In the end, the matter ended with the Zhao family losing a pig.
No one felt that there was anything wrong with Madam Jiang accepting the pig. Instead, they praised Madam Jiang for her magnanimity and generosity. Because she forgave such a vicious woman, they said that Madam Jiang was too kind. If it were them, they would have personally given Mrs. Zhao a few slaps, but Madam Jiang didn't even touch a single hair on Mrs. Zhao's head.
Yu Feng looked at Mrs. Zhao's pig face and couldn't help but tremble.
Madam Jiang gained a wave of goodwill. Under everyone's heartache and comfort, she happily brought her daughter and that three hundred pounds fat pig home!
Yu Wan gave Aunt Zhang two pounds of lean meat and pork belly that she had bought from town. Aunt Zhang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She would not spout nonsense about this!
Little Bruiser's battle of wits and courage with Zhao Baomei was quite tiring, so he slept until dusk, and when he opened his eyes, he heard the pigs oinking. He blinked his eyes and let out an "oh". Then, he slipped on the new shoes that Yu Wan had bought for him and ran to the backyard. In the end, he saw his sister and mother and a pig that had somehow come to his house!
"Mom, mom! You're awake!
"Sis! We have a pig!
"Ah, what a huge pig!" Little Bruiser ran outside the pigpen, waving his little arms. The entire yard was filled with his noisy chatter. It was hard to tell whether he was excited about the pig or excited about his mother's awakening. The family of three had finally reunited.
Madam Jiang had been in a coma for many days and hadn't had a proper bath. Today, she was drenched in sweat again after teaching Mrs. Zhao a lesson. So now she felt uncomfortable all over. Yu Wan boiled a bucket of hot water and asked her to take a bath in the room.
Yu Wan then went to the kitchen to cook. There was still a bag of unfinished cabbage at home, so she didn't go to her uncle's vegetable garden to pick vegetables. She gave Aunt Zhang some pork belly and lean meat, but there was still some left. She chopped the cabbage, one pound of lean meat, and half a pound of pork belly into meat stuffing. She used the corn noodle to make dumpling skin and made a big pot of steaming dumplings. The rest of the pork belly was made into stir-fried pork belly with garlic sprouts.
Little Bruiser stood in front of the stove, drooling.
Yu Wan's parents had passed away too early in her previous life. She did not have much experience with her parents. Although her aunt had adopted her, she was very sure that her relationship with her aunt was not like that of a mother and daughter.
So, what was it like to have a mother?
Yu Wan looked at the dumplings and hot dishes in the pot, paused, and said, "We'll wait for Mom to eat together." It should be like this, right?
Little Bruiser went to rush Madam Jiang.
After taking a bath, Madam Jiang changed into dry clothes. Her wet hair was draped over her shoulders, and her skin was so fair that it was almost translucent. She had a pair of bright and moving eyes with a gentle smile in her eyes.
The years had been too good for her. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, who would believe that she was the mother of two children?
Madam Jiang entered the kitchen.
Yu Wan lowered her eyes. She could feel Madam Jiang walking to her side. Madam Jiang had the smell of soap on her body. She also used the same soap, but the smell was different from hers.
Is this… a mother's aura? Yu Wan, who had never been nervous during surgery, actually trembled when Madam Jiang approached her.
Madam Jiang did not seem to notice Yu Wan's tension. She intimately leaned against her and lifted the lid of the pot. "So many dumplings?"
Yu Wan said, "I also made some for Uncle's family."
Madam Jiang looked meaningfully at Yu Wan and said, "Why did you suddenly think of giving dumplings to your uncle's family? You ignored them in the past, and you even came back with Ah Feng today."
Yu Wan deliberated for a while and finally told Madam Jiang about her "memory loss". After hearing this, Madam Jiang was enlightened. Yu Wan did not know what kind of enlightenment she got.
Yu Wan wasn't sure how convincing her words were, but she still said calmly, "…Maybe I hit something in the water and damaged my brain."
Madam Jiang rested her chin on her hand and looked at her. "I think your brain was the one that was damaged in the past. It's only recovered now."
Yu Wan : "…"
She was speechless.
Madam Jiang happily accepted her daughter's amnesia as well as the change brought by her amnesia. She gazed into the boundless darkness and said thoughtfully, "Actually, there are some things… it's good to forget."
Was she referring to the matter between her and the Zhao family? Indeed, it was not a good marriage. Putting aside the fiancé that she had never met before, just based on the character of the mother and daughter of the Zhao family, she knew that even if she married him, she would not be able to live in peace.
But for some reason, she felt that her mother was not referring to this matter.
Following that, Yu Wan obtained a lot of information from Madam Jiang. Firstly, she learned that the dynasty she was currently in was not any dynasty in history. The country she was in was called Great Zhou. This village was located north of Great Zhou's central region and south of the Capital. It was the poorest village in this region.
It wasn't that the villagers were lazy, but rather that wars had been happening frequently in recent years. Every family had their able-bodied men taken away, and their perfectly good homes had been torn apart. Their fields could no longer be planted, and their business could no longer be done. Gradually, they became like this.
Yu Wan's father had also been taken away, but there was still her uncle at home, so they had a good life.
Yu Wan paused. "Uncle? Isn't he…"
Madam Jiang nodded and talked about her uncle's injuries.
It turned out that her uncle's leg injury only happened last year.
After Ah Wan's father left home, her uncle went to the Capital alone in order to support his family. He had skills and managed to make a name for himself after two years. Back then, the villagers were so hungry that they couldn't eat their fill, but the people in the old mansion were still eating chicken, duck, and fish.
"Your uncle dotes on you the most." Madam Jiang said.
At that time, their youngest daughter had not been born yet and Ah Wan was the only girl in the family. She was the apple of her uncle's eye.
Until that year… when Ah Wan went missing.
The whole family was frantic. Her uncle quit his job, took his silver, and began to look around for news of Ah Wan.
Ah Wan had been missing for a year, so he'd been out looking for her for a year. Ah Wan had come back later, and he'd been a wreck on his feet. However, after returning, Ah Wan seemed to have become a different person. She was no longer close to anyone except the Zhao family.
One night, there was heavy rain. Mrs. Zhao was worried that her son didn't bring enough cotton clothes, so she asked Ah Wan to send the clothes to Zhao Heng in the academy.
Ah Wan went without another word. Even Madam Jiang didn't know about this, but her uncle saw it.
Her uncle wanted to chase Ah Wan back, but a carriage suddenly came along the way. Seeing that it was about to hit Ah Wan, her uncle pounced on her without thinking. The carriage was knocked sideways and her uncle fell down the ravine.