Chapter 189

"Don't burn them, don't burn them! You... this is against heaven's principles!"

Jiang Xiao threw the clothes she brought back onto the stove opening. Her family members rushed to pull them away, but Jiang Xiao's hands and feet were fast. Every piece of clothing was ignited a little; basically, not a single one was left intact.

Even if a piece of clothing only had half a sleeve burned, it couldn't be worn anymore.

Watching the new clothes being burned pitch-black, the old people who couldn't bear to buy a piece of clothing all year round couldn't take it. They cursed and complained one after another.

But Jiang Xiao couldn't care about paying attention to them. She turned back, went to her mother's side on the kang, and hoisted Chen Jinhua onto her back.

"What are you doing? You unfilial dead girl, you've only been to school for a few days and you've forgotten your roots..."

"I shouldn't have let you go to school. Look at how many girls in the entire Hebin Township have made it to university. How much money did the family spend to put you through school? How did they end up teaching you to be so unfilial..."

Han Han Lao Han Jiang, as the head of the family, also had a temper. He immediately wanted to stop Jiang Xiao.

Although after Jiang Xiao was admitted to university, even the township cadres came, letting Han Han Lao Han Jiang know the weight of a university student.

But in Han Han Lao Han Jiang's heart, even if Jiang Xiao entered the palace and became a concubine, she still had to acknowledge him as her grandfather, let alone just passing the imperial examination.

But before Han Han Lao Han Jiang could finish speaking, Jiang Xiao, hunched over with her mother on her back, raised her head. Her cold gaze made Han Han Lao Han Jiang freeze. A whole theory about "unfilial and deserving of death" was forcibly swallowed back into his stomach.

It was the first time he had seen Jiang Xiao show such a look.

Or rather, the Jiang Xiao in front of him was not the "money-losing" granddaughter he once knew.

Jiang Xiao had been accustomed to being submissive since she was a child, not fighting back when hit or cursing when scolded, only asking for the family to let her go to school.

In order to go to middle school, high school, and later to repeat her studies, even if she was kicked into the courtyard in the middle of winter and made to stand barefoot in the snow for half a day, she didn't dare to say a word, let alone glare at him.

But at this moment, Jiang Xiao's cold and sharp gaze made Han Han Lao Han Jiang feel as if he were looking at a "white-eyed wolf."

A white-eyed wolf is still a wolf, and when it bites... with his old arms and legs, how many bites could he take before dying?

"Mother is sick, I am being filial right now. Grandfather, are you trying to stop me?"

The cold, chilling words fell into Han Han Lao Han Jiang's ears, finally making him understand that the dead girl in front of him was about to turn against him!

【I can't let her turn against me.】

Han Han Lao Han Jiang reacted with a start.

Ever since Jiang Xiao was admitted to university, the Jiang family's status in the village had clearly improved. Although Han Han Lao Han Jiang wouldn't admit it with his mouth, he knew it very well in his heart.

"Put your mother down. I'll go buy you some paracetamol right now. You two don't go out and embarrass the Jiang family."

"Grandfather, you didn't bring any money!"

"Can't I just owe him and pay later?"

Han Han Lao Han Jiang grabbed his hat and went out. For a man nearly sixty, he didn't run slowly at all.

"Yan'er, put me down!" Chen Jinhua on Jiang Xiao's back said weakly. "If you carry me out, your father and grandfather will really be embarrassed in the village."

Chen Jinhua wasn't talking nonsense. She had been lying on the kang for so many days, and now that her daughter had come back from the capital and carried her out the same day, who knew what kind of gossip people would make up if they saw it.

But Jiang Xiao shook her head and said: "Mother, you are too sick. I have to take you to the county hospital."

"You child, the county hospital is dozens of miles away. Can you carry her there?" Third Grandfather said anxiously. "You go find your father first, and let him take your mother to the hospital..."

It must be said that this suggestion from Third Grandfather saved the Jiang family's face and also fulfilled Jiang Xiao's wish to take Chen Jinhua to the hospital.

In this day and age, it's normal for country folk to get sick and not take medicine for two days. If they survive, they save money; if they don't, they have the conditions to go to the hospital, and if they don't, they go to the grave.

It's not embarrassing.

Jiang Xiao seemed to be persuaded by Third Grandfather. She turned back, placed Chen Jinhua on the kang, and covered her with a quilt.

"Mother, wait a moment, I'm going to call someone."

"Eh, your father should be helping at the Old Men's house in the West Village. They agreed to pay before the new year. Once we have the money, we'll send me to the hospital... Don't blame your father..."

Chen Jinhua was so sick she could barely speak clearly, but she was still persuading Jiang Xiao not to blame Jiang Yougui.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Even though she was sick, Jiang Xiao's reaction was quite shocking to her.

This daughter had only been in the capital for half a year, and she was no longer the timid, cowardly girl she used to be. The decisiveness in her was almost catching up to her own.

