Chapter 26.1

A few days later, Li Xiao suddenly came back and said that her second sister had run away.

Li Xiao went every day to fetch goods from a pig farm in a nearby town. The man her second sister had married ran a supermarket in that town. It was a small place, just two streets, so news traveled fast if anything happened.

Moreover, Jiang Ting’s husband had a bad reputation in the town. He liked to flirt with any good-looking women he saw.

When the incident broke out, everyone in the town was watching the drama unfold.

Li Xiao didn’t know the exact details, but she heard that Jiang Ting was persuaded to return to her natal family. Her husband thought she was like before, so he didn’t pay much attention. After a few days of being at home and pretending to follow the rules, he quickly returned to his old ways and went out looking for other women.

Taking advantage of her husband’s inattention, Jiang Ting secretly sawed open the cabinet where he kept his money and ran away with all the cash.

As for where she went, no one knew. She hadn’t shown any signs of unusual behavior beforehand.

By the time her in-laws realized she was missing, it was already the second night. She had been gone for a whole day and night.

A whole day and night—if she had taken a train, no one knew where she might have ended up.

Even if the police were notified and they checked the train station for her tickets, what if she had gotten off the train halfway?

“I heard her in-laws went crazy with worry. Your second sister also didn’t leave behind any clue about how much money she took, but it seems like it was quite a sum.”

When Li Xiao spoke about this, she found it quite amusing and guessed that her second sister probably had the idea to run away when he went to his father-in-law and mother-in-law’s house for dinner.

No wonder she asked him vaguely how to buy a ticket when taking a train outside during dinner. Although he felt strange at the time, he still told her. He also said that money and other valuables should be hidden separately on the body. There are many thieves on the train, so try to dress yourself shabby.

Li Xiao thought his second sister, his wife, must have taken his advice to heart.

Jiang Rou was surprised by the news and then frowned. “What about my parents?”

She didn’t know how to ask. Even if her parents were angry, it seemed they would be even more upset about not having a son-in-law to care for them in the future.

Sure enough, Li Xiao smirked. “Don’t worry, your parents won’t be at a loss.”

Not only were they not at a loss, but they even turned the situation around by accusing the other party of having done something to their daughter. They claimed that the disappearance was just an excuse and demanded to see their daughter, alive or dead.

One had to admit that Jiang Rou’s parents were truly ruthless. As a result, even if Jiang Ting’s in-laws wanted to claim the bride’s price back from her family, it wouldn’t work. Now it was a case of each side having their own reasons, and no one knew if Jiang’s family was at a disadvantage, but it seemed the other side didn’t gain anything from it.

Jiang Rou felt embarrassed when she heard this. The world is vast, and it contains all kinds of strange things and people.

Nevertheless, it was her first time encountering someone as shameless as the Jiang family.

There was no doubt that this idea must have come from the original body’s biological mother.

Jiang Erjie’s situation was not easy to handle. She had run away, not divorced, and even if they managed to bring her back, it would still be a family matter.

This time, Jiang Rou didn’t ask Li Xiao to visit, not wanting to invite trouble.

However, though they didn’t go, someone came to them.

Jiang Rou’s eldest sister was originally named Jiang Landi. Jiang’s parents chose this name because they hoped for more sons, but they didn’t expect the next two children would be daughters. In the end, neighbors joked that the eldest daughter’s name was the reason they didn’t have any sons.

It was meant as a joke, but the Jiang couple took it seriously and changed their eldest daughter’s name to Jiang Lan.

They named their second daughter Jiang Ting, hoping to stop having daughters.

Jiang Rou’s eldest sister arrived with her husband. The couple looked just as Jiang Rou had imagined. Years of hard work had aged them both. Jiang Rou’s eldest sister was very thin, with sunken cheeks, rough, dark skin, and prominent fine lines on her face. 

Her brother-in-law, standing beside her, was much the same. He was over 1.7 meters tall, but his slight hunch made him appear shorter than his wife.

In Jiang Rou’s memory, Sister Jiang had always been a pitiful figure. From a young age, Zhang Yan had ordered her around. As a child, she cooked and washed clothes at home, and as she grew older, she worked alongside Jiang’s father, planting rice in the fields under the harsh sun and wind without a single day of rest. After she married, not only did she work tirelessly at her husband’s house, but she also frequently returned to her parent’s home to clean and help during the busy farming season, managing the work for both families.

Zhang Yan always praised this daughter whenever she saw her, which kept Sister Jiang from ever complaining, driving her to work even harder.

But behind the scenes, Zhang Yan once said to her third daughter, “Your eldest sister is like a mule, only knowing how to work all her life, with no future ahead of her.”

She also urged “Jiang Rou” to study hard, marry into a good family, and be as respectable as her second sister.

Because of this, “Jiang Rou” used to look down on her eldest sister.

