Chapter 13 Dumplings
Jiang Family
Jiang Mi took Xiao Jiang Bao home. Along the way, Xiao Jiang Bao's eyes were fixed on the braised pig's trotters. Jiang Mi opened the oil paper package and asked Xiao Jiang Bao to take a bite. Xiao Jiang Bao said, "Go home and eat."
Jiang Mi grabbed a piece of soft and sticky pork skin and fed it to him, "Children are not very hungry, eat something first to fill your stomach."
Xiao Jiangbaoxiang narrowed her eyes and took a long time to eat the big mouthful of meat before she was willing to swallow it.
When the two arrived home, Jiang's mother was chopping dumpling fillings at home and stewing pork bone soup in the casserole. The aroma could be smelled outside the house.
Jiang Mi and Xiao Jiang Bao ran to Jiang Ma. Jiang Mi said, "Mom, we brought back shepherd's purse!"
Jiang Ma: "You've dug so much! Are you tired? Let me make you two a bowl of bone soup first."
Jiang Mi handed the braised pig's trotter to Jiang Ma: "Mom, divide this up. Let's eat two pieces first. We've been smelling it all the way."
Xiao Jiang Bao was still greedy: "Yes, it's delicious."
Jiang Ma was shocked: "That's a lot of money, right? Where did you get so much money?"
Jiang Mi: "It's free, it's a gift from someone else." She put the three fish in the basin and said: "This can also be considered a gift."
Jiang Ma: "...Who would be willing to give such a good thing?"
Xiao Jiang Bao: "Auntie, save me, little brother."
"Saved the little brother?" Mother Jiang asked back. She didn't use a knife to cut the braised pig's trotters, but tore them into small pieces with her hands. After tearing them apart, she gave half of the pig's trotter to Jiang Mi, and also served her a bowl of bone soup, sprinkled with chopped green onions and coriander, which was fragrant.
The pig bones have been kicked until there is no meat left, just drink the soup.
Jiang Mi and Xiao Jiang Bao washed their hands and sat aside to eat the hot pig's trotters. They were soft, chewy and fat but not greasy. They melted in the mouth and were very delicious.
To satisfy your craving, you have to eat meat in big mouthfuls.
She pinched a large piece of meat with tendons attached and fed it to Jiang Ma, and began to talk about how she saved people today.
Jiang Ma originally thought it was just a rescue operation, like a child falling down and being helped up by Jiang Mi, but it turned out to be a case of catching a human trafficker! She saved a baby who had been abducted by human traffickers.
Jiang Ma:!!!
Her blood boiled when she heard this. Her daughter was so amazing.
Jiang Mi's story was rather sketchy, but Jiang Ma had more questions. When she heard something she couldn't understand, she asked questions like, "How do you know she's a human trafficker?" "You're so brave! What if someone else kidnapped you and Xiao Jiangbao?" "How do you know there are accomplices among the people?" "Is the director really going to find you a job?"
By the end, she was completely critical of the human traffickers, saying how many families had been destroyed. She hoped every human trafficker could be identified and every abducted woman and child could be rescued. She also praised Jiang Mi for her cleverness and courage in doing such a good deed.
Mother Jiang looked at Jiang Mi with a somewhat drifting look in her eyes. The current Mimi seemed to be the same as she was when she was a child. Jiang Mi was so smart and clever when she was a child. The little child was full of confidence in everything she did.
At that time, she wondered what her little girl would be like when she grew up.
Jiang Mi: "Our little Jiangbao is also very brave, a little hero. When I was being chased, he didn't cry at all and just hugged me tightly."
Mother Jiang praised Xiao Jiangbao again. The child's mouth was full of oil, and being praised like this, his face flushed and his eyes sparkled. "Little hero."
After Jiang Mi finished eating the braised pig's trotters, she washed her hands and started picking wild vegetables.
Jiang Ning and Shen Huaicheng came back together. Shen Huaicheng was carrying two big watermelons. He said that he met a fellow villager carrying watermelons on the road, so he exchanged two for them.
Jiang Ma: "Oh, watermelon is a rare thing. Let's open one after dinner. You can take the other one back and let your parents and sister try it too."
Shen Huaicheng said that he would buy some watermelon to take back and eat it another day, so these would be left here.
