Chapter 736: Chapter 720: I Am Not a Slut 31
Several men from the Jiang familyās steward entered the room, and it was not clear what they said, but after a while, Anning saw Uncle Jiang giving Jiang Haichang some money to go buy cigarettes.
After about ten minutes, Jiang Haichang came back on an electric bike, carrying a few cartons of cigarettes into the room.
The brideās family must have received the cigarettes, and probably the red envelope got a little extra too; anyway, the male guests who came with their children said they had other matters to attend to at home and left with their stuff.
The three Anning sisters were quite baffled by what they saw.
Jiang Anan asked Mrs. Jiang: "Which familyās male guests leave the brideās home early on her wedding day?"
Mrs. Jiang shook her head: "Iāve never heard of such a thing before, at every wedding they wait until the bride finishes her ceremonial bows before leaving."
Jiang Anping couldnāt sit still: "Iām going to check on the bride."
Anning pulled her back, but Jiang Anping said, "Leave me be, I just want to take a look, I wonāt say anything."
Anning let go of her then.
After Jiang Anping went inside, Mrs. Jiang urged Anning to hurry up and eat.
Anning had scarcely eaten a few bites when she saw a woman in a blue cotton jacket with a distressed face walking towards them.
The woman looked at Mrs. Jiang: "You must be from the second Jiang family, right?"
Mrs. Jiang nodded: "Yes, whatās the matter?"
The woman tugged at Mrs. Jiangās arm: "Come with me, I have something to tell you."
With this sudden matter brought up while people were still eating, Mrs. Jiang got a little angry: "Letās talk after I finish eating."
The woman tugged at her again: "I have other matters to deal with in a bit. Just come over, weāll just talk for a minute, it wonāt take long."
Mrs. Jiang put down her chopsticks and followed the woman out.
Anning, worried that something was wrong, also put down her chopsticks and went out.
She followed at a leisurely pace until they reached the other end of the street, where she saw Mrs. Jiang and the woman stop.
Anning didnāt get too close but was close enough to overhear the conversation between the two.
The woman said to Mrs. Jiang: "Do you know that your eldest daughter is chasing after my son?"
With just that one sentence, Anning guessed who the woman wasāit must be Zhou Chongās mother.
Mrs. Jiang was bewildered: "What do you mean? What does my eldest daughter chasing your son have to do with me? I have no idea what youāre talking about, explain yourself."
Zhou Chongās mother sneered: "Donāt play dumb with me, how could you not know? Your daughter is shamelessly throwing herself at my son, sending him money every month, and frequently giving gifts. Let me tell you, when you go back, make her give up that notion. With the way your daughter is, our family wouldnāt even take a second look at her."
Mrs. Jiang frowned: "Why do you have to speak so unpleasantly?"
Zhou Chongās motherās voice got louder: "Unpleasant? If you donāt take care of this, itās going to get even uglier. My son has always been clever, a good student. Heās a masterās student at the Medical College, and he will be a doctor in the future. Your daughter is so stupid, she hasnāt accomplished anything academically, just a high school graduate who never even went to college, yet she dares to dream of marrying into our family, pah, keep dreaming! Iām telling you, break off that thought early on. She must be crazy to think she can climb so high."
"You, you..."
Mrs. Jiang was shaking with anger, pointing at Zhou Chongās mother, unable to speak.
Anning hurried over to support Mrs. Jiang and turned her head with a smile to Zhou Chongās mother, "What a pretty speech you have there. If your son isnāt interested, why take my older sisterās money? This isnāt the first or second time; every time heās asking for money and things, and then turns around to say my older sister clings to your family. Ha, Iāve only ever heard of men being unable to find wives, never heard of daughters being unable to get married. Our girls are not worried about marriage. If you were reluctant, why didnāt you say so earlier? Taking the money but then saying youāre not willing, truly acting like a prostitute but wanting a monument for chastity, just dreaming of good things! Fine, if you want to break off the relationship, so be it, but you must return every cent of my older sisterās money, otherwise, this is far from over. You said your son is studying at Medical College, right? I know. If your family continues to act like this, do you believe me if I say I will go to Medical College, find his teachers, find their dean, and ask if Medical College teaches doctors who heal and save lives, or rascals who play hooligan tricks?"
