Chapter 12
Chapter 12
I, Your Uncle, am a Good Citizen (1)
Jiang Xing’s health was not good. The doctor said that he needed to revitalize his body through nutrients and protein. Although they brought back supplements from the hospital, Jiang Xiumei felt it was better to eat something ‘real’ that you can see and touch.
The next day, she went and caught two fish at the river after she was finished with the work at school.
She caught the fish with a net. They were very fresh and were still very lively when she tied them up with grass.
They looked really plump and tasty.
Make one into a soup for Jiang Xing, and red-braise the other one for Jiang Xiaoman. Sounds good!
On the way back home with the two fish, Jiang Xiumei met Zhou Haiyang’s mother.
Zhou Haiyang’s mother said, “Auntie, don’t go. Since we met today, let’s talk.”
Her tone was angry; it was clear that she’s looking for trouble.
Jiang Xiumei frowned, but she was not afraid of her. Usually, just for a stalk of pumpkin seedling that grew past the boundaries on the field, the two can quarrel all day arguing whose land it belonged to. Jiang Xiumei had her ways of dealing with Zhou Haiyang’s mother.
Both of them were famous as fierce women in the neighbourhood. Who was afraid of whom?
“What’s the matter, Haiyang’s mother? Did this old lady offend you?”
“You didn’t offend me, but the family’s Xiaoman is really amazing. Aiyo, so young but already so amazing. Yesterday she bullied our Haiyang to tears, his eyes were red, and his nose was swollen. I’ve never him look so wronged. I asked him what happened, but he wouldn’t say anything, you’re definitely behind this! Bullying a child, do you have no shame?”
Jiang Xiumei was happy when she heard it. “Oh, so it was the two kids fighting. You said that your Haiyang was bullied to tears by my Xiaoman? Is your head okay? How can you not know how naughty and good at hitting others your Haiyang is? I haven’t taught him a lesson for bullying my Xiaoman, and you still dare come knocking at my door?”
Jiang Xiumei rolled up her sleeves, looking really fierce and intimidating.
Zhou Haiyang’s mother felt a little guilt. First, she couldn’t defeat Jiang Xiumei. When Jiang Xiumei was at the peak of her fierceness, she could chase her husband from one end of the field to the other while carrying a kitchen knife. She had been newly married when she saw it at that time, and the scene was still fresh in her memory. Second, her family’s Haiyang was indeed a troublemaker. She had always been the one who was approached by the other parents: this was the first time her child had been bullied that she was the one to look for the other child’s guardian.
“I, I’m just telling you the situation, why are you so fierce and arrogant? Nowadays, people are civilized, not old-fashioned like your time.” Zhou Haiyang’s mother shrank her neck immediately, but her mouth was still sharp. She said, “I came here to tell you to take good care of Xiaoman. Don’t let her go on a crooked path like your son, never doing anything good every day.”
Zhou Haiyang’s mother lost and retreated, but Jiang Xiumei also had to swallow her anger, feeling very conflicted.
It was not like she never heard the people in the village talking about it; she just pretended not to know.
Fighting with someone and going to the hospital was not a great thing. If they were from a family with a strict tradition, they might not have the face to see people anymore.
Fortunately, they were not.
That’s why So Jiang Xing was still alive and well now. He didn’t get beaten by his mother, adding injuries on top of his injuries.
But just like a tree needs their bark, people need their face. There was no way she was not distressed. After having Zhou Haiyang’s mother say it to her face, she felt that she’d lost all of her old face.
She really gave birth to a stick!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more she wanted to beat that son of her that kept making her worry. She quickly walked home, and as soon as she arrived at the door, just before she went in, she saw Jiang Xing sunbathing on the armchair with his stomach bloated out in the open. Jiang Xiaoman moved a small chair to sit next to him, resting her chin on her hands and blinking her big eyes at him.
Jiang Xiaoman reached out and touched Jiang Xing’s stomach, asking him, “Uncle, do you have a baby in your stomach?”
Jiang Xiumei almost slipped when she heard that.
“When Big Zhu’s wife next door had a baby, it was also like this.” Jiang Xiaoman said. “But her belly was a little bit bigger and bulging than yours. She was also lazing around doing nothing like this.”
Jiang Xing held his belly and smiled. “Yes.”
There was a terrible stitch on his stomach, Jiang Xing didn’t dare to let her see it, so he just went along with it. He pointed to the yard and said, “Quick, go and clean the yard. Oh, and wash my clothes from yesterday too, in case your Grandma came back and scolded me for being lazy.”