Chapter 33 is almost three-fold now.
The place where Grandpa and Grandma Jiang live is located on the outskirts of Jiangzhou City. It is not too far from the city center, but it cleverly avoids the hustle and bustle. It is a specially planned, quiet retirement community with shady trees, birdsong and fragrant flowers. The neighbors are all familiar with each other, and the pace of life is slow and peaceful.
The elderly couple couldn't stay idle, so they cultivated a small vegetable garden next to their own courtyard. It wasn't a proper greenhouse, just a few neatly maintained earthen plots where they grew seasonal vegetables.
Grandma Jiang said that she feels safe eating the fruits and vegetables she grows herself, and it's also a source of joy for the two elderly people. Watering them, weeding them, and watching the fruits and vegetables grow day by day is the pleasure of the two elderly people.
When they have a good harvest, they will pack it up and have the children take it home when they come over for dinner, or deliver it directly to each family.
Several younger members of the family were assigned by their grandfather to work in the vegetable garden. Jiang Ran rolled up her sleeves and moved quickly, soon picking a full basket of fresh vegetables.
When Jiang Ran finished picking vegetables and came back with his basket, Su Mu gently beckoned to him with his finger.
Jiang Ran immediately put down her basket, quickly rinsed the mud off her hands under the tap, dried them with a towel, and ran over in a few steps. With a smug look on her face, she complained, "Mu Mu, look, those two little rascals, Jiang Hu and Jiang Mo, made excuses to run away as soon as they heard we had to work. I picked all of them by myself."
Su Mu didn't respond to his question. He waited until Jiang Ran was closer before lowering his voice and whispering, "Tell me honestly, did you call me using my grandparents' phone numbers before? And then I blocked all those numbers?"
Jiang Ran admitted, "Yes."
Su Mu raised her hand and slapped his arm: "You really are embarrassing me to death. Grandma just said she wanted to save my phone number, and I thought I'd try calling it, but it turned out to be in my blacklist. What if one day Grandpa, Grandma, or some other elder wants to call me to check on me, but they can't get through no matter how many times they try? They might think I'm deliberately ignoring them, or that I have a problem with them."
Jiang Ran then realized the seriousness of the problem. A hint of annoyance flashed across her face. She quickly reached out to put her arm around Su Mu's shoulder and softened her tone, "Baby, don't be angry. It's my fault. I was wrong."
"I was so anxious back then, and I couldn't find you. I tried every possible way to contact you. I was really desperate and grasping at straws."
Seeing that Su Mu's expression was still not good, he immediately promised, "I'll help you remove them from the blacklist one by one, okay?"
"But we don't need to worry about He Angxiao and the others. Let's release the phone numbers of our relatives and elders first."
Seeing that his attitude was quite sincere, Su Mu's anger subsided considerably. She took out her phone, unlocked it, and handed it directly to Jiang Ran.
"Take your time and do it yourself."
Jiang Ran took the phone as if it were some important imperial edict. She immediately sat down on the stone bench next to it and began to operate it carefully and meticulously. While scrolling through the long string of numbers in the blacklist, she muttered to herself, "This is my second uncle's... this is my grandfather's... this is..."
Su Mu handed over the task of cleaning up the blacklist entirely to Jiang Ran, and then leisurely got up to go play with Jiang Mo.
Jiang Mo was nestled on the sofa in the living room, scrolling through videos on his tablet.
Her style was indeed very distinctive. Her short hair, dyed a smoky purple, was permed with slight curls and a few strands highlighted with bright silver. She wore a row of silver earrings of varying sizes. Most striking of all was the small, gleaming lip stud on her lips.
When she saw Su Mu walking over, she immediately flashed a bright smile, revealing her lip piercing, which made her look both cool and playful.
"Brother Su," she patted the seat next to her, "come and sit down. Look at my new lip piercing, isn't it pretty?"
Su Mu sat down next to her, nodded, and said sincerely, "Yes, it's very special and beautiful."
He had heard Jianghu mention it before, saying that Jiang Mo was a fan of some subculture and a beauty blogger, but today she had toned it down a lot for a family gathering.
Su Mu didn't quite understand what subculture specifically meant, but looking at the confident-smiling, uniquely dressed girl in front of him, he felt that she had a kind of vigorous and unrestrained vitality.
Jiang Mo smiled even more happily after receiving the praise: "Brother Xiao Su, you're so kind. Let's take a picture together. You're so cute, a world apart from my brother's icy face."
Su Mu was a little embarrassed by her praise, but he cooperated with her and took several funny photos together in front of the tablet's front camera.
Jiang Mo enthusiastically selected filters, and Su Mu, seeing her happy expression, felt quite happy too. He liked the Jiang family very much; although they had different personalities, the intimacy and tolerance between them made him feel very comfortable.
