Zhu Fanfan went with her godmother to the Jiang family to watch the excitement. When they arrived at their newly discovered spot, not far from the Jiang family's house, there was a small pavilion where a group of onlookers were gathered and talking. Lin Damei arrived, found a place to sit, and asked, "Has Jiang's second daughter-in-law returned?"
An old woman replied, "They'll be back soon, so we can just wait here."
After saying that, they took out a handful of melon seeds and gave them to Zhu Fanfan. They also took out an awl to sew shoe soles. Some people were even sewing clothes with needles. Anyway, while they were chatting, no one's hands were idle.
A middle-aged woman returned shortly afterward, dressed in a proper, well-fitting female cadre uniform. She glanced at them but left without saying anything. Zhu Fanfan recognized her; she was Ling Ling, the second daughter-in-law of the Jiang family and Jiang Yu's biological mother. She had heard that the two women had recently had a bad relationship.
Zhu Fanfan asked, "What happened to the Jiang family again?"
Since she was twelve, she had been traveling all over the country and spent less and less time in the family compound. She was no longer aware of what was going on in each other's lives. She had met Lingling before and thought she was a bit arrogant and would roll her eyes at everyone. She probably thought that Lingling was a child with no use and ignored her. She didn't like Lingling's condescending look either, so she simply ignored everyone and didn't need to greet each other when they met.
Lin Damei said, "A few days ago, Jiang Xiaomi wanted to find a wife for Jiang Yu, but Ling Ling disagreed. Jiang Xiaomi said that her daughter-in-law was ruining her grandson's future, and Ling Ling said that Jiang Xiaomi was harming Jiang Yu. The two had a fight and fell out."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law originally had a good relationship, but after they separated their households, something happened and they had a falling out. They made up again, but recently they broke up again because of Jiang Yu's marriage. They didn't want to watch others make a fool of themselves, but Old Mrs. Jiang had offended them all. They couldn't stand it, so they came openly to watch the show, just to make her anxious.
Zhu Fanfan asked curiously, "Jiang Yu is only seventeen, right? He's not even of legal marriage age yet, and he's already getting engaged. Who is he talking about, and his mother doesn't agree to it."
She was young when she fought with Jiang Yu, and she hasn't seen him much since. Her impression of him is still that of a stubborn and immature teenager. She never imagined that Jiang Yu would be getting married soon. Time really flies.
Lin Damei sneered, and seeing that everyone was there, her tone became more peaceful: "A toad trying to eat swan meat, she told Jiang Yu that it was Xie Yuanyuan, the granddaughter of Political Commissar Xie."
Zhu Fanfan was surprised: "Sister Yuanyuan can be interested in Jiang Yu?"
It wasn't that she judged by appearance; Xie Yuanyuan was truly outstanding. Because of her excellent academic performance, she was admitted to university at the age of fifteen and graduated early. At seventeen, she joined the Political Department, starting as a junior staff member. By the age of nineteen, she was already a section chief. While it's hard to say that Grandpa Xie didn't play a part in it, her own excellence was undeniable.
Although Jiang Yu is only seventeen, he just graduated from high school this year and doesn't have a job yet. I heard that he repeated several grades, and the principal only gave him a graduation certificate because of Jiang's grandfather. He also didn't get into university. Their place is different from other places. They can take the entrance exam for military universities. Military universities are relatively strict, and there are no back doors. Those who can get in rely on their own real abilities.
Lin Damei explained, "But Jiang Xiaomi didn't think so. She believed that her grandson was worthy of any girl. Ling Ling was more level-headed and reasoned with Jiang Xiaomi, saying that Commissar Xie also had considerable power and that the Xie family was not so easy to climb up to. Although the Jiang family patriarch held a high position, the second son of the Jiang family was only a minor section chief. Jiang Xiaomi thought that her grandson was the best in the world and felt that this was an insult to her grandson. The two of them quarreled over this."
Zhu Fanfan felt that Grandma Jiang was a bit out of her mind. Yuanyuan was just like her, a staunch non-marriage advocate. Unless the other person was so outstanding that she could only look up to him, she might be tempted. With Jiang Yu's troublesome nature, let alone Yuanyuan, even their granddaughter, who was one level below Grandpa Jiang, wouldn't be interested in him.
