Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

wtf?

This was like a bolt from the blue. Jiang Shangxian had always thought that he had no relatives and there were only three people in his family. How could a grandmother suddenly appear?

Why haven’t I heard my mother mention it before?

But now is not the time to think about this. In the yard, an old woman with red eyes, white hair and covered in dust was sitting at the door of the kitchen. Next to her was a dirty young girl who looked about the same age as Jiang Wangri. She was blinking her big eyes timidly at her.

The two men looked more like beggars than the beggars in Chang'an City.

Jiang's mother was drawing water from the water tank in the yard. "What are you standing there for? Why don't you go meet your grandmother and cousin?"

"Grandma, cousin..." Jiang Shangxian walked over and bowed awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Hey, you must be Nian Nu, you've grown up so much." Old Madam Xia was delighted when she saw her. She stood up and wanted to hug her. Just as she raised her hands, she saw her own dark and strong hands and withdrew them uncomfortably. She said with a smile on her face, "The last time I saw you, you were so little. In the blink of an eye, you've grown into a big girl."

The young lady beside her stood up, bowed and called out softly, "Cousin."

"Mother, please sit down. She is just a junior. Why should you stand up and talk to her?"

Jiang's mother came over with a bucket of water and handed it directly to Jiang Shangxian, saying, "Hurry up and boil some water. Klima cleaned it. Let your grandmother and cousin wash first."

"Hey!" Jiang Shangxian took the bucket as if he had been pardoned and went into the kitchen. He poured water into the pot and added firewood. He was reluctant to go out.

Meeting relatives, especially those she didn't know, was really too embarrassing, but squatting inside was not a solution either. The main reason was that she could feel, even if she was inside, she could feel Old Madam Xia's gaze on her.

He could only turn his head and smile foolishly at her from time to time, then awkwardly pretend to be busy adding firewood and working, looking like a fool with low IQ.

But there were only two stoves in the kitchen, so how could there be so much work? If she added more firewood, the stove would be blocked and extinguished! Jiang's mother would definitely beat her twice.

"Nian Nu, just boil the water in the pot. You are squatting in it to lay eggs. Come out quickly and fetch some water!" Jiang's mother's loud voice today seemed a little lacking in momentum, mainly because her voice was a little hoarse.

Jiang Shangxian guessed that maybe he hadn't seen his relatives for a long time, so he hugged his head and cried?

This is also human nature. Every time she thinks of her parents at night, she bites the corner of the quilt and cries and wipes away her tears.

After smiling politely at Old Lady Xia who was sitting at the kitchen door again, Jiang Shangxian went out with a bucket to fetch water.

When she came back, she happened to meet Jiang Wangri coming from the other side with a cart. Seeing her from a distance, he waved happily and ran over: "Sister! Sister! Why didn't you wait for me to come back to fetch water? It's so heavy, be careful not to hurt your arms."

Good brother!

"Did you know that grandma and cousin are here?" Jiang Shangxian watched with peace of mind as his brother stopped the cart, took the bucket from his hand and put it on the cart, swinging his arms to ask him for news.

Jiang Wangri was also stunned, his face full of confusion: "Grandmother? Someone from Chuzhou?"

Chuzhou? Isn't that part of Zhejiang?

She originally thought that Jiang's mother was a native of Chang'an!

"Why don't I remember seeing them?" Jiang Shangxian saw him like this and knew that he didn't know about this either, so he pretended to be confused and asked.

It's really fucked up not having any memory. She has no idea whether she has seen this relative before.

Jiang Wangri tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said with certainty, "No, I haven't seen them. I haven't seen them either. They've never been to Chang'an. When my father died, my mother sent a letter to Chuzhou, but no one came. My mother cried several times when she talked about this, saying that everyone over there thought her daughter was dead. After that, I never saw my mother send a letter there again."

You’ve never been to Chang’an, not even when Jiang’s father died?

Jiang Shangxian frowned, thinking of the two people he had just met at home. Their clothes looked like they were made of very poor quality coarse cloth with many patches on them. Their shoes were torn, revealing a little bit of their toes, and their bodies were dirty.

