Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 17

On the day the results were announced, Jiang Jianjun and He Fulan were so excited they didn’t sleep the entire night. He Fulan even hugged her son and cried for a while. It took Jiang Rui quite some time to calm his mother down.

In his previous life, Jiang Rui’s exam results were disappointing. It was false to say his parents weren’t disappointed, but at the time, all they did was blame themselves for being incapable parents; they never spoke a single harsh word to him, afraid he might do something rash.

Jiang Rui knew his parents had always wanted him to go to college and achieve success. Now it seemed this expectation was even deeper than he had imagined.

Jiang Jianjun and He Fulan were both honest and low-key people, but since their son had scored first place in the city’s entrance exam, they insisted on holding a banquet in the village. Father Jiang even declared he would host it for three consecutive days! It would be a running banquet (liushui xi), where everyone could eat as much as they liked! Not only did they want the entire village to know that the Old Jiang Family had produced a Zhuangyuan (top scholar), but they also wanted everyone to know that the Old Jiang Family was no longer what it used to be and was now living a prosperous life!

Seeing how truly happy the two of them were, Jiang Rui naturally didn’t stop them. He had wanted to give his parents a chance to gain face and be happy for once anyway.

His Aunt He Fumei had wanted to come back to accompany him during the exam preparation, but she happened to be newly pregnant at the time, and the fetus was unstable. Being over thirty, she was considered an elderly expectant mother, and her husband, Zhou Yongping, was constantly on edge, terrified his beloved wife would have any mishap. He absolutely forbade her from traveling. It was only after Jiang Rui wrote a letter to persuade his aunt that she gave up the idea of insisting on returning.

Now that Jiang Rui had scored first place in the city and Father Jiang and Mother Jiang were holding a banquet in the village, He Fumei couldn’t stay at home for anything. Zhou Yongping couldn’t withstand her nagging, and after the doctor confirmed the fetus was stable and that going out for a change of scenery would be beneficial for the baby, he finally agreed. However, he still pushed aside his work and specifically accompanied his wife back.

Jiang Rui had been corresponding with his aunt for over a year, and their relationship grew even better after meeting. Especially now that He Fumei was pregnant and experiencing heightened maternal instincts, she completely neglected her husband and clung solely to Jiang Rui, urgently calling for him if she couldn’t see him for a moment.

Zhou Yongping was quite jealous, but how could a grown man be petty toward a teenager? Besides, the boy was his own nephew.

Jiang Rui was good-tempered. Unlike other men, he was privately very thoughtful and gentle, treating his pregnant aunt with extra patience and care. He Fumei spent the entire time declaring she wouldn’t live with her husband anymore and was going to live with her nephew.

He Fulan, seeing her sister acting spoiled and making increasingly inappropriate remarks at her age, sternly rebuked her until she finally stopped.

In those days, villagers were very simple. Most people who came to the banquet didn’t come empty-handed, bringing something like eggs or fruit as a token of goodwill. Those who didn’t brought red envelopes (hongbao). Those not closely related gave a small amount, perhaps seventy or eighty kuai. Closer relatives gave a bit more, sometimes dozens of kuai, as a gesture.

Jiang Jianlin received the news two days before the First Household (Da Fang) was set to host the banquet and came to make trouble.

“Elder Brother, you weren’t like this before. How can you be so secretive when you found a way to get rich? I’m your own younger brother. Not only did you not take me along to get rich, but you also guard against me like a thief. Now that our nephew has become the city’s top exam scorer, you’ve invited everyone in the village, yet you deliberately left out your own brother’s family. What’s the meaning of this?” Jiang Jianlin sat on a stool, his first words being a grand accusation.

He Fulan had never liked this younger brother-in-law and immediately retorted, “Jianlin, those words cut deep. If others don’t know what kind of person your Elder Brother is or how capable he is, surely you do? The Old Jiang Family finally has a promising junior. Even if we’re just putting on a show, this banquet must be held! The news was sent out directly; anyone in the village can come. There’s no such thing as leaving someone out!”

Li Xuzhi, seeing her husband speechless, stepped forward with her child and said, “Sister-in-law, stop pretending. I know exactly what your family’s situation was like before. Forget hosting a three-day running banquet; it was hard for you to even eat a single meal with meat. Who would believe you didn’t find a way to get rich?”

