The Game of Life

Chapter 538: Chapter 536: Return Fully Loaded

Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s performance had a very noticeable effect.

Not only did Li Hong abandon her idea of borrowing money from Wang Xiulian on the spot, she even entertained the idea of severing all ties with Wang Xiulian’s family—worried that Wang Xiulian might one day go bankrupt and seek her help, the kind that borrows and never repays.

Of course, such a peculiar thought only occurred to Li Hong.

Mrs. Jiang’s sister-in-law, who had finally come to terms with past grievances after many years, simply thought that beneath the glamorous appearance there always lies blood and tears, and she wasn’t worried about Wang Xiulian turning to their family in desperation for money, as they had none to lend.

Jiang Feng’s uncles and grandparents, however, had a completely different take on the situation. Jiang Feng’s grandparents felt so bad that their daughter and grandson couldn’t even enjoy a couple of bites of pork during the New Year that they wanted to stuff all the meat in their home into bags for Wang Xiulian to take back with her.

Jiang Feng’s uncles had been harboring feelings of guilt towards their sister for some unpleasant events from years ago, and now, hearing Mrs. Wang Xiulian so sincerely recount the bitterness and hardships of the past year, their hearts ached beyond words. They, too, wished they could stuff all the meat in their house into bags for Wang Xiulian to take back with her.

With such a unanimous sentiment, Wang Xiulian, Jiang Feng, and Jiang Jiankang each left with their hands full—carrying packages and sacks stuffed with various pork products.

Fresh pork, smoked meat, salted meat, pickled meat, sausage—if Jiang Feng hadn’t been quick to stop him, his uncle would have even squeezed the family’s preserved ducks and fish into the bag as well.

Wang Xiulian had intended to stay at her parents’ home for a couple more days, planning to leave on either the tenth or the eleventh, but now, loaded with so much pork by her own brothers and parents, she had to cancel the plan and leave on the eighth.

There was no choice; they were supposed to return to Beiping for the Lantern Festival, and if they didn’t head back early, they probably wouldn’t be able to finish all the pork, as there was still a lot of lamb left at home.

The day the trio returned, Jiang Feng’s uncles and grandparents accompanied them to the bus station in town.

After the bus departed, Jiang Feng’s elder uncle stood rooted to the spot, waving goodbye affectionately until they were out of sight.

Jiang Feng’s elder uncle was very reluctant to part with Jiang Feng, Jiang Jiankang, and Wang Xiulian, but Mrs. Wang Xiulian didn’t share the same sentiment toward her own brother; instead, she sat excitedly on the bus, discussing with Jiang Jiankang how Sir might cook the pork.

Pork might seem insignificant at other times and as if it holds little status on the dining table, but during important periods like the New Year, when you can’t have it, you crave it. Wang Xiulian couldn’t help but salivate as she watched her elder and second brothers stuff sausages into the bag.

It was precisely because of Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s salivating reaction that Jiang Feng’s uncles became even more convinced of the truthfulness of their sister’s words, which is why they packed all the pork for them—despite Li Hong’s strong objections.

“I wonder if Dad will make sweet and sour spare ribs.” A sweet-toothed Jiang Jiankang had only the sweet and sour dishes on his mind, “Wife, I’m not kidding, but the pigs your brother raised are really top-notch.”

“Of course they’re top-notch. My elder brother might lack other skills, but his pig-raising and vegetable-growing skills are first-rate,” responded Wang Xiulian, who knew her elder brother well.

“Isn’t it a bit wrong for us to take so much pork for nothing?” Jiang Jiankang was somewhat concerned, “It seems like they gave us all the meat in the house and left none for themselves.”

“Didn’t I divide some of the supplements for Mom and Dad to give to them? If there’s no meat at home, they can still buy some in town. Although it might not be as good, it’s not like they can’t buy any meat,” Wang Xiulian said, “But I noticed that this time I went home, my brothers seemed to be more pleasing to the eye. As the old saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder. I suppose the reason I used to find them displeasing was that I wasn’t far enough away.”

Jiang Feng: …

Could it be because there wasn’t enough pork?

On the other side, as soon as Jiang Feng’s elder uncle got home, he found his wife throwing a tantrum.

Was Li Hong angry?

She was furious!

She had rejoiced upon hearing about Wang Xiulian’s misfortunes, keeping her schadenfreude contained but cheerful throughout the day, until she discovered that her husband and in-laws had packed off all the pork to Wang Xiulian.

Though pork wasn’t particularly valuable, being homegrown, it still enraged her.

And they had given away too much. Even if pork wasn’t as expensive as beef or mutton, the large amount they handed over was worth quite a bit.

She didn’t benefit when Wang Xiulian had been prosperous, which was one thing, but now that Wang Xiulian had fallen on hard times, it irked her that she would come and take advantage of their family, arriving during the New Year to “catch the autumn breeze,” as it were.

Li Hong had never been one to temper her emotions. She had refrained from causing a scene in Wang Xiulian’s presence only because she didn’t dare; she was well aware of Wang Xiulian’s temper, strong enough to send her flying from the couch to the wall with a single slap.

As soon as Jiang Feng’s elder uncle got home, he saw Li Hong throwing a fit in the living room, and he felt a bit displeased himself, “It’s the New Year, don’t make a scene.”

