Chapter 319: Help

Chapter 319: Help
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
It had only been a week since Jiang Gui caused a scene at their doorstep when another visitor from the old Jiang’s family arrived.
It was Jiang Gui’s second daughter, Jiang Cheng, who came early in the morning just after breakfast.
She closely resembled her sister, Jiang Hong, both in looks and temperament both were inherently bossy. As she entered, she looked around Jiang Chuan’s house as if she was inspecting it like some sort of official.
Zhou Lan was sitting in the courtyard, leisurely enjoying sunflower seeds. These seeds were a result of Jiang Xia trading wild vegetables for them on a passenger bus when she was on her way to the county town. After acquiring them, they were planted in the interspace where they grew into sunflowers and produced seeds. However, later on, to make room for other vegetables in the interspace, the sunflower was removed.
In a whimsical mood that morning, Zhou Lan decided to roast the raw sunflower seeds with star anise, fragrant leaves, and cinnamon bark. She was having a delightful time munching on them when Jiang Cheng arrived. Without greeting her, Zhou Lan simply waited for Jiang Cheng to initiate the conversation.
The two daughters of the Jiang Gui family were known for their inability to contain their words. The slightest matters could become their bragging topics for days. Since Jiang Cheng had specially come over today, she’d surely feel stifled if no one acknowledged her.
Jiang Chuan had left early in the morning. He had heard that there was a black market in the county town that day. Hoping to try his luck, he wanted to check if there were any good wood or furniture available to buy for the new house he was building. He also planned to buy two desks for his daughters.
Jiang Cheng noticed that the three women in the house were engrossed in their respective tasks and weren’t paying any attention to her. Unable to contain herself, she finally said, “Auntie Zhou.”
“Yes?” Zhou Lan replied, continuing to enjoy her sunflower seeds.
Caught off guard, Jiang Cheng momentarily forgot her reason for visiting. After pondering for a moment, she said, “My sister is getting engaged today. The groom’s family is coming over with betrothal gifts. Grandmother said you should come and help.”
Jiang Cheng had heard about Zhou Lan’s tendency to resort to physical confrontation. Coming alone today, she felt apprehensive inside but put on a bold front to hide her unease, cautiously choosing her words.
In truth, Old Madam Jiang’s exact words were, “Even if the third daughter-in-law doesn’t kneel and apologize to me, I wouldn’t possibly meet her. But she can’t escape her share of the work. Bring her over to help!
Everyone is extremely busy today; she cannot be idle.”
Old Madam Jiang wasn’t even afraid that others would hear her say this. When she needed help due to being short-handed, she still wanted to take advantage of Jiang Chuan family.
Zhang Ling, after hearing this, couldn’t help but comment sarcastically, “Others would probably prefer not to see you at all.”
The Old Madam Jiang stood in the yard and started giving orders. No one paid any attention to her. Everyone was busy with their own work and acted as if they hadn’t heard her. Her pride wounded, she pointed out a random person standing idle. And so, Jiang Cheng was sent to deliver the message.
After Jiang Cheng finished speaking and received no response, she became impatient, “Did any of you even hear what I just said?”
Zhou Lan, acting as though she had just realized Jiang Cheng spoke, replied nonchalantly, “An engagement is a happy occasion. We’ll join the celebration. You can go first; we’ll come over in a bit.”
Jiang Cheng, still feeling uncertain, emphasized, “Come early to help!”
Jiang Xia, clearly annoyed, said, “Understood.”
Jiang Cheng then left in a huff.
Watching her go, Jiang Xia turned to Zhou Lan, “Mom, are we really going to help them?”
Zhou Lan continued enjoying her sunflower seeds, “I said we’d go and see, not that we’d work.”
Indeed, Zhou Lan had a way with words.
She continued, “The groom’s family is from the city. They will surely want to impress. There’s bound to be delicious food at lunch. We can time our visit, chat a bit, and then join them for the meal.”
As Zhou Lan pondered, she thought that going empty-handed for such an occasion wouldn’t look good. But she also wasn’t keen on gifting something too valuable.
After some consideration, she said to Jiang Xia, “Let’s prepare two baskets of radishes and mushrooms to bring over. Make sure we use baskets without lids so the villagers can see how generous we are. But once inside, remember to transfer the vegetables back into the interspace. I don’t want to give those away to the old madam jiang for free.”
Jiang Xia chuckled, “Don’t worry, I’ll select the longest and best vegetables to place on top, ensuring the envy of the entire village.”
While Jiang Xia was organizing the vegetables, she unexpectedly discovered another layer of spore powder on the Lingzhi mushroom. She guessed this powder might regenerate. She wondered if combining this spore powder with her scar removal cream might enhance its effectiveness..