I don't know how he got to Chang'an. He must have suffered a lot along the way. He came so far and suffered so much to come to Chang'an. What was he doing here?

"Then do you know this cousin?" Jiang Shangxian pulled him to a stop, thinking of asking a few more questions before going home.

Jiang Wangri answered quickly this time: "It should be my cousin Xia Zhenying, my uncle's daughter, who is one year older than me."

But after he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong: "Sister, are only grandma and cousin here? Aren't my uncle and aunt here?"

In fact, Jiang Wangri had never met these relatives. He only heard from his mother that when his father was alive, his mother corresponded with Chuzhou more frequently, about twice a year.

"Well, there are only two of them here. Let's go in first." Jiang Shangxian saw that he didn't know much, so after thinking about it, she decided to go in and put down all the things first, and get more water before closing. Otherwise, after those two people finished taking a bath, she might not be able to take a bath today.

It's okay on normal days, but if she doesn't take a shower during her period, she will feel uncomfortable all over and always feel very dirty.

When Jiang's mother saw the two of them come in together, she urged Jiang Wangri to meet her grandmother and cousin before directing them to fetch water. She also knew that the weather was hot now, and her daughter had this quirk of loving to take a bath. If she didn't fetch water quickly, there might not be enough water in the house.

Fortunately, when they came back with water, Old Madam Xia and Xia Zhenying had already gone to take a bath, and Jiang's mother was busy looking for her and Jiang Shangxian's old clothes.

Jiang Shangxian walked over and asked quietly, "Mother, why are my grandmother and cousin here?"

Unexpectedly, when asked this question, Jiang's mother rolled her eyes. She no longer had the sadness she had before, but her voice was still a little hoarse as she said, "Your uncle and aunt are both gone..."

Shocked by this inconsistent performance, Jiang Shangxian's eyes widened instantly: "Why, how could it just disappear?"

"Five years ago, your uncle had an argument with someone and was accidentally beaten to death. Your aunt fell ill because of this incident and passed away after a year. Your grandmother was left with your cousin to depend on each other. I don't know how they survived all these years..." Jiang's mother was talking about a sad thing, but she didn't look sad.

"Your uncle has been chasing chickens and kicking dogs since he was a kid. He's always fooling around with people outside. He's a gang of hooligans of similar age. He takes fighting with others as a serious matter. Look, he got beaten to death now, didn't he?"

Jiang Shangxian nodded. It turned out that his uncle was a social person.

Isn't my mother also raising two children by herself? Isn't it a heavier burden to take care of two children?

But a bad feeling arose in my heart: "So, why are my grandmother and cousin coming here..."

"From now on, your grandmother and the others will live with our family."

"Mother, do you have a bad relationship with my grandparents?" It was really weird. If Jiang Shangxian didn't think that there was something going on, it would be a waste of time to grow this thing on his neck.

"It's just that they gave me to your father as a wife and deducted some of the dowry." He said this very lightly.

Jiang Shangxian: "...This can be considered as a marriage made in heaven."

Jiang's mother rolled her eyes at her, pulled out her handkerchief and blew her nose vigorously. She stood up and started walking out, then suddenly stopped and said, "Since they've come all the way to seek refuge with us, we'll at least not let them starve to death."

Jiang Shangxian: "..."

Well, damn it, she couldn't continue with the words and let them fall to the ground.

With two more people in the family, not to mention the problem of how to sleep, the expenses will definitely be higher. Xia Zhenying is three years younger than him. When she gets married in the future, although she has no share in the Jiang family's property, she still needs to prepare a dowry.

But after all, they are Jiang's mother's biological mother and niece. Let's not talk about this now. Regardless of whether the biological mother is unfilial, the spit of neighbors can drown a person, and the level of horror is equivalent to modern cyber violence.

Jiang Shangxian sighed, feeling a heaviness on his shoulders. The burden of making money suddenly became heavy.