Chapter 53 Is your mother's surname Deng?
"—I'm back from hunting!"
Sang Zhizhi skipped and hopped home, carrying a small basket on her arm.
As soon as I entered the gate of the military dependents' compound, I suddenly saw my grandmother standing at the intersection waving excitedly at me.
"Zhizhi, over here!"
The little cub stopped in its tracks, puzzled.
Didn't Grandma firmly refuse to let Mom into the house last time?
Why come here at this time?
Are they going to make things difficult for us again?
Humph! Grandma's bad! Bad grandma!
The little cub huffed and puffed as it approached, its little face contorted in a stern expression. "Grandma, if you're here to kick Zhizhi out—ugh!!!"
Before she could finish speaking, Grandma Jiang took the steamed dumplings she had cooked and stuffed them into the baby's mouth.
"Today is the Beginning of Winter, and Grandma specially made dumplings with three kinds of seafood filling. Let's try them and see if they're delicious!"
Zhizhi wanted to refuse, but with her mouth full of small steamed dumplings, she couldn't speak.
She chewed and chewed, her little cheeks bulging as she swallowed with difficulty, before finally managing to say, "Zhizhi has changed her name to Jiang Zhixian. Daddy said it means it's valuable. Grandma, don't even think about kicking me and Mommy out!"
"Oh? You really changed it?"
Grandma Jiang's eyes lit up instantly, and she looked at the little cub with even more delight.
She disliked Deng Qiu because she looked down on her as a divorcee, and also because her son was engaged to the Deng family's daughter.
But she always had a very good impression of Zhizhi.
He wanted to cherish her like his own precious darling.
Now that I hear that my dear daughter has really changed her surname, my feelings are so complicated and conflicted.
"Jiang Zhixian is nice, it sounds nice and delicate! It must not have been your father who named it. What did he name your two older brothers before? One is Jiang Dapao and the other is Jiang Bisheng. They sound terrible. It was your grandfather who finally couldn't stand it anymore and said that the older one should be named Gansu, meaning to catch up with and surpass the Soviet Union, and the younger one should be named Zhenwei, meaning to revitalize the Northeast and defend the motherland."
Grandma Jiang chuckled and muttered to herself, then stuffed another one into her mouth after watching her finish eating.
Xiao Zhizhi chewed listlessly, her words becoming increasingly incoherent, "Then, you...aren't you going to rush me?"
Upon hearing this, Grandma Jiang was in a dilemma.
The last time I ran into Mr. and Mrs. Deng, I learned that their daughter had also returned.
Logically, they should have come over long ago to discuss fulfilling the marriage agreement.
But the Deng family never mentioned it, and instead called each other "old in-laws" affectionately.
How could she possibly bring herself to go to their home and break off the engagement?
But... ...
Zhizhi is so lovable, and she doesn't want to lose such a good granddaughter.
Grandma Jiang pulled Zhizhi to a bench by the roadside and asked hesitantly, "If Grandma objects to your mother becoming her daughter-in-law, will you still play with Grandma?"
These dumplings are so delicious, I'm chewing them.
But she can't be bought off with just a dumpling!
Zhizhi shook her head, "Then let's not play."
"Why? Don't Grandma's dumplings taste good? She made them especially small so they'd be easier for you to eat!"
Grandma Jiang was a little sad. She couldn't even eat because she missed Zhizhi so much. She never expected that the little one would be so cold and heartless.
"I won't eat that nest anymore, here you go."
Sang Zhizhi immediately tried to return the lunchbox.
"Hey, hey, hey! No way! Grandma made this especially for you..." Grandma Jiang panicked immediately. She looked at the adorable little one's face and thought she'd go all out. "I'll go to their house myself another day and break off the engagement. I won't let your dad marry her. I'll just accept your mom as my daughter-in-law, okay?"
At worst, we'll offend the Deng family and cut off all contact with them in the future.
If she really falls out with her granddaughter, what will she do in the future?
Really?
The little cub looked at his grandmother suspiciously, then stretched out his little hand, "Then pinky promise, pinky promise to hang yourself for a hundred years, whoever breaks it is a bastard!"
"good!"
Grandma Jiang was overjoyed to see her granddaughter's smiling face and couldn't help but urge her to eat quickly, "Quick, have another one! Grandma has been waiting for you right after I finished packing it. I even tucked the lunchbox into my clothes to keep it warm so it wouldn't get cold."
"Hmm... Good things should be shared. Zhizhi, take this back for your older brother and younger brother to eat."
"Eat more, and then give it to the two of them after you're done."
Upon hearing this, the little cub stopped what he was doing. "Grandma... why don't you and Grandpa like my older brother and younger brother?"
That wicked grandma from Sangjiapo used to constantly talk about her grandson.
Why does she always feel that her grandparents have some inexplicable dislike for her older and younger brothers?
"Because your older brother and younger brother aren't your biological children!"
Grandma Jiang suddenly covered her mouth after she finished speaking. Oh no!
I was so happy I let it slip!
No wonder...
Although the little cub was shocked, she was quick-witted and soon figured it out.
No wonder the older brother and the younger brother are only half a year apart.
So they were all adopted by their fathers... Wait a minute?!
Does that mean Dad has never been married?
So, was the stepmother the father's first wife?
The little girl's eyes lit up instantly, and she turned to her grandmother and asked, "Dad is getting married for the first time, so Grandma, that's why you're even more against Mom marrying into the family, right?"
"Uh... you noticed that."
Grandma Jiang's most secret thoughts were exposed, and she could only give an awkward smile.
When Jiang Anchao adopted the two boys, he was afraid that they would be gossiped about in the future, so he insisted to the outside world that they were his biological children.
As a mother, she was naturally upset. After all, because of her two sons, Anchao's promotion opportunities were affected, his reputation in the army was also greatly impacted, and he didn't even have any marriage proposals.
They all looked down on him because of his status as a divorcee.
She didn't really dislike her daughter-in-law for being a divorcee; she just felt aggrieved that her son, in his first marriage, had to marry a divorced woman with a child.
His feelings toward Gan Su and Zhen Wei were also very complex.
If you really think he disliked them, the old man couldn't bear to watch, so he personally looked up names for his two grandsons in the dictionary.
Do you really love him like your own grandson? Then you feel sorry for your son.
The little cub approached Grandma mysteriously and said, "In exchange, let Zhizhi tell Grandma a secret too."
"What?"
"Actually, Mom is Zhizhi's stepmother, and Zhizhi is not her biological daughter either."
Grandma Jiang was shocked: "Your mother... ah?"
"My mom was a sent-down youth who was forced into marriage by my bad dad, but she's really a good person. Even after the divorce, she took Zhizhi with her. So, my grandma... my mom is such a wonderful person!"
The little baby proudly puffed out her chest, eager to tell the whole world that she had the best mother.
Grandma Jiang was so shocked by the news that she was speechless.
She always felt like she was missing some important information.
Zhizhi's mother was also a sent-down youth who returned to the city. She saw Zhizhi at the Deng family's house before... Could it be that she wasn't mistaken?
Grandma Jiang asked, her voice trembling, "Zhizhi, tell Grandma, is your mother's surname Deng?"
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