The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

Grandma Jiang took Jiang Furong to sit down in the house and asked Jiang Xiaocui to close the door. Then she took Jiang Furong's hand and said, "Furong, you're a child, so I shouldn't tell you this. But I've seen that you've been quite capable along the way. Xiaocui, let me be clear with you about your aunt's matter. I'll tell your father when he comes back."

Jiang Furong nodded. Since her grandma was so cautious, it must be a big deal, so she listened carefully.

As expected, the person who is talking about something usually sighs heavily first, goes around in circles, and then brings up the topic lightly.

"Ah~" Grandma Jiang sighed heavily: "Your aunt has separated from your uncle. After the rice harvest, she moved back home and lives in the same house where you and your aunt lived together when you were a child."

Jiang Furong probably understood.

Separated, does that mean divorced? Then my aunt moved back to her parents' home.

"People in the village are not very conscious, so they can't help but gossip..." Grandma Jiang continued.

Jiang Xiaocui said angrily, "How many sentences are those? He says it every day, and even comes to our doorstep and talks about it when he has nothing to do."

Grandma Jiang's voice rose a notch. "If you ignore her and go into the house and close the door, they'll still kick the door open and start talking to you? Huh?"

"Usually I would avoid them if I saw them from a distance, but they are just trying to disgust me!" Jiang Xiaocui said angrily, "If they weren't my sister-in-law's family, I would have taken a carrying pole and hit them."

Jiang Furong looked at her grandmother, then at her aunt, and just listened without expressing any opinion.

Grandma Jiang was very disappointed: "Look at you, look at you, this is your brother's house. Your brother is not at home all day, and your sister-in-law takes care of all the household affairs. If you dare to show your displeasure in front of your sister-in-law, she will write a letter back to her parents' home, and our two families will quarrel again, right?"

Jiang Xiaocui said, "Let's make a scene. It's a good opportunity to make a big scene. It would be best if they wouldn't dare to fart when they see me in the future!"

Grandma Jiang gritted her teeth in anger and shouted in a low voice, "You know exactly where this is! If you dare say that again, you'll come back with me!"

Jiang Xiaocui said nothing, turned her face away unconvinced, and stared at the newspaper pasted on the window.

Grandma Jiang took a breath, her hands stopped shaking, and then she continued, "Furong, look at your aunt's temper. She can get into a fight with anyone at home. I understand how she feels, but what can I do? I can only let her go out for a walk."

"Yeah!" Jiang Furong expressed her understanding.

If you are unhappy, you should stay away from the people and things that make you unhappy.

It seems that grandma is very wise!

Grandma Jiang knew when to stop and didn't say much about Jiang Xiaocui. "This room is for you and Zhaohui. You two need to study. Your aunt is used to living in the countryside. I just took a look at the small room at the back. It has a light bulb installed. It's brighter when the light is on. It's much better than the conditions in our hometown. Let her sleep in that room."

Jiang Furong didn't force it: "Okay, Grandma, there's a bench at home. You can move it to my room and put a blanket on it to make a small bed. You can sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the bench."

"Okay, it's settled," Grandma Jiang let out a long sigh and called Jiang Xiaocui to go to work. "Go to the kitchen and help boil water and cook. Heat up the dry food for the journey and get out the eggs for Zhaohui and Guoqing. Furong and I will stay in this room to pack our luggage, talk, and get close."

Grandma Jiang spoke out her worries and saw that Jiang Furong was listening very calmly. She was not like those ignorant girls who would either panic and hide away or chatter and make trouble. Then she thought about how her granddaughter dared to go to the provincial capital railway station to pick them up alone, and she felt much more at ease and thought that she had made the right trip.

Jiang Xiaocui responded, opened the door and went out.

Jiang Furong and her grandmother worked together to carry the bench from the patio into the bedroom and spread the dried old blanket on it. "Grandma, sit down and rest for a while."

Grandma Jiang waved her hand. "This dress has been outside for two days and is covered in dust. Don't stain the chair. I'll wash and change clothes once the water boils. Furong, when will your mother be back?"

"I usually come home around six or seven o'clock."

"Oh, it's already dark that day, why are you back so late?"

"My workplace is far away. If I don't leave by 7am, I'll be late."

"Oh, that's quite far." Grandma Jiang sighed, "It's not easy."

Jiang Xiaocui came over and said, "Mom, the water is ready. Zhaohui said the bathhouse won't open until Sunday, so we can just get a basin of water in the kitchen and wipe it."

Grandma Jiang quickly took her clothes and stood up: "Then I'll quickly wipe my face and change clothes. Your sister-in-law will be back soon and we'll have to start eating right away."

Jiang Chaohui was in the living room. He saw Jiang Furong coming out of the room. She grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the dining table and said, "Sister, I'm going out to find Qingqing and bring her back for dinner." Then she ran away.

Seeing Grandma Jiang lock the kitchen door, Jiang Xiaocui quietly asked Jiang Furong, "I just asked Zhaohui to eat melon seeds, but she didn't dare. Does your mother still scold you like she used to?"

"Yeah, I scold him every day." Jiang Furong nodded.

Jiang Xiaocui's expression showed worry: "What are you scolding?"

Jiang Furong shook her head: "Maybe! It depends on what kind of trouble she suffered outside."

He pretends to be a good person outside, but when he gets angry, he comes home and takes his anger out on his two daughters.

Jiang Xiaocui was furious when she heard this: "All the girls in the Hu family are like this, none of them are good people. Ugh, my brother must be blind..."

Jiang Xiaocui swallowed the second half of her words.

Don’t talk about adult matters in front of children.

"Furong, you don't go to school anymore, what do you do at home every day?"

"Cooking and sending Qingqing to school." Jiang Furong only remembers these three days of her life: "Sometimes I would go to the service center to buy some food."

Going to the station to pick someone up is a temporary thing and is not counted in the daily tasks.

Jiang Xiaocui curled her lips and said, "Your mother doesn't even let you go to work. She just keeps you at home as a maid. She thinks she is a daughter of a landlord in the old society."

Jiang Furong exclaimed, "Who is the daughter of the landlord?"

Jiang Xiaocui rolled her eyes towards Hu Xiuqing's bedroom. "Who else? Your mom! Have you forgotten?"

"I have no impression." Jiang Furong shook her head. She didn't have this memory, so it couldn't be said that she had forgotten it.

Jiang Xiaocui snorted and gave a hint: "The house we live in, and the one next to it is Liu Tieniu's, and then there's Liu Tiesheng's, and Huang Limin's. These houses used to belong to your grandfather. The house you lived in as a child is where your mother lived as a child. Have you really forgotten? Or did your mother not let you tell me?"

"I really can't remember." Jiang Furong said truthfully: "I was sick some time ago with a high fever for two or three days. When I woke up, I forgot a lot of things."

Jiang Xiaocui immediately raised her hand and touched Jiang Furong's forehead: "Oh, you've had a fever for several days? Is it because your mother refused to see a doctor or give you medicine again?"