Chen Jinhua was very gratified. Why did she want to go to the capital to see Jiang Xiao? Wasn't it because she was worried that her honest daughter would be bullied and looked down upon in the big city?

Don't look at the fact that Chen Jinhua couldn't read; if anyone bullied her daughter, she would dare to take the lawsuit to the Golden Throne.

【Hehe, this daughter, she takes after me.】

Jiang Xiao went out but didn't go to the West Village. Instead, she went straight to the village head's house at the east end of the village.

"Uncle Uncle Man Cang, are you home?"

"Yo, is that Xiao back? Come in and sit. Look at you, a university student is just different, so stylish..."

Jiang Man Cang looked up and almost didn't recognize Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao was, at the very least, a small group leader at the Pengcheng Seventh Factory, so naturally, she was wearing brand-new clothes.

However, Jiang Xiao didn't enter the house and said busily: "Uncle Uncle Man Cang, I won't go in. My mother is sick. Can you lend me the brigade's mule cart? I need to take my mother to the county hospital."

After the eighties, communes became townships and brigades became villages, but rural people were used to calling the village committee the "brigade."

"Why not? Even a tractor is fine," Jiang Man Cang agreed immediately, then said in a low voice: "I know your mother is sick, and I want to help, but Xiao, you have to understand. If your family doesn't say anything, I'll be blamed if I help!"

"I understand, I understand. Thank you, Uncle Uncle Man Cang. I'll cover the tractor's fuel money."

"What fuel money? You're looking down on your uncle."

Jiang Man Cang smiled and complained, then roared into the house: "Zhuzi, what are you still standing there for? Go start the tractor! If you can't get it started in twenty minutes, see if I don't kick you."

Jiang Man Cang's son hurried out. Starting a tractor in the middle of winter required pouring in hot water and heating the oil; it was really an exhausting job.

When the sky was getting dark, Chen Jinhua was finally coaxed by Jiang Xiao onto the tractor, and they hurried toward the county town with a "chug-chug-chug."

Jiang Xiao refused the kindness of others to accompany them. Anyway, the village head and Zhuzi were sitting on the tractor head, and the mother and daughter could just lie halfway in the tractor bucket.

The tractor bumped and jolted toward the county town. Only then could the mother and daughter say a few private words.

"Mother, it's not like you don't have money. Why did you drag your illness until it became like this? If I hadn't come back... what would you have done?"

"I wanted to save some money... I thought I'd be fine if I just saved it."

"We agreed you'd go to the capital to see me. I waited and waited, but you didn't come..."

Jiang Xiao wasn't a fool. She stared at Chen Jinhua and asked: "Tell me, where is your money? Who did you spend it on?"

Chen Jinhua couldn't escape Jiang Xiao's questioning gaze and could only say evasively: "Do you see that pile of bricks and tiles at the east end of the village?

That's the new homestead allocated to our family. Your father wants to build a house for your younger brother, and the money was all used for materials..."

"I originally said there was no rush, but your brother had several marriage proposals that didn't work out..."

Chen Jinhua had probably been holding back a lot of words for the past half-year. Seeing Jiang Xiao now, she poured it all out.

After Jiang Xiao went to the capital, her younger brother Jiang Xiaoning went to work at a flour mill and became a worker with a monthly salary. Then Jiang Yougui got the idea of finding him a wife and entrusted people everywhere to play matchmaker for his son.

But several proposals didn't work out. Jiang Xiaoning's stubbornness came out, saying that people were snobbish and looked down on the Jiang family for being poor.

Just then, the bicycle Jiang Xiao had entrusted Jin Peng to buy was mailed home. Jiang Xiaoning used the excuse of "having face makes it easier to find a wife" and occupied it to ride to and from work.

Chen Jinhua doted on her son and didn't say anything, still carrying the shoulder pole and walking to the market.

Her daughter was in university, her son had a job, and the village had allocated them a homestead. Chen Jinhua felt that this life still had a lot to look forward to.

Jiang Xiao nodded silently. Her mother still doted on her son; if they had money, they'd build a house first, then find a wife.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xiao felt somewhat aggrieved. She had hoped and hoped in the capital, but in the end, she still couldn't compare to a single thought of her younger brother.

Who told her she was just a girl?

But what Chen Jinhua said next made the grievance in Jiang Xiao's heart turn into full-blown bitterness.

"Actually, I hid half the money. By rights, I could have gone to see you last month, but your father found out and took it away... I had a big fight with him, and the neighbors all came to persuade us..."

"I told your father, why is it always me, a woman, who has to carry the burden? Does your Jiang family have no sense of responsibility?"

"But your father said Xiaoning is also my son, and building him a new house means my money is the family's money... Sigh..."

"..."

"I was tired and angry during that time, and when I came back from the market, I ran into a snowy day, which is why I suddenly fell ill and couldn't get up. Otherwise, how could my constitution be so delicate?"

