Jiang Lai had originally planned to surprise Jiang Jianshe and Ma Laihua with her sudden return.
Instead, the first thing she stumbled upon was what looked like World War III.
After Jiang Lai confirmed they had the right address, Uncle Jiang stepped out from behind her and stared at the group arguing in the distance.
“So city women argue exactly the same way as village women.”
Jiang Lai replied weakly,
“…I think the one doing all the yelling is my mom.”
“Huh?”
“Third Sister-in-law is that fierce?”
Uncle Jiang tried to recall every time Ma Laihua had returned to the village. She had always been generous, cheerful, and straightforward.
He had never imagined she had such a fiery side.
“Ma Laihua, watch your mouth! This is a civilized society. Stop cursing every time you open your mouth!”
“So what if I am?” Ma Laihua rolled up her sleeves, planted her hands on her hips, and thrust her face right up to the woman who had spoken.
“Did I mention anyone by name? Why are you getting so worked up?”
The woman’s face instantly flushed red.
She stammered for a long while before finally losing her temper and shoving Ma Laihua’s face away.
“There are elderly people and children walking around here every day. Leaving a pile of garbage at your doorstep is disgraceful. What if someone slips and gets hurt? Hurry up and clean it up!”
“And why should I clean it up? Whoever dumped—”
Before she could finish, Jiang Lai squeezed through the crowd and interrupted.
“Excuse me, Aunties… could you tell me how to get to Jiang Jianshe’s home?”
Ma Laihua froze mid-sentence.
She stared blankly at Jiang Lai, blinking several times, unable to recognize her.
Jiang Lai dropped her luggage, rushed forward, and threw her arms around Ma Laihua.
“Mom! It’s me!”
Ma Laihua couldn’t believe her eyes.
It wasn’t until Uncle Jiang squeezed through the crowd behind Jiang Lai that she finally recognized her sister-in-law’s younger brother.
Only then did she dare believe the young woman before her was really her daughter.
“My girl…”
“It’s only been half a year.”
“How did you lose so much weight?”
“If someone didn’t know better, they’d think some fox spirit had transformed into you.”
The original Jiang Lai had been pleasantly plump.
After two days of refusing to eat or drink, she’d become noticeably thinner.
The flesh had disappeared from her face, making the fox-like eyes she inherited from Ma Laihua appear even larger.
Smiling sweetly, Jiang Lai replied,
“Mom, I’m still your own daughter.”
The neighbors all looked her over.
Seeing those fox eyes—almost identical to Ma Laihua’s when she was young—they immediately began chatting excitedly.
“Laihua, is this your daughter who grew up in the countryside?”
“She’s grown so much already!”
“Just look at her!”
“She’s even prettier than you were when you were young.”
“Her skin is so fair.”
“Her grandmother must have taken wonderful care of her.”
“Laihua, what did your daughter bring back?”
“Look at all those bags!”
Now that her daughter had finally come home, Ma Laihua had no interest in arguing anymore.
She bent down, picked up the sacks and bundles scattered across the ground, then quickly carried Uncle Jiang’s luggage into the courtyard.
“They’re just her belongings,” she answered vaguely.
“She’s lived in the countryside for over ten years.”
Song Wenwen’s mother sneered.
“What could anyone possibly bring back from the countryside besides rags?”
“Don’t bring lice into our alley.”
“Since your country relatives finally made it here and probably never get to eat meat, hurry and buy some so you can prepare them a proper meal.”
Ma Laihua’s eyes were completely fixed on her daughter.
Especially that little face that looked exactly like her own when she was young.
She was overflowing with happiness.
She barely even heard the sarcastic remark.
Still staring at Jiang Lai, she answered absentmindedly,
“You’re right.”
“We should make something nice.”
Ma Laihua hadn’t caught the hidden insult.
But Uncle Jiang certainly had.
The smile on his face stiffened.
Noticing several women looking him up and down, he unconsciously lowered his head to inspect his own clothes.
