Chapter 584
“If you want to make a move, just go ahead. You brought the whole Jiang family to trouble my wife, and now you want to bully my mother? Well, I’m going to make a move—what’s the big deal?” Jiang Yexun’s face darkened, his oppressive aura making Jiang Guoli feel like he couldn’t breathe.
But there were so many people from the village watching, and if he backed down here, he’d probably never be able to lift his head again.
“Fine! You little bastard! You’ve grown wings now, huh? Since I raised you, now you’re going to act like this? I’ll go to the commune’s committee and report you for being unfilial, and I’ll have all of you arrested!” Jiang Guoli ground his teeth, hissing out a vengeful and venomous threat.
Aunt Guo’s heart skipped a beat, her face turning pale, but she immediately felt Su Xiaoxiao give her hand a reassuring squeeze.
That helped her calm down.
Su Xiaoxiao took a step forward, and with a nonchalant snort, she said, “Go ahead and report us if you want. First of all, the commune’s committee doesn’t even handle this kind of thing. And besides, there are several families in this area where children have fought with their parents. If you want to make a fuss about it, then you’re just unlucky to have encountered a son who doesn’t care about you.”
The villagers watching the scene exchanged glances, clearly surprised at how confidently she spoke.
But when they thought about it, it made sense.
Among the people gathered, there were at least two families where the children had fought with their elders.
If they were going to pursue this, and Jiang Yexun and the others decided to go all out, arresting all the unfilial children in several surrounding villages, then things would get very complicated.
“Old Jiang, keep your family drama out of here,” one of the villagers shouted.
“Exactly! What are you forcing your way into the educated youth’s Su family for? We’re not fools, we can all see what’s going on,” another one chimed in.
The villagers took turns sniping at Jiang Guoli.
His face twisted with rage, his teeth clenched so hard it seemed like they might break, but he knew he couldn’t possibly go head-to-head with the entire village.
Finally, he shot a venomous glare at Su Xiaoxiao and the others, then stormed off with his people.
The villagers stood there for a moment, awkwardly shifting, but no one said anything further. Slowly, they all dispersed.
“Yexun! Sister-in-law!”
“Xiaoxiao! You’re finally back!”
Zhang Tiewa, He Xingzhi, and Tao Junlan all greeted them with smiles, excited to see them again.
“Yeah, we’ve been out for quite a while, sorry to trouble you all,” Su Xiaoxiao wrapped her arm around Tao Junlan’s, grinning. “I brought you all some gifts. When we start unpacking, you can have a look and see if you like them.”
“Of course we’ll like them!” Tao Junlan beamed, her smile nearly splitting her face.
Su Xiaoxiao glanced around, noticing there was no sign of another familiar face.
“By the way, where’s Siyu?” she asked curiously.
“She’s probably at the brigade leader’s house. She’s been seeing the brigade leader’s son for a while now. They’ve gotten pretty close over the past couple of months,” Tao Junlan said, her tone tinged with irritation.
Su Xiaoxiao furrowed her brows slightly at this.
For so many years, Qian Siyu hadn’t been involved with any of the young men in the brigade.
In her past life, that didn’t happen until around June or July, but now, why had she suddenly gotten together with the brigade leader’s son?
“Oh, let’s not talk about her right now. If you have any questions, just ask her directly when she’s back,” Tao Junlan quickly added, trying to steer away from the topic.
Su Xiaoxiao nodded, understanding.
Aunt Guo then turned to He Xingzhi. “What about your sister? You two came back before us—how’s she been adjusting?”
He Xingzhi’s cheerful smile froze when he heard the question. He sighed heavily, his voice drained of energy. “Since she came back, she refuses to leave the house. I’ve stopped trying to deal with her and just let her stay home.”
His sister had wanted to come to this side, but he didn’t agree. After all, she and his wife had had so many disagreements before, so he couldn’t bring her here.
Aunt Guo couldn’t help but feel a little exhausted thinking about He Hongni. The girl had been raised with an inflated sense of superiority and held grudges against them.
But since they wouldn’t be staying in Hong Feng Production Team for long, Aunt Guo didn’t want to bother with her anymore.
It was best just to avoid her whenever possible.
“Well, we’re back today, and we brought some vegetables from the city. Let me cook a big meal for all of you later. I really want to thank you for everything you’ve done for us while we’ve been away,” Aunt Guo said with a smile, her mood lightening.
“We don’t need to invite anyone else; just us will do,” Zhang Tiewa quickly shook his head.
He Xingzhi wasn’t going to bring anyone either.
Tao Junlan thought for a moment before saying, “I’ll go invite Siyu. She’s usually here more often than not.”
No matter what, she definitely didn’t want Qian Siyu to be with the brigade leader’s son.
The guy didn’t seem trustworthy at all—his gaze always seemed shifty, like he was up to no good.
“Alright, it’s settled then,” Su Xiaoxiao said cheerfully.
After they dropped off their things in the room, they pulled out the vegetables and gifts from the city.
Su Xiaoxiao was about to help, but Aunt Guo gently pressed her back down onto the bed.
“Ah, you can’t do housework these days, especially since you’re pregnant. Just lie here and rest; I’m sure you’re exhausted from the bumpy ride back. We’ve got candy, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and some small pastries here. If you’re hungry, eat something.”
“If you’re bored, you can talk to your friends. I saw you all wanted to talk to that educated youth just now. Oh, and don’t worry about the baby—let’s wait until the three-month mark before we share the pregnancy news. The main reason is that the Jiang family isn’t trustworthy. We’re going to try and get the divorce sorted out in the next two months, so they don’t try to take advantage once they find out about the pregnancy,” Aunt Guo said with a serious expression.
As soon as she mentioned this, all three faces grew a little uncomfortable.
“Mom, I understand. I won’t tell anyone,” Su Xiaoxiao nodded obediently.
Sitting on the bed, she swung her legs and watched Jiang Yexun and Aunt Guo huddle by the food, discussing what to make.
“The two dried rabbits are still here, so we’ll cook them today. The new pork belly should be made into braised pork with pickled mustard, and we’ll make some soup with the ribs. The cabbage can go with cured meat and make some pork with noodles. But we don’t have enough dishes for all seven of us, even if we make dumplings,” Aunt Guo frowned, a little concerned.
“Why don’t Yexun and I go down to the river? The weather’s warming up, and we can check if the ice has broken. If it’s safe, we can fish a little. They’ve been hungry all winter, and they’ll be easy to catch now,” Su Xiaoxiao suggested, her bright, clear eyes flashing with excitement.
But Aunt Guo immediately rejected the idea with concern. “No, it’s too cold by the river. The chill is still heavy, and your body is weak right now. You can’t go out in the cold. Let Yexun go instead—he’s tougher and won’t mind.”