Jiang Mi smiled and said, "You just do whatever my mother tells you to do. As a son-in-law, you just need to be obedient."
Shen Huaicheng was flattered by these words, his mouth grinning from ear to ear, as if he was now the son-in-law of the Jiang family.
Jiang Ning: ...
"Mom, have you kneaded the dough?"
Jiang Ma said, "No, we're using fine flour this time. We're going to make fine flour dumplings."
Jiang Ning opened the cupboard and scooped out some flour. She asked curiously, "What good news is this? Why would Mom be so willing to give it away?"
In the past, even during the Chinese New Year, the dumpling wrappers were made of a mixture of grains and flour. Dumplings made with this kind of flour could not be boiled but only steamed.
Dumplings are best eaten cooked.
Jiang Ma: "When your father and the others come back, we'll tell them together. We'll tell them now and we'll tell them again later." She brought a plate of braised pig's trotters to Shen Huaicheng and said with a smile, "Eat a piece of braised pig's head first to fill your stomach."
Shen Huaicheng: "Thank you, Auntie." He reached out and pinched a piece to feed Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning's hands were covered in flour, so she took a bite from Shen Huaicheng's hand and said, "It's delicious. This doesn't taste like the food in a state-owned restaurant." She then asked Jiang Ma, "Where did you buy it? It must have cost a lot of money."
Shen Huaicheng ate the remaining pig’s trotter that Jiang Ning had bitten off in one bite. It was so delicious!!!
Jiang Ning: ...
Jiang Mi happened to see it and said that her brother-in-law was quite shameless, "Brother-in-law, does it smell good?"
Shen Huaicheng: “Fragrant!”
Jiang Mi chuckled, and Jiang Ning's cheeks turned red.
Jiang Ma boasted, "This is free. Someone gave it to Mimi. And these three fish were also given to her by others."
Jiang Ning: "...Mom, this good news is related to Mimi? You are teasing me! Tell me first, and then I will tell Dad and the others when they come back, okay?" She quickly kneaded the flour into a smooth ball.
Jiang Ma: "That's fine." She couldn't hold it in any longer and wanted to speak.
After Jiang Ning and Shen Huaicheng heard the whole story, Jiang Ning was stunned for a moment before she spoke: "You caught the human traffickers in just one trip? And you even busted the gang! Your IQ is incredible!"
Jiang Mi said proudly: "It's a small matter. It's also the little baby's luck that he happened to meet me."
Shen Huaicheng had always thought Xiaomei was cute and smart, but he hadn't expected her to be so meticulous! Catching the traffickers was entirely Jiang Mi's credit; she'd even busted them all. He began praising her profusely, calling her beautiful and intelligent, brave and resourceful, capable of handling matters on her own, and a mastermind. He heaped praise on her, showering her with compliments: beautiful and intelligent, brave and resourceful, capable of handling matters on her own, and a mastermind.
Jiang Mi was so happy to be praised that she couldn't stop smiling.
"Brother-in-law, you speak so nicely. How do you usually praise my second sister?"
Chen Huaicheng: "She is so beautiful that fishes and geese sink to the bottom of their bodies. Jade is as beautiful as flowers. Bright eyes and white teeth. Slender and graceful. Beautiful and intelligent..."
Jiang Ning: "Shut up!"
Shen Huaicheng: “I’ll shut up.”
Jiang Mi and Jiang Ma laughed to death. When Xiao Jiangbao saw the adults laughing, he also giggled.
Jiang Ning's face turned red. Jiang Mi said, "Second sister, why are you blushing? What compliment did your brother-in-law give you?"
This flattery is very accurate.
Chen Huaicheng then praised Jiang Ma again: She is kind and gentle, amiable, dexterous, smart and capable.
Jiang Mi added a few more with kind eyes, outstanding demeanor and natural beauty.
Jiang Ma's face also turned red: "Okay, stop talking."
Xiao Jiang Bao: "Praise me, praise me."
Children are easier to praise, they are smart, innocent, and smart...
Jiang Mi: "Second sister, why don't you praise your brother-in-law!"
Jiang Ning: "Thick-skinned?"
Jiang Mi hahahaha.
Shen Huaicheng felt aggrieved: “Thank you Ningning for praising me.”
Jiang Ning: "Handsome and talented."
Everyone is happy.
