RBI1960 Chapter 22 V2

Meng Xiangxue didn’t have to worry—he was a boy. Whether he inherited his grandfather’s or his father’s position, he’d be fine. But she was different. A girl like her couldn’t do manual labor. The accounting job was perfect—sitting in an office, not much work, and a lot of respect.

That job was supposed to be hers, but now this woman had butted in and taken it. With so many nieces, who knew where the job would end up in the future?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She was about to say something when she caught a glimpse of her grandmother coming out with another cup of malted milk. She quickly shut her mouth.

“What were you all chatting about? I thought I heard Wenwen’s voice from the kitchen,” Old Lady Qu said cheerfully as she placed the malted milk in front of Jiang Yiliu and affectionately patted his little head.

“Nothing much,” Jiang Dazhen quickly replied. “We were just talking about how my brother and nephew have to travel back soon. I said I’d pack them some pastries for the road.”

The kitchen wasn’t far from the living room—there was no such thing as soundproofing in these old houses. She didn’t believe for a second that Old Lady Qu hadn’t heard what was said earlier.

But Jiang Dazhen was no fool—she understood her mother-in-law well. Dirty laundry should only be aired within the family. Criticizing Meng Xiangwen in front of her brother and nephew, even if the girl was in the wrong, would only displease the old lady.

By stepping in to cover for Meng Xiangwen, she was playing the long game. Even if the old lady didn’t show it now, she would make it up to her in private. And those pastries? They were worth more than a few words.

After all these years in the Meng household, Jiang Dazhen had figured out everyone’s personalities. If she had to suffer, she’d make sure to get something in return. She wasn’t like the foolish Wen family, who kept pushing away such a good in-law.

Sure enough, Old Lady Qu looked pleased and didn’t mind parting with the pastries. She even opened the low cabinet and pulled out a beautifully wrapped, unopened box of peach crisps.

“I can tell Yiliu likes them a lot. And you brought so many wonderful things with you—it’s only right for a grandmother to offer a little something in return,” she said, pushing the box into Jiang Yiliu’s arms.

Jiang Dahai tried to refuse, saying they came to give gifts, not to take anything back.

“Dahai, don’t be so polite,” Old Lady Qu said sternly. “If you keep refusing, I’ll get upset.”

Jiang Dahai didn’t dare say another word.

Qu Ying nodded in satisfaction but gave her troublesome granddaughter a sidelong glance and sighed inwardly.

She couldn’t let this child be completely spoiled by the Wen family. That night, she would have to discuss with her son and grandson whether they should limit how much time the girl spent with them.

Meng Xiangwen’s face turned red with rage as she watched the Jiang family eating and leaving with gifts. She had no idea that her grandmother was covering for her—that if her earlier behavior got out, it could ruin her reputation for life. Who would dare marry a girl with such a foul mouth and no manners?

Sadly, all of Old Lady Qu’s efforts would be for nothing.

“Give me this month’s ration and fabric coupons,” Meng Xiangwen suddenly demanded. She felt she couldn’t stay in this house a moment longer and finally revealed her true reason for coming back.

These days, every town household receives monthly grain rations and subsidies through their household registration book. The Meng family’s registrations were all listed together, and Old Lady Qu was the one who collected them each month.

Because Meng Xiangwen spent half the year living with the Wen family, her share of the grain rations was always delivered directly to them. The Meng family wasn’t short on food, so Old Lady Qu never quibbled about it with the Wen family.

This month’s grain had already been sent out at the beginning of the month. It wasn’t even the end of the month yet—so why was her granddaughter asking for more?

With Jiang Dahai and Jiang Yiliu present, Old Lady Qu had to swallow her frustration and asked in a calm, gentle tone, “Didn’t we already send the rations over at the start of the month? What’s wrong—did you run out of food?”

The truth was, it wasn’t that they didn’t have enough to eat. It was that this month, Meng Xiangwen had stayed at the Wen family’s house longer than usual.

Normally, the Meng family would send a full month’s rations, but Meng Xiangwen would only stay for half the month. So the leftover food naturally ended up in the Wen family’s bellies. But this time, after a falling-out between the two families over an accounting job, Meng Xiangwen simply stayed at the Wens and never mentioned coming back. The other members of the Wen family didn’t seem to mind, but Wen Dajiu’s wife, Lu Xingfang, certainly did.

It was already cramped with so many people in the house, and now they weren’t even getting the extra food. She couldn’t take it anymore and started dropping hints to Meng Xiangwen about the family’s “difficulties.”

