"Squadron..."
Jiang Jianguo reached out as if to say something, but the captain pressed down on his wrist.
“Hey, that’s settled then. You guys are brothers, after all. You’ve put up with it before. Jianwei has already regretted it and won’t do it again. Our Xiyang Village can’t be a laughing stock anymore.”
Hmph, Jiang Wanqing could only laugh when she heard this. In the end, it all comes down to saving face. The brigade leader is nothing special. But that's how things are in the village.
Although she didn't know what Jiang Jianwei and his wife were up to, she figured they wouldn't give up until they achieved their goal. Jiang Wanqing secretly raised an eyebrow. Since that was the case, she might as well play along...
She smiled and took her parents' hands, pretending to be sensible and obedient.
"Dad, Mom, Uncle and Aunt already know they were wrong. With the brigade leader vouching for them, they can't be wrong."
"Yes, yes, yes! Wanqing is right. Brother and sister-in-law, how about this, tomorrow our family will have a proper reunion dinner. You don't need to worry about it, we'll take care of it. After this meal, we'll live a good life together, okay?"
Jiang Jianwei immediately chimed in, a look of delight on his face, his eyes gleaming with the wicked light of a scheme about to succeed.
"Wanqing, what's wrong with you..."
"Dad, it's okay. Let's see how sincere Uncle and Aunt are before we talk. Otherwise, people will say we're being unreasonable."
She winked at her parents to reassure them. Jiang Jianguo sighed, realizing he was in a difficult position and could only listen to his daughter, nodding in agreement.
"Okay, let's have dinner together tomorrow night."
"Alright, alright, big brother, just you wait and see, we're definitely sincere!"
Jiang Jianguo didn't expect them to have any good intentions, but he thought that they had been brothers for decades, so giving them face wouldn't hurt anything. If they really knew they were wrong, then the family would be harmonious and everything would be fine. If they were incorrigible, then he wouldn't need to show them any mercy in the future. It wouldn't be a bad idea to kick them out and let them set up their own households!
Not wanting to talk much with Jiang Jianwei's family, the three turned and went back into the house. Xue He took stock of the local specialties in the house, preparing to have her daughter take them to the professor in Beijing.
They hadn't taken the family reunion dinner on the third day of the Lunar New Year seriously, but Jiang Jianwei's story spread throughout the village. People who were planning to visit relatives changed their plans, waiting to see what would happen to the Jiang family that day.
The fact that they made such a blatant show of the Feast at Hongmen shows they were afraid others wouldn't know what big move they were planning.
The next day, the Jiang family was decorated with lanterns and streamers, a scene comparable to Jiang Xiu's wedding, which amazed everyone who saw it.
"Has Jianwei really changed his ways?"
"It looks really good, but who knows what their true intentions are?"
"That's true. The Jiang brothers have been at odds for a long time. Let's see..."
As darkness fell, Jiang Xiu's mother poured all her culinary skills into this meal, and Jiang Jianwei even slaughtered chickens and pigs, showing his "sincerity."
But... before dinner, Molly sneaked through the back door to find Jiang Wanqing.
Pulling the person inside, Jiang Wanqing asked, "How is it?"
"Just as you predicted, your aunt went to Yang Chijiao's house at the east end of the village last night and got some veterinary medicine." Molly said indignantly.
What kind of veterinary medicine?
"In heat..."
"Hmph, another one of those petty tricks."
She scoffed, knowing that Jiang Jianwei and his wife didn't have the guts to drug and kill someone; they were only capable of wicked schemes!
"You'd better not go out to eat, in case you get infected..." Molly held her hand, her eyes filled with worry.
"fine……"
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Xiu's mother called for dinner, knocking loudly on the door.
"Big brother and sister-in-law, Wanqing... The food is ready. Mom and I are waiting for you. Come on over. There are delicious dishes and good wine."
They've never been willing to offer such good things to guests before, but this time they've gone to great lengths to harm people.
Molly shook her head: "Don't go."
"I'll make them suffer the consequences, but I need your help with something."
"Okay, go ahead."
...
The dinner was held in the main room, with eight dishes and a soup on a large round table, half meat and half vegetables, which were indeed considered good food.
"Come, come, sit down quickly, don't be shy, eat more, this is for you." Jiang Xiu's mother enthusiastically distributed bowls and chopsticks, wishing she could feed them the food.
As a sister-in-law, Xue He had never seen a sister-in-law like this before. She almost thought she had been reborn and even glanced at her husband and daughter.
Old Mrs. Gu snorted unhappily: "Eat up! Thanks to you, this old woman has lived for decades and only now can she have a meal like this. If you can't see the sincerity of Jianwei and his wife, you're blind!"
This tastes right, Xue He felt relieved; it would be terrifying if they all changed their personalities.
Jiang Jianwei kicked his wife under the table, and she immediately reacted, picking up her wine glass and raising it towards Jiang Wanqing.
"Wanqing, this glass of wine is my apology to you. I was wrong before, but I won't do it again. Let's drink this glass of wine and be good aunt and niece from now on."
"Wanqing doesn't drink," Jiang Jianguo stopped her.
"It's alright, Dad. Auntie's offer was kind. It's fine if I have a couple of sips. I won't get drunk at someone else's house anyway, right?"
"Yes, yes, that's right, drink up."
Jiang Wanqing met her gaze, picked up her wine glass, and just as it reached her lips, she suddenly put it down.
"Auntie."
"ah?"
Seeing that she wouldn't drink, Jiang Xiu's mother became anxious and asked, "Wh...what's wrong?"
The atmosphere was a little tense, and everyone thought she was about to make a scene, but the next second Jiang Wanqing said, "I've prepared a gift for each of you. It's in my room. Let my parents take you to get it. It's skincare products and leather shoes that I bought from the city. They're very expensive."
"This...this is so embarrassing."
"It's alright, you guys go get it."
Jiang Xiu's mother was happy, but her eyes were seeking the consent of Jiang Jianguo and his wife.
Since their daughter had spoken, they would do as they were told, no matter how unwilling they were.
"Let's go, the child bought it, are we going to keep it for ourselves?"
"Thank you then. You keep drinking, we'll go take a look."
"Um."
After the four entered the inner room, Old Gu's sister-in-law stared intently at Jiang Wanqing with her cloudy eyes, as if to say: I want to see what tricks you're up to.
Neither the grandfather nor the granddaughter spoke. Suddenly, Jiang Wanqing accidentally kicked a stool next to her, which hit the old man's shin.
With a cry of "Ouch!", the old man lowered his head.
"You little hussy, don't you have eyes?! It hurts so much!"
"Grandma, you have a strong voice, it seems you're recovering well."
"you……"
The illness is real, but it's not as serious as I've described. It's all to avoid the limelight and save face, otherwise I'd be drowned in spittle if I went out.
Jiang Wanqing scoffed coldly, picked up her wine glass in front of her, tilted her head back and drank it down, still looking like she wasn't done drinking.
"My aunt's winemaking skills are really good, but unfortunately I can't drink too much."
The couple, having received the gifts, emerged from the inner room with greedy smiles on their faces, their eyes practically closed.
"This snow frost smells so good, it's like milk..."
As Jiang Xiu's mother walked out, she noticed that Jiang Wanqing's wine glass was empty. She glanced at her mother-in-law, who nodded imperceptibly.
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