Chapter 380: Gifting a Bike

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Zhou Lan nodded, then suddenly remembered something. “Do you still remember meeting your great-aunt Jiang Nan at Jiang Hong’s engagement banquet?”

“Of course, I remember. Auntie was very kind to us and even slipped us some money.” There were not many good people in the old Jiang family, so Jiang Xia certainly remembered someone who was so kind to their family.

“I’ve always felt that your great-aunt must know something about your father’s background. It’s just that so many things have happened recently, I forgot to follow up on this matter. Now that you’ve mentioned Jiang Hong and Wang Niu, it made me think of your great-aunt again. The mystery of your father’s past has always been a hurdle in my heart, it would be better to clear it up sooner rather than later.”

Jiang Xia agreed, “Then let’s wait until father is less busy, and we will go to see the great-aunt in person to clarify this matter. We should also bring her some gifts; I heard that they are not living very comfortably these days.”

Zhou Lan agreed.

The sweet potato cakes were ready. Jiang Xia placed the cakes on a plate, while Zhou Lan cooked last night’s leftover rice with some water into a porridge, adding a white sweet potato to it.

Looking at the fragrant rice soup, Jiang Xia pondered and said, “Mother, do you remember there are a few irrigation channels in the village?”

“Yes, but the climate is dry now, and there is not much water left, probably just up to the ankles,” Zhou Lan replied.

“That’s enough,” said Jiang Xia.

The rice harvest was very poor during the autumn. Many rice ears were shriveled, and the grains were very small, so the village didn’t plan to continue planting rice this year. They were at a loss about what to plant when the appearance of corn seeds gave them hope. However, Jiang Xia knew that rice was still a very important staple that couldn’t be replaced by corn.

Moreover, Jiang Xia found that the poorly harvested rice, once soaked in water from her interspace realm, would become plump and sweet. So she had an idea to use this interspace realm water to nourish rice seeds and plant them in the village irrigation channels. This way, they wouldn’t need to expend much labor or resources, and next year they could have a rice harvest to regain the villagers’ confidence in rice cultivation.

But this matter still required Jiang Chuan to convince the villagers at the commune. Anyway, corn planting only started in spring, so Jiang Xia was not in a hurry.

Breakfast was ready, and Jiang Gu extinguished the fire. The three women, one carrying sweet potato cakes, another carrying the porridge, and the little one following behind, went inside the house. It was then they realized that they had a visitor early in the morning.

The visitor was Shen Mo, who had come for dinner the previous night. However, Shen Mo’s visit this early morning wasn’t to freeload breakfast but to deliver something to Jiang Chuan.

Jiang Chuan saw a brand-new bicycle in the courtyard and asked Shen Mo with confusion, “What does this mean?”

“This is a bicycle issued to me, but I am about to join the army and go into the mountains, where I can’t ride it,” Shen Mo explained, “so I thought of giving it to you for your use.”

Unsolicited generosity might imply an ulterior motive!

Jiang Chuan looked at the bicycle and knew in his heart that he could not accept it.

Aware of Jiang Chuan’s hostility, Shen Mo explained, “Uncle Jiang, please rest assured, this bicycle is purely for your convenience in delivering pickles. Once the army cooperates with you, we will need to frequently purchase pickles and meat sauce from your home. Considering how far the mountain foot is, it would be quite troublesome for you to deliver goods without a bicycle, right?” Hearing this, Jiang Chuan felt there was some sense in the words. He couldn’t always be driving his car around the village ostentatiously. Having a bicycle would indeed be very convenient, and most importantly, their home was some distance from the commune, which was quite tiring to walk to every morning. With a bicycle, a lot of hassle could be saved. With this in mind, Jiang Chuan found himself tempted.

Shen Mo’s words were overheard by Zhou Lan as she came out from the kitchen. Zhou Lan praised, “This child is really thoughtful. Stay and have breakfast with us. Jiang Xia cooked sweet potato pancakes herself. Try them and see how they compare to last night’s braised pork ribs.”

Jiang Xia was cooking again? Hearing this, Shen Mo naturally wanted to stay and taste Jiang Xia’s cooking, especially since the flavor of last night’s braised pork ribs was still lingering in his mind.

Jiang Chuan shot a reproachful glance at Zhou Lan. He hadn’t agreed to take the bicycle yet, but with Zhou Lan’s words, it seemed he had no choice but to accept it..