Meng Xiangwen had always seen the Wen family as her biggest support. The moment she heard that, she panicked and immediately ran back to the Mengs to ask for more food.

Not only that, she also wanted fabric coupons to make a new set of clothes. The Wen family had a lot of mouths to feed and barely enough to get by. Even after pestering her parents, Lu Xingfang couldn’t get any coupons, so she set her sights on her niece instead. After all, the Meng family had money—better to use the coupons for a nice outfit for her than waste them on Jiang Dazhen or some brat born later.

Meng Xiangwen had always been closest to her little aunt. Before the woman even said anything, Meng Xiangwen patted her chest and promised to get the coupons. Since the two of them were about the same size, they could even swap clothes if they had different styles.

Meng Xiangwen never once considered whether the Meng family would be willing to give them up. As far as she was concerned, this stuff was hers by right. If they didn’t give it to her, it meant they were playing favorites—and in that case, she might as well not recognize them as her family. To her, only her grandparents and her aunt cared about her. As for her dad and paternal grandparents, they’d already been “stolen away” by that vixen and her son. Whether she was there or not didn’t matter.

“Just tell me if you have it or not. If not, I’ll go home,” Meng Xiangwen said impatiently to Old Lady Qu. It was just some ration and fabric coupons—why all the questions? They’re so generous when giving snacks to outsiders.

Old Lady Qu nearly fainted from anger. “Go home? Isn’t this your home? What do you mean, go home?” Her tone had turned harsh. If it weren’t for the guests present, she’d have liked to crack open her granddaughter’s head to see what kind of nonsense the Wen family had filled it with.

Seeing that she wouldn’t get what she came for today, Meng Xiangwen gave Jiang Dazhen a fierce glare, then tossed one at Jiang Dahai and Jiang Yiliu too, before storming out and slamming the door behind her.

Bang!

The loud noise startled Old Lady Qu. Her face flushed with rage, her finger trembled as she pointed toward the door. “That girl, that girl is going to be the death of me…”

Jiang Dazhen quickly stepped up to pat her back and calm her down. “Mom, don’t get worked up. Wenwen’s still young. She’ll understand when she’s older. Tonight, I’ll have Pingchuan bring over some ration and fabric coupons. She’s growing—of course, she’s going to eat more. And it’s not like the family can’t afford it. There’s only Wenwen and Xiangxue—no matter who we give it to, it’s all staying in the family.”

Now was the perfect time to earn some favor with the old lady—when else could she?

Sure enough, Old Lady Qu’s mood eased a little. Like all grandparents, she was protective of her own. She could scold her grandkids herself, but if someone else did, it wouldn’t sit right with her.

In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with her granddaughter. This current behavior was just the result of the Wen family’s manipulation. She only had one grandson and one granddaughter—she loved them both dearly. How could she bear to give one up?

Jiang Dazhen knew exactly how to play the game. She understood that while the old lady was angry now, give it a few days, and once Meng Xiangwen came back and apologized, everything would blow over. If she bad-mouthed the girl now, she’d end up the one left out in the cold. Better to say something nice and put the old lady in a better mood—makes life easier for her too.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Old Lady Qu said a little awkwardly, finally remembering the two guests who had witnessed the whole scene.

“No worries. It’s like this everywhere. I’ve got four daughters myself, and they all love to throw little tantrums too,” Jiang Dahai said, scratching his head with a sheepish grin.

Jiang Yiliu nearly rolled his eyes. Dad, seriously? Can you not lie so easily? His four sisters were all sensible and well-behaved. Other than the second sister’s occasional fiery temper, none of them acted like that spoiled princess just now.

Still, Old Lady Qu was pleased by the comment and started chattering away with Jiang Dahai about the troubles of raising kids. Jiang Dahai didn’t even get a chance to respond—just had to stand there with a stiff smile and listen to over an hour of her rambling. Only when he claimed it was getting late did he finally manage to escape.

By the time they left, all the bags they’d brought with them were packed full again. Old Lady Qu had insisted on stuffing them with things, saying she’d enjoyed chatting and that Jiang Dahai should come visit her in the city more often to keep her company.

Standing at the door with his arms full, Jiang Dahai felt completely dazed. How did things turn out like this again?

Still, his priority now was to go pick someone up. He wasn’t taking that same road again—who knew if those people were still lurking around? So he took a detour, adding an extra ten minutes, and finally made it to the Revolutionary Committee.

By then, the sky was already growing dark. Looking at the lights in the distance, Jiang Yiliu felt a surge of excitement in his chest.