Chapter 204: Tremble, Scumbag 13
Author: 打字机
T/N: Sorry for the long break. I forgot this is in my draft, and I also recently changed to another company. After all, I have to serve three months’ notice, and there are too many things that I need to hand over to the new PIC.
“Pregnant, you are pregnant, ah!”
Jiang Miaoshi was momentarily stunned, almost dropping the few silver bills in her hand.
Before her son became mentally impaired, Jiang Miaoshi had no obsession with having grandchildren because as long as her son was alive, she wouldn’t lack grandchildren. But now things were different. Her son had become mentally impaired. He was reduced to the mental capacity of a four or five-year-old child, utterly unaware of matters between men and women. Moreover, Jiang Miaoshi didn’t know whether the next generation would inherit her son’s mental condition.
Hence, these days, Jiang Miaoshi had been worried. She worried that her younger son had too few offspring. With only Jiang Dahu as the sole heir, the family line would be cut off if something were to happen.
Because of this concern, her young grandson’s stature in her heart has risen, making him second only to her beloved son, Jiang Liu.
“Three months.”
Jiang Miaoshi murmured to herself, calculating the timing—it was before her son’s head injury.
“Very well, very well!”
A hint of joy instantly appeared on Jiang Miaoshi’s face. “Lan’er, what would you like to eat? Mother will make it for you. After all, pregnant women should eat well.”
These days, her daughter-in-law had earned quite a bit of money. Coupled with the five hundred taels handed over today, it was enough for an ordinary rural family to live a comfortable life for a lifetime. With money in her hand, Jiang Miaoshi naturally wasn’t stingy when buying poultry. She wholeheartedly considered taking good care of her daughter-in-law and her precious grandchild’s health.
“I was so busy and confused for a while. After we finish eating, I’ll go to Aunt Lin’s place and bring back thirty little chicks. When you’re in confinement, I’ll make chicken soup for every meal.”
Since there was money now, and her daughter-in-law also earned it, Jiang Miaoshi was determined not to be frugal. She decided to catch dozens of chickens and ducks, preferably raising two pigs. After all, the pork from the butcher would never be as good as pork from their pigs.
“Mother, today is truly a double blessing. First, I found out that I was three months pregnant, and then I closed a big deal. From now on, there will be money for my husband’s medical treatment, and our family’s life will only get better and better.”
Bai Lan didn’t directly mention that the child in her belly was a lucky star. She said half and concealed half, leaving enough room for Jiang Miaoshi to imagine it herself. This effect was far better than if she had said it herself. This kind of skilful speech was something Bai Lan had learned in her previous life in the Marquis’s backyard.
Indeed, upon hearing Bai Lan’s words, Jiang Miaoshi couldn’t help but ponder deeply.
She had always been a very superstitious old lady. Initially, she doted on her younger son so much because after he was born, the Jiang family had a series of auspicious events. Later, she became accustomed to pampering him, and even though she realized that her son was not as good as she had imagined, she couldn’t change her ways.
Jiang Miaoshi glanced at her daughter-in-law’s still-unnoticeable belly and then at the five warm silver bills in her hand. She felt a bit more favourable towards the unborn child.
Of course, this was just the first step of Bai Lan’s plan. Next, she would make more good things happen in their household to prove that the child she was carrying was indeed a little lucky star.
*******************
“Did the third Jiang household slaughter chickens again today? Didn’t they split up? Relying only on Jiang Old Lady and Bai Lan to work, how can they afford such extravagance?”
“Who said otherwise? Look at Jiang Da and Jiang Er; both are better off than JiangLius, but their lives are not as affluent as their third brother.”
During lunchtime, the rich aroma of chicken soup once again wafted from the Jiang’s third household. Many people in the village sat in the courtyard with their rice bowls, eating wild vegetable porridge while enjoying the aroma of the chicken soup.
Everyone had heard the news of Bai Lan’s pregnancy, but who in the village hadn’t had a pregnant woman in their home? Except for possibly slaughtering a chicken during confinement, no one would touch such a vital family asset on ordinary days.
Especially the egg-laying hens. They were like golden treasures. Even the naughty children in the house would be scolded and punished by their family members if they chased after the chickens or ducks, fearing they might scare them.
However, Jiang’s third household was different. Ever since the news of Bai Lan’s pregnancy got out, the rich aroma of meat soup could be sensed wafting from their kitchen every few days.
Sometimes, it was chicken soup, sometimes bone broth soup, and the rich aroma of meat tempted everyone’s appetites. When the Jiang family’s daughters-in-law were pregnant before, Jiang’s old lady wasn’t as generous. Hence, the villagers started speculating that Bai Lan might have recently earned a lot of money selling pastries in town, which allowed her to afford such extravagance.
There were even attempts to target the Jiang’s third household. A few days ago, someone had scaled the wall and broken into their residence in the dead of night, attempting to steal some valuable items. Surprisingly, despite Jiang Liu being mentally handicapped, he was surprisingly agile and managed to beat the intruder black and blue.
Perhaps this was also related to the improved quality of the Jiang Liu’s family meals lately. In an era when most people suffered from malnutrition and were emaciated, Jiang Liu was raised plump and chubby. He had even experienced a growth spurt, shooting up in height. The next day, when the thief’s family came to confront the third household, the biggest man among them was easily lifted by Jiang Liu and thrown to the ground.