The Jiang family has many boys, so they naturally dote on their only daughter, Jiang Mo, which has fostered her cheerful yet somewhat unruly personality.
“Oh, right, Brother Su,” Jiang Mo suddenly remembered something, “why don’t you follow my video account? I often share beauty and fashion tips there. Although my brother always says I’m not doing anything productive, I think it’s really interesting. Everyone else in my family follows me.”
Su Mu readily agreed: "Okay."
He stood up, walked back into the courtyard, found Jiang Ran who was still working hard, and retrieved his phone.
"Jiang Mo wants to follow me on WeChat Moments."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ran said, "Mumu, listen to me, you're carrying our baby now. I suggest we watch more positive, heartwarming, and cute things, like adorable cartoons, videos of well-behaved children, and harmonious natural scenery..."
"It's best to avoid content that's too visually striking or has an overly unique style. Otherwise, if it affects prenatal education, we might have a lot of headaches during our child's adolescence later on."
Su Mu was amused by his alarmed expression. He opened the video app and searched for Jiang Mo's account while saying nonchalantly, "So what? Even if he's not cute or well-behaved, he's still our child. Children need guidance from their parents. Besides, Jiang Mo is so adorable."
As they spoke, he had already found Jiang Mo's account. The profile picture was a selfie with exaggerated effects, heavy smoky makeup, and her tongue sticking out; the nickname was "XOXO". Su Mu casually followed her and then clicked on her latest video.
The video loads.
On the screen, deafening electronic music blared, and the lights flickered and blurred. Jiang Mo wore extremely exaggerated makeup, with fluorescent eyeshadow almost covering her entire eye socket, her face covered in sequins and rhinestones, and her lips a dark purple that was almost eerie. She was dancing energetically in front of the camera to the rhythm of the music, wearing a miniskirt adorned with metal chains and rivets.
The entire image is rich in color, avant-garde in style, and has a strong visual impact.
Su Mu blinked, finally understanding what Jiang Ran meant by "great impact." He silently turned down the video volume, looking at Jiang Mo on the screen—a completely different person from the sweet-smiling girl on the sofa in front of him—and felt both amazed and intrigued.
He walked back to the living room, turned his phone screen towards Jiang Mo, and said with a smile, "I've followed you. Your videos are so unique and energetic."
Jiang Mo leaned over to look, and when he saw his own video, he stuck out his tongue a little embarrassedly: "Oh dear, Brother Su, don't be scared by me. I just like to mess around with these things."
She looked at Su Mu's account homepage again and her eyes widened in surprise: "Brother Su, how come you have so many fans? Tens of thousands."
Before Su Mu could speak, Jiang Ran, who had followed him in at some point, naturally took over the conversation: "Because when your little Su brother isn't working, he's also developed some side hustles, like doing live streams, and a lot of people like them."
Su Mu found it amusing that almost 80% of the profits from this side business came from Jiang Ran.
Jiang Mo immediately looked at Su Mu with admiration: "Brother Su is so amazing, he can even drive a forklift, forklift god, so interesting."
Jiang Ran: "Isn't your brother amazing? Your little Su brother likes me the most."
Jiang Mo: "Brother, you're so vain."
Speaking of live streaming, Su Mu has indeed put it aside for a long time.
After returning to Jiangzhou, he was busy settling in and adapting to the new environment. Then he proposed. The days passed quickly and were fulfilling, and he almost forgot about the live streaming.
It wasn't until this day, when Jiang Mo reminded him, that he remembered to open the almost forgotten backend. The number of red notification dots for private messages and comments had accumulated considerably.
He casually flipped through the pages and found that quite a few people were asking him questions.
"Why hasn't the handsome forklift driver been broadcasting lately?" "Did he go back to the city?" "Will he come back?"
Su Mu looked at these messages and felt a little surprised, but more than that, he felt a warm and flattered sense of being cared for.
He always felt that his forklift driving livestream account was more of a coincidence, accumulating followers due to the contrast and novelty. People were just looking for something new and entertaining. Now that he's stopped broadcasting and can't drive the forklift anymore, his online fans will likely find new entertainment and forget about him quickly.
Unexpectedly, after so long, there are still people who remember him and even hope that he will return.
Looking at those familiar IDs and heartwarming messages, he felt that although he could never go back to live streaming while driving a forklift, this unexpected connection was still very precious to him.
In the back-end, besides requests for updates and greetings, there were also many long letters from fans. The content was varied, some sharing interesting stories from their lives, but more were expressing work pressure, anxiety about unemployment, or feelings of confusion about the future.
They seemed to regard this place as a trustworthy confidant, revealing the troubles of their real lives to this stranger who had once brought them some ease and joy.