One day, Jiang Rou was making lunch at home when she saw her eldest sister and brother-in-law arrive, so she invited them to stay and eat.

At first, Sister Jiang declined, mentioning that her two children were still at home. Jiang Rou looked at her sister’s frail body and smiled. “It’s not a big deal. We have some dumplings at home. I’ll pack some for you to take back and cook for them. Besides, having a meal won’t take up much time. It’s rare for you to visit.”

Sister Jiang had always been close to her younger sister, “Jiang Rou.” When they were younger, “Jiang Rou” was in poor health, and Sister Jiang took care of her entirely by herself.

However, as “Jiang Rou” grew prettier and excelled in her studies, Zhang Yan frequently sowed discord between them, pulling “Jiang Rou” away from her side.

Unaware of all this, Sister Jiang continued to believe that the third sister was a good and obedient sister in her heart.

Thinking that she hadn’t seen him for a long time, she said embarrassedly, “Okay, let’s have a meal. I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

After saying that, she thought of something: “Where’s An An? Let me see your child. I asked Mom to send you 50 eggs before. Have you eaten them all? You’ve always had poor health, so you need to supplement more after having children. If there aren’t enough, ask me for more.”

The elder brother-in-law, who was standing nearby, glanced at her and moved his lips, but ultimately said nothing.

Jiang Rou remained silent, recalling the basket of eggs Zhang Yan had brought earlier. Since she hadn’t taken advantage of it, Zhang Yan had said they were sold in the city and had probably been converted into money by now.

Seeing the fleeting reluctance in her brother-in-law’s eyes, Jiang Rou didn’t know what to say. He was so generous to her, and it was needless to say how much more he would be to Zhang Yan and her younger brother.

But the conditions in Elder Sister’s home were not very good, and there were two children to raise.

Jiang Rou didn’t quite understand this behavior of helping the natal family while neglecting her own. She couldn’t help but advise, “You keep them for yourself. Eggs are good things; they’re great for supplementing the children.”

The elder brother-in-law looked up in surprise when he heard this.

Elder Sister Jiang, however, didn’t care. “They don’t like eating those.”

“…”

Jiang Rou went to the kitchen to serve the dishes. She usually prepares three dishes and a soup for lunch, leaving half for Li Xiao. Since Li Xiao was often exhausted from working hard to earn money, Jiang Rou made sure to give him extra food to nourish him.

Today, she had made stir-fried wood ear mushrooms with chili, stir-fried bean sprouts, stewed beef tendon, and tofu with greens soup.

Jiang Rou had bought the beef tendons at the beef stall. Li Xiao had never eaten them before, but after Jiang Rou cooked them once, he took a liking to them. Whenever he saw them at the market, he would buy some, and Jiang Rou would cook them for him.

Jiang Rou took out two bowls, placing one bowl of vegetables and one bowl of soup aside, which were meant for Li Xiao.

After serving the dishes, Jiang Rou smiled and explained to the two of them, “Li Xiao will be back to eat later. I set aside some dishes for him, so there may be a little less here.”

Sister Jiang was playing with An An in her arms while her husband sat drinking water. When they saw the dishes being served, they were a little surprised. Sister Jiang, feeling anxious, said, “Is this really less? Just take it back. We can eat something simple.”

Jiang Rou didn’t listen and instead smiled; she playfully glared at her. “It’s rare for Elder Sister to visit, so don’t be so polite. There aren’t many dishes.” 

She then went back to the kitchen to bring out the soup and bean sprouts. Elder Sister Jiang, unable to sit still, put An An in the cradle and got up to help in the kitchen. Jiang Rou said to her, “There’s no more food. Elder Sister, please serve the rice.”

Sister Jiang then served three bowls of rice.

During the meal, Elder Sister Jiang talked about what had happened today, saying that the second sister had run away and that their parents were now in a panic, searching for her at home. She asked if Jiang Rou had seen the second sister.

After she finished speaking, she sighed and said with a sad face, “You see, the second sister is really something. She’s so old, but she still makes her parents worry about her. Although the second brother-in-law is unfaithful, he treats her well. He even bought her a gold bracelet before. How could she not cherish it?”

Jiang Rou took a few bites of rice and pushed the dish in front of her eldest brother-in-law. “Brother-in-law, eat more. My cooking skills are still quite good.”

Then she added a large helping of wood ear mushrooms stir-fry to Elder Sister’s plate and said, “Elder Sister, try this too. How does it taste?”

Suddenly interrupted, Sister Jiang paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but lower her head to eat. The taste was indeed good, and she smiled happily and said, “It’s better than what I cook.”

Jiang Rou also smiled and said, “That’s because Sister rarely buys meat. If you were to cook, it would be just as delicious.”

Sister Jiang quickly shook her head. “Our family is very poor. We don’t have money to buy meat.”

