Comfort: does he need my comfort?
Su Xiaoman and Grandma Jiang fried up some fresh, piping-hot sugar-roasted chestnuts for the men to eat, and also brewed some osmanthus tea. The lovely little beige flowers bloomed one by one in the clear water, giving off a fragrant aroma.
Su Xiaoman had just poured the tea and had barely taken two sips with Grandma Jiang, each of them holding a cup, when three little mountains of chestnut shells had already piled up on the table.
Two-thirds of the big pot of chestnuts was gone.
The three men, who had been exercising for most of the day, were all starving by now, as if they had been reincarnated as hungry tigers. They ate chestnuts as if they were eating peanuts, one after another. Still, their family’s Xie-doggy had at least some conscience. He peeled seven or eight chestnuts, stacked them into a small plate, and placed it in front of Su Xiaoman and Grandma Jiang.
Second Brother Jiang had already picked up his cup of osmanthus tea and downed it in one gulp like an ox chewing peonies.
Grandpa Jiang was the same.
As for Xie Mingtu… enough said. They were all cut from the same cloth.
Su Xiaoman glanced at Grandma Jiang and felt they would probably have to roast some sweet potatoes or something as well.
“Grandma, have you ever made roasted pumpkin?”
“Eh? You can do that too? How do you roast pumpkin? Put a whole pumpkin by the fire?”
Grandma Jiang and Su Xiaoman went off together to roast pumpkin strips. Su Xiaoman was suddenly in the mood and planned to make some roasted sweet potato strips too, then prepare some sour plum powder. Sprinkling it over the pumpkin strips and sweet potato strips would make them especially appetising.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Jiang temporarily gave up on bullying the younger generation physically and, together with Second Brother Jiang, dragged Xie Mingtu into the study to educate him.
The children of their Jiang family could not be mere brutes.
Every time, Grandpa Jiang had to brag about how much he had loved studying back in the day. Second Brother Jiang had heard it so many times his ears had practically grown calluses, but he was still very interested in going in to watch the show.
“Grandma, did they go to the study?” Su Xiaoman and Grandma Jiang were washing the sweet potatoes and pumpkin.
Grandma Jiang nodded. “They went. Your grandpa has hidden quite a few books. Actually, his ability to study was just so-so. Our Jiang family doesn’t have much talent for producing scholarly champions. Just look, he dragged Xiaotu into the study, so he’s definitely going to talk again about how he memorised the dictionary under terribly difficult conditions back then.”
“It’s true, he spent a year memorising the dictionary back then, but the key point is that he didn’t actually memorise it. I’m just too embarrassed to expose him in front of the younger generation. Every time, he has to talk about how he memorised books and dictionaries back then…” Grandma Jiang mercilessly exposed her husband in front of her granddaughter-in-law.
Su Xiaoman: “…”
Memorising dictionaries again. So this obsession with memorising dictionaries could be inherited? But Xie-doggy really could memorise dictionaries.
Maybe he would give Grandpa Jiang a surprise.
Even without going to see it, Su Xiaoman could imagine the scene in her head. Hahahaha… finally, she would not be the only poor female supporting character to be shocked.
“Grandma, let’s roast the pumpkin strips.”
“Exactly. Don’t bother with men’s business. I feel embarrassed just listening to him brag.”
In the study, Grandpa Jiang indeed picked up that tattered old dictionary that could almost be treated as a family heirloom. Of course, this dictionary was not the one he had memorised back then. It was one he later bought again as a keepsake. After all these years, it looked as though it had been flipped through countless times, worn and ragged.
“Back then, Grandpa’s family was poor and I had no books to read, so I hid in the cowshed and memorised the dictionary. This is Grandpa’s precious treasure. I’ve kept it all these years.” Grandpa Jiang handed the dictionary to Xie Mingtu and once again began telling those old stories.
Xie Mingtu felt deep sympathy. He had not had books to read before either. Only, he had not memorised the dictionary in a cowshed. The old Xie family did not have a cowshed, only a pigsty, and the pigsty stank too much. Ordinary people could not stay in there for long.
“Grandpa, I’ve memorised dictionaries too.”
Grandpa Jiang, who had originally been waiting to see his little grandson look at him with admiration, froze on the spot. He had imagined in his mind what Xie Mingtu might say, but he had never expected such a sentence to pop out of his mouth.
What? You’ve memorised dictionaries too?
Back then, Grandpa Jiang had spent a whole year barely managing to get through the entire dictionary, and even then, he memorised and forgot, forgot and memorised. By the time he reached the last page, he had forgotten most of the earlier parts, not to mention that the dictionary was not even particularly thick.