After Jiang Ze and Liu Yun came back and knew about this, they both praised it highly.
Liu Yun: "Mimi is amazing. She can catch a human trafficker just by going out to drink a soda. If a human trafficker carries a child past me, I definitely won't notice."
Jiang Ze: "Even if it were me, I wouldn't be able to find it. If it were so easy to find, all the human traffickers would have been caught. Mimi is really smart, what's with her brain?"
With everyone working together, the dumplings were made quickly. After Jiang Ze braised two palm-sized fish, it was time to eat.
Jiang Mi stood at the door and looked out: "It's so late, why hasn't my dad come home yet? He doesn't have night shifts this month. He gets off work early every day."
Jiang Ma: "He must have been delayed by something and didn't ask anyone to come back to tell us. I guess he won't be back too late. Let's eat first. Leave a plate of dumplings for him and serve him when he comes back." She served another plate of dumplings and asked Jiang Ning to take it to Aunt Zhao's house next door.
Aunt Zhao used to take good care of the Jiang family. When the children were young, Jiang's parents had to go to work and would occasionally ask Aunt Zhao to help take care of them.
Aunt Zhao would always bring some good food to her family, no matter if it was something delicious, to satisfy the children's cravings.
Even if the Jiang family cooked something delicious, they would never forget Aunt Zhao.
Jiang Ze left a braised fish and two pig's trotters in the pot.
They had just finished eating dumplings when their neighbor Zhao Qing stopped by the door on his bicycle and called out, "Auntie, Aunt Jiang is sick. Uncle Jiang asked me to tell you that he's gone to see her. You don't have to wait for him to eat."
Jiang Ma's heart skipped a beat and she came out of the house: "My mother-in-law is sick? Is it serious?"
Zhao Qing scratched his head. "When Second Aunt came to the factory to look for Second Uncle Jiang and Uncle Jiang, she said that Grandma's old illness had recurred. I was very worried."
Mother Jiang: "Thank you, Zhao Qing. I'll go check it out right away."
After Zhao Qing left, Jiang Ning's face was filled with anger. "What's going on again? I don't know how Dad will suffer after he gets over here."
Jiang Mi thought back to Old Lady Jiang. To the younger Jiang family, she was a kind and gentle old lady who loved Jiang Aidan like the apple of her eye and treated her three children like her own precious darlings. But to the older Jiang family, she was sarcastic, hypocritical, and cunning. She either beat or scolded Jiang Aiguo, and never had a good face for the Jiang Yan children, always looking at them with a cold eye.
Mother Jiang went to change her clothes and prepared to go over and take a look.
Jiang Ning: "Mom, don't go. My second brother and I can go over and take a look."
Su Zhenzhen used to be asking for trouble, just waiting to be scolded by the old lady.
Jiang Mi said with a cold face: "It's probably because of the textile factory. Mom will go over too. Let's see how they want to bully our family this time."
Jiang Ning was about to speak when Shen Huaicheng gently pulled Jiang Ning's arm and she shut up again.
Today's Jiang Mi is no longer the poor little girl who was bullied by others in the past.
The family walked towards Xiao Jiang's house, Shen Huaicheng followed, and Liu Yun did not go, but stayed at home to take care of Xiao Jiangbao.
But I didn't dare to take care of the child, for I was afraid that the scolding and beating of Old Lady Jiang would scare the little one.
On the way, they walked quickly. Jiang Mi said briefly, "My brother-in-law also talked about the election for deputy director of the textile factory yesterday. Director Chen of the Propaganda Department and Liao Weiming, the president of the guild, both have chances. Now is a critical moment. Grandma wants to deal with Dad. It's probably because of this. She should deliberately make a big fuss so that the neighbors know that Dad is clinging to Director Chen's thighs and building momentum for the Propaganda Department. It would be best to give Dad a reputation for having ulterior motives and bad intentions.
Besides, my cousin's reputation has been damaged. If I want to restore it, I have to reframe the previous events. It would be best if I faked illness and suicide to deliberately frame my cousin's family and colluded with the Propaganda Department. If I were to make a big deal out of it, I would probably have to say that Director Chen promised to find me a job in the future so that I could feign illness in the countryside and return to the city.
Jiang Ma suddenly became anxious, her voice choking with sobs: "Our lives have finally gotten better. What should we do?"
