The slanting sunset poured down from the horizon, and the huge camphor tree cast thick, ink-like shadows across the ground.
By the time Jiang Li returned to the Jiang household, Ye Suqin was sitting on a small stool by the doorway, knitting a sweater under the dim indoor light. Seeing Jiang Li come back, she set her knitting needles onto the bamboo basket beside her.
“You’re finally back.”
“What happened?” Jiang Li blinked curiously.
Ye Suqin jerked her chin toward the inside of the house.
“They’re making a fuss again. Don’t go in there and invite bad luck onto yourself.”
Inside the house, Jiang Yumin glared at the mother and daughter huddled together crying and barked angrily:
“Cry, cry, cry—that’s all you know how to do! What’s the use of crying? I’ve already pulled strings and suppressed the matter at the bureau. Xiaoxiao’s incident won’t reach higher authorities! All of you calm down!”
“Dad… there really won’t be any problem with me going to school?” Jiang Xiaoxiao had spent half the day sobbing after Xiang Zhou and the vice director refused to help her. Now, hearing the good news from Jiang Yumin, she finally calmed a little.
“Don’t worry. As long as I step in, nobody can cancel your spot.” Jiang Yumin sat down, picked up the white porcelain mug on the table, and took a huge gulp of tea, his eyes narrowing smugly.
Fortunately, he had acted quickly enough.
The moment Jiang Qingfeng informed him yesterday, he immediately started bribing people to keep everyone quiet.
Sure enough—
Not long after smoothing things over, several anonymous举报 letters had already been submitted to upper management.
He had spent the entire day at the Grain Bureau, afraid some complaint might slip through and land directly on the bureau chief’s desk.
“That’s good.” Xu Huili, who had been anxious all day, finally relaxed.
“What’s so good about it?” Jiang Xiaoxiao’s eyes reddened again. “My coworkers mock and isolate me. I don’t even want to go to work anymore. I even begged Third Uncle to help me, and he refused.”
“Nonsense! Your Third Uncle is a hospital vice director. How could he publicly take your side?” Jiang Yumin scolded her, though inwardly he felt dissatisfied too.
Ever since childhood, he and his third brother had never gotten along.
Back then, Jiang Yumin had wanted to study medicine too, but their father claimed he lacked talent and told him to study properly and find ordinary work instead.
But when the third brother wanted to learn medicine, their father hadn’t objected at all.
Talent? That was all nonsense.
Their father had simply favored the younger son and intended to pass the family medical legacy to him.
“You can’t control what other people say,” Jiang Yumin continued. “Why bother caring? They gossip because they’re jealous. The student quota they all wanted is now in your hands. You must be like a true member of the Jiang family—the more outsiders envy you, the more firmly you should sit in your position.”
Jiang Xiaoxiao thought about it.
That’s right.
So what if her reputation suffered for now?
Once she finished her studies and became a real doctor, she’d slap the mouths off everyone who mocked her.
Wiping away her tears, she smiled again.
“Dad, I’ll listen to you. I’m not upset anymore.”
“That’s my Jiang family daughter!” Jiang Yumin laughed, then suddenly remembered a major event from earlier that day. His expression instantly became excited, and he repeatedly pounded the table with his fist.
“Xiaoxiao, let me ask you something. Did you save someone on the street a few days ago?”
Jiang Xiaoxiao thought back carefully.
A few days earlier, she really had helped an injured old man on the street, so she nodded.
“Good! Truly worthy of being my Jiang family daughter! Our ancestors must’ve burned incense for generations to bless us with this!”
Jiang Yumin usually maintained a stern, authoritative demeanor. Even when drunk, he had never looked this delighted.
Xu Huili knew her husband well and immediately asked:
“Yumin, what happened?”
Finally no longer dragging out the suspense, Jiang Yumin spoke with obvious pride.
“Our Xiaoxiao saved an extremely important person—a military leader from a southern island military district. That leader has been searching everywhere for the person who saved him. They searched every hospital in Beicheng and found nothing. In the end, they tracked things to our Grain Bureau.”
Jiang Yumin recalled how the bureau chief had specially summoned him earlier that day and instructed him to maintain strict discipline and proper conduct because they might receive the military leader at any moment.
“The leader wants to personally come to the family compound to thank Xiaoxiao.”
This was a military commander!
Someone Jiang Yumin would never have had the chance to meet in his entire life.