“If Sister stopped meddling in the affairs of her natal family, there would be money for meat,” Jiang Rou said.

Sister Jiang paused in her movements with the chopsticks, and her brother-in-law beside her looked up at Jiang Rou in surprise.

Jiang Rou’s smile faded a bit as she looked at Sister Jiang and couldn’t help but say, “Sister, considering how you took care of me when we were young, I sincerely advise you to stop getting involved in matters of your natal family. Look in the mirror at home; you’re only in your thirties, but you look older than Mom. Think about your two children and compare them to our younger brother—who is doing better? ”

“Our mom is not as poor as you think. Our second sister ran away. That was her choice. I fully support her actions; why should she stay and continue to be a burden on Dad, Mom, and our younger brother like you do?”

Sister Jiang frowned after hearing this: “Third sister, how can you say that about our parents? They loved you so much before.”

Seeing that she couldn’t reason with Sister Jiang, Jiang Rou turned to her brother-in-law and said, “Brother-in-law, don’t involve yourself in this matter anymore. My parents are not good people, and it really pains me to see you like this. Although my parents raised my sister, we have repaid them over the years, and we don’t owe them anything now. Don’t listen to my elder sister in the future. You should care for your own children. You still have two children to raise, so don’t let them down.”

“Do you know why I chose to be with Li Xiao in the first place? It was because I didn’t want to be controlled by them for the rest of my life. If I had really married that pockmarked man, I might not be any better off than my second sister. How could I have a good life now? My second sister is smart and has money of her own. She won’t have a bad life out there. But you, you’ve been caught up in my parents’ affairs and the Liu family’s issues all these years, and you haven’t gained anything. It’s really not worth it.”

“In fact, their lives are much better than you think. In the future, focus on earning enough to send your two children to school. Education is the most important thing.”

Sister Jiang’s husband fell silent after hearing these words. He noticed Jiang Rou’s child, who was fair and tender and thought of his eldest son. His son had been good-looking when he was born, but something had changed. He had become thinner and darker, and though he was seven or eight years old, he looked only five or six.

His little daughter had never had anything good to eat since she was born. Her mother (Sister Jiang) would take all the eggs home to give to her brother. The two children had been sensible since they were young. Every time they had eggs, they would say they didn’t like them and wanted to save them for their parents, knowing they were tired from work.

But his wife only listened to her mother

Sister Jiang’s husband’s voice was choked as he said, “Third Sister…”

Sister Jiang next to them looked at the two of them blankly, not knowing what was going on.

She didn’t say anything.

When it was time to say goodbye, Jiang Rou packed up the leftover braised pork intestines, dumplings, and snacks for the couple and had Brother-in-law take them. “Brother-in-law, don’t blame my sister. She just didn’t get an education, so she’s been bullied by my mother for half her life.”

Brother-in-law felt warmth in his heart as he held the heavy items. He knew that, although Jiang Rou complained about Jiang Lan, she truly cared. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said these things.

Whether it was the Jiang family or the Liu family, he could feel that both families looked down on them. They only showed a good face during busy farming seasons, without any sincerity. No one ever told them to consider their own well-being or work hard to earn money for their children’s education.

What the Third Sister said was genuinely for their benefit.

The man, who usually wouldn’t blush even while carrying a load of two hundred jin, couldn’t help but get teary-eyed at this moment, his voice trembling as he said, “Third Sister, I just thought about it, and I think you’re right. I’ll work hard to earn money for my children’s education. As long as they have the ability to study, I’ll scrape together every last bit, even if I have to sell everything I own.”

He had had enough of this kind of life.

Education was good; they hadn’t had the chance to study, so they had been bullied by everyone.

The Sister had studied and dared to run away on her own. Jiang Rou had studied and avoided being schemed against by his mother-in-law.

Their lives were like this, but the children were still young. With education, they would surely be better off than they were.

Sister Jiang stood aside, watching the two, and tried several times to interject but couldn’t get a word in. She opened her mouth, but Jiang Rou didn’t look at her at all.

Finally, Nuo Nuo said, “Let’s go.”

On the way back, Jiang Lan tried to talk to her husband several times, but he seemed not to hear, ignoring whatever was said and walking very quickly.

When they got home, the two children saw the food they had brought back, and both of their little faces lit up with surprise. The younger one, spotting the meat, looked at it longingly. He could only swallow his saliva but didn’t dare to reach out for it. Timid and obedient, he said, “Give it to my uncle; Nan Nan is not hungry.”

The little boy beside him simply lowered his head.

This sight made the middle-aged man’s eyes redden once again.

Even Sister Jiang couldn’t help but be stunned when she heard this.

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Lucia: It’s a mass update!!! I unlocked Chapter 26.1 – Chapter 30.2!!! Happy Reading~

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