The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 735: Chapter 719: I Am Not a Slut 30

”What are you saying, you little slut.”

Grandma Jiang stood up abruptly, raising her hand to slap Anning.

But in that moment, Mr. Jiang grabbed Grandma Jiang’s wrist.

Mr. Jiang’s eyes were filled with pain as he looked straight at Grandma Jiang, ”Mom, if you don’t want your son to become completely alienated from you, you better calm down. These three girls are my daughters, my own flesh and blood. I know you don’t care for them, and I never expected you to, but can’t I care for them myself? You used to scold them as little money-losing cusses when they were kids, I know all about it, but you’re my mother, and I’ve never talked back to you. But now... the kids are grown up, can you show a little respect? Keep some dignity for yourself.”

Mr. Jiang was an honest man, who rarely spoke up.

But today he did speak up, not only stopping Grandma Jiang from hitting Anning, but also directly confronting her with his words.

His call for respect and keeping dignity didn’t contain a single swear word, yet it made Grandma Jiang lose all face.

What Mr. Jiang meant was crystal clear: he was saying that Grandma Jiang was relentless, unloving, becoming more troublesome and disrespectful with age, and losing all sense of dignity.

Grandma Jiang’s hands shook upon hearing this, partly from anger, and partly from fear.

This obedient second son of hers was opposing her so fiercely for the first time, and she felt guilty and afraid.

”Today is Haichao’s wedding day, let’s not make it ugly. Sit down.”

Grandpa Jiang, who had been silent, now spoke, and Grandma Jiang, with a resentful glare at Anning, sat down fuming with anger.

Anning didn’t seem to be affected at all by the situation, she just sat down and continued to crack melon seeds, while chatting with Aunt Jiang off and on.

Seeing this tense atmosphere, Mrs. Jiang quickly took Jiang Anan outside.

The atmosphere inside the room became quite awkward for a moment.

Just when Jiang Anping was about to find an excuse to leave, the sound of firecrackers burst forth; the procession to receive the bride had returned.

Anning went out with Jiang Anping under the pretext of wanting to see the bride.

As the two of them got to the courtyard, the bride had just gotten out of the wedding car, supported by two people as she hurried into the yard.

Firecrackers were hanging at the gate, cracking and popping away, while on each side heaps of straw had also been set on fire and were now burning.

The local custom was such that the bride had to pass through this ritual upon entering the house; one to ward off bad energy, and two to signify that the couple’s life together would be prosperous and thriving.

The bride ran into the courtyard and was brought by the groom’s family to the eastern room for a short while before entering the bridal chamber.

Anning said she wanted to see the bride but wasn’t actually much interested.

She and Jiang Anping sat down in the side room, and noticing Xiao Hua seemed a bit listless, Anning asked Jiang Anping, ”Is Xiao Hua hungry? Do you have any food with you?”

Jiang Anping indeed had cat food in her bag, she fed some to Xiao Hua and gave her some water to drink.

Xiao Hua seemed much more spirited after drinking some water.

The two sisters played with Xiao Hua for a while till it was time for the wedding banquet.

In this village, banquet tables were usually set up right outside and in the yards of people’s homes.

The Jiang family had quite a lot of relatives, and with the addition of people from the village, some classmates, friends, and colleagues of Jiang Haichao, plus some acquaintances of Uncle Jiang, they ended up setting about forty-odd tables for the banquet.

Just before the feast was about to start, Mr. Jiang and Third Uncle Jiang were outside welcoming guests, while Mrs. Jiang took Anning and her two sisters around to recognize relatives from their hometown’s side, and then they began to take their seats.

The bride’s family were all seated inside the house, while the other relatives and neighbors were seated either in the courtyard or out on the street.

Anning and her group sat down in the courtyard. Along with her mother and four daughters, plus Aunt Jiang and several other relatives, they filled a whole table.

After sitting down, Mrs. Jiang looked up and said, ”It’s a bit cold today, really uncomfortable to be sitting outside.”

Aunt Jiang also commented, ”Indeed, it’s cold.”

Jiang Anan asked, ”I heard that these days, wedding banquets around here are held in town or county hotels, which is more convenient and you don’t get cold. Why did Uncle insist on having it at home?”

Aunt Jiang curled her lip, ”To save money, of course.”

Exactly, holding the wedding banquet at home saved quite a bit of money.

If it were in a town hotel, each table would cost so much more, and with alcohol and cigarettes, it would be even more expensive.

Aunt Jiang whispered, ”They make it sound good, saying that hotels are not as lively, and that it’s better to have it at home with a warm and celebratory atmosphere, but in truth, they just want to save money. Dragging us out here in such cold weather is just to let us freeze.”

Listening in, Anning thought Aunt Jiang was really not fond of Uncle Jiang.

Jiang Anping whispered into Anning’s ear, ”Last year when Uncle’s old car wasn’t in use anymore, he let our uncle drive it for two days. Our uncle fixed it up nicely and even gave it a new coat of paint, planning to buy it so that it would be more convenient for our own use. Aunt didn’t want to take advantage, just wanted to pay the market price, but Uncle agreed all sweetly only to find another buyer right away. He drove the car straight over from our aunt’s house and sold it, without even paying for the repairs. Aunt cried over this for several days.”

Anning didn’t quite know what to say, only feeling that Uncle Jiang was a bit too much.

Thinking back to the original body’s life, when she encountered such events, Uncle Jiang, instead of helping her, criticized her for shamelessness and even pressured Mr. Jiang to force her to marry that worthless man, Anning’s opinion of Uncle Jiang fell even lower.

”You know, Anning is getting prettier.”

Aunt Jiang complimented Mrs. Jiang about Anning, ”An Ping has also grown up into a fine young lady, and her outfit today is really pretty.”

Mrs. Jiang smiled proudly, ”Indeed, the kids are all grown up. Each one has learned a skill, and now they can all earn money. Not only do they buy clothes for themselves, but they’ve also bought clothes for your second brother and me.”

”That’s a good thing, how wonderful it is that the children are filial. Sister-in-law, you really don’t have a single worry with these three girls. Unlike us, our two boys are building houses and finding wives, and the money spent is like throwing it into a bottomless pit.”

Aunt Jiang, talking about her own family, shook her head as well, ”They say it’s good to have sons, but now I see it clearly, having daughters is the real blessing. Look at these three warm jackets of yours, how pleasing it is to see them all sitting together like this.”

While Mrs. Jiang and Aunt Jiang were chatting, dishes started to be served. Anning picked up her chopsticks, wanting to have a few bites of the cold dishes, when suddenly there was a commotion inside the house.

Then followed a burst of arguing.

Anning paused for a moment, but didn’t pay it any mind and continued to serve herself some dishes.

However, Mrs. Jiang and Aunt Jiang seemed to find it strange and a few of the Jiang men went inside to see what was happening.

Shortly after, Mrs. Jiang and Aunt Jiang came back with somewhat troubled expressions on their faces.

”What’s going on?” An Nan asked.

Mrs. Jiang’s mouth twitched slightly, and Aunt Jiang said, ”The bride’s family is kicking up a fuss, complaining that the cigarettes provided are too shoddy and demanding better ones. They’re also grumbling that the red packets for the children are too small.”