Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 45

Since Jiang Jianlin had gone missing, Jiang Rui’s second uncle, Jiang Jianheng, had been idling at home. His wife, Huang Wenhua, was a primary school teacher earning a meager fixed salary, and they had a daughter, Jiang Xi, who was attending junior high in town. Their lives were a constant struggle to make ends meet.

He Fulan had suggested several times that Jiang Jianheng come to help at the supermarket, but Huang Wenhua had never taken it seriously. After all, no one in their village had ever managed to open a shop in the city, let alone a “supermarket.” It was only after seeing her sister-in-law’s sincere intent that she finally believed her, yet she still refused to let her husband take the job.

Although the three Jiang brothers had never formally split the family estate, they lived independent lives after marriage. Jiang Jianjun, as the eldest, often lent a hand to his younger brothers. However, Huang Wenhua was proud; she felt that if her husband worked for the Jianghai Supermarket, they would be entirely dependent on the eldest brother’s charity. She didn’t want to live her life looking at others’ faces, so she declined every offer.

Jiang Rui’s impression of his second uncle was of a quiet, honest, and somewhat dull man. In that household, Huang Wenhua made all the decisions. She was a woman of aloof temperament who kept her distance from both the eldest and third brothers’ families. While she would exchange a few words with He Fulan, she was openly hostile toward Li Xiuzhi.

Their daughter, Jiang Xi, had been found and brought home by his uncle years ago. Since Huang Wenhua had been unable to conceive, they raised Jiang Xi as their own. Because Jiang Xi vaguely remembered being adopted, she had grown up to be sensible, quiet, and almost invisible within the family.

Jiang Rui’s strongest memory of her from his past life was the massive argument she had with her mother after the Gaokao over her choice of college. She had eventually surrendered to Huang Wenhua’s demands. After graduation, she struggled to find work—not because she was lazy, but because her mother was too picky, deeming every job either underpaid or beneath a college graduate’s dignity.

Jiang Xi had once reached out to Jiang Rui for help, but before he could act, Huang Wenhua found out, nearly kicked her out of the house, and forbade her from seeing him ever again. Later, Huang Wenhua forced her to break up with a beloved boyfriend to marry a man she had chosen herself—a man who turned out to be a superficial womanizer who had taken advantage of Jiang Xi before the wedding.

Jiang Rui had offered to help her with a divorce, but she refused because she was already pregnant. Eventually, news reached him that she had died during a difficult labor, losing both her life and the baby’s.

Perhaps because his memory had improved in this life, Jiang Rui could now vividly recall the little girl who used to follow him and whisper “Brother,” the girl who would clutch her New Year’s candy tightly just to give it to him, and the girl who would lower her head in silence when her mother scolded her.

He had watched Huang Wenhua destroy Jiang Xi once. He would not let it happen again.

Huang Wenhua’s authority at home stemmed from her status as a teacher and her role as the primary breadwinner. Jiang Rui decided to tackle this at the source.

He had Assistant Qi (newly assigned from Cao Yuke) visit Ningping Town Primary School No. 1 to donate teaching equipment “to support the city’s education development.” Qi also announced a program to select one hundred elite teachers for a fully-funded, high-stipend training program in Hong Kong. Only one teacher per school would be chosen.

Naturally, the self-important Huang Wenhua was the first to apply. After several rounds of evaluation, Assistant Qi dropped a subtle hint that she was the favorite to win. The news spread through the school like wildfire. Huang Wenhua was already packing her bags and drafting her resignation letter, imagining herself moving on to a prestigious city school after the training.

But when the results came out, she wasn’t the winner. The spot went to her rival—who happened to be the principal’s niece.

Livid at this “unfairness,” Huang Wenhua stormed into the principal’s office to demand an explanation. When the principal refused to change the result, she threatened to resign. To her shock, the principal, tired of her arrogance, accepted her resignation immediately.

While she waited at home for the school to beg her to return, Jiang Rui used Yang Feng’s connections to secure a job for his uncle, Jiang Jianheng, as a driver for a city official. The monthly salary was nearly four times what Huang Wenhua had earned as a teacher.

Jiang Jianheng was steady, discreet, and hardworking. His boss was so satisfied that he often gave him extra subsidies and gifts. Moving in high-society circles, Jiang Jianheng grew more confident and worldly. Meanwhile, Huang Wenhua found that other schools wouldn’t hire her because she had offended her previous principal.

As the new breadwinner, Jiang Jianheng’s status in the house rose, and Huang Wenhua’s “iron-fist” rule over her husband and daughter began to crumble.

Satisfied with Assistant Qi’s performance, Jiang Rui decided to keep him as his personal aide. Meanwhile, the family’s urban registration was finalized, and his parents began preparing to open branches of the supermarket.

What truly made Jiang Rui nervous, however, was his aunt He Fumei’s due date. He arranged for her to stay in a top-tier hospital, where Zhou Yongping abandoned his work to stay by her side twenty-four hours a day.

On the day of the birth, Jiang Rui took leave from school. With his spiritual preparations ensuring her health, she safely gave birth to a healthy, eight-pound boy.

Outside the delivery room, Zhou Yongping wept and laughed with joy. When he was allowed in, he ignored the smell of blood and sweat, kissing his wife’s face and sobbing, “Thank you, honey. I love you…”

He Fumei named the chubby little boy “Yuanyuan” (meaning “round”). Because he had been nourished by the spiritual energy Jiang Rui provided during the pregnancy, the baby was exceptionally fair and healthy. Though his features were still soft, it was clear he would grow up to be as handsome as his cousin.