Now the shocked one became Grandpa Jiang. “You said you’ve memorised dictionaries too?”
Xie Mingtu nodded and pointed at two or three books on the shelf. “I’ve memorised all of these.”
Grandpa Jiang: “…”
If bragging could be inherited, then this little grandson of his had inherited most of his bragging skills.
Could this be the Jiang family’s ancestral bragging?
Boy, you’ve blown this boast all the way to the heavens!
Second Brother Jiang stood beside them with his hands on his hips, watching the show. He thought that this leave of absence had been completely worth it. How many dramas had he watched these past few days! Wonderful! He would not go home for New Year!
“Then can you recite some for Grandpa?” Grandpa Jiang pulled out a dictionary.
Xie Mingtu nodded. “Grandpa, which page do you want me to recite?”
Grandpa Jiang thought, now you really are bragging too much. “If I say any page at random, can you recite it?”
“Grandpa, say one. I’ll try.”
“Then page three hundred and seventy-eight.”
The next second, Xie Mingtu repeated the contents of page 378 without the slightest pause. Grandpa Jiang gripped the book in his hand and listened carefully, only to find that Xie Mingtu had not missed a single thing.
Jiang Leiyan thought very calmly: I should have known long ago just how good this younger brother’s memory is… Every time I think about this, it pains me deeply. If he had stayed at home back then and received a proper education from childhood, he could have…
What a talented person had been delayed!
“Recite page four hundred and fifty-two as well.” Grandpa Jiang found it unbelievable. He almost wondered whether he was going deaf in his old age and having auditory hallucinations.
Xie Mingtu recited the contents of page 452 as well. He had indeed memorised this dictionary completely and still remembered it clearly. No matter which page Grandpa Jiang picked, he could say it.
Of course, he could only say it. As for detailed understanding, he might not necessarily have fully digested and integrated it. Manman had also said that he was extremely strong in mechanical memory, but when it came to literary emotion, he was naturally missing a nerve.
The heavens had opened a door for him, then closed a window.
Grandpa Jiang snapped the dictionary shut with a “pa” and grabbed Xie Mingtu’s arm. “No, Xiaotu, Grandpa has to take you to see Old Wang next door. Come, come, come, go with Grandpa to see Old Wang! Second Brother, do you want to come along?”
Jiang Leiyan covered his forehead. “I’m not going. Grandpa, you take Little Brother.”
“Hahahahaha, I’m going to find your Grandpa Wang!” Excited, Grandpa Jiang carried the dictionary in one hand and pulled Xie Mingtu out with the other.
He was going to find Old Wang next door. In the past, Old Wang had always mocked him for bragging, saying that Old Jiang could not possibly have memorised the dictionary. But now… if his grandson could do it, how could he not have done it when he was young?!
Hahahahaha!!!!
He was going to take his grandson to perform in front of his old buddy.
When Su Xiaoman and Grandma Jiang finished preparing the food and came out, they only saw Jiang Leiyan by himself. Grandpa Jiang and Xie Mingtu were nowhere to be seen.
Grandma Jiang was puzzled. “Where are they?”
Jiang Leiyan picked up a roasted pumpkin strip and ate it directly. “Went to Grandpa Wang’s house next door.”
“He took Xiaotu with him? Why didn’t you go with them?”
Jiang Leiyan sat down carelessly on the sofa. “What would I go for? I might as well stay here and eat. It’s rare for me to have a holiday. I just want to lie down and not move.”
Grandma Jiang felt very sorry for him when she heard this. “Then eat more. Your grandma and your younger sister-in-law made it.”
“If they don’t come back, I’ll finish it all myself.”
“Grandma, I’m going back tomorrow. I only have a few days of leave in total. Little Brother and Xiaoman will stay a few more days to keep you company.” Jiang Leiyan did not have many days off in a whole year. This trip home, bringing his younger brother and sister-in-law back with him, had used up more than half of his leave. It seemed that he would not be able to ask for leave again during New Year this year.
“Grandma, I won’t be coming back for New Year.”
Grandma Jiang sighed after hearing this. Her grandson worked away from home, had little leave, and they were together less often than they were apart. There was nothing to be done. After all, the children had grown up. How could they still stay by their elders’ side? “Then remember to write letters and call Grandpa and Grandma often… Right, are you going back home today?”
Yesterday, things had ended unhappily at the Jiang house. Xiaotu aside, Jiang Leiyan had not stayed at home for long either. If he was not coming back for New Year, then once he left, it would probably be another half a year before they had a chance to see each other.