Sure enough, a quarrel soon broke out inside. Lingling said that someone was sabotaging her job and told Jiang Xiaomi to stop talking about Jiang Yu and Xie Yuanyuan. She said she was ashamed of being humiliated by a young girl at work. But Old Mrs. Jiang shamelessly said that as long as Xie Yuanyuan married Jiang Yu, she would never be unfilial to her mother-in-law.
No matter what Lingling said, Old Mrs. Jiang insisted that Lingling didn't love her son and couldn't stand seeing him do well. She even said that Xie Yuanyuan was a good girl and a good match for Jiang Yu. Lingling kept explaining that the Xie family said they would keep the child for two years because they didn't like their family and wanted to have a great-grandchild. She introduced other girls to Jiang Yu. Old Mrs. Jiang then started throwing a tantrum at home, saying that her children were unfilial.
The onlookers were thoroughly enjoying the story. Jiang Xiaomi had finally met her match! Back then, when Jiang Yu had beaten their grandson and granddaughter, they had only fought back. Jiang Yu lost the fight and was injured, prompting Old Mrs. Jiang to come knocking on their door. Not only did she refuse to apologize, but she also harassed them, preventing them from doing any work. She demanded they admit their child was wrong and promise never to hit Jiang Yu again, or she wouldn't leave. She was incredibly shameless. Now, she was rolling on the ground, driven mad by her own daughter-in-law. Truly, everyone has their match!
Zhu Fanfan remarked, "Even someone as highly educated as Jiang Yu's mother can argue like a shrew?" And the insults she used were quite vulgar.
Lin Damei said, "What's wrong with highly educated people? They are human too. They also have joys and sorrows. They will curse when they are unhappy. They are all the same."
So what if they're highly educated? They can be more vicious than shrewish women when they start cursing, bringing up every little thing, from scatological slurs to their ancestors and relatives.
Just listening to them argue, something felt off. When the argument got really heated, Jiang Yu stepped forward and said that he liked Zhu Fanfan and that he could arrange a marriage for him with the Zhu family.
A group of people turned their attention to Zhu Fanfan. Zhu Fanfan was innocent; she had only gone out to eat some melon seeds, so how did she end up eating her own melon seeds?
As they listened, Old Mrs. Jiang said that Zhu Fanfan was no good, too delicate to take care of Jiang Yu. Ling Ling said that Old Mrs. Jiang was delusional, and the Zhu family would never agree. Old Mrs. Jiang said that this was already a second-best choice, which made Ling Ling cry on the spot. Even Xie Yuanyuan didn't like Jiang Yu, so how could the only son of the Zhu family like Jiang Yu? Was Old Mrs. Jiang trying to ruin Jiang Yu? Moreover, the Zhu family wouldn't just let the Xie family's verbal warning go; Zhu Jiabao would really kill them.
Jiang Yu was still stubbornly asking, "How could liking Zhu Fanfan ruin him? Are his biological parents just jealous of his success? The commotion over there has infuriated Zhu Fanfan. She's not even familiar with Jiang Yu, so why is she being dragged into this? It's infuriating!"
Lin Damei pulled Zhu Fanfan back and comforted her, "Don't be angry. I'll scold them for you after they leave. We can't go in."
They were the ones who were eavesdropping on other people's arguments. Even if they were the parties involved, it was wrong of them to barge in like that. We listened to another round of their argument, which was quite intense. When the argument finally stopped, everyone knew it was almost over and it was time to leave.
Lin Damei pulled the unconvinced Zhu Fanfan away, saying, "It would be too much of a loss for a little girl like you to go. Let your grandfather go find Old Man Jiang."
Old Mrs. Jiang would take action once she had an idea. After all, the Zhu family held one of the highest positions in the entire compound, and Fanfan was the only child in the Zhu family. There were many people watching them! Their words carried no weight; only Old Zhu's actions would not have any negative impact.
Zhu Fanfan went home and waited for his grandfather, determined to make him warn Old Master Jiang. However, instead of his grandfather coming home from get off work, he was greeted by Chi Zhen, who arrived with a dark expression.
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