Chapter 72: How Do You Know?

Jiang Mixia felt warm inside. “Thank you.”

“Wife, in the morning, you gave the egg to me, remember? It’s called reciprocity,” Song Jingyun recalled. “Yes, Wife, you said it yourself—reciprocity. So, there’s no need for you to thank me.”

Moreover, Wife also said that family members don’t need to be polite.

But now, Wife seems to have forgotten?

Song Jingyun smirked inwardly, criticizing Jiang Mixia’s poor memory.

Observing Song Jingyun’s smug expression, Jiang Mixia could probably guess what he was thinking. However, she chose not to dwell on the matter and continued eating the bun.

In the end, Jiang Mixia managed to eat half of the large hanging furnace-baked bun, and the other half found its way into Song Jingyun’s stomach.

As she ate, Jiang Mixia could hear the sound of her husband swallowing saliva.

To make her greedy husband, who was enduring hunger, share the bun with her, was already quite rare!

Upon returning home, they had chicken soup noodles. The old mother hen had been stewed all afternoon, and the chicken soup was used to boil hand-pulled noodles. The stewed chicken was shredded into fine strips, mixed with the noodles, and served cold.

After each enjoying a large bowl, they went to bed fully satisfied.

Having completed the delivery for Zheng’s store, the next delivery was scheduled for half a month later.

The goods from the tea garden had already been delivered in full. With winter limiting the tea harvest, there were fewer utensils to be worn out, and there were hardly any orders.

Recalling the recent long and hardworking days, Jiang Youcheng and Yang Shi, who also worked in the workshop, took a slight break. It was essential to avoid exhaustion.

As midday approached, Jiang Youfu and Yang shi arrived.

They called for Jiang Mixia and her family to come over for a meal at their home. They mentioned that Jiang Xiaoxing’s wedding day was approaching, and it was essential for the whole family to have a reunion meal, discuss the etiquette and customs for the wedding day, assign tasks, and make sure everything was well organized.

There was no reason to refuse such an invitation, so Jiang Youcheng and Liu Shi readily agreed. When the family went over, they brought a piece of pork as a gift.

The midday meal was abundant, featuring braised pork with potatoes and dried green beans, scrambled eggs with scallions, crispy pork skin, and a side of lotus root slices. Although the variety of dishes was not extensive, each dish was plentiful, enough to feed the whole family.

The eldest daughter, Jiang Xiaotao, and the second daughter, Jiang Xiaoli, had also returned home that day. It had been a while since they had seen Jiang Xiaoxing and Jiang Mixia, so the sisters gathered together and invited Fang Shi to join them, engaging in affectionate conversations.

Meanwhile, Yang Shi and Liu Shi planned the wedding day preparations, discussing the amount of money to be prepared as gifts, the quantity of melon seeds and peanuts, as well as who would be responsible for washing the guests’ hands and faces.

Jiang Youfu and Jiang Youcheng discussed the menu for the wedding banquet, the amount of alcohol to prepare, and the appropriate gifts for the chefs.

As for Jiang Chunyu, Jiang Maihua, and Song Jingyun, they gathered to discuss which family’s cat had come to the house that day to eat, which family’s dog had chased which child, and how many bowls of rice someone had eaten and how much they had grown.

“Preparing for a wedding is a big deal and must be taken seriously, but you, sister-in-law, shouldn’t overexert yourself. Your complexion has become much paler, and you have dark circles under your eyes. You need to remember to rest,” Liu Shi advised, noticing Yang Shi’s poor complexion.

Upon hearing this, Yang Shi gave a bitter smile. “To be honest, preparing for Xiaoxing’s wedding isn’t tiring. The main issue lies with the Hong family…”

“What happened with the Hong family?” Liu Shi inquired.

“We’re not sure if something happened, but traditionally, the groom’s family should visit with the matchmaker beforehand to discuss the wedding customs, to ensure that both sides are in agreement and avoid any misunderstandings or embarrassment,” Yang Shi explained. “But, at this point, no one from the Hong family has come, and we don’t know what’s going on. The matchmaker hasn’t been around these days, and it feels like the whole affair has come to a standstill…”

As she spoke, her voice grew lower, ending with a heavy sigh, reflecting her deep concern.

“This is truly unacceptable,” Liu Shi frowned. “This matter is typically managed by the groom’s family, and it’s not appropriate for the bride’s family to inquire too much. Excessive inquiries might imply that the bride’s family is overly eager for the marriage. The Hong family seems like an honest household, so why are they not observing the proper customs?”

An honest household?

Jiang Mixia’s eyelid twitched suddenly.

In her mind, the image of the gambler she had seen in the county town a few days ago, who intended to use his fiancée’s chastity to settle his gambling debt, emerged. However, she quickly shook her head. After all, such a coincidence was highly unlikely.

Furthermore, the engagement between the Hong and Jiang families had been carefully considered by her uncle and aunt initially. It shouldn’t be mistaken…

As Jiang Mixia pondered, Song Jingyun approached with some hesitation. “Aunt, what does Xiaoxing’s future husband look like?”

Taken aback by the sudden inquiry, Yang Shi paused for a moment, then chuckled, “He has an honest appearance, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He’s a couple of inches shorter than you. Why do you suddenly ask about this?”

“Does this Hong Sanbao have a mole below the left eyebrow?” Jiang Mixia asked, her brow furrowed.

Yang Shi was surprised once more. “Yes.”

“And does he have a birthmark the size of a thumbprint on his right forearm?” Jiang Mixia continued.

“Yes,” Yang Shi nodded again, now even more puzzled. “Xiaxia, Jingyun, how do you two know about this?”

At the time of the engagement, Hong Sanbao’s marriage had been arranged earlier than Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun’s. At that time, Jiang Mixia had no recollection of Hong Sanbao, even if she had seen him. Song Jingyun had not encountered Hong Sanbao at home either, so he couldn’t have recognized him. Moreover, the issue of a birthmark on the forearm was a private matter.

Even Jiang Youfu and Yang Shi only knew about it because, during the engagement meeting, Hong Sanbao accidentally spilled tea, and in the process of trying to manage the hot spill, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing the birthmark.

This was private information known only to those present. Typically, details about birthmarks on someone’s body are kept private. How did Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun know about this?

Jiang Youfu and Yang Shi looked at the couple in disbelief.

Jiang Mixia gritted her teeth and spat out, “It’s really him!”

Hong Sanbao, the future husband of Jiang Xiaoxing, was the same scoundrel and gambler who shamelessly attempted to sell his own fiancée at the entrance of the gambling den!

Her Husband’s intuition was spot on. No wonder he found Hong Sanbao familiar; it was all connected to this!

“What a despicable scoundrel!” Jiang Mixia nearly ground her silver teeth to pieces.

Seeing Jiang Mixia’s eyes almost shooting fire and her teeth grinding loudly, everyone was increasingly startled, exchanging bewildered glances.

“Xiao Xia, what’s going on?” Jiang Xiaoxing anxiously inquired.