Chapter 10 Chapter 10 He is number one in my heart
The preschool classes in the village are not very regular. School ends very early and the children run home very early. Those who don’t want to go home too early will run around and play. Everyone has gotten used to it.
Jiang Dong's mother said that her son Jiangzai is a very well-behaved child. He won't run around everywhere and will tell her specifically when he wants to go out to play.
Jiangzai was carrying a small flowery schoolbag made by his grandmother. The style was simple, but because it was sewn with two patterns cut from some unwanted clothes, it looked very beautiful, and Jiangzai liked it very much.
Jiang Dong's mother treats Jiang Zai very well. Although she loves both of her grandsons, she has to put more energy into it because Jiang Zai has always been raised by her side, and the feelings between them are naturally different.
Ma Lijuan used to complain about her, as a grandmother, taking care of Jiang Zai more and less of her son. However, at that time, Jiang Dong had been giving money to the family, and the Jiang family had never split up. All the gifts and money for weddings and funerals in the name of the family were paid by Jiang Dong. If there were other expenses on weekdays, Jiang Dong would give it to his mother every month for her to use.
Because of this situation, Ma Lijuan had nothing to say.
When Jiang Zai came back and saw Xia Li, he was actually very excited, but as a little kid, he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he glanced at Xia Li and ran to his grandmother's room with his little schoolbag on his back.
Charlie called out to him happily when he first came back, but did not stop him.
Jiang Zai stayed in the house for a while before coming out and squatting on the floor to play with Jiang Mingming. Jiang Mingming was even younger than Jiang Zai, not even old enough to go to preschool, so she stayed at home, either with her mother or someone else watching over her at home.
The two children can play together when there is no conflict. After all, children are sometimes innocent and love to play. Having a brother who is not much different from them at home will always make them less lonely.
Both of them held a few small round iron pieces in their hands, which were made from flattened beer bottle caps left by adults, and square pieces folded from notebook covers. The two people could take turns hitting each other. As long as they hit the other person's back, they would win.
There are high-quality and low-quality cards. Of course, metal cards like beer bottle caps are high-quality because they are hard to find. Among paper cards, there are also children making them out of old books. Because the paper is harder and thicker, it won't be limp after being folded, so it is relatively good.
Almost all the older boys in the village play this kind of game, while the younger ones are just imitating them. No matter what, the older boys have always been their "role models". Whatever they play, the younger ones must also play.
What Jiang Zai and Jiang Mingming had in their hands wasn't something they had the ability to win, but rather something their two fathers had each managed to do. As long as they didn't go out and fight others, they could probably play for a year without any problems.
Jiang Mingming urged Jiang Zai to hurry up, but Jiang Zai was thinking that he hadn't seen her since he came back from playing outside the day before yesterday, and he hadn't seen her the whole day yesterday either. He thought she had left and disappeared, and he felt a little sad.
Jiang Zai didn't know what it felt like to have a mother. He always envied Jiang Mingming for having a mother, even though his aunt didn't like him.
He had asked his father where his mother was before, and his father said that his mother had gone out to work and would be back soon. When his father was at home, he often showed him pictures of his mother, so he always knew what she looked like.
He didn't know if his mother would leave today. If only his father was home now. He actually missed his father a little.
Jiang Dong's mother saw her two grandsons playing over there, and Xia Li was sitting nearby watching.
She walked to the wall, took down a small shovel hanging on the wall, and called out to Charlie, "Charlie, you have nothing to do now, come and help me shovel some chives."
Xia Li responded, smiled brightly at her son who looked up, then got up from the stool and went to the backyard with Jiang Dong's mother.
Jiang Dong's mother has been taking good care of the vegetable garden in the backyard of the Jiang family, planting a lot of vegetables for the family to eat on a daily basis.
She called Xia Li over, but didn't actually let her do it, because she was worried that she wouldn't be able to control her hands and damage her leeks.
Xia Li was also looking around in the vegetable garden. Seeing that Jiang Dongma's expression was a little serious, she knew that she didn't want her to come over to help with the work. She probably wanted to say something to her.
Xia Li didn't urge her. She waited until Jiang Dong's mother had shoveled two or three handfuls of leeks before she heard her speak.
However, Jiang Dong's mother did not talk about Jiang Zai directly, but asked about Xia Li's situation.