Su Mu read through the messages one by one, his feelings a mix of emotions. He himself had just gone through an extremely low period and deeply empathized with those feelings of confusion and helplessness. He carefully chose his words and replied to some of the messages as sincerely as possible, sharing some of his experiences of getting out of the trough. Although he knew his strength was limited, he still hoped to bring a little comfort and direction to those on the other side of the screen who might be going through a difficult time.
Just then, Grandma Jiang's voice came from the dining room, filled with laughter: "Dinner's ready, children, come and wash your hands and eat."
The Jiang family is a large family with many members, but when they gather together for a meal, the atmosphere is not formal or serious.
Grandpa and Grandma Jiang are open-minded elders who never pry into their children's work performance, salaries, or life plans at the dinner table. They care more about whether the children are eating well, happy, and healthy.
Su Mu heard Jiang Mo say that when she first started making beauty videos, her style was bold. Jiang's grandma and grandpa even secretly registered accounts and liked and commented on every video she made, which moved Jiang Mo deeply.
Jiang Mo clung to Grandma Jiang, hugging her arm and acting coquettishly: "I love Grandma the most. Grandma is the best grandma in the whole world."
Hearing this, Jiang Hu deliberately said sourly, "Sigh, in our Jiang family, daughters are the treasures, while we grandsons are just weeds in the field that no one cares about. Right, brother?"
He winked at Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran ignored him and carefully helped Su Mu remove the fish bones.
Grandma Jiang chuckled and patted Jianghu on the head: "You little rascal, you always talk too much. When have I ever missed out on giving you a red envelope?"
Amidst the laughter and conversation, Grandma Jiang took special care of Su Mu, constantly putting food on his plate and saying, "Mu Mu, eat more, don't be shy, don't be reserved at home."
The vegetables in Su Mu's bowl were piled up like a small mountain.
After the meal, as is customary, Grandpa and Grandma Jiang started handing out red envelopes. Whether it's a holiday or a regular family gathering, the elderly couple always likes to give their children some pocket money, saying it's so they can buy something they like.
Every grandchild, including Jiang Ran who is already working, has a share in the Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).
Su Mu accepted two thick red envelopes, one of which was for the baby in his belly.
Back in Jiang Ran's small apartment, she took a shower first. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw Su Mu sitting on the soft carpet in the bedroom, with two bright red envelopes spread out in front of him, a calculator in his hand, and his head down, counting money with a serious expression.
The warm yellow light shone on him, outlining the profile of his focused face, his cheeks appearing rounder than usual due to his pregnancy.
Jiang Ran walked over, bent down from behind, loosely wrapped her arms around Su Mu's shoulders, and rested her chin on the top of his soft hair. The damp hair brushed against the back of Su Mu's neck, bringing a slightly cool and ticklish sensation.
"Little money-grubber, why are you counting so carefully? How much did Grandpa and Grandma give you?"
Su Mu leaned back and said methodically, "This is a gift from Grandpa and Grandma to the baby. This is a separate baby fund that we've set aside for the baby in the future."
Jiang Ran's heart melted as he looked at him so earnestly planning for the future. He hugged him tighter and whispered in Su Mu's ear, "Mu Mu, I realized we haven't named our baby yet."
Upon hearing this, Su Mu looked bewildered and troubled: "Naming a child? I don't know how."
Su Mu always felt that a name was a very important thing, and that it had to be thought about carefully and not just picked casually.
He had never thought about this issue before, but now that Jiang Ran brought it up, he realized it was a big deal.
Jiang Ran had already thought about it: "How about the nickname 'Little Crane'?"
"Little Crane?" Su Mu turned her head with some confusion and looked at him. "Why Crane? Does it have any special meaning?"
Jiang Ran turned him around, hugged him face to face, and explained, "Because during that time, I kept having a dream about a very beautiful and energetic fat white crane. It wasn't afraid of people and just stood in front of me, chasing me and pecking at me, chasing me all the way."
Jiang Ran's tone was melancholy.
Su Mu couldn't help but smile when she heard his somewhat mysterious yet heartwarming reason.
He thought about it and realized that in traditional Chinese culture, cranes are symbols of good fortune, longevity, and nobility, which carries a very auspicious meaning. Moreover, the name "Little Crane" sounds cute and can be used for both boys and girls.
“Okay,” Su Mu nodded, acknowledging the name. “Let’s call him Xiao He for now. We’ll decide on a formal name after the baby is born, depending on whether it’s a boy or a girl.”
With the naming process concluded, Jiang Ran seemed to remember something. He released Su Mu and took a rectangular black leather card holder from the drawer. He walked back, sat down next to Su Mu again, and solemnly placed the card holder into Su Mu's hand.
Su Mu looked down and saw that it was Jiang Ran's salary card.
Su Mu said with a sigh, "I don't want to manage money; I'm not good at it."
Jiang Ran: "How could that be? Didn't you manage so much money before? Trust yourself, you're a professional."
Su Mu was silent for a few seconds: "...We lost a lot of money and even got a complaint."
