Chapter 3: Stepmother Xiao Xu Shi

Chapter 3: Stepmother Xu

Xu’s voice remained soft and gentle, yet it was articulate and well-reasoned, certainly not like that of an ignorant village woman.

Jiang Wan sifted through her memories.

Her original self, now twelve, had been tethered to Xu’s waist and held by her hand since she could remember.

Yes, Xu was not her original self’s birth mother.

Strictly speaking, she was her original self’s maternal aunt.

How did Jiang Wan know this?

Because, according to her memories, every year on the fifteenth day of the second lunar month, the Flower Morning Festival, Xu would take the three Jiang children to visit the grave of her original self’s birth mother, Big Xu.

Jiang Zhaodi, that simple-minded girl, couldn’t grasp anything beyond the obvious. But Jiang Wan, having transmigrated, could piece together the context and memories in her mind to quickly understand the full story.

Back then, her original self’s birth mother had died in childbirth. Within a hundred days, Xu had married her brother-in-law, who was eight years her senior. The biggest reason, undoubtedly, was her original self.

Over the years, Xu’s affection for her original self, that naive girl, couldn’t merely be described as treating her as her own; it was more like cherishing her above all else. Even her own twin children had to take a backseat.

Recalling how Xu had cried hysterically, sprawled over the lifeless Jiang Zhaodi when she first transmigrated, Jiang Wan’s eyes flickered.

A parent’s heart truly is boundless.

Then, looking at Xu’s left cheek, still soft and beautiful despite its extreme thinness, she sighed inwardly.

If not for the deliberately burned scar on her right cheek, she would undoubtedly be a beautiful woman—and an educated one at that.

How could the Xu sisters possibly be orphaned girls fleeing famine?

Hmph, that tale could only fool ignorant villagers. It probably didn’t even fool Old Jiang and his wife, let alone the shrewd father who, according to memory, had supposedly died early on the battlefield.

Jiang Wan said nothing more. In the room, only Xu’s voice could be heard, gently reassuring her in-laws.

“Actually, what Eldest Daughter said makes some sense. I know you dote on your grandson. But these times are unstable. It’s better not to draw too much attention to ourselves, so we don’t invite any unnecessary trouble for the family.

Besides, for someone like Yaozu, missing a couple of meals won’t hurt. As the old saying goes, ‘it’s not the thief you fear, but the thief’s greedy eye.’ If you raise him so plump and fair, what if kidnappers notice him one day? What then?

It’s better to let him go hungry a few more times to avoid drawing attention. The food saved can help you two replenish your strength. And the two girls can also get a bite or two…”

Truly a birth mother—so articulate when it came to disciplining her son. Her mother-in-law was so enraged she wanted to scold her again, but the old man grabbed her sleeve.

Startled by his eldest granddaughter’s earlier outburst, Old Jiang now felt a faint sense of fear and worry. Although such things were unlikely to happen in their own village, his daughter-in-law was right: it was better to keep their meager possessions hidden. Otherwise, if something truly happened to the child, they would have nowhere to turn.

“Alright, I understand.”

“Old man, what are you agreeing to?”

“Grandpa, are you trying to starve me to death?”

The aggrieved grandmother and grandson spoke simultaneously.

Before Old Jiang could explain, he saw his increasingly unruly eldest granddaughter skillfully pick up a branch again.

Excellent. Under Eldest Daughter’s forceful deterrence, the Jiang family quickly reached a consensus.

So at noon, everyone fairly received a bowl of thin, watery soup. In the evening, the proper staple—cornbread—was also fairly distributed among all family members. Even that small, once-luxurious bowl of steamed egg custard was finally no longer reserved solely for Jiang Yaozu.

Looking at the noticeably larger portion of egg custard in her own bowl, Jiang Wan’s eyes subtly shifted.

“You two, hurry and eat. It’ll get cold and taste fishy soon.”

Xu urged her two daughters in a low voice, nibbling slowly at her dark cornbread.

Jiang Hudi sniffed the fragrant egg in her bowl and smiled happily, her eyes crinkling shut.

The little girl didn’t question why her older sister had more. After all, it had all been snatched from that annoying Jiang Yaozu—what did it matter which sister ate it?

Since she was old enough to understand, she knew her simple-minded older sister was someone she had to protect. She had been clever since childhood and could help her mother care for her older sister.

She was used to it.

Jiang Yaozu was truly wronged. If only he hadn’t thrown that tantrum today. Not only did he miss out on the chicken, but he also lost his eggs.

If Baogen and the others found out tomorrow, they would surely laugh him to death.

Old Wang Shi, accustomed to spoiling her grandson, couldn’t bear to see him suffer. She picked up her own bowl, intending to spoon the eggs into her grandson’s.

Jiang Wan coughed forcefully. Jiang Yaozu, understanding, trembled his chubby belly and retreated with his bowl.

“Grandma, don’t harm me!”

That’s the good thing about cowards—they learn quickly when beaten.

Old Jiang looked at his eldest granddaughter, who was staring intently at his grandson, and sighed.

“Old woman, what are you doing? Did you forget what we said earlier today? Eat it yourself. If you really don’t want it, give it to me.”

“…I’ll give you a hammer!”

Old Wang Shi was furious.

If her grandson didn’t appreciate her gesture, fine—but this wretched old man was also provoking her! She lifted her bowl, poured the contents directly into her mouth, then quickly ate the cornbread and drank the watery rice soup in a few bites, grumbling as she stood up and left the table to return to her room.

Old Jiang also finished quickly and went back to his room to comfort his old wife.

Only the mother and children remained at the table.

Jiang Wan picked up her bowl and transferred half of her eggs to Xu.

The latter paused, her hand tightening around the cornbread.

“Eat it yourself. I don’t like this stuff; it’s very fishy.”

“Mm. Me neither.”

Jiang Wan tipped her half portion of eggs directly into her mouth, swallowed without really tasting, and then nodded in agreement.

“It really is a bit fishy. Try it if you don’t believe me.”

Two pairs of similarly shaped almond eyes met. The worry and sorrow in Xu’s eyes eventually softened into cautious probing.

“Why do you find it fishy now? You used to love steamed egg custard. On your tenth birthday, your grandmother even specially steamed a bowl for you…”

Jiang Wan pursed her lips.

“You can’t just make up stories because the child is simple-minded. When did she ever specially steam egg custard for me? Wasn’t it you who secretly went to Aunt Er’s house to trade for that bowl of dough flake soup that day?

It was all a gloopy mess, and you even lied to me, saying it was little turtles. If you can’t make longevity noodles, just say you can’t. Why trick a child?”

“Pfft…”

“…Hahaha, hic. Big sis, I won’t laugh anymore, don’t hit me!”

Jiang Hudi and Jiang Yaozu quickly lowered their heads to stifle their laughter, while Xu finally relaxed, the worry in her eyes and brow easing. She couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Indeed, she had overthought it. The child had simply grown up, become more sensible, and learned to care for others—nothing more to it.

“You’re getting more mischievous the older you get, even daring to tease your elders. It’s not that I don’t know how to make longevity noodles—it’s just that there was too little flour to work with.”

“When we have more to spare in the future, I’ll make a bowl for each of you. I promise to make up for it!”

Jiang Wan nodded in agreement.

“Mm, we’ll talk about the future later. For now, eat the egg before it gets cold and too fishy.”

Hearing the same words come from her child’s mouth instantly warmed the mother’s heart.

“You eat it, I really don’t like this…”

“Even if you don’t like it, eat it!”

The unreasonable brat raised a finger and bared her teeth at Jiang Yaozu.

“Otherwise, I’ll beat up Jiang Laosan!”