Jiang Ning: "We've taken every step firmly on the ground. Mom, don't panic. Just listen to what Mimi has to say."
Jiang Mi continued, "Mom, this problem is easy to solve. It's just that Second Uncle's family wants to step on our family to get promoted, bring down Director Chen, prevent Dad from being the team leader, and ruin my reputation. Then let Liao Weiming be the deputy director and Second Uncle be the chairman to clean up Jiang Shuyin's bad reputation. When you go to Second Uncle's house, as long as they put a accusation on us, you will cry and put the accusation back."
Jiang Ma was stunned when she heard this, but when she saw Jiang Mi sober and rational, she felt relieved.
Jiang Mi was afraid that Jiang Ma wouldn't cry, "Mom, can you cry? If not, it's okay, I'll go cry. But my crying won't be as effective as yours."
Jiang Ma: "...I will cry too."
Jiang Ma was usually quite articulate. After all, she had worked in the supply and marketing cooperative for so many years, so she was quite articulate. But in front of Old Lady Jiang, she became a mute person.
Jiang Mi continued, "Don't worry about what they say. Just say that Second Uncle wants to cling to the president's leg, and that your cousin wants to clear her name, and that they can't stand seeing Dad become a team leader. If they bring up the deputy director election, then you can say that the president wants to be deputy director, and Second Uncle wants to be president. Did someone promise Second Uncle that if he could bring down Director Chen, he would become president? If Dad had any crooked ways, he would have made our family live in a slum, without even a house, and that he worked diligently for twenty-two years before finally becoming a team leader?"
Mother Jiang memorized it in her mind and said that she remembered it clearly.
Jiang Mi added another shot of encouragement: "The most important thing is that I just caught the human traffickers today, so no one can put any blame on me. No matter how powerful they are today, they will be ridiculous once the news gets out. This news will spread throughout Bincheng in less than a day."
Mother Jiang's heart was completely at peace. She became more confident and took bigger steps.
Jiang Ning also quickly told Jiang's mother about Jiang Shuyin and Yan Haoyang making love in the park.
Mother Jiang found it unbelievable. How could Jiang Shuyin do such a stupid thing?
So we arrived at Xiao Jiang's house.
Xiao Jiang's family lives in the staff building of the textile factory on the third floor. The room is large, with three bedrooms and a living room. The house allocated by the textile factory is the best here, and the people living next door are all leaders.
It is very difficult to divide a house, let alone such a big house.
Jiang Ning: "Second Uncle's house is so nice, with three bedrooms and a living room, only leaders can live in it. If anyone knows how to flatter someone, it has to be Second Uncle."
As soon as the three people got downstairs, they heard angry noises coming from upstairs.
Old Mrs. Jiang: "Are you trying to piss me off to death? Why did I give birth to a thing like you? Who taught you these crooked ways? Can't you just work hard and be down-to-earth? Why are you all so cunning? You're going to drive Shuyin to death."
Jiang Shufen cried in front of him: "Shuyin is such a good girl, who wouldn't praise her? How could Jiang Mi be so cruel? She wants to step on Shuyin's reputation to get to the top. How can Shuyin live like this?"
Jiang Shuyin advised: "Mom, don't say that. Jiang Mi must not have done it on purpose. We are cousins. It's okay."
Jiang Aiguo: "Mom, Mimi is not that kind of person. Ai Dang, your daughter's friends are insulting Mimi and want to drive her to death..."
With a muffled 'bang', Jiang Aiguo's voice was interrupted.
"I'll beat you to death, you unfilial boy! I shouldn't have given birth to you in the first place. You're going to piss me off to death."
Jiang Ning's expression turned grim: "How can you be so energetic and vigorous as to be sick?"
Jiang Mi climbed the stairs slowly and when she reached the third floor, she saw a group of people gathered at the door of her second uncle's house. Jiang Mi ran and squeezed in, and saw Jiang Aiguo kneeling at the door. Her second uncle's family was standing in the living room, and old lady Jiang was hitting Jiang Aiguo on the back with a cane.
Jiang Aiguo's eyes were red, and he knelt there stiffly: "Mom, you care about Shuyin's reputation, but don't you think about Mimi's reputation? Mimi is also your granddaughter. Are you trying to force Mimi to death? Our Mimi is kind to others and has never done anything to let others down..."
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