Jiang Ran reached out and ruffled his hair, her eyes filled with complete trust and indulgence: "It's okay, even if you invest it and lose it, so be it. Your husband can earn it back. From now on, you'll manage the money in our family, and I'll earn it. We'll have a clear division of labor."
Su Mu: "Okay, I'll try my best to manage it well."
Jiang Ran lowered his head and kissed Su Mu's soft lips, not too deeply, just a light touch. Su Mu also raised his head and kissed his chin in return.
The two of them hugged each other warmly, like two little animals snuggling together for warmth.
After a while, Su Mu leaned against Jiang Ran's chest, her fingers twirling around the strap of his bathrobe, and said, "Jiang Ran, when I have free time, can I do a live stream? I'm in my late pregnancy now, and the doctor said I can't move around too much and need to rest. But staying at home all day is a bit boring. I was thinking, maybe I could chat with my fans and share my recent situation or something?"
Jiang Ran replied, "Of course you can."
He was hoping Su Mu could find something she enjoyed doing to distract herself from the discomfort of late pregnancy: "But can I apply to be your live stream administrator?"
He had actually been annoyed by certain comments on the live stream for a long time. When Su Mu used to live stream while driving a forklift, although most fans were friendly, there were always some people with bad taste or ulterior motives who would post frivolous, teasing, or even sexually harassing remarks.
Back then, he could only get angry through the screen or send gifts to censor those comments. Now that he wants to act legitimately, he must nip those pests in the bud.
Su Mu refused: "No, you will abuse your power. I need to find a more impartial person."
Jiang Ran was unhappy and argued that she would be very fair.
Then, somehow, their conversation turned to the apartment they were currently living in. This was a property Jiang Ran had acquired a long time ago; it was in a great location, and the decor was according to his own preferences—cool colors, simple and modern.
But Su Mu has always had a special curiosity about this house because it holds their first memories.
He leaned against Jiang Ran's chest, looked up, a little embarrassed, but couldn't help asking curiously, "Jiang Ran, that night, was it really me who took the initiative?"
Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow: "Let's split it 50/50. You did have ulterior motives back then, but I didn't really resist, and I even encouraged it a little."
Su Mu was skeptical: "But I clearly remember that I had already given up on that idea. I thought, forget it, I can't do this, so it must have been you who took the initiative."
Seeing his conflicted yet adorable expression, Jiang Ran mischievously took out her tablet and said, "In that case, let's take a look."
Before Su Mu could react to what he was about to do, Jiang Ran skillfully entered the password and opened a monitoring app. Jiang Ran found the specific date and opened it.
Su Mu: "…………"
The familiar entrance hall view immediately appeared on the screen; it was the entrance to this apartment.
The time indicated it was late at night.
In the scene, the door opens, and Jiang Ran helps Su Mu, who is clearly unsteady on his feet and has a flushed face, walk in. Su Mu seems to say something, but it's unclear, before hooking his arm around Jiang Ran's neck.
Jiang Ran looked down at him, her eyes terrifyingly deep. The next second, Jiang Ran lowered her head and kissed him. The kiss seemed to be tentative and restrained at first, but soon, Su Mu tilted his head back, not only not pushing her away, but also kissing her back more passionately, his arms tightening around her.
The camera angle was limited, but the sound couldn't be blocked, and what happened next was self-evident.
The two tangled together, stumbling and staggering from the entrance hall into the house. It was easy to guess where the battle had spread and how Xiao He had been "created".
That's really a bit intense.
No wonder, no wonder Su Mu woke up the next morning with a sore back and couldn't find his pants anywhere. He finally found them on the sofa, his shirt in the bathroom, and one shoe in the entryway and the other in the bedroom.
The crime scenes were actually scattered in various locations.
Su Mu looked at the screen, blushing, and asked in surprise, "How can you even do this action?"
Su Mu said there was a reason why his back had been hurting for several days.
It's almost folded into three sections.
So, Shen, no wonder you conceived so accurately.
Jiang Ran touched her nose; it wasn't bleeding yet. "Humans really do have a rich imagination when it comes to the unknown."
It's rather strange that two people are looking at this kind of thing here.
Su Mu said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, I was planning to buy a condom in the middle of the meal, but when I saw the price, it was too expensive. I don't know why such a thing would go up in price, so I bought a box of chewing gum instead in a fit of anger."
As it turns out, Jiang Ran, who had tricked him, ate a few pieces of that chewing gum. It made her more alert and stronger, and she used all her strength on Su Mu.
Jiang Ran: "...Good idea!"
Even if Su Mu bought it, Jiang Ran wouldn't use it.
-
A note from the author:
The two adults reminisced together about the process of making the little crane.
Little Wood is carrying a chubby little boy.
Little Crane: I'm just chubby, not fat, okay? Baba
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