Since then, everyone understood more about Jiang Liu’s strength. Those petty thieves who coveted the Jiang family’s wealth stopped their schemes because they feared they would provoke Jiang Liu.
Because of that, everyone thought Jiang’s old lady and Bai Lan were lucky. In other families, having a child become mentally handicapped would be a disaster. Still, in their family, it got rid of a prodigal son and produced a pillar to shelter the family from storms. Even though his mind was a bit slow, it wasn’t necessarily stupid.
Widow Meng was in stark contrast to the Jiang Liu’s family.
Ever since her affair with Jiang Dezhu was exposed, her household started falling apart. Jiang Dezhu’s wife took all the valuable items in her home. What’s more, due to her pregnancy, she couldn’t find any men who were willing to engage in illicit businesses. Widow Meng had never been one to work, and now, without a man to support her and lacking any skills, she found herself facing starvation.
One misfortune after another made Widow Meng resent the child growing in her belly.
If not for this child, she wouldn’t have made the wrong move on Jiang Liu. After all, each wrong step led to another mistake. Even if her affair with Jiang Dezhu was exposed, and that tiger-like woman took all the valuable items in her house from Jiang Dezhu’s family, she could still rely on selling her looks for money, cosmetics, fabrics, and jewellery…
In short, if it weren’t for this child, she wouldn’t have ended up in her current situation.
Apart from resentment, Meng Jiao-niang also harboured a faint fear of the child in her belly.
That shrew from the Jiang family had indeed given her several bowls of abortion medicine, and the coarse midwives had kicked her belly with full force.
At the time, Meng Jiao-niang had curled up in pain like a cooked shrimp,p and her thin clothes were soaked with cold sweat. Yet, despite it all, the child inside her stubbornly clung to life.
Meng Jiao-niang found this situation to be highly abnormal. She didn’t feel like she was carrying a child but a monstrous creature.
These days, Widow Meng tried various methods to get rid of the lump in her belly. She tried red flowers, bitter cucumber seeds, centipedes, leeches—any folk remedy she could think of, any raw materials she could find; she tried them all. But the lump in her belly seemed to take root and grow firmly in her body; no matter what she did, she couldn’t get rid of it.
Meng Jiao-niang had also heard some rumours in the village, and she began to believe that the thing inside her belly was a debt collector. She thought she owed this child from her past life; now, he had come to collect the debt.
So, since she became pregnant with him, she encountered one misfortune after another, and she believed that this child caused all the bad things that happened.
With such thoughts in mind, how could Widow Meng possibly like the child in her belly?
However, after exhausting all possible methods to get rid of the child and not wanting to die herself, Widow Meng could only survive by relying on the support from her former lovers and the wild herbs and fruits she collected in the mountains every day.
She comforted herself, thinking that if she waited a few more months until the child was born, there might still be a chance to salvage everything.
*********
Several months later,
After finishing breakfast in the morning, Bai Lan felt her water break. She nudged Jiang Liu, who was eating nougat beside her.
“Go and call mother. Tell her I’m about to give birth.”
The midwife had been contacted long ago and lived near the Jiang family. The due date was also within Bai Lan’s expectations, so everything went smoothly.
Jiang Zhuhua’s consciousness began to awaken gradually. She felt herself in a warm liquid, flowing through a narrow passage, and the next moment, she vaguely saw the light.
*************
It took Jiang Zhuhua several weeks to fully regain consciousness. During the initial days, everything felt blurry; her vision was hazy, and the words she heard sounded muffled. Things had improved somewhat; she could barely hear and see clearly.
Jiang Zhuhua’s most frequent contact had been with her mother for the past month. According to the rural customs, Jiang Liu and Jiang Dahu were not allowed to enter the delivery room during this time. Jiang Miaoshi brought her meals every day. It wasn’t until after the postpartum period that Jiang Zhuhua saw her worthless father and brother.
She had realized that she had returned to her first life. She was still Jiang’s daughter, not sold into a den of wolves by heartless relatives.
Jiang Zhuhua clenched her fists tightly. When she realized she had returned, every drop of blood in her body was screaming for revenge.
She wanted to punch the scumbag, kick the villains. She wanted those who had hurt her to pay for their actions.
With a creak, the tightly closed door was pushed open.
“Iih-ya,” the sound of a door creaking open.
“Wuwuwu, wife, little brother bullied me. He took my candy, stinky little brother, bad little brother, I don’t want him anymore.”
Jiang Zhuhua hadn’t adjusted to the change in light yet when she saw a dark figure rushing towards her.
Jiang Liu knelt at the bedside, his hands on the edge of the bed, tilting his head back, looking at Bai Lan like a big puppy.
His mouth was puckered, his cheeks puffy, showing a childish, petulant expression.
This… was her worthless father…
Jiang Zhuhua blinked and quickly closed her eyes.
She felt she must have opened her eyes in the wrong way.
Author’s note: The little pig’s curse wasn’t poisonous enough. I need to be more ruthless with myself. If there’s no update before noon tomorrow, curse me and turn me into a little stinky pig.
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