Chapter 9: Unfilial Piety
The weather was sweltering.
The sun was scorching.
Thick clouds drifted across the sky, obscuring the sun.
But it didn’t get any cooler; it felt like a steamer lid had been placed over it, making it even more stifling.
Qin Luoxia looked up at the sky, sensing that it would rain.
She prepared to gather the herbs she had been drying, otherwise, they would be ruined if they got wet.
There were more ants on the ground, likely having sensed the moisture in the air.
It was going to rain.
A group of worker ants was busy coming out to find food.
Their food was varied.
They loved insects best, but would also eat some leaves, fungi, and honeydew.
Among the ant colony, there were both the “sweet faction” and the “salty faction.”
The “sweet faction” ants could absolutely not refuse honeydew; if honeydew and insect carcasses were placed before them, they would only choose the honeydew.
The “salty faction” ants were standard meat-eaters and would definitely choose the insects first.
And Little Black—let’s call it Little Black—was a standard “sweet faction” ant, obsessed with honeydew.
It didn’t know why a glob of liquid, a hundred times more fragrant than honeydew, had fallen from the sky and covered it. It was completely bathed in it, and after drinking it, it suddenly gained a tiny bit of thought.
It was stepped on by a giant foot like a mountain; had this happened before, it would have been dead or half-crippled, but this time, only its antennae bent, and it was completely unharmed.
It felt as if its entire body had hardened.
There was a strong attraction that made it circle around the giant, mountain-like wooden basin.
Then it encountered another ant.
Little Black retreated two steps in fear, as it felt that the scent on its body had changed, and it was afraid of being discovered by its companions.
But as it retreated, it bumped into another of its kind.
In its little brain, it inexplicably knew that if its scent were different, blending in would result in it being torn apart and used as food.
Little Black was clever enough to want to run, but it discovered that there were more and more of its kind around it.
It didn’t look like they wanted to attack it, but rather follow it.
Little Black found a corner and deliberately encountered a lone ant companion. At this moment, it had a thought: if they touched antennae and the other party discovered it was different, it would strike first. It felt that it could easily tear the other apart.
“Bump!”
A light collision, and simultaneously, they exchanged pheromones.
There was no attack; the ant opposite it showed friendly intentions, even closeness, and after a while, that ant companion it had bumped into actually dragged over a piece of insect meat for it.
Little Black was surprised and delighted.
Its first reaction was to drag the meat back to the nest for the Queen to eat.
After dragging it a few steps, it suddenly stopped, and a question mark appeared in its mind: Why?
Why did it work so hard to find food for the Queen until it died of exhaustion? Why? Who was it? Why was it alive? What was it doing?
The little black ant’s brain issued similar soul-searching questions to itself.
The problem was too complex, so it flashed and vanished, and it was again dominated by another strong desire: it wanted to drink honeydew, it wanted to drink honeydew, it wanted to drink honeydew…
…
A baby’s sleep time is always plentiful.
After drinking milk, it was as if a sleep point had been pressed.
Jiang Mianmian easily forgot about that little ant and fell into a deep sleep in Mother’s embrace.
She was woken up by a knock on the door.
She was startled, her little heart thumping.
She opened her eyes and saw it was still daytime.
Her eyes were still a bit blurry.
Discovering she was still in Mother’s arms, she settled her jumping heart back into place.
She adjusted to a comfortable waking posture.
The door was pushed open.
In the village, doors were generally not locked during the day.
A stout woman entered.
Jiang Mianmian saw that while her Mother was already considered a tall woman, the woman who entered was even sturdier; by comparison, Mother could almost be considered slender and well-proportioned.
The stout woman entered first, followed by an old lady with a particularly dignified appearance.
Although she had wrinkles, you would still feel she was exceptionally beautiful.
Her features were delicate, and her skin was very fair.
Jiang Mianmian was just wondering who the visitor was when she heard Mother speak up and call out, “Mother.”
Eh, this is Mother’s Mother? That would be Grandma? No…
Her eyesight was excellent now.
Although this old lady was dressed plainly and looked to be wearing an old jacket, it seemed there had once been patterns on it. In this day and age, having patterns on clothing was remarkable; just having color was remarkable, and having patterns on top of that was even rarer.
She must have been well-off at some point.
The old lady had a face like a hibiscus flower; her dress and demeanor were completely out of place in the village, and she even had a servant woman.
In her eyes, besides arrogance, there was also a sense of naivety.
Her Father, Jiang Changtian, also had an extremely good appearance, quite different from the uncles and grandfathers in the village.
If not for seeing their family environment, she would have initially thought her Father was at least a scholar, if not a provincial graduate. She hadn’t expected him to be just a farmer, and a landless one at that.
So this “Mother,” should she be her Father’s Mother?
So this is Grandma?
She had been born for over a month, and she hadn’t seen Grandma come over, which was a bit strange.