And now he was going to meet him through Jiang Xiaoxiao.
The possibility of promotion was right in front of him. After waiting half a lifetime for an opportunity like this, how could he not be ecstatic?
“Really?” Xu Huili became excited too, grabbing Jiang Yumin’s hand tightly. “Yumin, are you sure? It’s really our Xiaoxiao? It… it couldn’t be Xiao—”
“The only one in this house who knows medicine is Xiaoxiao. If not her, then who else?” Jiang Yumin patted Xu Huili’s shoulder, understanding her concern.
After all, Jiang Xiaoxiao had replaced Jiang Li’s identity at the Grain Bureau.
“I already checked. The day the leader was rescued was the same day Jiang Li was making a scene trying to drink pesticide. How would she have had time to save anyone? Besides, Xiaoxiao seriously studied medicine for two years. The Li family incident was just Jiang Li getting lucky by accident.”
Only then did Xu Huili fully relax.
Technically speaking, no matter which daughter had saved the man, she was still a daughter of the Jiang family.
But selfishly, she hoped it wasn’t Jiang Li.
Because only Xiaoxiao carried her bloodline.
Saving a military leader—a glorious honor like that—should belong to the Jiang family’s biological daughter.
Jiang Xiaoxiao’s heart pounded wildly too, her face flushed red with excitement.
So the old man she had helped after his leg was caught in an animal trap… was actually a military leader?
“Mom, see? The Li family incident was just one temporary mistake.”
“Exactly.” Xu Huili was already planning for the grand visit. “When the military leader visits the family compound, the place will definitely be packed with people. I need to have a custom outfit made. Xiaoxiao needs one too.”
Thinking this, Xu Huili took Jiang Xiaoxiao’s hand and happily led her into the bedroom.
“Come on, Mom has some clothing catalogs. Pick a few styles you like and we’ll make several outfits.”
After the two entered the room, Jiang Yumin sat in the living room in extraordinarily high spirits. Holding his white porcelain mug, he blew on the tea and took another satisfied sip, the smile on his face impossible to suppress.
Sure enough—
Only one’s biological bloodline could truly bring prosperity to the family.
Otherwise, Jiang Li had lived with them for so many years. Why had she never brought such an opportunity?
That was a military commander!
It seemed he needed to treat Xiaoxiao even better from now on.
The future glory of the Jiang family depended on her.
At this rate, he could even dream of becoming bureau chief someday.
When Jiang Li stepped into the living room, she originally had no intention of speaking.
But the moment she entered, Jiang Yumin’s previously cheerful face darkened.
“Come here. I need to talk to you.”
Not wanting to argue, Jiang Li walked over and sat down calmly.
“Go ahead.”
Her attitude clearly said: If you’ve got something to say, spit it out quickly.
Jiang Yumin even caught her rolling her eyes, and his temper instantly flared. Rage churned violently in his chest, but when he remembered what he planned to discuss, he forcibly suppressed it.
He had considered whether Jiang Li might actually be the one who saved Commander Feng.
After all, Jiang Li did know some medicine.
But after carefully checking the timeline, the day Commander Feng was rescued happened to be the same day Jiang Li was at home attempting suicide with pesticide.
As for the Li family matter, Jiang Li had probably just gotten lucky. Sick children usually only suffered from a few common illnesses anyway.
But Commander Feng was different.
It had been a life-threatening heart condition.
Even if Jiang Li knew some medicine, it could only be superficial knowledge. How could she possibly possess the ability to save someone like that?
Compared to her, Jiang Xiaoxiao—who had formally studied medicine for two years—fit the situation much better.
Jiang Yumin had clawed his way up from a rural boy to a Grain Bureau official. After years in office politics, he was cautious and calculating.
The Jiang family would never mistake a fish eye for a pearl.
He picked up his tea mug again and took another sip.
“You’re not young anymore. In the next couple of days, settle the marriage arrangement with Zhou Xueming. Tomorrow I’ll invite him over so we can discuss the bride price.”
With a single sentence, he decided Jiang Li’s marriage.
He had already prepared to use nineteen years of raising her as leverage to force her compliance—
Yet unexpectedly, the girl smiled sweetly and agreed immediately.
“Sure.”
This time, it was Jiang Yumin who frowned deeply in confusion.
Had he heard wrong?
Normally, shouldn’t Jiang Li be crying, screaming, and threatening suicide by now?