"How can this girl talk like that? You..."
Upon hearing Anning threatening to go to the school, Zhou Chongās mother also got a bit anxious: "You canāt do that, my son..."
Anning raised her hand, "Stay away from me. What about your son, your son what? In your eyes, your son is precious, but in our family, my sister is cherished, too. Itās just that your son tricked my sister into being foolish. If our family had known sooner, we wouldāve kept my sister far away from your son long ago. Really thought he was made of gold and inlaid with jade, pah, just look at that mean face of yours, I bet your son is no good either."
Anning helped Mrs. Jiang to walk back: "Mom, letās go back, donāt bother with this bad luck and husband/son-cursing woman, lest we catch their ill fortune."
"What did you say, what did you say..."
Zhou Chongās mother rushed over wanting to grab Anning, as she couldnāt stand words like āhusband/son-cursingā being mentioned to her.
Anning raised her hand and pushed her far away: "Whatās this, still want to play the victim?"
Mrs. Jiang had also recovered by this time and she turned to Zhou Chongās mother, "Rest assured, the girls of the Jiang family have backbone, and will never cling to men. No matter whether what you said is true or not, in any case, my daughter will never have anything to do with your son."
Mrs. Jiangās words were decisive, and she quickly pulled Anning away.
Anning knew that Mrs. Jiang was holding in her anger and was worried secretly for Jiang Anan.
Mrs. Jiang might look soft on the surface, but inside she was very stubborn. If she really stood firm, she could be much tougher than Mr. Jiang. This sudden doorstep quarrel from Zhou Chongās mother must have particularly angered Mrs. Jiang. Jiang Anan might get a beating from this.
Anning and Mrs. Jiang returned to their seats, Mrs. Jiang had already suppressed her anger.
Aunt Jiang was serving rice and saw Mrs. Jiang coming back, smiling, she said, "Come on, the rice has just been served, get some quickly, if itās not enough Iāll bring you some more."
Suppressing her anger, Mrs. Jiang smiled a little, "Iāll have to get a bowl, I just love eating the big pot dishes made in our village for celebrations, Iāve been wanting this taste."
Anning served a bowl for Mrs. Jiang, and then called out to Aunt Jiang, "Aunt, what else do you want to eat? Iāll go get it for you."
A neighbor passed a bowl over, "Girl, help us get another bowl of braised pork from the stove, please."
Anning got up with a smile, "Sure."
She did not take the offered bowl but went straight to the stove and found a clean bowl to serve a portion of braised pork.
Others might be reluctant to serve or the people at the stove might not be happy, but it was fine when Anning did it.
Today was Uncle Jiangās family celebration, Anning was considered a daughter of the Jiang family and thus part of the host family. Itās only normal for members of the host family to help themselves to the food if they needed more on their table, so the people at the stove had no objection, and even if someone wanted to eat themselves, what can be said? Itās eating oneās family food, who could refuse?
Anning carried a big bowl of braised pork back and also fetched a few buns for Aunt Jiang.
Mrs. Jiang called her, "Sit down and eat, donāt starve yourself."
Anning smiled, didnāt bother with rice, just ate half a bun with the dish, and claimed she was full.
After the meal, Jiang Anping quietly said to Anning, "I went inside just now and saw the bride crying, there must be something that we donāt know."
Anning laughed, "You should mind less about other peopleās business. There is enough to deal with in our family. Alright, have a good seat."
Anning looked at Xiao Hua in Jiang Anpingās arms, "Did Xiao Hua eat enough?"
Jiang Anping stroked Xiao Huaās fur: "Sheās eaten a long time ago, just now I took her out on the street to have some fun. Look at all the dirt on her, she needs a bath later."