Without waiting for He Fulan to refute, Li Xuzhi continued, “We’re all family. I advise you, Sister-in-law, not to be so selfish. If there’s a way, we can all work together and look out for each other. People outside are very cunning now, and Elder Brother is so honest. He might be tricked and even help them count the money. Our Jianlin might not be good at other things, but his brain is very sharp. If there’s business, let our Jianlin do it for you. Once our Third Household (San Fang) becomes prosperous, will we forget about your First Household?”

Jiang Jianjun was an honest man, but he wasn’t foolish. He and his wife woke up early and worked late managing the supermarket, hiring people to help, socializing with wholesalers, and relying on his son’s monthly earnings from selling flowers. Only then did they manage to open the supermarket. Not to mention the hardship, the startup cost alone was a huge sum of money.

Jiang Jianlin’s family had only just paid off over ten thousand kuai in debt; how could they have money for the supermarket business? Furthermore, if he and his wife were ambitious and hardworking, Jiang Jianjun, as the elder brother, would help his younger brother even if it meant tightening his own belt. But Jiang Jianlin was idle and hated work; he was always absent and squandered money outside. Li Xuzhi also had no business acumen. Her small village shop, the only one in the area, didn’t save much money throughout the year. She had used her private savings for several years to pay off Jiang Jianlin’s debt. Jiang Jianjun wouldn’t dare lend money to a couple like this. He wouldn’t even dare hire Jiang Jianlin to help at the supermarket; with his ‘lordly’ temper, offending customers and losing business would leave them with nowhere to cry.

Jiang Jianjun wanted to help his brother but was conflicted. With He Fulan and Li Xuzhi glaring at each other nearby, he dared not speak.

Jiang Rui watched his uncle’s family from the side. His uncle was truly useless. In his previous life, after Li Xuzhi made some money from her small shop and opened a proper store in town, the good days didn’t last long. As soon as his uncle got some money, he started gambling and lost over a million kuai. Li Xuzhi, who had always looked down on Jiang Jianlin for being useless and idle, had already found someone else outside. She took the opportunity to divorce Jiang Jianlin, abandoned their son, and left with the other man.

Jiang Jianlin begged his Elder Brother and Second Brother to help him repay the debt, but Jiang Jianjun and Jiang Jianheng were the most honest and ordinary people; they only earned one or two thousand kuai a month and had trouble covering their own living expenses. Where could they get over a million kuai?

Jiang Jianlin couldn’t repay the debt and was captured, where one of his hands was cut off. It was said he later escaped, but no one knew where he went, and no one ever saw him again.

As for Jiang Jianlin’s son, Jiang Min, he was subsequently raised alternately by the First Household and the Second Household. Jiang Min left a deep impression on Jiang Rui. In high school, he taught himself computer programming and created a small video game that was noticed and bought at a high price by a gaming company. Later, he was accepted into the Computer Science program at Xiangcheng University. While still in school, he partnered with classmates to form an IT company. However, somehow, he later became involved with an internationally wanted hacker and was imprisoned. Jiang Rui had tried to help his cousin then, but the case caused too much sensation. Wang Chenghui warned him not to intervene and even put him under house arrest. He was willing but powerless to help.

By the time Jiang Rui was released from house arrest, Jiang Min had already been executed by firing squad.

Thinking of this, Jiang Rui smiled faintly. “My parents just opened a shop in the city to sell some things. Uncle has always been a thoughtful person, so he certainly wouldn’t look down on this kind of livelihood. I wonder what kind of business Uncle would like to do? We are family, and my parents will definitely help in any way they can.” Jiang Rui speared a piece of cut apple from a fruit platter.

He Fulan knew her son always had a plan. Although she felt frustrated, she didn’t undermine her son. Jiang Jianjun also remained silent.

Jiang Jianlin knew his eldest nephew was promising, but in his eyes, he was just a child who had just turned sixteen and was not to be taken seriously. Hearing him speak now, he casually dismissed him, “Children shouldn’t interrupt when adults are talking. Listen to what your parents have to say.”

Jiang Jianjun couldn’t stand anyone looking down on his son at this point and immediately backed him up. “Rui Rui’s opinion is similar to mine. It’s a good thing you want to do business. The key is what you want to do.”

