Chapter 8
Jiang Jiang followed his new parents to his new home.
At first glance, the Lin family is the most well-off family in Dongxi Village. They have their own gate and courtyard, with a total of six cave dwellings, which are bright and spacious. The courtyard wall is made of blue bricks, which is unique in Dongxi Village. There is a jujube tree planted at the door. In winter, all the leaves have fallen off, but there are still a few unpicked fruits left on the tree.
Lin Youqing took the child off the bicycle, took the things in his wife's hands, and the family of three walked in.
It was Li Hongmei's turn to cook today. When she saw the third brother and his wife coming back with a baby girl, she was immediately shocked by their attitude, but at the same time she felt unwilling. Why did this wild child receive such treatment? It was obvious that her Feng Yin was the third brother's biological niece.
She splashed the water aside and said sarcastically, "Oh, this is Jiang Fusheng's daughter, right? You're bringing her home right now? Aren't you afraid her mother will be angry?"
"Mom has been angry many times in the past few days, so this time won't be a big deal."
The water from washing the pot almost splashed on Jiang Jiang. He Guijuan said unhappily that she could understand that Grandma Lin was not happy about them adopting Jiang Jiang, but why was she, Li Hongmei, angry?
"Third brother, you bought a lot of delicious food on this trip to the market, right?" She looked at the things in their hands greedily. The third brother and his wife had a salary, so they were always generous when buying things.
"I didn't buy anything. I'm going to take the kids back to the house first."
He Guijuan did not plan to take out the milk candy and egg cake she bought from the supply and marketing cooperative.
The eldest sister-in-law is not here. If I take it out now, I'm afraid all the egg cakes will fall into the mouths of Goudan and Caogen from the second sister-in-law's family, and Shuanzhu and Tiezhu from the eldest sister-in-law's family will not be able to get any.
Lin Youqing and his wife took Jiang Jiang back to the Nakong kiln where they lived.
This kiln is obviously a kiln for intellectuals.
The kiln was very clean. The walls were painted snow-white with slaked lime plaster and hung with green curtains. There was a sofa and a desk inside. On the desk were pens, manuscripts, and a few books. In the corner was an old elm wardrobe, and the clothes were neatly folded beside the kang.
He Guijuan put all the fabrics she bought in the closet, and took out a portion of the White Rabbit milk candies and egg cakes and stuffed them into the chest of drawers under the door, intending to keep this portion for her daughter. The rest was divided into three portions, one each for Old Lady Lin, Zhang Yueju, and Li Hongmei.
He Guijuan took out a measuring tape from the closet and said, "Jiang Jiang, come here. Mom will measure your size."
Jiang Jiang obediently raised her hand to let her measure.
He Guijuan felt distressed because her daughter was so thin that only bones were left.
"Okay." He Guijuan wrote down Jiang Jiang's measurements and pointed to the sofa next to her. "You and Dad sit down and rest for a while. I'll go cook."
"Mom, let me help you." Jiang Jiang said hurriedly. It was becoming more and more natural for her to call dad and mom now.
"No, just rest in the room with your dad. I'll call you out when it's done."
Jiang Jiang nodded and sat down next to Lin Youqing.
Lin Youqing touched his daughter's head.
"Sister-in-law." Zhang Yueju knocked on the door.
"Sister-in-law?"
He Guijuan and her husband looked at each other, pushed open the door, and saw Zhang Yueju standing at the door with a pile of clothes in her hands.
"This must be Jiang Jiang." Zhang Yueju's eyes fell on Jiang Jiang.
"Jiang Jiang, this is my aunt."
Jiang Jiang stood up hurriedly, moved closer and called out, "Aunt."
"Oh, he looks like a smart and well-behaved child."
"Sister-in-law, what do you want from me?"
"This is my niece's old clothes. Today, your eldest brother and I went to visit relatives in my mother's house. My eldest sister-in-law gave it to me. I just passed by the kitchen and heard the second son's wife say that you brought Jiang Jiang back, so I brought it here to show you. Do you want to let Jiang Jiang wear it first? Look, it's still new. I washed it very clean."
The dress was originally intended to be brought back for Fengyin, but if she gave it to Fengyin, Li Hongmei and her daughter would not remember her at all, so it would be better to give it to He Guijuan as a favor.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." He Guijuan accepted it with a smile. She was worried that she had no clothes to change for her daughter these two days.
As a reward, she also put two yuan into the egg cake and milk candy that was given to Zhang Yueju.
After He Guijuan left, Jiang Jiang returned to the sofa and sat down, looking at his adoptive father.
"Dad, my family over there..." Although her family was very poor and had no valuables, she was thinking about the old hen because no one would feed it when she was not at home.
"After dinner, Dad will come over to feed the chicken for you. After the New Year, we will take it to the city and Dad will build a chicken coop for it in the yard."
Jiang Jiang has lived with this old hen for the past two years and they have a deep bond. She probably wouldn't be willing to leave the hen alone in the village.
"Thank you, Dad."
"Dad, I will clean the chicken coop for it every day." Jiang Jiang whispered. Raising chickens is not like raising cats and dogs. It is bound to be dirty.
Lin Youqing patted his daughter's head with relief.
Thinking of the county town, Jiang Jiang couldn't help but look longing. She had been to the commune only a few times since she was a child, let alone the county town, which was a place she had never been to and was hard to imagine.
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