The stout woman entered, looked around, found a seat, cleaned it carefully, took a cloth from her bosom to spread over it, and only then let the old lady sit down.
This old lady had a servant; the family must be rich.
Others called her Father “Jiang the Second,” implying he must have at least an elder brother, “Jiang the First,” but the villagers rarely mentioned it in casual conversation.
Even when her own family talked, they never mentioned it, which also seemed a bit strange.
Jiang Mianmian’s infant brain was spinning at high speed, feeling a bit dizzy.
After the old lady sat down, her back was straight, and her posture was excellent.
There were wrinkles on her neck, but it was long and slender.
Like a swan neck; the small high collar looked very beautiful.
Her gaze landed on Jiang Mianmian, and it actually held a natural, compassionate love for all humanity, which made Jiang Mianmian feel uncomfortable.
She buried her head into Mother’s embrace and stuck her butt out.
If she made this movement normally, Mother would have already lifted her clothes to breastfeed her.
But at this moment, Qin Luoxia stood solemnly, only gently stroking her daughter’s back, without doing anything else.
This Mother-in-law was terrifying.
Looking pleasant and soft-spoken, she could make people wish they were dead without even changing her expression.
When she first entered the family, she had thought her Mother-in-law was a good person.
It was precisely this kind of Mother-in-law, soft-spoken and agreeable, who had saddled her husband with the reputation of being unfilial, cutting off his path to the imperial examinations and forcing him to struggle for a living in this countryside for the rest of his life.
“Mother, is there something you need?” Qin Luoxia was on guard.
The old lady’s gaze landed on Lady Qin, also with a look of pity.
The old lady didn’t speak.
Instead, that stout woman spoke first: “Giving birth to a son who acts as a wastrel outside, and a daughter who fights to be a servant in someone else’s house—why bother giving birth to another to suffer and bring disgrace upon the family?”
The old lady seemed to disapprove of her tone, frowning slightly, but she sighed softly and pleasantly: “A-Yao, don’t say that. It is, after all, a human life.”
The old lady’s voice was very pleasant, crisp and clear. If you didn’t look at her face, you would think she was a young girl of sixteen.
The tone was also good, neither slow nor hurried.
There was a feeling that this was perhaps the standard Mandarin of this world.
Jiang Mianmian was confused for a moment; what were they here for? One mocking, one compassionate?
Qin Luoxia was even more unable to fathom her Mother-in-law’s intentions; this Mother-in-law had always been a figure like a female Bodhisattva, and it was said she had never even harmed an ant.
The bad things were always done by others.
Qin Luoxia just held her baby a little tighter and said: “Mother, are you here because you see we can’t make ends meet and want to come and provide us with relief?”
The old lady’s eyes were compassionate; she seemed to pity her even more.
She said with a Buddhist air: “You, your actions are improper.”
Although she was criticizing her, her tone was soft and somewhat kind.
The stout woman said with a cold face: “In order to fight to be a servant, Sister Yu stirred up trouble and slandered others. You, as her Mother, are vengeful, stir up trouble, cause injury to others, and bring disgrace upon the family and shame to the ancestors. If you are still a member of the Jiang Family, you should be punished by family law.”
Jiang Mianmian was shocked to hear this; how did this old woman know everything?
With a stern face, it was quite frightening.
And what “family law” was there?
Then the old lady sighed and said: “I cannot bear the title of ‘Mother.’ The Jiang Family has been noble for generations; we have no descendants who are servants. Do not be greedy for petty advantages and ruin Sister Yu’s life.”
Qin Luoxia’s face was grim, and her heart was even more furious.
This old woman always talked without feeling the pain; when she was having a difficult labor with Mianmian, Sister Yu went to beg for some fine grain, and they actually beat Sister Yu and drove her out.
Even people in the village with no relation, at such a time, would do their best to help provide some food when asked.
Jiang Mianmian could feel Mother’s chest heaving.
Her round chin was also trembling.
If it were anyone else, Qin Luoxia would have shouted for them to get out.
Qin Luoxia’s anger rose from her heart; she wished she could grab a weapon.
But every time she thought about going against the old woman, it was always herself who suffered.
That old woman actually had more strength than her; she couldn’t beat her.
Qin Luoxia looked at the baby in her arms and forcibly suppressed the rage in her chest.
She had been married into the Jiang Family for so long and had given birth to three children; even a pig would have learned a thing or two.
Although she had a large face and a sturdy figure, at this moment, she imitated her Mother-in-law’s compassionate appearance. With thick eyebrows and large eyes, she said in a calm tone: “Madam Jiang’s lesson is correct. My Sister Yu is coarse and vulgar, having to fight even to be a servant. Unlike your Wan-er, who has been literate and talented since childhood, is well-bred, and kind-hearted. Surely the heavens favor her; I suppose she won’t need to be a servant and can directly become a concubine.”