At the end of the day, he still had to say a few words to his parents.
Jiang Leiyan waved his hand. “Forget it, Grandma. I’m not going back. I’ll stay here with you and Grandpa for another day today, then leave tomorrow.”
At the thought of going back to that house, Jiang Leiyan shrugged. He did not plan to go back for the time being. What would he go back for? If he went back, Xie Yazhi would definitely lecture him for half a day. Being scolded over the phone was one thing. Listening to it in person gave him even more of a headache.
Yesterday, he had already thrown those words out. Words spoken were like water spilled. Jiang Leiyan did not regret it at all.
Grandma Jiang frowned, then said, “Your eldest brother is on a mission up north. The situation is urgent and he can’t come back. Looks like he won’t be able to come back for New Year this year either… Both of you children won’t be coming back. This New Year will be so cold and lonely.”
Jiang Leiyan laughed. “Isn’t there still Jiang Yantang to keep them company? Our mum is already planning to take him in as her godson. What does it matter if the three of us sons don’t go back?”
Grandma Jiang could hear the resentment in his tone. In her heart, she thought that Xie Yazhi had really made a mess of things. Now two biological sons—no, three biological sons—were unwilling to go back… Who knew what she was thinking?
She shook her head. “Grandma will make you another good meal tonight!”
Before long, Grandpa Jiang returned with Xie Mingtu. As soon as he came back, Grandpa Jiang was glowing with pride and full of energy. He called out loudly to Grandma Jiang, “Old woman, we’re back!”
Xie Mingtu automatically made his way to Su Xiaoman’s side. Su Xiaoman pulled him down to sit on the sofa, picked up a sweet potato strip, and fed it to him.
Xie Mingtu, who had long since been traumatised by eating sweet potatoes for years, did not like sweet potatoes. But the sweet potato strips Manman fed him were different. They even had sour plum powder sprinkled on them, carrying a bit of tanginess, so they tasted much better than plain sweet potato strips.
Su Xiaoman fed him several in a row, but then he held her finger in his mouth. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she glared at him, then stopped feeding him.
Sweet potatoes were not suitable to eat too many of. Eating too much caused heartburn.
Xie Mingtu smiled and picked up a few strips to feed Su Xiaoman.
“Manman, eat.”
Su Xiaoman said disdainfully, “Did you wash your hands? And you’re feeding me?”
Xie Mingtu looked very wronged. “I washed them. I washed them as soon as I came back. Grandpa didn’t.”
At this moment, Grandma Jiang walked out of the kitchen and immediately joined in. “What? Your grandpa didn’t wash? Old Jiang, you didn’t wash your hands and you’re sneaking food? What era is this already, and you still don’t care about hygiene at all? Eating it yourself is one thing, but you—”
Jiang Leiyan, lying on the sofa, rolled his eyes. He was unwilling to go back to the Jiang family and see his parents, but right now, he was equally unwilling to stay here and listen to these two couples—one old and one young—nagging away.
So I’m the only one left single, huh!
Why doesn’t anyone think to feed me a bite?
No, once he went back this time, he had to actively take part in all kinds of matchmaking events and ask his leaders to help solve his personal marriage problem. Before, when his older brother had not married, he had had no intention of getting married or finding a partner at all. But now, even his younger brother, who was several years younger than him, had married a beautiful wife as lovely as a flower. At this rate, he was afraid that in the future, his little nephew would already be old enough to run errands, and his own wife would still be nowhere to be seen.
“You lot keep feeding each other back and forth. Is there anyone here with a bit of fairness who can feed me too?” Jiang Leiyan pointed at his open mouth. His gaze swept over Grandpa Jiang, Grandma Jiang, and Su Xiaoman, before finally landing on Xie Mingtu. Fine. The chosen labourer was you. “Little Brother, come feed your older brother a sweet potato strip.”
Grandpa Jiang felt a chill of disgust.
Grandma Jiang: “…”
Su Xiaoman: “…”
Xie Mingtu: “…”
Grandpa Jiang really could not stand this second grandson. “Don’t you have hands of your own? You still need someone to feed you?”
“You’re all feeding each other. Why can’t I get a mouthful too?”
Grandma Jiang said coolly, “Then work hard and find yourself a wife. Why are you asking your little brother to feed you?”
Su Xiaoman covered her mouth and laughed.
At that moment, Xie Mingtu picked up a sweet potato strip from the table and threw it straight towards Jiang Leiyan’s mouth. His aim was extremely accurate, and Jiang Leiyan’s reflexes were even stronger; he instinctively caught the sweet potato strip in his mouth.