Li Xuzhi was still coveting the First Household’s business method. “Elder Brother, if you don’t want to help, don’t use a child’s words to brush us off. What business could be better than Elder Brother’s? If you sincerely want to help our Jianlin, then take Jianlin to do it together.”

Jiang Jianlin glared at his talkative wife. He felt his Elder Brother’s words made sense, but he didn’t have any ideas for the moment. He settled on discussing it with Jiang Jianjun after he had thought it over.

On the day the banquet officially started, Jiang Jianlin sent Li Xuzhi over with a red envelope, but he himself was nowhere to be seen. Li Xuzhi was very short on cash now and usually wouldn’t even let her son eat an egg. Now, she had to give money to Jiang Rui; how could she be happy? But she didn’t dare disobey Jiang Jianlin, and besides, they still needed the First Household’s help with business. She gritted her teeth and put ten kuai into a red envelope for Jiang Rui.

Jiang Rui thanked her with a smile and accepted it. He looked at Jiang Min, the one-year-old child in Li Xuzhi’s arms, who was as delicate as carved pink jade. He couldn’t help but reach out and pinch the baby’s chubby cheek, playing with him for a moment before taking out a red envelope from his own clothes and tucking it into the child’s tiny jacket. This red envelope was noticeably thicker than the one Li Xuzhi had just given him.

“Auntie, I couldn’t make it to Min Min’s full-moon celebration because I was at school. I’m making up for the red envelope now.”

Li Xuzhi hypocritically refused, “Oh, Rui Rui, you’re too polite. You’re still in school; why give a red envelope?” Even as she said this, she made no move to take the red envelope out and return it to Jiang Rui.

Jiang Rui didn’t mind. After a couple of pleasantries, he went to greet the other guests.

It was the first day of the banquet, so some people might not have heard yet, but there were also some well-informed, spiteful people who were jealous and couldn’t stand to see others do well.

Sun Guifen came with several familiar women. According to custom, no one was supposed to start eating until the table was full. Sun Guifen was plump and loved to eat. As soon as she sat down, she paid no attention to whether others were seated, first snatching a piece of pig’s ear in chili oil with her chopsticks, then going straight for the meat dishes. When she found something tasty, she simply scooped it onto her bowl with her chopsticks. Before long, nearly half the meat dishes on the platter were gone.

Even while eating, Sun Guifen complained, “The Old Jiang Family is being poor yet trying to be generous. They say they’re hosting a banquet, but they only served these few dishes. Look, they don’t even use much meat. If my Cheng Cheng had gotten first place in the city, I’d definitely treat everyone to a meal at the restaurant in town.”

Aunt Liu, sitting nearby, couldn’t stand Sun Guifen eating someone’s food while badmouthing them behind their back. Being sharp-tongued and unforgiving herself, she immediately snapped, “Every table has twelve dishes and one soup! Is that few? They are hosting a three-day running banquet, inviting the entire village to celebrate. Could your family afford to treat the entire village to a restaurant meal in town? Besides, who in the village doesn’t know that your Li Cheng couldn’t answer the exam questions and cried his eyes out in the exam hall? City number one? You sure are talking big!”

Sun Guifen was stung where it hurt. Her face flushed, she slammed her chopsticks down, pointed at Aunt Liu, and yelled, “Who are you talking about? Say that again!”

Aunt Liu was not one to be easily bullied. She immediately flared up and shouted, “I’m talking about whoever answers me! I’m talking about whoever feels guilty!”

Just as the two were about to fight, the other people at the table, who were on good terms with the Jiang Family, hurriedly pulled them apart, terrified that the two would start a brawl at the Jiang Family’s house and embarrass them.

He Fulan heard the commotion in the courtyard and quickly said a few words to the guests inside before rushing out. As soon as she reached the courtyard, she heard Sun Guifen defiantly say, “What city number one? What top exam scorer? I heard that Jiang Rui didn’t even get first place in his class at Town No. 1 Middle School, ranking only in the dozens in the entire school! With scores like that, how could he get first place in the whole city? Who would believe there was nothing fishy going on?”

Hearing this, He Fulan’s mind exploded with a loud boom. Her lips turned purple with anger. She pointed a trembling finger at Sun Guifen and shouted, “Sun Guifen! If you don’t explain yourself today, don’t even think about leaving my Jiang Family’s door!”