In the Jiang family courtyard, Jiang's sister-in-law was busy in the kitchen, Mu Yi'an was cooking goat milk for the child, and Li Qiu's mother went to the backyard to milk the goats.
Shao Ming, along with Shao Yun and Shao Kun, were playing with Chu Yue. Meanwhile, Shao Qin, from Jiang Da Sao's family, hadn't finished his homework and was reading in the study. The eight-year-old boy frowned, staring at the pen and paper on his desk with a deeply troubled expression.
Chu Tong was taken to the kitchen by Sister-in-law Jiang to learn cooking skills. These were her daily lessons, along with needlework and cooking. Sister-in-law Jiang wanted her daughter to learn other skills so she could have a chance to marry into a wealthy family. Unfortunately, the family's circumstances didn't allow it, and she didn't know where to find opportunities to learn those skills.
Shao Ning, who was the same age as Shao Yun, was not short, but rather thin.
Especially during this period, because Sister-in-law Jiang and Mu Yi'an were secretly competing with each other, they prevented Shao Ning from going out to play with Shao Ming and the others, making him focus on his studies. The child became less active and didn't get much sun, so he looked a bit pale.
Jiang Da Sao didn't see the envy in Shao Ning's eyes; she was now preoccupied with her sister-in-law's marriage and whether she would marry into a wealthy family.
When Jiang Shuyun and Jiang Qi came in, they saw children playing in the yard and Shao Ning watching his brothers play with envy.
"Dad, you're back. Did we have any guests?"
Shao Ming no longer recognized Jiang Qi; several months had passed since their last meeting.
"Second brother, the children don't even recognize me!"
"Yeah, don't you even think about when was the last time you came back?"
"It was around Chinese New Year, which was quite a while ago."
Jiang Qi also felt uneasy. She felt like she hadn't been back for a long time, hadn't been home. Many times, she felt that the Fan family wasn't her home, and she didn't feel a sense of belonging.
"Auntie, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you."
Shao Ming bowed to Jiang Qi; the little boy did it quite well.
"sorry!"
Shao Yun and Shao Kun were confused, so they just copied whatever their older brother did.
"Big sister is back! Mother, come out quickly, big sister is back!"
When Li Qiuniang came out of the backyard carrying goat milk, she saw her eldest sister-in-law standing at the door and excitedly called out, "Mother-in-law!"
"Who's there? Is Jiang Qi back?"
Hearing her third daughter-in-law's shouts, Jiang's mother was incredulous and stumbled out of the house.
"Mother, I'm back!"
"Jiang Qi, it really is you back! Come in, come in..."
Jiang's mother kept calling out, "Come in quickly!" and rushed over to take her daughter's hand.
In the study, upon hearing the sounds from the courtyard, Jiang's father's expression changed. His eldest daughter was good-natured, skilled in needlework, and a good cook—truly excellent in every way.
As the years passed, suitors came in droves, truly a case of "a family with a daughter, a hundred families seeking her hand in marriage." In the end, she chose the second son of the Fan family, a scholar in the county. They had been married for five or six years, but their only regret was that they had no children, which made both families very anxious.
Jiang's father didn't go out to greet his daughter, fearing it would burden her. But even sitting in his study with books in front of him, he couldn't concentrate much. Jiang Qi hadn't returned since the New Year; her return alone this time raised suspicions.
Because he couldn't hear Fan's son-in-law's voice, Jiang's father was starting to have doubts.
In the courtyard, Jiang's mother had already pulled Jiang Qi into the house. Mu Yi'an was boiling goat milk and was stunned when she saw Jiang Qi come in. For a moment, she couldn't remember who this person was.
"Yi'an, I'm back."
"You must be tired. Go inside and change your clothes. Dinner will be ready soon."
Mu Yi'an carried the boiled goat milk into the house, followed by Jiang Shuyun carrying a basket on her back. Shao Yun also wanted to follow, but after taking a few steps, she remembered her younger sister still in bed and stopped, returning to the crib.
"So, have you bought everything?"
"I bought it: big bones, pig liver, pig heart, apples, and pears. Manager He also brought two packets of snacks for the children as a return gift of cornmeal. He said his mother likes to eat cornmeal, but she doesn't have a good appetite. She was very happy to see the fine cornmeal I brought and genuinely liked it. The teacher and his wife also liked it. They don't lack good things, but these country foods are more to their liking."
Jiang Shuyun admired Yi An very much; she was very good at understanding people's hearts.
"If you like it, that's fine. We're quite different from them, so when it comes to social interactions, we should be sincere. By the way, don't rush to change your clothes. Hang these bones and stuff in the well first, so they don't break."
Although it's already the end of October, the temperature is still quite high.
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Jiang Shuyun followed instructions and took the bones, pig liver, and pig heart from the basket to the backyard.
Mu Yi'an put the other things in the small storeroom, leaving two apples, two pears, and a bag of pastries, which she would take to Jiang's mother later.
It was almost time to eat, but I didn't wash any fruit for the children, afraid it would affect their appetite.
At this moment, in the east room of the main house, Jiang's mother, Jiang Qi, and Jiang Lan were talking together.
"Honey, did the Fan family say something? You don't look well."
"No, I've taken a lot of medicine over the years, but I still don't have children. They may have given up."
Jiang Qi recalled the guests who had visited their home recently, who were said to be her husband's distant cousin. Although the two hadn't had much contact, her mother-in-law's words had implied that this distant cousin was intended to be a concubine for her husband.
Jiang Qi felt a tightness in her chest when she thought about these things. She knew that of the three unfilial acts, the greatest was having no offspring. She had been married for five or six years and had not given birth to a child, which was her fault. However, she was also very resistant to the idea of her husband taking a concubine.
"Give up? What do you mean? Do you want to adopt the child? You're both still young, maybe it's just not meant to be. Didn't the doctor say that your cold uterus isn't a big problem? It's been treated pretty well over the past few years. You'll have a child eventually, maybe it's just not meant to be."
Jiang's mother was very anxious. Adoption was an option. Although legally there was no difference between adopting a son and having a biological son, there was still a barrier between them. It just wouldn't work if the child wasn't her own. There was something missing.
"No, it's not an adoption."
Jiang Qi didn't want to tell her mother about her distant cousin, since the cousin hadn't explicitly said so.
"If it's not adoption, then what does it mean?"
Jiang's mother was a little confused, but then she gave up. Did the Fan family still want a divorce?
"It's nothing much. My mother-in-law hasn't been urging me to take my medicine lately, but she hasn't said why, and I haven't asked her in detail. I haven't been back for quite a while, and I was homesick, so I came back to visit."
Jiang Qi didn't want to talk about family matters anymore; she was a little tired.
Jiang's mother could tell that her daughter wasn't telling the truth, but looking at her pale face, she opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn't say anything, and just patted her daughter's hand.
Listening to her mother and sister's conversation, Jiang Lan felt a strange, indescribable feeling, as if something was about to happen. The feeling was intense; she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt uneasy.
In the courtyard, Sister-in-law Jiang had already prepared the meal, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and was getting ready to eat.
After washing their hands, the family members sat down one after another, ready to have dinner.
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