Chapter 10.2

The next day, before dawn, Jiang Rou packed the braised pig intestines for Aunt Wang. Then she went back to her room and took a short nap.

She slept until dawn and didn’t have much to do in the morning. So, she went to the storage room and flipped through the books. Most of them were from primary and junior high school, with only seven or eight high school books. Among them were math, physics, and chemistry textbooks for the second half of the first year, and only math and Chinese textbooks for the first half of the second year. There were also a few old notebooks.

However, to her surprise, the handwriting in the notebooks was exceptionally beautiful, flowing like a dragon and dancing like a phoenix.

In contrast, Jiang Rou, with a university degree, still had somewhat childish handwriting. During her internship, her colleagues even teased her about needing a magnifying glass to read her notes. She never admitted it was intentional; she wrote it so small because her handwriting was not good-looking. Writing it in small font would make it look neat and tidy.

Jiang Rou took out all the books she could use, wiped them clean one by one, and then moved them back to her room.

At noon, she went out, heading straight to the South Street market. She first checked Aunt Wang’s stall, weighed two pounds of lean meat, and packed them separately. There were other people in front of the shop. Jiang Rou saw that the couple was busy, so she said hello and left, then went to buy some vegetables and seasonings.

After buying what she needed, Jiang Rou was ready to go to the cloth shop, but unexpectedly she met her long-lost mother-in-law at the entrance of the market.

Lin Meiru saw her first and grabbed her clothes, her face surprised. “Why are you here? What did you buy?”

She reached out to grab a basket of vegetables and saw that Jiang Rou had bought two portions of meat first and placed them under the vegetables. At Galance, you can only see a basket of green vegetables.

There was a hint of displeasure on her face in an instant. “Why buy from someone else?”

Jiang Rou didn’t like her attitude. Mimicking her, she also reached for the basket and pretended to regret, “I thought your business was good. Mom, do you have any vegetables left? Give me some.”

Lin Meiru didn’t expect her to do such a thing. Jiang Rou caught her off guard, and in the basket were pork belly, tenderloin, a pig’s trotter, two fish, braised pig intestines, and two blocks of tofu, piled up.

This food really looked good.

Jiang Rou gave her a meaningful look.

Lin Meiru’s face turned unnatural, and she awkwardly covered the basket, saying, “My stall is outside. Alright, there’s a bit of vegetables left; take them all.”

As she spoke, she quickly walked forward and stiffly shifted the topic: “Your belly is getting big. Remember to make clothes for the baby. In a few days, I’ll knit two sweaters for the child.”

Not a word about giving her anything.

Jiang Rou leisurely followed behind, listening to this, and whether it was intentional or not, she suddenly said, “Then, on behalf of the baby, thank you in advance, Grandma. However, clothes are secondary. It’s just that lately, I can’t seem to get enough to eat.”

“…”

Lin Meiru, who walked to her stall, paused as she picked up the leftovers from the basket and handed them to Jiang Rou. Jiang Rou politely picked them up but stood still.

Why should that father and son enjoy lavish meals at home? Even a pregnant woman like her didn’t have such good fortune. After all, the one in her belly was her biological granddaughter.

Lin Meiru glanced at Jiang Rou. With a thick-skinned face, Jiang Rou innocently blinked her eyes and glanced at the basket of vegetables behind Lin Meiru.

“…”

Finally, Lin Meiru couldn’t help but reluctantly give her a crucian carp. Jiang Rou didn’t mind at all; she even took out a piece of meat and a piece of tofu from it.

Lin Meiru couldn’t help but feel heartbroken, her face twitching. She waved at Jiang Rou, “You shameless debtor! You don’t even know if it’s a grandson or granddaughter. Alright, hurry up and leave.”

Lin Meiru felt speechless. She had never seen someone with such thick skin before.

Jiang Rou gave her a sweet smile and said, “Thank you, Mom.”