Chen Jinhua rambled on, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances of the past half-year. But as she spoke, she felt her daughter beside her hugging her tightly, just like when she had been wronged by her grandparents as a child and sought warmth from her.

"Mother, when you get better, come with me! Let's build a little nest in the capital, open a small noodle shop. You roll the noodles, I'll boil the water..."

The chug-chug-chug sound of the tractor covered Jiang Xiao's whispered words, and it was unclear whether Chen Jinhua had understood them at all.

It was two days later when Li Ye heard the news that Chen Jinhua had been hospitalized.

His aunt, Li Mingxiang, and her family of three came to visit, and while they were at it, they let Li Ye check his cousin Zhao Meiwen's homework. During the meal, they mentioned that a university student who had carried her mother to see a doctor had come to the county hospital, and it seemed she had graduated from the County Second Middle School.

There were only a few university students who had graduated from the County Second Middle School, so naturally, Li Ye had to go over and take a look.

Grandmother Wu Juying was kind-hearted and quickly killed a chicken to make chicken soup, and also got some malted milk, letting Li Juan carry it and go over with her brother, and by the way, ask if they needed any help.

Actually! Hospitals in this day and age were very different from the situation in later generations.

Decades later, two family members taking turns accompanying the patient in the hospital would feel exhausted to death.

But in the hospitals of this era, patients without family members accompanying them were everywhere, all relying on nurses for care.

It was normal for a hospital with thirty medical staff to take care of more than a hundred patients.

Unlike later generations, where more than a hundred medical staff would take care of more than a hundred patients, and it was mandatory to have family members accompany them.

When the siblings arrived at the county hospital, from far away, they happened to see Jiang Xiao lecturing her younger brother at the entrance of the ward.

"It's been three days and you only just came. I thought Mother had raised you, this good son, for nothing!"

"Sister, I still have to work! I just got off my shift and brought Mother and you some steamed buns. Cabbage and pork filling."

"Heh, I haven't seen you for days, and now you just send you over to deliver a few buns..."

Jiang Xiao sneered, naturally understanding the logic behind it.

This was to see if she had money on her or not; if she had money, the family wouldn't have to worry about it.

Jiang Xiao had money on her, and she didn't care about ten or eight yuan at this moment, but she was very unhappy with Jiang Xiaoning's attitude.

"Mother is sick, can't you see? Don't you know to go buy her some medicine? Are you blind or is your heart black?"

"I don't have money! The family is building a house, and all the money has been spent..."

"You don't have money?" Jiang Xiao narrowed her eyes, pointed coldly at Jiang Xiaoning's pants pocket, and ordered: "Take out the cigarettes in your pocket and let me see."

"..."

Jiang Xiaoning was a bit panicked, but he still reached into his pants pocket and took out the cigarette box.

Jiang Xiao sneered: "Daqian Sect, huh? How many paracetamol tablets could this box of cigarettes buy? When I came back and saw Mother, she was burning like a piece of charcoal. Your conscience has been eaten by dogs..."

Jiang Xiaoning really wanted to refute Jiang Xiao, but half a year ago, he had already lost to Jiang Xiao in a historical contest. At this moment, how could he be a match for his sister, who possessed both bloodline and aura pressure?

"Leave the buns and the bicycle, and you go back yourself!"

"Eh, then I'm leaving... What? Why are you keeping the bicycle?"

Jiang Xiaoning put down the basket containing a dozen or so buns, and only after turning around did he realize something was wrong.

Keep the bicycle?

I just came to deliver food, why do I have to leave the bicycle?

He didn't dare to argue with Jiang Xiao and could only say: "How can I go back without a bicycle! It's more than forty miles!"

Jiang Xiao walked over domineeringly, reached out, and took the bicycle key out of her brother's pocket.

"I walked this road from the county town to home for three years. You can walk it once today and know what it feels like to be pushed to the limit."

"..."

Jiang Xiaoning first looked at his sister blankly, then slowly his eyes and neck turned red, and he clenched his fists.

He, Jiang Xiaoning, was also a man; how could he be suppressed by a woman?

He wanted to explode, he wanted to fight, he wanted to resist.

But at this moment, Li Juan, carrying the chicken soup, and Li Ye walked up to them.

Li Juan looked at the furious Jiang Xiaoning and asked very strangely: "Are you trying to beat up a state cadre?"

"..."

Jiang Xiaoning looked at Li Juan blankly, then glanced at his sister Jiang Xiao, who was glaring at him. The manly spirit he had finally mustered deflated like a punctured balloon.

It was true that Jiang Xiao was his sister, but she had been admitted to university and was a state cadre serving the people. In this day and age, try touching a state cadre?

"I'm not... I just wanted to ask sister, the bike is a bit dirty, do I need to wipe it for her..."

(End of this chapter)