“Who’s to blame for me making a scene? Who had to play the big shot to aid his sister? When she was doing well, I never saw her give you a good look, and now that she’s poor and in trouble, she gives you a little nice face, and you eagerly go groveling, as if you want to give away everything we have. Why did I marry such a man,” Li Hong burst out.

“What do you mean by ‘cleaning out the house’? Did Xiulian come to us for a loan or something? It’s just some pork she gave us. Over the years, has it not been Xiulian who paid whenever our parents needed medical checkups, got sick, or were hospitalized? Xiulian hasn’t complained at all, but now you’re making a fuss over some pork,” Jiang Feng’s eldest uncle voiced his dissatisfaction.

Seated at a distance, the second aunt was cracking melon seeds and watching the show. She had already sneakily peeked at the supplements Wang Xiulian had stuffed to Jiang Feng’s eldest uncle and the second uncle last night, and she deeply felt that they had made a killing in this deal, a huge one at that.

She was even thinking of raising one more pig next year specifically to give to Wang Xiulian.

“Isn’t it because she is rich? Isn’t she your parents’ daughter? If she has money and doesn’t pay, who would?” Li Hong always had a set of theories to convince herself, “Yesterday, while we were having a good time wrapping dumplings, she suddenly started crying poor. I knew she was up to no good, saying stuff like she couldn’t afford pork, pah, as if anyone would believe that!”

“Li Hong!” Jiang Feng’s eldest uncle was truly getting angry, feeling a sense of helplessness as he looked at her. The curse he was about to hurl got swallowed back, “I can’t be bothered to argue with you.”

After saying that, Jiang Feng’s eldest uncle stormed upstairs to his room, fuming.

The second aunt continued to sit there cracking melon seeds, feeling somewhat regretful about the eldest uncle’s retreat.

But it was always like this, so she had gotten used to it.

Li Hong felt like she had won a complete victory, but the anger in her heart still hadn’t subsided. She went to her sisters-in-law to complain, “Wang Xiulian is really contemptible.”

When Li Hong said this, the second aunt disagreed, spitting out the seed shell from her mouth, “Why is she contemptible?”

Li Hong glanced at her sister-in-law with disdain, thinking that she was really getting senile with age, “She comes over for the holidays to scrounge, not even sparing some pork. How can she not be contemptible?”

“She wasn’t scrounging, was she? Didn’t she give us gifts? It’s just giving and receiving,” the second aunt continued cracking her melon seeds.

“Gifts? Those few shabby boxes? Who knows what’s really packed inside. Besides, I have never seen her bring back anything good. Every year, she only brings some deceiving supplements and whatnot, scarves and such, always for the old man and the old lady,” Li Hong said resentfully.

“Why don’t you go take a look?” the second aunt grabbed another handful of melon seeds.

Li Hong felt that there was no point in talking to her sister-in-law anymore today; she had defected, her elbow was turning outwards, getting swept up in the materialistic madness like everyone else.

Despite this, Li Hong still intended to see what junk Wang Xiulian had cavalierly stuffed their way.

Upon opening the box and seeing the mundane packaging, Li Hong snorted coldly.

With such perfunctory wrapping, it must be worthless junk.

Then Li Hong discovered the two boxes Wang Xiulian had casually given Jiang Feng’s eldest uncle, one containing 400g of bird’s nest and the other a box of cordyceps weighing one jin.

Li Hong was dumbstruck, so shocked she couldn’t speak, unable to curse Wang Xiulian even if she wanted to.

After a long while, Li Hong silently closed the box, “Pretending to be rich when you’re not, no wonder you’re poor!”

This year, the Jiang Family didn’t lack supplements at all.

The regulars of Taifeng Building were all well-off, and they were all very concerned that Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming, due to their age, would encounter some health issues. When it was heard that the Jiang Family wasn’t doing business for the New Year, everyone’s first thought was that Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming couldn’t handle it. Consequently, many customers gave Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weiguo New Year’s gifts—supplements—before Taifeng Building closed.

Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming had no habit of taking supplements and even considered using these bird’s nests, sea cucumbers, deer antlers, and cordyceps in cooking. Although they didn’t consume much in terms of supplements, these valuable ingredients were excellent for cooking.

It was also because the household had an abundance of these items that when Wang Xiulian and the other sisters-in-law went back to their parents’ homes before the New Year, Mrs. Jiang stuffed them with a lot of supplements to take back for their own parents.

There was more than enough in their own home to consume, and gifting these away was very impressive without costing their own family any money.

Wang Xiulian hadn’t planned on dividing these items among Jiang Feng’s eldest uncle and second uncle. It was their enthusiastic act of stuffing her with pork that touched Wang Xiulian, reminding her of how her brothers treated her when she was young, so she decided to give each of them two boxes.

Mrs. Wang Xiulian was always generous with things that didn’t cost her own money, and she didn’t really have much concept of the value of these supplements—she didn’t usually shop for them, and she even thought sea cucumbers were very cheap since Jiang Feng used the more affordable ones to practice cooking.

What Li Hong thought was none of Jiang Feng and Wang Xiulian’s business; after all, they were just relatives in name who they met once a year. What she thought didn’t matter to them at all.

Carrying big and small bags of pork, the three from the Jiang Family hurried back home. The moment they stepped through the front door, they shouted in unison, “Grandpa, Grandma/Dad, Mom, we’ve brought the pork home!”