Call Me The Mother of Quick Transmigration

Chapter 22 – My Son is a Phoenix Man (part 2)

Li Su checked how much time she had. Jiang Shan and Wei Yue Er would come back in 2-3 days. This meant that she had to stay in this place with no shower or air conditioning. How can she bear it?

Li Su’s expression darkened. This place… She couldn’t help but frown. How was the original owner? She was originally a gentle woman. After her husband died, she changed from a soft woman who blushed and didn’t dare to raise her voice to a rude and unreasonable country woman.

The original Li Su lived in the countryside and her family’s only source of income was a few acres of land. In order for her son to study, the original worked in the fields every day and night, rarely cleaning up the home. Additionally, the original was cheap and often picked up scraps and brought them home.

In the past when Jiang Shan came back for the holidays, he couldn’t stand it. He would clean it up so he would be able to see people around it.

But since Jiang Shan was admitted to university, he had not returned for several years due to work-study programs. Therefore, the Jiang family was no better than a garbage dump.

Therefore, when Wei Yue Er visited the Jiang family’s house for the first time, she almost fainted from the smell. She also saw Li Su, who hadn’t bathed for more than a month, and was full of disgust.

This was a very unpleasant first meeting for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. It also laid the groundwork for their following interactions.

Now that Li Su was here, she couldn’t be like this anymore.

Li Su clutched her nose and looked at her surroundings in disgust. Although it was a 3-room earthen house1, if she cleaned it up diligently, it could be tidy and clean. She really didn’t know how the original owner lived in a place like this. Anyway, she has replaced the original and she can’t bear it.

Li Su found a towel in the cabinet. She tore it in half and tied it around her head, covering her nose. She then proceeded to tidy the house, first clearing up the rubbish piled in the corner.

Li Su worked all night, running the cart back and forth 7-8 times before she had thrown away all the garbage in the house.

The Jiang family’s house was built at the edge of the village. Because Li Su smelled on weekdays, her relationship with her neighbours was not good. But since everyone was from the same village, and the Jiang family had a college student, they usually took care of Li Su. Many neighbours came over to ask questions after hearing movements from the Jiang household. They wanted to know what was happening since Li Su, who didn’t allow anyone to touch the garbage even if there were flies everywhere in summer and refused to clean up, was making movements.

As an explanation, Li Su said, “Jiang Shan will bring back his wife in two days. My daughter-in-law is from the city and has a clean house. Although our family is poor, we must make our house clean. Daughter-in-law from the city doesn’t have a place to stay!”

After thinking about it, the neighbours believed Li Su.

It took Li Su another day to clean all the corners of the house. There were only a few pieces of broken furniture in the house, and those were cleaned. Although there was still some dirt that she couldn’t wipe off completely, it was very clean.

After that, Li Su spent another day tidying up the clothes at home, throwing away all the shabby things. She washed the rest of the usable clothes and the quilts. She then took them out to dry and then proceeded to wash the sheets.

On the last day, Li Su boiled 3 large pots of water and washed from head to toe 3 times before she was barely clean. She trimmed her nails and cut her hair. She was finally clean. Now, she waited for Jiang Shan and Wei Yue Er to arrive.

At the same time, Jiang Shan and Wei Yue Er were sitting in the car, driving back to his hometown. The country roads were a little bumpy, so Wei Yue Er was not used to it. She had some motion sickness. At this time, she was resting in the seat with her eyes closed. Jiang Shan looked at Wei Yue Er with worry while he drove and asked her about her condition.

Wei Yue Er felt better. She was about to speak, when she saw Jiang Shan’s worried look. “Husband, what’s wrong?”

“Yue Er… It’s like this. My mother, she is… Mm… How do I put this? My mother is a widowed rural person. You know, in the countryside, it isn’t easy for a widow to look after an older child. That’s why my mother is a bit harsh and mean when she speaks, but she has a good heart. Don’t take it to heart. Also, my family is very poor. There are no brick houses, only earthen houses. This environment… Maybe…” Jiang Shan hesitated.

“Husband, I know what you’re talking about.” Wei Yue Er smiled innocently and sat upright. She stared into Jiang Shan’s eyes. “Husband, it must have been difficult to raise you. I will be filial to mother. I am very grateful. Mother has brought you up so well! When we got married, I was already feeling very guilty for failing to invite mother. I will be filial to mother in the future. We will leave after picking up mother and we won’t spend the night there. It’s okay if it’s dirty.”

Jiang Shan smiled bitterly. If it was that simple, it would have been better. He didn’t worry about Yue Er. Yue Er was a simple and easily coaxed person. He could deal with her if he said a few good words. He was worried about his mother. When he got married, the reason his mother didn’t come was not because he disliked his mother. Rather, it was because his mother was upset. She thought that he had found a girlfriend without telling here in advance. Even the marriage notification was a surprise to her. So, she was not happy and chose to miss her only son’s wedding.

