After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety
Chapter 730 - 720: The Touching Moment Lasts Less Than a Minute

Chapter 730: Chapter 720: The Touching Moment Lasts Less Than a Minute

Jiang Lingxi answered the video call from her younger brother.

The screen flickered, no face in sight, only a familiar big gate, with large red lanterns already lit on either side.

"Sis, are you sure this is the place? I didn’t get it wrong, did I? I spent two hundred bucks on a taxi ride here, and there’s no public transportation around."

Jiang Lingxi: "...Get out of the car, someone’s already gone to the gate to meet you."

"So this is really it, huh? That puts my mind at ease, as long as my money wasn’t wasted. Should I just wait at the gate after getting off?"

"Yes, the person meeting you will be there soon. Just follow them in. The whole family is waiting for you to have dinner."

Jiang Lingxu initially thought that at this hour, his parents, sister, and brother-in-law would have already eaten. Hearing this, he felt a warmth in his heart. "Okay."

The taxi driver collected the two hundred yuan fare, watched the young man get out with a bag, and head towards the big gate. Oddly enough, he didn’t immediately drive away.

Jiang Lingxu waited at the gate for less than two minutes before hearing noises, prompting him to look up quickly.

"Is that you, Xiaoxu?"

"It’s me."

"I’m Xiazhi, the steward of Xiyuan, come on in."

The gate opened, and the taxi driver opened his window slightly to sneak a peek.

He only caught a glimpse of an enormous carved partition wall before the gate closed quickly after Jiang Lingxu entered.

"It truly is a wealthy family, but the kids are quite low-key."

Earlier on the ride, the young man was even concerned about the two hundred yuan fare.

His curiosity satisfied, the driver drove off contentedly.

Inside the gates.

Rushing to pick him up, Xiazhi came in a small electric car.

Once Jiang Lingxu got in, Xiazhi drove back the same way.

After nightfall, all the lanterns in Xiyuan were lit up, in diverse sizes and styles, dazzling and brightly colorful, offering a beauty distinct from the daytime.

As the car navigated through, Jiang Lingxu almost felt like he was at a night lantern festival rather than coming over to his sister and brother-in-law’s place for a New Year dinner.

It wasn’t until he got out of the car and entered the courtyard, also adorned with lanterns and couplets, and saw his sister waving at him under the glass palace lantern in the veranda, did he feel he had finally returned to reality after a surreal interlude.

"Sis."

"Hurry up and wash your hands and get to the table. If you don’t hurry, I’m going to be full on snacks."

Many of the New Year’s food that Jiang Wenhu had prepared were homemade, including everything from fried and steamed to baked and roasted items. She brought everything over for the New Year with nothing left behind.

Jiang Lingxi had originally just wanted a simple taste, but ended up eating until she was half-full.

Jiang Lingxu quickly put down his bag and obediently went to wash his hands.

Jiang Wenhu looked at her son’s travel-worn appearance, "No need to talk about it now, have a few bites of food first."

"Mom, Dad, Brother-in-law!"

Jiang Lingxu greeted everyone before sitting to Jiang Lingxi’s left.

After wolfing down half a bowl of rice, he wiped his mouth, took a sip of water, and proactively started talking about his recent trip to find relatives, without waiting for Jiang Wenhu to ask.

"Although I couldn’t see anyone this time, I found out that our great-uncle and great-aunt have been living quite comfortably these years. Also, this is not their first time going south for the New Year; they go every year because great-aunt likes it down there. It was just bad timing on my part this time."

"Your great-uncle has always been a good person with capability. Back then, he was even the head of the R&D department of the family company, certainly capable of being a high school chemistry teacher."

As she mentioned this, a light bulb went off in Jiang Wenhu’s mind. She might have guessed why her uncle left.

If it really was like she guessed, then Jiang Peng was really paying for his sins now.

Expecting Xixi, who had never met her grandfather, to turn the tide, what a preposterous idea!

"Wait a minute," Jiang Wenhu, looking at her children sitting beside her, suddenly remembered what she had overlooked, "I just listened to you talk about great-uncle and great-aunt, but have they not had any children all these years?"

"Mom, I was about to say, they really don’t have children. Although neighbors in the family quarters thought I looked suspicious and chased me out," Jiang Lingxu pouted in frustration, "before coming back, I sneaked into the school where great-uncle teaches and asked his students a bit."

"What did you find out?"

"The family quarters and the school are right next to each other, but all the students I asked said they’ve never seen great-aunt. Some even say great-aunt has never shown her face because, well, because she’s sick, up here." Jiang Lingxu said while pointing to his head, "So they never had children."

Jiang Wenhu was a bit taken aback.

Her intelligent uncle from a young age married a wife with a mental illness?

How could this even seem possible!

But for the students to spread rumors like that...

Jiang Runcheng, noticing his wife’s discomfort, cleared his throat softly, "It’s probably just rumors. Not having kids might be because they’re a DINK (double income, no kids) couple. These days, there’re quite a few married couples who choose not to have kids."

This made both Jiang Lingxi and Shen Yunqing exchange a silent glance.

Could they also be considered DINKs?

Jiang Wenhu’s expression softened, "Now that we know the address, let’s wait till after the New Year and visit. By then, your great-uncle should have returned from the south. Enough talk, let’s eat. Xiaoxu, do you want more rice, or would you prefer some soup? How about Xixi and Yunqing? Do you want more rice?"

*

After a brief rest following a hearty meal, Jiang Lingxu was urged to go wash up.

Once he cleaned himself of fatigue and dust and returned to the living room, he saw:

His brother-in-law making tea at the tea table.

His sister adding sugar to a small ceramic pot brewing tea beside him.

His parents huddled together on the sofa, puzzling over the TV remote control.

The room was filled with the delicate fragrance of tea and the sugary sweetness of milk tea, merging into a distinctly warm aroma.

It touched him and warmed his heart.

But then he heard:

His sister murmuring to herself while adding milk: "I’m not sure if this first batch of milk tea I’ve made is any good. We’ll have Xiaoxu try it when he comes out."

His mom was fumbling with the high-tech remote, so his dad whispered on the side, "Let Xiaoxu handle it when he comes out. This kid might not be good at much else, but he’s quite skilled with these gadgets."

Watching the rare gathering of his family with mixed feelings and emotions, Jiang Lingxu thought: "..."

Great, his sentiment only lasted less than a minute.

Right before tonight’s "Empress Yuan Zhao" started airing, Shen Yunqing finished brewing the tea, Jiang Lingxi finished making the milk tea, and Jiang Lingxu, after fiddling with the remote for a bit, successfully switched the channel to the national station.

"Xiaoxu, try the milk tea your sister made for you."

Seeing the cup with unfiltered tea leaves and a color not quite like the milk tea from stores, Jiang Lingxu took it with both hands, "Thank you, sister."

"You’re welcome, go ahead and try it."

Under his sister’s expectant gaze, Jiang Lingxu braced himself and took a sip, immediately widening his eyes.

"With that reaction, could it be amazingly good?"

"No," Jiang Lingxu struggled to swallow the milk tea, "Sis, how much sugar did you add to this?"

"I didn’t think it was much, is it really that sweet?"

"Sickeningly sweet, drink too much and you’ll get diabetes."

Just one sip, and he felt full already!

Jiang Wenhu, noticing there was another cup on the table, initially intended to try her daughter’s handiwork but, hearing this, quietly withdrew her hand.

She decided to stick with her son-in-law’s tea!