Chapter 206: Returning to the Hometown
Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Returning to the Hometown
That night in bed, Lu Cheng briefly explained the Lu Family’s situation to Jiang Moli.
Lu Cheng’s hometown was in Fucheng.
Fucheng wasn’t far from Rongcheng, but they had rarely gone back over the years.
The reason for this was the extremely hostile relationship between Mrs. Lu Sr. and her daughter-in-law, An Hui.
Mrs. Lu Sr. had been against Lu Deyao’s decision to adopt his eldest son, Lu Yuan, from the very beginning.
From her perspective as an elder, she didn’t want to raise a child for someone else.
Therefore, after An Hui married into the family, Mrs. Lu Sr. was extremely anxious for her to give Lu Deyao a biological son.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. After four years of marriage, An Hui still hadn’t gotten pregnant.
Mrs. Lu Sr. went from being full of hope to hurling verbal abuse at An Hui.
She cursed An Hui, calling her a jinx and a barren hen. She even claimed An Hui would be the end of Lu Deyao’s family line and threw a fit, demanding that he divorce her.
But An Hui wasn’t the type to suffer in silence. Whether it was a shouting match or a physical fight, she never came out on the losing end.
And so, the two of them developed a deep and irreconcilable feud.
Presumably because of her aversion to An Hui, Mrs. Lu Sr. also held a strong dislike for the three brothers—Lu Yuan, Lu An, and Lu Cheng—even though Lu An and Lu Cheng were her biological grandsons.
Belittling the three brothers and pitting them against each other by praising one while putting down another—it was a drama guaranteed to unfold every time they visited during their childhood.
"Even though Grandma doesn’t like us, Grandpa and Eldest Uncle want to meet you. As long as I’m there, I won’t let anyone give you a hard time."
Afraid that Jiang Moli would be upset, Lu Cheng patiently explained why he wanted to take her back to his hometown.
Little did he know, Jiang Moli was actually incredibly excited.
’This isn’t some vicious grandmother,’ she thought. ’This is my quest NPC!’
...
Two days before the National Day holiday, An Hui invited Fan Wenfang and Xu Xiuzhen over for dinner.
After the meal, she brought out three new gold-inlaid jade pendants and let her three daughters-in-law pick the ones they wanted.
The pieces of jade had been irregularly shaped, so each of the three finished pendants was also different.
One was shaped like a gourd, one like a magnolia flower, and one was a traditional peace pendant.
Jiang Moli didn’t stand on ceremony and was the first to choose, picking the magnolia flower.
Fan Wenfang, ever courteous, let Xu Xiuzhen choose next.
Xu Xiuzhen chose the gourd, leaving the peace pendant for Fan Wenfang.
"Thank you, Mom! My old necklace just broke, and I was planning to buy a new one at the end of the year."
Seeing the joyful expressions on her first and second daughters-in-law’s faces, An Hui felt just as pleased and content.
At her age, money and jewelry were merely material possessions.
What she truly hoped to see was her children and grandchildren living in harmony and unity, and the family flourishing.
After handing out the gifts, An Hui brought up the trip to Fucheng for the National Day holiday.
Fan Wenfang and Xu Xiuzhen had no objections.
Although Mrs. Lu Sr. was difficult, it was only for a day. They could endure it.
Lu Tingting turned to Jiang Moli. "Are you going back to the hometown for the holiday too?"
Jiang Moli replied, "What do you think?"
"Fine, don’t tell me."
She turned and found Lu Cheng instead. After learning from him that Jiang Moli was indeed going to Fucheng for the holiday, she knew what she needed to know.
Back at home, Fan Wenfang opened the closet to pick out clothes for the children for their trip to Fucheng the day after tomorrow.
As she searched, she told Lu Tingting, "We won’t be home for the holiday, so you should go to your grandma’s house."
Lu Tingting replied, "I don’t want to go to Grandma’s. I want to go to Fucheng with you guys."
Fan Wenfang was a little surprised.
Ever since the old matriarch had slapped her when she was seven, her daughter had held a grudge and refused to go back for over a decade.
But this year, pigs must be flying, because she was volunteering to go.
Recalling how much her daughter’s personality had changed since returning from Menghai, she couldn’t help but warn Lu Tingting not to provoke the old woman.