Jiang Shan thought about their upcoming first meeting and felt unease, mixed with sadness and joy.

They drove for more than an hour. When they finally stopped, Jiang Shan took off his seat belt, then leaned over to undo Wei Yue Er’s seat belt. He then got out of the car.

Jiang Shan felt very complicated when he saw the familiar trees and plants with several earthen houses standing 10 metres away. People surrounded them when they heard the noises. On one hand, he felt proud returning home. On the other hand, he felt anxiety about seeing his miserable past. Wei Yue Er had never experienced such a scene, so she was a little embarrassed and scared. She walked to Jiang Shan and pulled on his arm.

Jiang Shan took advantage of the situation and hugged her. “Don’t be afraid. Let’s go home!”

Suddenly, the door creaked and opened. Li Su came out and saw Jiang Shan and Wei Yue Er. Her eyes lit up. “Child Shan, you are back!”

Jiang Shan couldn’t believe his eyes. He hadn’t seen his mother like this for many years. It was like when his dad was still around. His mother used to be like this, with clean and tidy clothes and standing at the door calling him “Child Shan!”

“Mum!” Jiang Shan couldn’t help but let go of Wei Yue Er and walked over. He knelt in front of Li Su and hugged her legs, crying.

“Okay, get up quickly. You’re so old now. Aren’t you afraid of people making fun of you? Your wife is watching!” Li Su helped Jiang Shan up and patted the dust on his knees. With regards to this life, Li Su was satisfied that Jiang Shan was a filial child, which saved her a lot of trouble.

Jiang Shan was agitated for a bit, but then calmed down. He was a little embarrassed after. Fortunately, the surrounding villagers were simple people. When they saw him like this, they had a sense of familiarity rather than feeling like strangers.

“Child Shan, now that you have a bright future, you need to be filial to your mother. It hasn’t been easy for your mother these past years.”

“Yeah, fortunately Child Shan is capable. From now on, your mother will enjoy this blessing.”

Some villagers looked at Wei Yue Er and said, “You are the daughter-in-law. You need to be filial to your mother-in-law. Your mother-in-law has suffered the most all these years. When Child Shan was in college, they couldn’t afford tuition. Your mother-in-law went to the nearby town to sell blood several times before she collected enough money for tuition. As a result, your mother-in-law fainted and fell in the ravine several times when she was working. It has not been easy for your mother-in-law!”

The villagers chattered.

Wei Yue Er had never experienced such a thing. She was embarrassed and scared. She almost cried and looked at Jiang Shan for help.

But Jiang Shan didn’t pay any attention to her. This was the first time he heard that his mother had sold blood, so he was shocked and angry. “Mum, is what Aunt Zhang said true? Did you really sell blood?”

When Li Su saw this, she frowned and said, “Yes, yes, it’s all in the past. Go bring your wife here. She is a city girl. Don’t scare her.”

Jiang Shan reacted and hurriedly pulled Wei Yue Er, who was at a loss, behind him. “Auntie, my wife is timid, please don’t mind her.”

The villagers smiled kindly. “Child Shan dotes on his wife! Okay, we won’t delay you. Go in.”

As soon as Li Su leaves, the village chief would take charge of the several acres of land under the Jiang family’s name and rent it out to others. It was enough to give Li Su a symbolic amount of money each year. If she was lucky, she could get more income.

Jiang Shan took Wei Yue Er’s hand and followed Li Su through the door.

Jiang Shan almost doubted his eyes. Was this really the house he had lived in for more than 20 years? The difference was enormous!

Although it was run-down, it was clean and tidy. There were some red flowers in plastic bottles on the table.

Wei Yue Er liked flowers and plants. When she saw this, she looked at it with interest.

“That is a wild flower on the mountain. We call it the heavenly maiden flower2. They grow all over the mountain, so I picked some. If it is left in water, it can bloom for several days!” Li Su said with a smile.

“Mum!” Jiang Shan looked at Li Su. He wanted to ask his mum what happened.

“This is the first time you have taken daughter-in-law home. Although our house is run-down, it needs to be clean. There isn’t even a place for her to stay, so I just cleaned it. How is it? Did it shame my son?” Li Su whispered.

Jiang Shan’s eyes reddened and he shook his head. “No, my mum is the best!” Jiang Shan understood that no matter what she did, everything she did was for him. He must be filial to his mother and not let her suffer anymore.

Wei Yue Er stood a short distance away. When she saw the mother and son with red eyes, her nose stung a little. In fact, on the way here, she was very worried. Her parents and friends had told her all about the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law when she mentioned that she was going to take her mother-in-law back to live with them. They mentioned differences in culture and lifestyle. Wei Yue Er was also scared and had thought about not bringing her back.

But when faced with her husband’s expectations, she couldn’t refuse. She could only bear it.

But now, Wei Yue Er felt that her mother-in-law wasn’t as terrible as what she had heard. Maybe they will get along well.