Grandpa Jiang: “?!”
Grandma Jiang: “…” Hahaha…
Su Xiaoman: “…” Are these two brothers performing acrobatics?
Jiang Leiyan chewed two or three times, then suddenly felt something was wrong. Replaying the scene in his mind, he thought… were you feeding a dog?!!!
Throwing meat buns at a dog?!
Jiang Leiyan sprang up from the sofa and shot towards Xie Mingtu like a spring. “Are you teasing a dog, you little brat? Stand still! Second Brother is going to fight you—”
Xie Mingtu was no pushover either. When Jiang Leiyan pounced at him, his long legs sprang over the sofa, and with a few swift movements, he darted out into the courtyard. Jiang Leiyan chased after him.
In the blink of an eye, both of them were gone.
This even caused a little joke. The two of them chased and fought around the sanatorium compound, moving so quickly they looked like shadows, extremely suspicious, like dangerous individuals with ill intentions. They even attracted the attention of the patrol officers.
The young patrolman joined the brothers’ chase. Later, once the situation was cleared up, everyone did not know whether to laugh or cry, and they simply gathered together to spar and mess around.
When Grandpa Jiang went to bring the two brothers back, he was smiling so widely his eyes practically disappeared. “I feel like I’ve become twenty years younger. You and your older brother were always worrying people from childhood.”
“And now it’s the same with your younger brother too.”
Grandma Jiang called them in for dinner. “With you boys here, our home has really been lively these past two days.”
Su Xiaoman carried the dishes to the table. Xie Mingtu once again circled over to her side like a cat that had smelled fish. She smiled and tapped Xie-doggy on the head, watching him pretend to cry out in grievance. She felt that ever since their family’s Doggy Brother had come to his grandparents’ home, he seemed to have been infected by the childlike Grandpa Jiang and had become much livelier and more mischievous.
When he was with his second brother, that went without saying. He was a complete naughty dog, jumping all over the place.
While Grandpa, Grandma, and Second Brother were not paying attention, Su Xiaoman secretly kissed Xie Mingtu on the cheek. She was happy for him. Although this trip back to the Jiang family to acknowledge his relatives had not been perfectly smooth, they had still gained many warm and happy moments.
Unlike the original book’s description, Xie Mingtu now had true blood relatives who loved him.
Xie Mingtu was happy when he was with Grandpa Jiang, so Su Xiaoman planned to stay here with him for a few more days.
“Manman!” Xie Mingtu looked at her with a bright smile, still calling her Manman as always. From the chasing and roughhousing earlier, sweat still clung to his temples, showing just how intensely he had been playing with Second Brother Jiang.
Su Xiaoman wiped his sweat for him, and Xie Mingtu seized the chance to kiss the corner of her mouth. Jiang Leiyan saw the whole process and immediately put on an expression that said, “Morals are declining, and people are no longer what they used to be.”
Jiang Leiyan crossed his arms. “Little Brother, I’d like to remind you of something. You’re actually not even twenty yet.”
He had not even reached the country’s legal marriage age. Even if he had married in the countryside, this marriage might not necessarily count. Of course, it could also be explained as a de facto marriage, but there was no state-certified red booklet.
The moment Xie Mingtu heard someone mention his age, he became anxious. He pressed down on Manman’s arm beside him. “Manman, my birthday is coming soon. I’m twenty by nominal age. I’m already an adult.”
Su Xiaoman could not help smiling and nodded. Seeing this naughty dog trying so hard to round up his age was simply too adorable.
She could not resist teasing him again.
He kept saying he was nineteen, but Su Xiaoman felt that if this fellow spent a few more days with Grandpa Jiang, his personality would regress by four or five years, making him look exactly like a troublesome, mischievous teenage boy.
Second Brother Jiang said coolly, “Nineteen is nineteen. You can’t add an extra stroke to the number on your household register.”
Xie Mingtu refused to back down. “Manman and I can get our certificate next year. At that time, Second Brother still won’t even have a partner.”
Xie Mingtu knew his brother was simply jealous that he had a wife and a partner.
Su Xiaoman finally could not hold back her laughter and nodded. “Our Xiaotu had a partner very early.”
Xie Mingtu nodded deeply in agreement, but he also had one point of dissatisfaction. “Manman, you can’t call me Xiaotu. You can call me Brother Mingtu… or Doggy Brother is fine too.”
Su Xiaoman raised an eyebrow. “Why must I call you brother?”