"Xia Li, tell me the truth, do you have a lover outside? You have been away for two or three years. If no one seduces you, I don't believe you would run away from home and never come back." She never believed that a woman would leave her husband and children and run away for other things.
These days there are only a few reasons why women run away: either they can't make ends meet, or they have another man outside.
Jiang Dong's mother felt her family's circumstances were quite good within the village, and Jiang Dong was capable, always relying on her for everything. Sometimes, even as a mother, she couldn't stand it, but what could she do? Life was theirs, and as long as they were both doing well, anything was fine. As the old saying goes, if you're not deaf and dumb, you shouldn't be a patriarch.
So it is impossible that Xia Li is not good because of her family conditions. She was worried from the beginning when Dongzi wanted to marry this daughter-in-law. It was because he wanted to marry a virtuous wife. A country daughter-in-law is too beautiful and he can't bear to keep his eyes off her!
Xia Li was probably not surprised by this question. She simply answered Jiang Dong's mother very solemnly: "No. I know I have wronged Jiang Dong, but I have not wronged him in this regard. I can swear that if I, Xia Li, have ever wronged Jiang Dong in any way in my previous relationship with him, I will die a miserable death."
Jiang Dong's mother's expression relaxed a little, but she then asked Xia Li: "Do you have anyone outside now?"
"Mom, what are you thinking? I'm so busy at work outside, and I even took a leave to come back this time. How can I have the time to look for a man? Besides, I haven't been attracted to any of the men I've met outside yet."
Jiang Dong's mother thought to herself, "You have such high standards! You didn't like our Jiang Dong, and you said you didn't like the ones outside either." However, she continued to ask Xia Li about her recent experiences. Xia Li told her everything she could, focusing on her work. She knew what Jiang Dong's mother's detailed questions meant, and to reassure her, she had to demonstrate her ability: she could fully support Jiang Zai now, and even if the child's father was gone, she wouldn't let him suffer.
Jiang Dong's mother said nothing, but nodded continuously while listening. It seemed that Xia Li's promise to introduce jobs to the young people in the village was not empty talk.
"Mom, do you agree?" Charlie was very excited.
Seeing Xia Li's expression, Jiang Dong's mother couldn't help but criticize her, "What do you mean I agreed to? What did I agree to?"
Xia Li smiled and went over to help Jiang Dong's mother take the leeks from her hand. She assured her, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm Jiang's biological mother and I will definitely treat him well. I understand your concerns. Don't worry, the fact that Jiang Dong is the child's father will never change. I won't teach the child to disown his father."
"Xia Li, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that people's hearts are fickle! Now you're so devoted to Jiang Zi, and I trust you, but what if you have a man and a child? Where will Jiang Zi still rank in your heart?"
Xia Li thought she was worried that she would not let the child recognize the father, but she didn't expect that this was what the grandmother really cared about. She was really thinking about the child.
Although Xia Li had never thought about this question, she had the answer long ago: "Mom, as for men, I don't know if I will have another one. But child, don't worry, Jiangzai will be my only child, and there will never be another one."
Jiang Dong's mother nodded, perhaps just wanting to see Xia Li's attitude. As for the fact that Xia Li didn't plan to have children in the future, she didn't believe it at all.
But Xia Li knew that what she said was true. She would not plan to have a second child in the future, so Jiang Zai was indeed her only child now and in the future.
Jiang Dong's mother was always worried. She didn't know whether her decision was right or not, and whether Jiang Dong would blame her when he came back.
"I know you can find out how our Jiang Dong has been doing these past three years. He's been both a father and a mother, going out to earn money and coming back to find you. In short, he hasn't let you down at all. If you still have a conscience, take good care of his son. I won't force you to bring Jiang Cub back to see me more often, but you can at least write to him more often. In the future, if you end up with someone else and don't want to support our Jiang Cub anymore, just send him back to me. Our Jiang Dong will be back in a few years."
Xia Li kept nodding, just to reassure this grandmother who doted on her child. She also said that she would leave her address and phone number so that Jiangzai could contact his grandmother frequently.
In the end, Jiang Dong's mother finally said, "Why don't you ask what happened to Jiang Dong? Forget it, what am I saying? Why didn't you come back earlier or later? You come back now to have a child. Can you still remember him? Xia Li, I have never seen such a cunning and cruel person as you." Her tears flowed down her weather-beaten face.
Xia Li lowered her eyes, then slowly hugged her and called out guiltily: "Mom----------"
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