The words went in one of Lu Tingting’s ears and out the other. Her eyes darted about as she was clearly scheming something.
...
「On National Day」
Early in the morning, the entire family boarded a minibus and set off for Fucheng.
The drive from Rongcheng to Fucheng took two hours.
Once in Fucheng, they first went to the home of Lu Deping, the eldest uncle of the family.
Lu Deping had retired ten years ago for health reasons and was living with his wife in the military family housing compound.
Lu Deyao hadn’t seen his older brother, Lu Deping, in two years. The two of them spent a good while catching up before setting off together to visit Mr. Lu.
Mr. Lu lived in a retirement community for veteran cadres and was already eighty-four years old.
"Dad’s health has really gone downhill these last two years. He’s bedridden most of the time and doesn’t really recognize people anymore. He might just... any day now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have specifically asked you to bring the children back to see him."
On the way there, Lu Deping somberly filled Lu Deyao in on Mr. Lu’s condition.
Zeng Xiulan pulled An Hui aside to talk about Jiang Moli. "Your third son’s wife is certainly a looker, but what’s her personality like? Is she good to you?"
"She’s great."
Upon hearing this, Zeng Xiulan couldn’t help but say with envy, "You’re the lucky one. Your husband is a powerful man, and your three sons are all so successful, each more than the last. Especially Xiao Cheng, becoming a battalion commander at such a young age. Sigh, De Ping retired so early. My Xiao Yi and the others don’t get to benefit from any family connections; they have to rely completely on themselves."
The comment, both in what it said and what it didn’t, was clearly implying that Lu Cheng’s promotion to battalion commander was due to nepotism.
An Hui’s expression turned cold. "Sister-in-law, you only see that Xiao Cheng is a battalion commander now. You don’t see the six or seven years he was stationed in Menghai, living year-round in a perilous environment, constantly fighting vicious criminals. He nearly lost his life on numerous occasions. If you’re willing to let your Xiao Yi and the others go to Menghai to earn merits for a promotion, I’m sure Deyao would be more than happy to help arrange it."
Zeng Xiulan looked embarrassed and quickly said, "Oh, no need to trouble him. Xiao Yi and the others have very stable jobs now."
A place like Menghai was teeming with venomous snakes, poisonous insects, and packs of wild animals.
One wrong move and you could lose your life. What good was a high-ranking position then?
...
Mr. Lu had lost his legs on the battlefield, so the government had treated him with great consideration, providing him with a small, private courtyard home.
Lu Tingting had been walking ahead of Jiang Moli, but as they neared their destination, she suddenly changed course and slipped in behind her.
Jiang Moli glanced back at her. "What are you doing?"
Lu Tingting huffed, "None of your business. It’s a wide road; I can walk wherever I want."
Guessing that Lu Tingting was afraid of their great-grandmother, Jiang Moli chuckled to herself. "Don’t worry, your Third Auntie will protect you," she teased. "You’re too cute. It’s better if you’re left for me to bully."
As she spoke, she reached out and pinched Lu Tingting’s cheek.
Lu Tingting shot her a fierce glare, but inwardly, she felt a strange sense of excitement and anticipation.
...
The small courtyard where the old Lu couple lived wasn’t large, but it was kept very clean.
On the east side grew an ancient osmanthus tree with a wide canopy, a rattan chair placed beneath it.
An old woman with completely white hair sat in the rattan chair, scowling fiercely at the approaching group. Standing beside her was another woman who looked to be in her sixties.
Jiang Moli darted forward and grabbed the hand of the sixty-year-old woman.
"Grandma, I’m so happy to finally meet you! You look so young, not a day over eighty!"
The woman was completely flustered by Jiang Moli.
"Ah, Xiao Jiang, you’ve made a mistake," Lu Deyao said, "this is Grandma."
Lu Deyao pulled Jiang Moli over to Zhu Huanghua. "Mom, this is Xiao Jiang, Xiao Cheng’s new wife. She came back with us specifically to visit you and Dad."
With a long, sullen face, Zhu Huanghua looked Jiang Moli up and down.
Jiang Moli sized up Mrs. Lu Sr. in return.
The old woman was thin and small, with sharp, upturned eyes and lips as thin as paper. One look was enough to know she was not to be trifled with.