Second Brother Jiang cut in. “Exactly. What’s wrong with calling you Xiaotu? It’s affectionate. Our family’s Xiaotu, our family’s little rabbit. You little brat run faster than a rabbit…”
Grandma Jiang scolded him. “How are you talking? What little brat? I think you’re the little brat.”
Grandpa Jiang: “…You people are so noisy!”
Xie Mingtu: “…”
Grandma Jiang turned back and glared at Grandpa Jiang. “You’re the least qualified to say that!”
After being snapped at, Grandpa Jiang shrank back aggrievedly. At this moment, Su Xiaoman finally understood who Xie Mingtu had inherited that honest, pitiful, pretending-to-be-obedient look from.
It seemed acting skills were hereditary too.
Noisy as they were, rowdy as they were, Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Jiang were extremely happy. With a few grandsons and a granddaughter-in-law keeping them company and chatting with them, their dull retirement life had become lively. As for their son and daughter-in-law, they had already cast them aside.
“Tonight, our whole family will have a proper reunion dinner. It has to be lively. I even bought firecrackers today.”
“Did Old Wang next door come to invite you for tea today?”
“Shall we call them over to chat too?”
Grandpa Jiang chewed at nothing a few times. “Old Wang probably isn’t in the mood to invite me for tea.”
Today, he had taken his little grandson over and angered Old Wang so much his liver probably hurt.
When Yang Meixing returned home, she saw her Old Wang sitting sternly on a rosewood chair, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot, as if someone had angered him. He still looked full of unresolved resentment.
“Old Wang, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t you say you were going to chat with Old Jiang next door?” Yang Meixing also sighed. She had not expected such a huge incident to happen in the Jiang family next door.
Jiang Ruojun’s little grandson had actually been swapped by someone. The grandson they had raised for more than ten years, Jiang Yantang, was actually not a descendant of the Jiang family. Their real grandson was someone else.
With such a thing happening in the Jiang family, Old Wang and his wife had always wanted to go comfort the Jiang grandparents next door.
They had been neighbours for so many years. Although Old Wang and Old Jiang often bickered and disliked each other, their bond was very deep. Now that something like this had happened next door, Old Wang was also anxious for his good brother and old comrade-in-arms.
He had been so anxious these past two days that he had lost a few more strands of hair. His already endangered scalp had suffered yet another blow.
In the past, her Old Wang had disliked his white hair. Now even the white hairs were mercilessly leaving him.
Wang Xun’an said in a muffled voice, “I’m not going!”
It would have been better if his wife had not mentioned Jiang Ruojun next door. The moment she mentioned him, Wang Xun’an was immediately furious.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to properly comfort the old couple? Sigh… who could have thought such a thing would happen?”
Wang Xun’an laughed twice. “He needs me to comfort him? He needs me to comfort him?”
“He’s delighted now that he has a new grandson who ‘resembles him’!”
“You didn’t see how glowing with pride he looked.”
Today, Old Jiang had brought his biological grandson to show off in front of him for half the day, saying things like, “My biological grandson looks very much like me. He’s practically a copy of me when I was young. Isn’t he handsome? None of your grandsons are as handsome as my Xiaotu, right?”
Handsome?
Wang Xun’an held in his anger, thinking, Handsome, my foot. Old Jiang, what you looked like back then—do you think I, Old Wang, don’t know?
A copy of you? Your skin is too thick!
Besides, what use is a boy’s face? What use is being handsome? Apart from hooking girls, it has no other use.
At that time, looking at someone else’s tall, handsome little grandson, Wang Xun’an had already felt sour in his heart. But thinking that their family had gone through such a matter, he decided to let Old Jiang show off a little.
Who knew Old Jiang would open his mouth again.
“Didn’t you refuse to believe I memorised the dictionary back then? Didn’t you say I couldn’t possibly do it? Look, my grandson can memorise a dictionary easily…”
“What? You don’t believe it? If you don’t believe it, I’ll have him recite it for you.”
“How is it? Not bad, right? Now you believe me…”
“Hehe, my Xiaotu also has a beautiful wife. Let me tell you, I’m ahead of you now. My Xiaotu has a wife. My grandson has a wife. When will your grandson get a wife?”
“In a few years, I’ll be holding a great-grandchild. Our Xiaotu is so handsome. Better if he has a daughter. I’ll have a great-granddaughter…”
Wang Xun’an only felt that Old Jiang’s endless chatter was unbearably noisy, as annoying as a fly in a latrine. The terrifying thing was that no matter how he tried, he could not chase him away.
He had finally managed to send that plague god away, only for his wife to come back and mention him again!
No. He could not lose to Old Jiang next door.
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