Jiang Tangtang did not blame or resent her mother.
After all, everyone has their own way of living. If she's willing to be a moth drawn to a flame for love, that's her choice.
Having witnessed her mother's obsession with love so much, she felt that love was terrifying.
So she vowed early on that she would rather live a carefree life like her father than get involved in any messy love.
Wang didn't notice anything amiss with her daughter; she looked Jiang Tangtang up and down several times.
Jiang Tangtang's face and hands were covered in a greenish-blue medicinal liquid. This made her mistakenly believe that her daughter had suffered as much as they had.
Wiping away her tears, she instructed her sons, "Quickly bring over the meat soup you just made and give it to your youngest sister."
In fact, Wang's complexion was sallow and she was so thin that she was just skin and bones, and her health was much worse than Jiang Tangtang's.
But she didn't think about herself at all; she was only worried about her daughter.
The Jiang brothers were all used to spoiling their sister, so none of them thought there was anything wrong with what Wang said.
Jiang Dahai quickly poured a bowl of meat soup and handed it to Jiang Tangtang, saying, "Little sister, eat quickly."
This is a pheasant that they caught with great effort a few days ago. They hadn't been able to bear eating it until today when Wei Ying gave birth, and only then did Wang Shi order someone to kill the pheasant and make soup.
Apart from Wei Ying, who had just had a difficult childbirth and drank two bowls, no one in the Jiang family was willing to eat a single bite.
As soon as the soup was ladled out, the Jiang family children couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
Jiang Tangtang could tell that the Jiang family was not doing well. Moreover, this food was clearly prepared for a new mother, and she would never be so tasteless as to compete with a woman who had just given birth for food.
She quickly declined, saying, "Brother, you guys eat. I just ate something before coming here, I'm not hungry."
"Aren't you hungry?" Wang said. "Eat quickly, and then your brothers can go catch more."
The Jiang family members echoed, urging Jiang Tangtang to eat quickly, saying that they were all tall and strong, and catching a pheasant was a piece of cake.
Seeing that they didn't believe her, Jiang Tangtang could only show them the rabbit in Fang Mingming's hand. "I'm really not hungry. After we learned that the Western Rong were attacking, we found a valley to hide in."
She picked and chose some recent events to tell them. After hearing this, the Jiang family stopped trying to persuade her.
Thinking about the situation outside, Madam Wang sighed inwardly, "Luckily, my son-in-law Lu is capable, otherwise..."
They come from a good family, and the men in the family are all responsible. Although they have suffered a lot along the way, they have always protected the women in their families.
But while they were from the same village who fled, it was a different story for other families. Many men even took their women and daughters to exchange for food, leaving only the male offspring to carry on the family line.
Along the way, she regretted it countless times, regretting not persuading the Lu family to flee with her. She worried about her daughter's fate, just like the other wives in the village.
Only when she saw her daughter standing safely in front of her did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mother, don't cry. Pack your things and come back to the valley with us!" Having met the Jiang family, Jiang Tangtang no longer felt comfortable dragging Lu Shiyan around to check on the mine.
The Jiang family has no other way out now, and settling down in the valley is the best thing that could be done.
The Jiang family packed their things, preparing to return to the valley with Jiang Tangtang and Lu Shiyan.
However, Wei Ying had just given birth and it was inconvenient for her to travel, so the Jiang brothers took their knives and went to the nearby wild bamboo forest to cut some bamboo to make a simple sedan chair to carry Wei Ying.
The sedan chair wouldn't be ready in a short time, so Lu Shiyan didn't want to waste any more time and took his tools to go hunting nearby.
Jiang Tangtang also opened the search system, deciding to take this time to collect food.
Perhaps because it is located deep in the mountains and has a water source nearby, there is a wide variety of food available here.
As soon as Jiang Tangtang typed the word "food" into the system, the nearby map was instantly filled with markings.
After thinking for a moment, she changed the food to bird eggs.
There were fewer red dots on the map this time, but still quite a few. Since bird eggs, which are highly nutritious, were available, Jiang Tangtang gave up on digging for wild vegetables.
Just looking at the map, she saw that many bird eggs were in the trees. Thinking about the painful experience of being bitten by insects today, she felt afraid of big trees.
Just as she was wondering what to do, she turned around and met several pairs of curious eyes.
Jiang's parents and her brothers doted on Jiang Tangtang, but her sisters-in-law didn't have a very good impression of her.
Before she got married, she relied on the pampering of her parents and brothers and was arrogant. She did nothing at home and had a bad temper. She made her sisters-in-law make clothes and shoes for her and acted as if it was only natural for her to ask them for things.
But the in-laws and husband doted on them, so even if they had their own opinions, there was nothing they could do.
In addition, apart from being a bit impulsive when it comes to spoiling his younger sister, her husband is excellent in every other way.
The Jiang brothers were all tall and handsome, renowned for their good looks in the surrounding area. They were also all hardworking and family-oriented, and had no vices such as gambling or beating their wives.
Compared to other men in the village, the Jiang brothers were far better off.
The sisters-in-law tolerated it.
Especially after her sister-in-law got married, she could only visit her parents' home a limited number of times. They didn't want to cause discord between the couple just for Jiang Tangtang.
The sisters-in-law are adults and can tolerate things for the sake of family harmony. But the nephews are not so sensible.
He and Jiang Tangtang often had conflicts over food.
But during this meeting, they all noticed that their unreasonable aunt, who used to steal their eggs, seemed to have changed.
He's become less fierce than before.
She would even smile at them.
And my uncle-in-law can actually fly! That's amazing! How can he be so amazing?
The children were incredibly curious and stood aside, secretly watching Jiang Tangtang.
Seeing the children, Jiang Tangtang immediately had an idea. "Da Mao, Er Mao, San Mao, Si Mao, you guys come with me, Auntie will take you to collect bird eggs."
"Auntie, there are many wild beasts in these mountains. Don't take the child too far. Be careful not to get lost on the mountaintop," Cai Chunrong said hurriedly, worried about Jiang Tangtang.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I won't go far. I'll just take him for a walk around the area." Jiang Tangtang said, and then asked Cai Chunrong to get her a basket.
Cai Chunrong had just changed her opinion of Jiang Tangtang, thinking that she had become more sensible by refusing the meat soup her husband brought her. But now, she realized that she had really overestimated her.
This isn't about being sensible; it's still the same old story.
Why would you need a basket to collect bird eggs? Do you think those eggs are just like leaves on the ground that she can pick up at will?
Despite thinking this, when she met her mother-in-law's gaze, Cai Chunrong quickly packed a basket and handed it to Jiang Tangtang.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Jiang Tangtang smiled and thanked her as if she hadn't seen the dissatisfaction in her sister-in-law's eyes, and then left with a group of children.
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