A gentle female voice suddenly rang out, carrying a hint of anticipation and longing.
Then, a series of footsteps approached from afar, and a woman jogged over to Jiang Wanwan and her father.
"Home..." The woman's voice trailed off. Her eyes were fixed on Jiang Wanwan. "You, you are..." Her voice trembled with excitement.
Jiang Jialin nodded, his eyes reddening as he looked at his wife. "Mingzhu, this is our biological daughter who was switched at birth. Her name is Wanwan."
Jiang Wanwan realized that the woman in front of her was her biological mother, Lu Mingzhu.
She glanced quickly at Lu Mingzhu. Her mother was about thirty years old, with a small face the size of a palm. Her skin wasn't particularly fair, but her features were gentle and charming. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, and she had the same eyebrows and eyes as herself.
While Jiang Wanwan was sizing up Lu Mingzhu, Lu Mingzhu was also sizing her up.
Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like peach blossoms—she looked exactly like herself. Her small, pert nose and the slight upturn of her thin, pink lips were exactly the same as her husband's.
At that moment, she was absolutely certain that the little girl with a bright red lotus blooming between her eyebrows was her biological daughter whom she had switched at birth twelve years ago.
"Wan, Wanwan," Lu Mingzhu said, feeling a little flustered. She wanted to hug her long-lost biological daughter, but she was worried that her actions would frighten her.
Is Wanwan like Wan'er, and doesn't like being held by herself?
Jiang Wanwan immediately understood what Lu Mingzhu meant, but she felt somewhat awkward making such an intimate gesture after only meeting Lu Mingzhu.
However, she can still bring herself to call him "mother".
If you can call someone "father," then calling someone "mother" shouldn't be too difficult.
Immediately, Jiang Wanwan smiled sweetly and called out in a clear voice, "Mother!"
"Oh!" Tears streamed down Lu Mingzhu's face. She quickly lowered her head and wiped them away with her sleeve.
Perhaps the commotion at the door was a bit too loud, attracting the attention of everyone in the Jiang family.
In an instant, the courtyard was packed with people, all staring at her.
Old Jiang held a pipe in his hand, squinted slightly, and took a few puffs. "You're Jia Lin's biological daughter?"
Grandma Jiang also squinted her eyes, which darted around as she looked Jiang Wanwan up and down.
Jiang Wanwan nodded, a sweet smile spreading across her face. "Hehehe, yes. Hello Grandpa, my name is Jiang Wanwan."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Jiang family members who were watching huddled together and whispered among themselves.
"Jiang Wanwan? Her name is Jiang Wanwan? Could she be another lazy and gluttonous girl like Jiang Wan'er?"
The Jiang family habitually called Su Wan'er Jiang Wan'er.
"Tsk, probably just like Jiang Wan'er, always complaining about our family."
Two boys, around thirteen or fourteen years old, huddled together and whispered to each other.
Old Jiang suddenly turned around, glared at the two boys, and said, "What are you two bastards spouting nonsense about? Want me to give you a good whack?"
As he spoke, Old Jiang raised his pipe.
The two boys shrank their necks, covered their heads, and kept their mouths tightly shut.
"Wanwan, you've been traveling all this time, you must be hungry, right? Come on, let's have dinner first, we can talk about other things tomorrow." Old Jiang, seeing Jiang Wanwan's tired face, spoke up as the head of the family.
“Yes, yes, Dad is right. Let’s eat first. We’re out of kerosene, and if we eat any later, it will be dark.” A woman in her thirties nodded repeatedly.
Afterwards, the dozen or so members of Old Jiang's family walked towards a room directly opposite the courtyard gate.
This looks like a place to eat.
Jiang Wanwan followed Lu Mingzhu and entered the house with everyone.
Once inside, the light was even dimmer than outside, making it difficult to see anything.
Jiang Wanwan looked up and saw a large, dilapidated round table in the center. The tabletop was mottled and worn. Upon closer inspection, she saw that one of the table legs had been gnawed beyond recognition by insects, and the table could only be supported by a flat stone.
In front of each table stood a long bench, which looked quite old. Some of the benches had broken legs, while others had loose legs, making the benches crooked and tilted. One bench even had a leg that was completely broken, and it was only held up by some dead branches tied to it.
Seeing this situation, Jiang Wanwan sighed inwardly.
How could such an impoverished family possibly withstand Su Wan'er's revenge later on?
"Wanwan, please sit down." Lu Mingzhu and Jiang Jialin invited Jiang Wanwan to sit down.
Jiang Wanwan sat on a shaky bench, her heart pounding with fear. She dared not move, afraid that the bench would fall apart if she did, and worried that she would have to stand to eat in the future.
Soon, Grandma Jiang led her two other daughters-in-law into the kitchen and brought out the food.
Jiang Wanwan glanced at the food on the table.
Well, calling it food is really giving it too much credit.
The black, watery paste was so thin you could see your reflection in it, with some finely chopped vegetable leaves floating on top. Besides the paste, there was a large bowl of yellowish green vegetables that were completely devoid of any oil.
There was absolutely no meat or fish in it.
Jiang Wanwan frowned as she looked at the scene; the Jiang family was truly too poor.
She was somewhat surprised as to why the Jiang family was so poor and destitute.
It's easy to see from this clean and tidy house that the Jiang family members are quite hardworking. So the question is, if they are all hardworking people, why are they so poor?
On her way back, the houses she saw, like the Jiang family's, were all made of adobe, but their roofs were almost all tiled, unlike the thatched roof of the Jiang family's house.
Old Jiang, sitting at the head of the table, frowned as he looked at the dishes on the table. He turned to Old Lady Jiang, who had just sat down, and instructed, "Old lady, Wanwan just got back. Bring out a few eggs and add some dishes for everyone."
Upon hearing this, the teenager in the room had a sparkle in his eyes and couldn't help but lick his lips.
They haven't eaten meat in a long time.
Today, thanks to my new sister, I was able to eat.
Thinking about it this way, the new younger sister doesn't seem so annoying.
Grandma Jiang pursed her lips, and although she was somewhat unwilling, she still stood up, took the key, and went to the main house next door.
A short while later, Grandma Jiang brought out three eggs.
Old Jiang frowned, somewhat displeased, and said, "Are there no eggs left at home?"
Grandma Jiang pouted and glared at Old Jiang. "Yes, there are eggs, but those eggs are to be taken to town to exchange for money. My precious grandson will need to go to school then."
Old Jiang tapped the table with his pipe, his tone somewhat forceful, "Go get two more eggs and fry a big bowl of them for everyone to eat together."
Seeing that Old Man Jiang was already somewhat angry, Old Lady Jiang reluctantly went back to her room and took out two more eggs. She was also carrying a small earthenware jar in her arms.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, take this jar of lard and scoop out a small spoonful to fry the eggs. Second daughter-in-law, finely chop some green beans and stir-fry them with the eggs."
"Okay, Mother, don't worry."
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