t be afraid of compromising.

A visible panic flashed across Jiang Shulan’s face. Jiang An’an guessed she was mostly right, but what broke her was her younger sister’s marriage!

—“Duobao has more than ten years to grow up, but if Jiang An’an’s fierce reputation spreads, she’ll never find a husband for the rest of her life. Jiang Shulan, because of your selfish desires, you’ve turned your younger sister into an unwanted old maid. How cruel!”

—“At worst, we’ll both suffer. I won’t go back to the city, but I swear one day I will make Jiang An’an feel the pain of losing her reputation. You know very well how much those idle good-for-nothings in the brigade value her.”

—“Remember my words, making a big fuss is bad for everyone; those without shoes aren’t afraid of those with them.”

She still remembered Zhou Kang’s expression at that time—sarcastic, disdainful, and determined!

Her Achilles’ heel was her family, which Zhou Kang had tightly grasped.

“I’m sorry…” Jiang Shulan gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face, drop by drop hitting the back of her hand.

“Little sister, I’m sorry for you.”

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze!

Even the elderly couple was stunned, not expecting their eldest daughter to suddenly go back on her word.

“Did that Zhou Kang scoundrel threaten you?” Lin Meiru slammed her hand on the table in anger, her teeth grinding together, “I was blind back then to have betrothed you to that scum.”

The old couple prided themselves on being tough, but they never expected to encounter a white-eyed wolf even more shameless and devoid of conscience than themselves.

This was hard to swallow. Lin Meiru’s eyes blazed with fury: “Head of the household, grab a weapon; let’s go settle the score with that Zhou!”

Jiang An’an was shocked: “Mom, calm down.”

“Mom, don’t go!”

Jiang Shulan was so scared that she hugged her mother’s waist, kneeling on the ground and pleading softly, “Mom, I’m begging you, let’s just stop this here, okay?”

She had been with Zhou Kang for two years and knew full well that her husband was a ruthless hypocrite. If she provoked him, it would truly lead to disaster for everyone, including her parents and Jiang An’an.

“Who do you think I’m doing this for? I’m so furious; you actually kneel down to beg me for that dog! How did I give birth to such a timid daughter?” Lin Meiru was exasperated, her hands, used to farm work, repeatedly slapping Jiang Shulan’s back with loud thuds.

Jiang Shulan was at a loss for words, her tears flowing even more fiercely.

“Mom, let’s talk it out nicely; don’t hit my sister.” Jiang An’an quickly stepped in to mediate; her mother was really fierce and would resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.

But Lin Meiru was strong, and several times she almost hurt the innocent. Jiang An’an hurriedly sought help from the dumbfounded Jiang Degui, “Dad, help me persuade Mom.”

Jiang Degui had only taken two steps when he was frozen in place by Lin Meiru’s fierce glare.

“Don’t anyone stop me, or I’ll hit you all,” Lin Meiru’s eyebrows shot up, and when she turned back to see her eldest daughter biting her lip and silently enduring, it felt like a fireball was rolling around in her chest. Her voice was sharp:

“Your father and I worked hard to raise you; we wouldn’t even let you do household chores. Look at the brigade; which daughter lives as comfortably as you four? Those are tasks that can’t be finished before dawn, and they can’t even fill their bellies.”

“You four sisters are spoiled in the village; is that too much to say? But how do you repay us? Like a small wife ground down and oppressed by feudalism, trampled on by your husband’s family.”

“What, is my pampered eldest daughter destined to marry into the Zhou family and be bullied?”