Chapter 54 I didn't wrong you at all

When Song Chunxue returned from herding sheep that evening, the reaction of the fourth brother, Jiang Yejun, surprised her.

He didn't fall out with Sanwa.

After returning home, he didn't hide away in the east room alone, but instead ate with them in the north room.

But Song Chunxue noticed that both brothers had bruises on their faces.

It wasn't very obvious, but it didn't escape her notice.

She didn't ask, and pretended not to see it.

"Sanwa, you stay home and rest tomorrow. I'll go with Lao Si to herd sheep."

The third child glanced at the fourth child and replied, without revealing any emotion, "Okay."

Jiang Hongying carefully fed the child, suppressing the urge to ask questions until bedtime.

The moment the door to the north room closed, Jiang Hongying revealed a sour smile and excitedly climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

She lowered her voice and asked, "Mother, did you see that? They must have been fighting. Third Brother's nose is bruised, and Fourth Brother has fingernail marks on his eye socket and face."

She lifted the covers and crawled inside, reaching out to stop Xiujuan, who was too sleepy to keep her eyes open. She turned to her side and patted her to lull her to sleep, her eyes brimming with gossip.

"And the fourth one didn't say a word tonight, looks like he didn't win. He's been more obedient than the other day, hahaha. I didn't realize the third one was so good."

Song Chunxue smiled slightly, "What's so impressive about it? I guess the fourth brother started it, and only behaved himself after losing the fight. Otherwise, the third brother's nose wouldn't be bruised."

"But the third brother is bolder than before. He didn't dare to hit the fourth brother before, and he wouldn't say a word when the eldest and second eldest brothers bullied him..."

Song Chunxue listened quietly, her thoughts drifting back to the times when the few of them used to fight.

At that time, she favored the students, believing they would be successful in the future. She genuinely liked them and saved the best things for the three students.

At first, Sanwa would complain, but he never said it again. Even if he felt wronged, he wouldn't let her see it.

Day after day, he would silently herd the sheep, working from dawn till dusk, never once telling her that he didn't want to herd sheep anymore.

If he were as severely oppressed as the second and fourth brothers, he could have easily said that he didn't want to herd sheep anymore, didn't want to support their education, and wanted to go out and make his own way in the world, leaving the sheep for her to herd.

But Sanwa didn't. He must have thought about doing that, but he never said it.

She had never thought about the reason before.

Now that she sees things from Sanwa's perspective, she understands that he didn't want to leave the burden of the whole family on her shoulders alone.

Once, for some unknown reason, the eldest and second eldest brothers bullied the third brother, who ran away late at night and didn't return all night.

But she just felt that Sanwa was being temperamental with her, trying to make her go out and find him.

It was a hot June day. She was harvesting wheat during the day and was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She didn't even think to ask him why he had run out of the yard.

Looking back now, Sanwa, who always swallowed his anger, must have suffered a great injustice that day.

But she didn't even ask, and the next morning she forgot to go to his room to see if he had returned.

She only vaguely remembered that at noon, Sanwa returned from herding sheep. All the other livestock had been given water, but the water vat in the kitchen was not filled.

Song Chunxue assumed he was just upset and let him be.

Looking back now, that must have been one of the few times he showed that he was angry.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

As Jiang Hongying was speaking, she suddenly noticed the tear stains on her mother's face. She looked at her in surprise, thinking she had said something wrong.

Song Chunxue turned over, swallowed the sweet tears from her lips, closed her eyes, and calmly said, "It's nothing, go to sleep."

"Oh." Jiang Hongying quieted down and didn't say anything more, but her heart was in turmoil.

Could it be that Mother feels she has let Sanwa down?

She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), stroking her belly, unable to sleep for most of the night, sighing inwardly.

Good heavens, this is truly remarkable; the sun has risen in the west!

*

As the weather gets warmer, the crops in the fields grow better and better, and the once barren hillsides become lush and green.

With the vegetation covering the hills, the barren hills have become beautiful. Standing on the mountaintop, looking at the green expanse, I feel that living in such a village is actually quite nice.

After sweeping the yard, Jiang Hongying sat on the steps with Xiujuan in her arms, thinking that she used to think this place was poor and didn't like the mountain that was too close to her.

After getting married, she felt that this barren and desolate mountain valley was the place she often missed.

The green beans have changed color; they will turn yellow in a few days.

This means that some early-ripening apricots are now ready to eat.

Next to the sheepfold and the outhouse, there is an apricot tree whose apricots are the first to turn yellow.

But this year, before Huang was born, Jiang Hongying had already eaten everything she could reach below.

My third child was home today, so I picked a big bowl of vegetables for her to eat slowly.

She was happily eating on the steps of the north house when she saw her eldest son, whom she hadn't seen for many days, appear at the gate of the courtyard.

He leaned against the gate, using a cane, and asked, "Is Sanwa going to school tomorrow?"

“Yes, Mother will send him to the school in the neighboring village tomorrow. Fourth Brother has gone astray at school, so I'll have him stay home and herd sheep.” Jiang Hongying glanced at the steps beside her. “Come sit down and let’s talk.”

Jiang Yeming hesitated for a moment, then entered the courtyard with his cane.

Seeing the way he walked with his legs bent, Jiang Hongying realized that her mother had really gone to great lengths.

He's been bedridden for a month, and he's still not better.

Jiang Yeming plopped down on the steps, tossed aside his cane, and his anger grew increasingly evident.

"Mother is favoring Sanwa more and more. He's already sixteen, and he's still studying with seven or eight-year-olds. Isn't that embarrassing? He should use that money to buy something else. He's already engaged, and he's still going to school. Aren't people afraid of laughing at him?"

He grew angrier the more he thought about it. "Don't you think Mom's like a completely different person? Is she possessed by some evil spirit? She's suddenly treating me like an enemy."

At this point, Jiang Yeming became increasingly certain that this was the case, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Sister, do you really think Mother might have been possessed?" He grabbed Jiang Hongying's arm fearfully. "Should we ask a shaman to take a look?"

Jiang Hongying pushed his hand away and took the chives from Xiujuan's hand, who was sitting on the ground.

She said expressionlessly, "I think it's normal. Mother is still the same as before. It's just that you've gotten married and you dare to do all sorts of bad things. Mother is very disappointed in you."

“From childhood to adulthood, she has always been the best to you, always thinking of you first when it comes to all the good things. But you only care about yourself and never thought of helping your mother. You even tried to take her money for her funeral. If she isn’t good to Sanwa, who is she good to?”

Jiang Yeming frowned, unwilling to admit what he had done.

"Sister, how can you say that?" Jiang Yeming muttered indignantly. "Sanwa is just not married yet. If he were married, wouldn't he be just like me? Would he definitely treat Mother well?"

"Were you good to your mother before you got married?" Jiang Hongying frowned slightly. "All you know is how to ask for money, and you don't like to do any work. Your mother worked so hard to hoe the wormwood, did you ever help her?"

"..." Jiang Yeming opened his mouth, but couldn't refute it.

"Even if you've separated the family, your mother is still your mother, right? You can't even bring her a bucket of water, you only care about building your own yard, you won't even hoe the crops in the fields, and you let Chen Feng steal flour and eggs. What can you do besides taking advantage of others?"

Jiang Hongying spoke her mind, saying, "Everyone says you're an ingrate, and they're not wrong at all."