Upon seeing Jiang Mian cry, Jiang's father's expression immediately turned flustered and embarrassed, and the words blurted out without thinking: "Why are you crying? Your father isn't dead..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang's mother, who was standing next to him, slapped him hard on the back of the head: "What nonsense are you talking about?! Your son was just concerned about you. Look at you, you can't say anything nice."
Seeing her father's angry but speechless expression, Jiang Mian couldn't help but laugh.
Jiang's mother looked utterly disgusted. She grabbed a few tissues from the table and handed them to him, saying, "Hurry up and wipe your snot and all that. It's one thing for the older one to be a handful, but now the younger one is giving me things to do too. Do you think I'm just bored?"
After saying that, Jiang's mother picked up the kettle on the table and left the ward.
After everyone left, Jiang's father spoke up: "Don't argue with you. She's just going through menopause, and she's a bit irritable."
Jiang Mian laughed when she heard this: "You really dare to say that. Aren't you afraid my mom will be eavesdropping by the door? If she hears you talking bad about her, she might just pour a pot of boiling water on you."
Jiang's father chuckled and said, "Your mother is just worried about me. I was just telling her that I was thirsty and wanted to drink some hot water."
Caught off guard by this display of affection, Jiang Mian was speechless.
After the joke, he sat on the other empty bed, pondering what advice to give Jiang's father: "Dad, I..."
Before he could even open his mouth, Jiang's father chimed in, "I told them I didn't want you to know, but I still couldn't keep it a secret."
"If Uncle Wen hadn't called to tell me, how long were you planning to keep it a secret? Until you recovered and were discharged from the hospital?"
In a moment of carelessness, Jiang Mian let slip the secret.
Jiang's father snorted, "I knew it was your Uncle Wen who said it. When he was young, he pretended to be mute and befriended a bunch of herbs every day. Now that he's older, he's grown a mouth again."
Jiang Mian: "..."
"Don't interrupt!"
To gain the upper hand, Jiang Mian deliberately put on a cold face and forcefully steered the conversation back on track: "Once you're healed and discharged from the hospital, are you still planning to fight with others? Or are you thinking of dragging this injured body back to guarding our family's orchard?"
Seeing his son crying and sobbing just now, Jiang's father still felt that nothing had changed.
But now, seeing Jiang Mian's cold face as she rebuked him, a strange change gradually occurred in his heart.
The child seems to have really grown up.
Jiang's father sighed inwardly, noting that Jiang had gone from always being obedient to now arguing with him.
How can I describe this feeling?
Should we be angry? After all, this child has already learned to interfere with what adults do.
He should be relieved, at least his child still cares about him. As soon as he heard that he was injured, he took an overnight bus back.
Upon closer inspection, Jiang's father noticed that Jiang Mian's eyes were red, whether from crying or lack of rest throughout the night.
Children are ultimately a parent's Achilles' heel. Even if you speak to them with a cold face, you can't help but feel touched when you see your child suffering like this.
Jiang's father softened for a moment.
"Although the orchard isn't a living thing, I've been guarding it for half my life. I'm really reluctant to sell it all at once."
Life's journey, from childhood to adulthood, seems to be a constant process of loss.
As we grow up, we lose joy, we lose affection, and even our parents leave us.
When he first inherited the orchard, he didn't really pay much attention to it.
I just promised my father that I would take good care of this orchard.
Then, as the days went by, this orchard that belonged to the father's longing gradually became his longing as well.
Jiang's father had already lost a lot; besides his wife and children, it seemed that all he had left was this orchard.
Every time he passed by, he would look up and gaze at the past, and the memories would seem to come vividly to him.
Jiang Mian wanted to say something more, but her mother's angry voice came from the doorway: "You can't bear to part with him! You can't bear to part with him every time I ask! Jiang Chengye, what can I say to you!?"
As soon as she entered the room, Jiang's mother slammed the kettle down on the table.
"It would be one thing to make a little money tending a run-down orchard, but to make absolutely nothing and end up in the hospital at this age, you're quite something!"
Jiang Mian, the son, was still present. Even though Jiang's father was henpecked, he was still more responsive to gentle persuasion than force.
Now, after being rebuked by Jiang's mother, her face turned bright red, and she only said, "Long hair, short brains. I'm too lazy to explain to you."
"Yes, yes, I'm all talk and no action. You might as well just stay and live your lousy orchard. I'm taking Mianmian back to her parents' house right now. Anyway, in your eyes, my son and I aren't as important as your lousy orchard."
"I……"
Jiang's father was speechless after being rebuked. At this time, the more he said, the more mistakes he would make, so he simply shut his mouth.
Jiang Mian knew that his mother was just worried and confused. He had taken a closer look at her just now and realized that she must have been terrified these past few days. She hadn't had a good rest and her eyes looked much more tired.
His father knew this on purpose, which is why he tried to hold back and not argue with his mother.
When his parents argued, he, as the younger generation, naturally had to step in and act as a peacemaker.
"Let's not argue, let's talk this out."
This was Jiang Mian's first time mediating a conflict between elders, and it seemed that besides smoothing things over, he didn't know what else to offer in terms of comfort.
Jiang's mother was initially reluctant to leave, but Jiang Mian said she had been traveling all night and was extremely hungry.
His mother only decided to go home and get him something to eat after hearing that.
Before leaving, Jiang's mother seemed to wipe the corner of her eye. This small gesture was noticed by Jiang's father, who stared at her back for a long time.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