Then she turned around with satisfaction and left, going to the nearby cloth shop, which was the one she came to last time.

Her speed at making clothes herself is still too slow. Now that she can make money, Jiang Rou doesn’t have to put herself in a difficult position. This time, she chose a few pieces of thick cotton fabric with better materials and then showed them to others in the already-prepared shape. She asked the shop owner to make four intimate clothes, two thick cotton jumpsuits, and two small cotton quilts.

After discussing these, she looked around the store again. Jiang Rou selected a piece of sky blue and a piece of lime-colored fabric, asking the shop owner to make two men’s shirts: “He is 187 cm tall, neither thin nor fat. Make them bigger.”

She also picked a grayish-blue and a linen-colored fabric. “This color is nice. Make two pairs of pants, also for men, in medium size.”

When Jiang Rou left home, she didn’t have this plan. However, after seeing her mother-in-law’s attitude just now, she felt a bit upset. Li Xiao’s mother was simply biased to the extreme.

Thinking about the fact that there was not a single piece of clothing left in the closet, she decided to make two outfits for him as well.

Jiang Rou made an appointment to pick up the clothes and went to the street at the old bus station.

She was originally worried that Zhou Jian wouldn’t be at home, but she was relieved when he opened the door after a couple of knocks. Seeing her, he was a bit surprised. “Sister-in-law, why are you here? Come in.”

“No, no, I have to go back and cook. I came to ask you for a favor.”

As she spoke, she took out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. “I want you to help me find some high school textbooks, can you?”

Zhou Jian took the paper and glanced at it without much thought. He said straightforwardly, “What’s the problem with that? It’s just a matter of a few words. You just finished the college entrance examination a few days ago, and I’ll go ask him for it.”

“Well, thank you then.” Jiang Rou smiled, taking a piece of meat from the basket. “I just came back from the market. Take this.”

Zhou Jian saw the meat and quickly took a few steps back, waving his hand non-stop. “Sister-in-law, I really can’t take it. You gave me some food last time.”

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s okay. I might have to trouble you again in a few days.”

“I really don’t need it.” Zhou Jian ran back into the room in fear. “Sister-in-law, I’ll deliver it to you tonight.”.

Jiang Rou didn’t like owing favors, but seeing him so scared, she couldn’t continue. “Alright, thank you.”

——

In the evening, Zhou Jian brought the books over.

All the books from the three years of high school were covered in dense notes, and there were some test papers tucked in between, all with high scores.

Zhou Jian placed the books on the big table in the living room. Seeing him sweating and tired, Jiang Rou poured him a glass of water and asked, “Have you eaten? Why don’t you stay and eat here?”

“No, no, my mom has already prepared dinner.”

Jiang Rou just asked out of politeness. It wouldn’t look good for a man and a woman to eat together, especially if someone saw them. “Alright then. I made some pancakes; take some with you.”

She turned to the kitchen and packed some fried leek pancakes she had made in the evening. Besides the pancakes, there were also a few pieces of pea cakes she made in the afternoon.

Zhou Jian smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. “Thank you, sister-in-law. I’ll come tomorrow morning to return the plate.”

After asking if she needed anything else and finding out she didn’t, he left with a plate full of pancakes.

Jiang Rou saw him off and closed the door. As she did, she noticed a middle-aged woman passing by the door. The woman gave Jiang Rou a second glance and then turned her face away.

Jiang Rou didn’t take it to heart either. In the following days, she stayed at home with peace of mind to take care of her baby, read books, and earn some money to spend.

Li Xiao never called again. She roughly estimated the time of his return; it should be soon.

Little did she know that before Li Xiao returned, her mother-in-law came to the door in a fit of rage.

Specifically choosing the time when Aunt Wang came to pick up the braised pig intestines in the morning, she looked at Jiang Rou with eyes that weren’t eyes and a nose that wasn’t a nose, her face full of anger as she questioned, “Xiao Rou, what are you doing?”

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