Chapter 5: Unlucky Jiang Laosan

Chapter 5: Poor Old Jiang Laosan

Seeing how worked up and hopping mad the other had become, Jiang Huailiang realized he had pushed the joke too far and quickly offered an apology.

"Right, right, I had a brain fart for a moment and forgot about the ancestral worship part. Don't hold it against me, brother. My bad."

"Hmph, who needs your apology?"

Zhang Jingguang muttered grumpily for a moment, then glanced up at the sky and reminded him,

"It’s already light out. Aren’t you in a hurry to get home anymore?"

"Of course I am! I’m chomping at the bit!"

Jiang Huailiang swung onto his horse in one swift motion.

"No more of your nonsense. You’re heading to Zhengning County, and I’m off to Yuquan County. Let’s part ways here. When we’re back in Maocheng, we brothers will have ourselves some good drinking sessions!"

"Alright! Take care, Eldest Brother Jiang! See you later!"

"Mm, see you. Giddy up!"

Jiang Huailiang, along with his few personal guards, whipped their horses and galloped off into the distance.

The sun climbed lazily over the willow branches, then inched its way up past the rooftops.

The three Jiang siblings were squatting in a neat row next to the chicken coop, dead silent.

Xu Shi, coming back from working the fields, had brought back a basket of veggies along the way. Entering the yard, she saw the children all squatting there and asked, amused,

"What are you three doing?"

Jiang Wan turned her head to glance at her.

"I’m watching the hen laying an egg."

Jiang Hudi also turned around.

"I’m watching her watch the hen laying an egg."

Jiang Yaozu quickly followed suit and turned to answer.

"I’m watching her watch her watch the hen laying an egg."

…………

Xu Shi’s mouth twitched. Recently, it seemed the eldest had been acting kinda crazy, and the second and third were clearly catching the crazy too.

"Stop watching, all of you. Don’t end up scaring the hen. If it stops laying eggs, none of you will get to eat steamed egg custard. Come over here and give me a hand with some chores!"

As she spoke, she set the vegetable basket down on the stone table in the yard and sat on a stone stool to start cleaning the vegetables.

Old Jiang, sitting on a long bench against the wall tying brooms, stayed out of his daughter-in-law managing the children. However, Old Wang Shi, who had just finished tending the fire in the kitchen, came out displeased.

Brushing off grass scraps from her clothes, she jumped in to defend him again, not learning from past experience.

"Yaozu's just a kid! What work do you want him to do? You heartless woman, always coming up with new ways to pick on my precious grandson. He’s just a child..."

"So we shouldn't go easy on him."

A chilly retort that could choke someone with frustration. Jiang Yaozu, now quite experienced with beatings, saw that his eldest sister seemed about to change her expression and immediately shrieked in a shrill voice to accuse Old Wang Shi.

"Grandma, why're you getting me in trouble again? She wasn’t planning to hit me today, and now you’re stirring things up?!"

"...I—"

Old Wang Shi, who ended up caught in the middle, took a deep, angry breath and pointed at her ungrateful grandson, scolding him.

"You foolish boy, I’m just feeling sorry for you! They’re deliberately picking on you—aren’t you tired?"

"Eldest sister would never deliberately pick on me. As long as I behave, she won’t hit me again, right, Eldest Sister?"

Jiang Yaozu obsequiously fetched a small wooden stool for his eldest sister to sit on, then eagerly raised his chubby fists and skillfully began massaging her shoulders.

That sycophantic enthusiasm of his thoroughly exasperated his grandmother.

After all these years of pouring her heart into raising this grandson, she had never seen him wait on her like this. And now? Every day, he serves his sister as if she were some revered ancestor!

"Jiang Zhaodi, how dare you bully your brother like this?"

Jiang Wan didn’t argue with the old woman but instead asked coolly the sycophant behind her.

"Jiang Laosan, is anyone bullying you?"

"No! Eldest sister would never bully me!"

Jiang Yaozu, who knew very well how to look after himself, loudly refuted his grandmother’s words. Deep down, he was also annoyed.

Grandma, if you can’t save me from this misery, why provoke Eldest Sister? Every time you do, I just end up getting an extra beating—what good does that do?

"See, Grandma? This is a case of 'one willing to beat, the other willing to be beaten.' It’s all mutual—how can you call it bullying? And besides,"

Jiang Wan raised her voice slightly.

"I want to change my name, and Second Sister will change hers too."

Both Xu Shi and Old Jiang, who had been busy with their tasks, stopped and looked over.

"Things are fine as they are—why do you suddenly want to change your names?"

"Grandpa, that’s not right. How can you say everything’s fine? What’s so fine about names like 'Zhaodi' (Seeking a Brother) and 'Hudi' (Protecting a Brother)? Does it mean Second Sister and I are destined to spend our lives slaving for Third Brother? I won’t have it."

The little girl Jiang Hudi, sticking close to her eldest sister, nodded vigorously.

"Me neither! I’m only an hour older than Jiang Yaozu—why should our lives be worlds apart? And he’s never been nice to me, his Second Sister. Why should I have to work for him in the future? I won’t have it either!"

See? No one is a fool. Children know best when adults play favorites. The consequence of not treating children equally is often chaos among siblings.

The two granddaughters’ rebellion infuriated Old Wang Shi so much that she bent over, took off her shoe, and was about to hit them, but Xu Shi, quick-eyed and swift-handed, grabbed her.

"Mother, let’s talk this out. At your age, you shouldn’t get so angry with the girls. What if you make yourself sick?"

Seeing the old woman about to make a scene again, Jiang Wan deftly pulled Jiang Yaozu out from behind her.

"Second Sister, go get the branch."

"Alright! I’ll go right now!"

Jiang Hudi excitedly scampered off.

Jiang Yaozu was so terrified that he bawled his eyes out.

"Don't hit me, it's not my fault this time, Big Sis! Waaah, it's not my fault!"

"I know it's not your fault this time."

Jiang Wan patted the chubby kid in her hands and offered an apology laced with mockery.

"But I can't hit Grandma, so I have no choice but to make you suffer, Jiang Laosan. Sorry about that.

As the scapegoat, you'll have to endure it a little. I figure after a few more beatings, Grandma should get the message."

"Big Sis, here!"

Jiang Hudi rushed out of the house carrying a branch, eagerly shoving the weapon into her sister's hand. Jiang Yaozu was a sobbing mess.

"Don't hit me! Waaah, don't hit me! Help!"

Old Wang Shi's heart ached at the sound of her precious grandson's wails. She swiftly put her shoe back on.

"Don't hit him! Let's talk things through, Zhao Di. Why are you always hitting your brother?"

"Actually, I wasn't planning to hit him today. Isn't this what you asked for?"

Jiang Wan raised an eyebrow and casually swung the branch in her hand a few times, making Old Wang Shi's heart leap to her throat.

"And don't call me Zhao Di. From now on, you're not allowed to call the second one Hudi either. Otherwise, the two of us might as well change our names to 'Hit Brother' and 'Beat Brother.'"

"How dare you?"

"Hmm, I dare."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the branch came down, and Jiang Yaozu's ear-splitting screams erupted once again.

"Waaah! Help!"

"You wretched girl, let go of my grandson right now!"

"Mother, please don't be angry. The child knows how much is too much—she won't beat him to death. Don't worry, alright?"

If Xu Shi hadn't tried to comfort her, her mother-in-law might not have felt as though the sky were falling.

"You heartless woman! Is Yaozu not your only son? How can you just stand by and watch him get beaten?

You're so cruel! Look at these two good-for-nothing girls you gave birth to—they're turning the world upside down! My poor grandson..."