He had deliberately worn his newest olive-green military-style jacket into the city.
He’d bought it two years ago and only wore it when going out.
Though slightly faded with age, it was still his finest outfit.
The moment Jiang Lai heard those familiar words, alarm bells rang in her mind.
In the original novel, when Eldest Uncle and Uncle Jiang had come to the city to discuss the original Jiang Lai’s situation, Song Wenwen’s mother had mocked them in exactly the same way.
At the time, Ma Laihua had been too devastated by her daughter’s tragedy to respond.
As a result, not only had both uncles felt hurt, but rumors had spread throughout the factory housing compound that Ma Laihua looked down on her country relatives.
Even worse, Third Brother’s girlfriend’s mother had already disliked Ma Laihua.
After hearing those rumors, she refused to let the young couple continue seeing each other.
Jiang Lai had thought her return would prevent all that.
Who would’ve guessed history would almost repeat itself right before her eyes?
“We’re not short of meat in the countryside at all.”
“My grandma raises six hens.”
“We eat fresh eggs every single day.”
“And look at this goose!”
“It weighs over twenty jin.”
She hugged Ma Laihua’s arm affectionately.
“Mom, this goose is great at guarding the house.”
“We’ll tie it right by the front gate.”
“It can bite anyone who dumps garbage here.”
Her voice was soft and sweet.
Her words, however, dripped with sarcasm.
Song Wenwen’s mother frowned.
“Keeping livestock is forbidden in the alley.”
“Ma Laihua, if you break the rules, I’ll report you to the neighborhood committee and the labor union.”
Ma Laihua immediately shot back.
“I’ll raise it wherever I want.”
“I’ll even raise it on your head if I feel like it!”
“If you’ve got the guts, go report me!”
Song Wenwen’s mother was left speechless.
She opened her mouth several times, but no words came out.
She was furious.
Watching her choke on her own anger, Jiang Lai felt wonderfully satisfied.
So this was what it felt like to be one of those delightfully outrageous protagonists.
She turned to the other neighbors with a bright smile.
“Aunties, my mom and I are heading home now.”
“My uncle’s carrying thirty jin of grain and another twenty jin of salted fish.”
“It’s so heavy.”
“See you later!”
Hearing that Uncle Jiang had brought grain, Ma Laihua immediately knew it had come from her mother-in-law.
Warmth filled her heart.
Her smile grew even brighter.
“It must’ve been such a hassle changing buses with all that.”
“Your grandmother really never minds going to so much trouble.”
“The household responsibility system’s been implemented now.”
“This year’s harvest was especially good.”
“My eldest uncle even gave us ten jin of freshly milled wheat flour.”
“The dumplings made from it smell amazing!”
Jiang Lai chatted away nonstop.
Ma Laihua practically dragged her toward the house.
She wished she could cover her daughter’s mouth.
As they walked, she kept smiling apologetically at the neighbors.
“We’re leaving now.”
“The child had a long journey.”
“She needs to rest.”
In her excitement, Ma Laihua completely forgot about the pile of garbage lying in front of the gate.
She kept pulling Jiang Lai forward.
Jiang Lai nearly stepped right into it.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly and avoided it.
Glancing down, she noticed several large fish bones mixed in with the trash.
She smiled.
“Mom…”
“Did someone eat fish yesterday?”
“What fish?” Ma Laihua answered.
“It’s not even a holiday.”
“If you want fish, I’ll go buy one at the market later.”
Jiang Lai pointed toward the garbage.
“If nobody ate fish…”
“…then where did these fish bones come from?”
Ma Laihua suddenly froze.
Realization dawned on her.
She spun around and pointed at a short, skinny woman hiding near the back of the crowd.
“Yuan Huiping!”
“So you were the one who dumped it!”
“Several neighbors saw you carrying fish home yesterday at noon!”
“I never imagined you’d be this vicious!”
“You dumped your garbage in front of my house, hid behind everyone else, and watched me make a fool of myself!”
“You rotten piece of work!”