Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan paused, then casually tossed her hair and said, "Shouldn't the mistress be back by now?"
"Mom, do you miss Third Brother?" Huang Xiaowu pouted. "I miss him too."
Changing the subject, she happily skipped over to Jiang Nuan's side, "Mom, Third Brother will be back in five days, and Third Sister-in-law will come back with him too."
“That’s right, today is the 25th, and in five days it will be the first day of the new year. Xiao San should indeed be back.” Xie Shi agreed.
"I wonder how he is doing out there. Is he eating well? Is he dressed warmly?" Jiang Nuan's face was full of worry, as if she were truly a mother worried about her son.
In fact, if Huang Lao Er hadn't mentioned it, she would have long forgotten about this son she had never met.
“Mother, don’t worry about that. My third brother is an apprentice at a restaurant in the county town. Although he doesn’t get paid, he’s never short of food. Besides, his wife is the restaurant owner’s daughter. She’s living a very comfortable life,” Huang Lao Er said enviously.
"That's good," Jiang Nuan said, her smile becoming even more genuine after getting the information she wanted. "I don't want them to be rich and powerful. I just want them to be well-fed, clothed, and live a peaceful and happy life."
“Mother,” Xie said with a hint of jealousy, “all of us who are alive and well in your presence are not as good as the two of my third brother. I’m not happy.”
Jiang Nuan rubbed her forehead and quickly comforted her, "How can you say that? You are all my precious children. I miss you all when you're not around. It's just that I mentioned the mistress. I only said that because the two of them are out."
"I see," Xie Shi said, her face beaming with joy after being soothed. She tightened her grip on Daya's hand before continuing, "I knew Mother wouldn't favor the third daughter."
Xie knew all her family members well, and she harbored the greatest animosity towards Huang Xiaosan.
Huang Xiaosan was just like him; he was very eloquent and good at flattering people. He could say and do things that hit people right where it hurts. Xie Shi regarded him as her number one enemy in the competition for favor.
She secretly believed that as long as Jiang Nuan didn't favor Huang Xiaosan, she would definitely become the most favored child in the Huang family.
“Definitely not,” Jiang Nuan explained earnestly, unaware of Xie’s thoughts. “Our children are all good children, very capable and very filial. It would be unfair to the others to favor one over the other. I can only treat them all equally. I hope you can understand.”
Jiang Nuanxin felt somewhat guilty as she said this.
Before, all she wanted was one child, to give him all her love, and to raise him with all her heart.
She lacked this kind of intense, all-consuming love growing up, so she especially wanted her children to experience it.
However, now that there are many children, she cannot favor one child over another; she can only strive to be fair.
“Mother,” Huang Laoda was very moved, “you have been very good to us and have given us a lot. It is our turn to take good care of you.”
“Yes,” Huang Lao Er chimed in, “Big brother is right. Mother, you don’t need to do anything or think too much. Just wait for us to take good care of you.”
"Mother," Xiao Wu said softly, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have always wanted you to love me the most. From now on, just love me the same way you love my brothers and sisters-in-law."
After Jiang Nuan finished speaking, the Huang brothers exchanged a glance and lowered their heads guiltily.
They had this idea before.
“Mother, I’m the one who made the biggest mistake,” Xie said, her face flushed with shame. “I shouldn’t have kept thinking about putting down the mistress so that you would like me the most.”
Jiang Nuan's words shocked Xie Shi. She had seen many biased families and heard all sorts of bizarre reasons for their bias. There were very few families that could truly treat everyone equally. Even if there were, it was usually to avoid causing conflict between brothers.
The story of Jiang Nuan, who was afraid of letting down the other children and had to treat them all equally, is truly shocking.
Although she couldn't receive exclusive favor, Madam Xie felt that if it was because of this, she could accept it.
“It’s nothing,” Jiang Nuan said nonchalantly. “Everyone wants to be loved and cherished, it’s only natural, you don’t need to blame yourselves.”
After a pause, Jiang Nuan added, "Even if I can't give you the exclusive love, I can guarantee that my love for you will be no less than that for other families."
At this moment, Jiang Nuan set a small goal: she wanted to become the most loving and charming widow in Huangjiakou.
“Mother, you don’t need to explain, we know,” Xie’s eyes were a little moist. “Mother treats us very well, we know that in our hearts.”
Xie felt that although Jiang Nuan had been kind to them in the past, there was always a veil between them, making it feel unreal.
Now that people say whatever they want, it's become more down-to-earth and makes people feel closer to them.
“Yes,” Jiang Nuan explained softly, “I’m just afraid you’ll misunderstand. One person’s energy is limited, and there are many people in the family. There are bound to be times when I can’t take care of everyone. If anyone is wronged, remember to tell me. Only by knowing your mistakes can you correct them.”
At this moment, Jiang Nuan felt somewhat fortunate. Luckily, she arrived a few years earlier. If it had been a few years earlier, with so many young children, even if she were to split herself in two, she might not have been able to manage.
Thinking about it this way, Jiang Nuan inexplicably felt like she had won without lifting a finger.
Putting everything else aside, all these children are exceptionally filial, a rare sight indeed. One can only imagine how much effort Jiang Shi put into raising them...
“Mother, we won’t,” Huang Lao Er said. “We already know your difficulties and we won’t be so insensible anymore.”
“I know you won’t,” Jiang Nuan said, slapping her head. “We’ve gone off-topic. We were going to talk about the family reunion banquet.”
"Mother has finally remembered," Huang Xiaosi said resentfully, looking at Jiang Nuan.
He wanted to interject several times, but he was afraid of spoiling the mood and getting beaten up, so he didn't dare to speak.
Jiang Nuan was a little embarrassed and glared at Huang Xiaosi, "Isn't everything already arranged? What are you yelling about?"
"If Mother says so, then so be it." Huang Xiaosi shrugged helplessly.
“Mother, now that we’ve finished talking about the family reunion banquet, we should talk about getting on the family tree,” said the eldest son. “I think we shouldn’t rush to get on the family tree. Let’s wait until the third son comes back, and then we can all get on the tree together.”
“Okay,” Jiang Nuan suddenly remembered a question, “Are our Da Niu and Er Niu on the family tree?”
In principle, a child can be included in the family genealogy at the age of three, but each time a name is recorded in the genealogy, a fee is required, which many families are reluctant to pay, so they just delay until there are more children to be recorded together.
“No,” Xie Shi tapped Xiao Wu’s head. “Xiao Wu hasn’t been added to the family genealogy yet, but he can be included this time.”
At this point, Wang's eyes lit up. "Mother, shouldn't we name Da Niu and Er Niu?"
“I’ve already decided,” Jiang Nuan said with a smile. “Da Niu will be named Huang Hao, and Er Niu will be named Huang Xu.”
“Huang Hao, Huang Xu,” Wang repeated, looking at Jiang Nuan with a puzzled expression, not understanding what she meant.
"I hope my two sons have a bright future, and that their future will be as dazzling and bright as the sun."
"I see," Old Huang exclaimed excitedly, slapping the table. "It's good to be knowledgeable; even naming things is so profound!"
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