It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 7

Jiang Shuangling emerged from behind the tree.

Xue Ningning and the others stared at her as if they had seen a ghost.

“Why are you here, Jiang Shuangling?”

“If you two can be here, why can’t I?” Jiang Shuangling looked at them with a half-smile.

“Xue Ningning.” Jiang Shuangling turned to the girl who had a quiet and reserved demeanor in her memory. “You two are plotting murder.”

Jiang Hongping’s push nearly cost Jiang Shuangling her life.

“You’re talking nonsense. You’re not dead, you’re living well now.” Jiang Hongping panicked, loosening her grip on the money.

Coincidentally, Xue Ningning also threw the money over, and a few bills fell to the ground.

“I… I’m sorry.” Xue Ningning’s hands trembled.

“What’s the use of apologizing now?”

Jiang Shuangling walked over and picked up the items from the ground. “I will report the two of you.”

“Jiang Shuangling, please, I beg you, I was wrong, don’t report us…”

“Xue Ningning, have you lost your mind from studying too much? She has no evidence, what would she report? She fell into the well by herself.”

“Who would believe her if she says anything!” Jiang Hongping cursed Xue Ningning in her heart, thinking she had lost all sense.

The tears of fear on Xue Ningning’s face stopped.

“She hasn’t lost her mind from studying too much, but she still has a bit of conscience. As for you, Jiang Hongping, your heart is rotten with malice.”

“Or maybe even that bit of conscience is gone now?”

“Jiang Hongping, keep talking loudly, it’s better if you wake up all the villagers. What I have in my hand… isn’t it evidence?”

“Xue Ningning, I will go to the county and demand the revocation of your university admission. Your heart is not right, conspiring with others to harm others.”

Xue Ningning’s face turned pale because she knew if Jiang Shuangling really caused a scene, she and Jiang Hongping might not be convicted of murder, but her university admission would definitely be gone.

Jiang Shuangling’s father had a good reputation in the county and knew quite a few people. And he was also for…

The other party is still a military officer’s family member!

She couldn’t afford to lose her university admission. If the other party really reported her, she would never have a chance to go to university, and it would affect her family.

Xue Ningning knelt on the ground, crying and pleading, “Jiang Shuangling, I really don’t want to harm you. I was just momentarily confused. Please, spare me. How about I give you back this year’s university admission spot? I’ll give it to you. Can we just forget about all this…”

How could they just forget about all this?

If they forgot about all this, how could she become the Jiang Shuangling of the 1970s?

Jiang Shuangling looked at Xue Ningning. She believed Xue Ningning truly didn’t want to harm her. The one who truly wanted Jiang Shuangling’s life was…

Jiang Hongping.

Jiang Shuangling had a high fever at night, and it was pouring rain. There were leaks in their house, dripping onto Jiang Shuangling. She was delirious with fever, but Jiang Hongping, who was sleeping beside her, pretended not to notice, fearing Jiang Shuangling’s illness wouldn’t be severe enough.

“Xue Ningning, I’ll give you a choice. I don’t want your university admission spot. You can still go to university, but you have to give me three hundred yuan and ten catties of meat coupons. Additionally, I want you to jump into that well, come out after a minute, and walk back home with a wet body.”

“Really?” Xue Ningning was stunned.

“Yes, really.” Jiang Shuangling nodded with a smile.

Despite the smile on her face, Jiang Shuangling had a kitchen knife and a long stick hidden in her makeshift shelter. She was also afraid that these two malicious fools might do something reckless in desperation.

Like them, Jiang Shuangling didn’t want to escalate the situation. Jiang Hongping was right; she didn’t have solid evidence or witnesses. Moreover, she was still alive and standing here. Even if she pursued this matter to the end, she would only ruin Xue Ningning’s university admission spot, which she didn’t care much about.

As for Jiang Hongping, if she didn’t relent and cause a scene, not to mention Jiang Chuanfu and Li Erhua, the other elders in the Jiang family would surely pressure her in the name of seniority. After all, they couldn’t tarnish the reputation of the Jiang family.

At such times, even if you’re in the right, others will accuse you of ignoring family ties.

After dealing with Xue Ningning, only Jiang Hongping was left. Jiang Shuangling smiled, “Cousin, let’s go, back home.”

Jiang Chuanfu, before going to bed, still had a cigarette in his mouth. “This money, use it to make some new clothes for Shuangling. Give the rest to her to take over…”

Li Erhua immediately became unhappy, “Why should we give everything to her? How much money is this? Isn’t she satisfied with that watch?”

“She used to be a military officer’s wife. Is this amount of money a big deal? I think that surname Qi is also stingy, bah.”

“Who let you say those things before?”

“Compared to other girls, it’s not bad. Let her take it all.”

“No, not giving her a single penny. What’s the point of giving her anything now that she’s in our hands? Over these years, we’ve raised her without spending any money!”

Jiang Chuanfu raised his eyelids. “My brother’s pension…”

Li Erhua’s breath caught. “Give her fifty yuan.”

Not long after the two went to sleep, they were disturbed by the commotion outside. Jiang Chuanfu put on some clothes and went out, seeing Jiang Shuangling and her cousin.

