The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

Chapter 680: Chapter 587: A Troop of Relatives

Jiang Xuehua said her goodbyes at the courtyard gate. Xiao Man and Qiuyan gave her a dozen or so fruits, which Jiang Xuehua accepted without ceremony, heading home happily with them in her arms.

As Xiao Man and Qiuyan entered the courtyard, they were met with several greetings: "Xiao Man, you’re back?"

"Xiao Man, long time no see!"

"Qiuyan, where did you two just go?"

"Whoa, so much fruit! You must have picked it from the herb garden, right? Man, if we’d known, we would have gone with you to help!"

As they spoke, a group of four or five young men and women walked toward them. They took the fruit baskets from Xiao Man’s and Qiuyan’s arms and carried them straight into the living room, shouting with a laugh, "Grandma, come look at these fruits! They’re so fresh and rare! These are the ones that grow in the herb garden. I saw them last time I was here helping out. Xiao Man and Qiuyan must have gone to pick them specially for us since they knew we were coming!"

Xiao Man was speechless. Qiuyan pouted. "They’re not for you! We were going to make juice for ourselves!"

Xinghua came out of the kitchen and lightly patted Qiuyan on the back. "That’s enough. We can just pick more fruit when these are gone. Don’t stir up gossip and start another argument. Do you want to make Grandpa and Grandma angry?"

Qiuyan shook her head, squirming as she muttered under her breath, "I just don’t like them. They bring a whole army every time they visit. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were here for a fight. And they refuse to leave until every single one of them has taken something. How much do we have to give away to them?"

Xinghua was speechless.

She looked at Xiao Man, a little helpless. "Look at this little housekeeper. The adults haven’t even said anything, but she’s watching them like a hawk."

Xiao Man smiled. "She’s right to do so. Of course you have to look after your own home. Or what, just wait for people to empty it out? To be honest, before you all came back, I was just like Qiuyan, keeping a close watch and even scheming a little. Otherwise, Grandpa would have ended up taking in Liang Xiaoju and Liang Yonggan as his grandchildren, and maybe even Granny Ahua’s youngest son and daughter-in-law. Why do you think Liang Xiaoju and I are always at odds? That’s when our feud started. It’s great that Qiuyan is taking over for me now!"

Qiuyan rolled her eyes. ’It’s not like I want this job, okay? It’s just that everyone in this family is such a pushover. I work myself to the bone and no one appreciates it. They just think I’m being a petty child!’

Seeing the dejected look on Qiuyan’s face as she walked into the kitchen, both Xiao Man and Xinghua couldn’t help but chuckle.

Xinghua glanced at the group of young people gathered under the pear tree, peeling and eating fruit, and said in a low voice, "The Great-Aunt from Shangling Village and Granny Ahua from Immortal Grass Village are here again today! Great-Aunt brought eleven people with her this time: a couple of her sons and their wives, a daughter, and six other cousins. Liang Xiaoju came too. She ran upstairs and is ’touring’ every room. She does that every time, an endless tour."

Xiao Man frowned. "Liang Xiaoju loves to rummage through people’s things. She used to live with me, so she’s definitely going into my room..."

"I already locked your room for you. Here’s the key." Xinghua took out a key and handed it to Xiao Man, her tone resigned. "It’s like this in the countryside. People aren’t particular. When relatives come, they like to wander around and look at everything. Sometimes they’ll just go into a room to rest without asking. If you say something, you risk offending them. Anyway, there are plenty of empty rooms upstairs, so we just let them look around. Just remember to lock your own room when you go out from now on."

Xiao Man took the key and said thank you. It wasn’t that her room was some forbidden zone, but she really disliked people entering without asking. Besides, she knew Liang Xiaoju. It would be a miracle if she went in and *didn’t* rummage through her things.

"It’s not even the New Year. Why did Great-Aunt bring so many people? And Granny Ahua came too? What do they want?"

Xinghua replied, "Who knows? Great-Aunt made it sound all official, saying there’s a rumor going around that our family’s herb garden on the mountain is hiring! So they came over. Granny Ahua from Immortal Grass Village brought people too. There are twelve of them in total between the two groups, all wanting to be workers in the herb garden. Great-Aunt even said two of her grand-nephews are very clever—one graduated from high school and the other from middle school. She said they’re educated and can be of great use. Since the herb garden bought a car, she suggested Grandpa should pay to send them to the city to learn how to drive."

’Great-Aunt is as calculating as ever,’ Xiao Man thought. She asked, "So do we actually need to hire people?"

"Not at all! The White Hat Medicinal Plant Garden is huge and we haven’t even finished clearing all the land, but Grandpa and Dad have a plan. When the garden was first established, Shaojun sent over seven retired soldiers. They live on the mountain and rarely come down. They’re extremely capable and also handle security for the garden. If you’re talking about official workers, it’s just them. We’re not hiring anyone else right now. We can hire seasonal workers whenever we need them; there are plenty of people who want the work. Usually, Grandpa and Dad only hire people from our own village. Sometimes, at the school’s request, we give the easier, less strenuous jobs to students to support their work-study programs. So we’re not in a hurry and have no need to hire from outside."

"Then what’s with Great-Aunt and the others?"

"They were probably just guessing. It’s fine. We’ll just treat it as relatives coming for a visit. My mom went to the vegetable garden to cut some greens. I’m boiling water while I cook. Jiang Junlin went to catch and slaughter some chickens and ducks. We’ll have him ride to the mine to buy a few pounds of pork. When Grandpa and Dad get back, we’ll all have a meal together, explain the situation clearly, and then send them on their way."

Xiao Man nodded. Of course, they had to treat their guests well and at least serve them a meal. It was just that the way her aunts showed up to "visit" was truly terrifying. They came several times a year. It must be tough on Grandpa and Grandma. If they didn’t have some savings, they wouldn’t be able to afford hosting them.

Just as they were talking, the iron gate CLANGED. It was Da Zhi, Dapeng, and Gu Shaoqin returning. The group of boisterous young men were beaming with joy. They burst through the gate and started shouting, "Come look, come look! We found a rabbit warren and caught four fat rabbits! And a bunch of wild eggs, and a pangolin!"

Hearing this, the young people eating fruit under the pear tree suddenly swarmed over. They crowded around Da Zhi and the others, excitedly handling the rabbits and the pangolin, clicking their tongues in amazement. An older young man laughed and shouted to Xinghua and Xiao Man, "Hurry up and boil some water! Let’s get this game prepped right away. Perfect for adding some dishes to the meal, ha!"

Gu Shaoqin was a little dazed. Where did all these people suddenly come from? Da Zhi and Dapeng recognized a few people in the crowd, and the smiles on their faces faded. After exchanging a few words with them, they dropped the game for the others to admire and pulled Gu Shaoqin over to the kitchen door. Xinghua and Xiao Man brought out a basin and ladled some hot water for them to wash their hands and faces, telling them to rest and have a snack before taking a shower.

The water in the pot had just boiled. Xinghua urged Da Zhi and Dapeng to hurry up and have a bowl of congee, then get the rabbits butchered and cleaned so they could be stewed and stir-fried soon.

But Xiao Man told Da Zhi and Dapeng not to rush and to just sit and eat. She pointed to the young men outside the kitchen, who were busy inspecting and commenting on the game. "We’ve got so many cousins here. They can do it too."

Xinghua was a bit embarrassed. "They’re guests. They never lift a finger when they visit."

"Don’t worry. I’ll go ask them. I’m sure they’ll help. Many hands make light work, and if we all pitch in, we’ll get to eat this game sooner!"