Jiang Shuangling didn’t mince words; she told Jiang Chuanfu about what Jiang Hongping had done right in front of him. Jiang Chuanfu was so angry that he slapped Jiang Hongping on the spot, “How could you do such a thing?”

Li Erhua quickly rushed to support her daughter, “This might be a misunderstanding. How could Hongping do such a thing?”

“For twenty yuan, she pushed her cousin into the well, risking her life. Who would believe it if it came out?”

Jiang Shuangling sneered, “Indeed, who would believe such a thing? Unfortunately, there are people who are capable of doing it.”

“Uncle, I want to marry Ah Che and move out together.”

Jiang Chuanfu was stunned. How did they end up talking about Jiang Che again? “No, Jiang Che is a descendant of our Jiang family. How can he follow you, a girl, and leave? Are you trying to erase the Jiang family?”

“Not all the Jiang family members are dead, Uncle. Do you remember how my father died?” Jiang Shuangling pointed at the ground. “Do you remember who built this house?”

“After I marry, this house will belong to Ah Che.”

“Today, for twenty yuan, she was willing to kill her cousin. What about tomorrow? She might continue and kill her cousin for more than twenty yuan. Do you think people will believe me if I say these things?”

“How… how can you say such things?” Jiang Chuanfu was so angry that his hands trembled.

When the other side could say such words, it meant they were ready to completely tear off the facade.

“If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it yourself. Who spread the word that my brother is an unlucky star? When Jiang Hongping pushed me into the well, there were people around. Their eyes weren’t blind. And… Why did Auntie stop me from being sent to the hospital that day?”

“Do you think they will believe or not believe?”

“How can I leave my own brother here?”

“What do you think will happen if I say these things?”

“Jiang Che, do you want to go with your sister?” Jiang Chuanfu looked at the slender child in front of him, exhaling a puff of smoke.

Jiang Che nodded.

He heard his sister and his uncle and aunt talking.

Jiang Shuangling packed up their things. She was going to take Jiang Che to the old Jiang family house, where she had lived since childhood. As for here, it was the house Jiang’s father built, but the family hadn’t had the chance to live in it yet.

Externally, she would say that she was preparing for her marriage in the old Jiang family house.

She maintained the last bit of dignity for the Jiang family but cut off all ties.

“Shuangling, if you walk out of this gate, you’ll have no family left.” Jiang Chuanfu’s meaning was clear. If she really took Jiang Che and left, they would effectively sever ties.

For people of this era, not having family support was terrifying. If the groom’s family was good, it might be bearable, but if the marriage turned sour, without family support, a woman could be bullied to death by her in-laws.

Although Jiang Shuangling married a military officer, she was essentially becoming a stepmother, and she didn’t even know how her life would be.

Without even looking at Jiang Chuanfu, Jiang Shuangling left with her brother’s hand in hers, not looking back. She thought to herself: This is what I’ve been hoping for.

Severing ties and tearing off faces was the best outcome. She had pretended to be a good granddaughter for days, just waiting for this day. Now she wished she could set off fireworks.

When she first arrived and didn’t understand the situation, Jiang Shuangling didn’t dare to act rashly. Now that she understood everything and had found a way out, she no longer wanted any relationship with this family.

Neither Jiang Chuanfu nor Li Erhua were good people. Li Erhua loved taking advantage and was rotten to the core, and Jiang Chuanfu, on the surface, seemed to care for his nephews and nieces, but in reality, he was in cahoots with Li Erhua.

They had swallowed quite a lot of the belongings left by Jiang Shuangling’s parents.

And then there was Jiang Hongping, who lived in the same house with her. Jiang Hongping hadn’t noticed her recent changes, but Jiang Shuangling had noticed that this malicious fool was different from the one in her memory. She was afraid that others wouldn’t notice she was different from before.

Jiang Shuangling had never seen such a foolish person.

…

This kind of person didn’t need to be retaliated against actively; she would play with fire herself.

When this fool went to fawn over Xiao Zhenchang, Jiang Shuangling just waited to see the show.

No, she just wanted to stay away from this family now.

Pushing open the door of the old house, it was covered in dust, and one of the rooms had already collapsed. Although she and Jiang Che wouldn’t live here for long, Jiang Shuangling still cleaned up the inside and outside of the old house with her brother.

Some old things were found usable.

Jiang Shuangling’s memories were more attached to this home.

“Little brother, from now on, sister will take care of you.”

Xue Ningning had gritted her teeth and sent her that money. With the money from their family and the additional five hundred yuan, Jiang Shuangling now had over eight hundred yuan on her, which was a considerable sum in this era.

She also had quite a few meat and cloth coupons.

These were all things she needed. Now that she had left the Jiang family, she could openly buy things.

She didn’t need food coupons; they got a free kilogram of rice every day, which she and Jiang Che couldn’t finish. With a kilogram of rice, they could cook more than two kilograms of rice.

“We won’t eat sweet potato rice anymore in the future.”

Jiang Shuangling understood the elderly who had been fed up with sweet potato rice. When life got better, why would they want to eat it, despite its sweet and soft texture?

She wouldn’t want to eat it either.

Today, she would cook some preserved egg porridge, and tomorrow she would go to the county to buy meat!