Call Me Daddy [Quick Transmigration]

Chapter 2

Call Me Daddy - Chapter 2

Currently, the work in the fields wasn’t heavy. The batch of grain previously harvested had been dried and stored in the warehouse. Therefore, upon hearing that Su Aobai had returned, many members of the Jiang family took leave and rushed home to see if he had truly come back.

The Jiang family’s old house was located near the village entrance. Jiang Dajun had two sons and one daughter. The youngest daughter, Jiang Lianmei, was born when he was older, and there was a significant age gap between her and her two older brothers. The eldest son, Jiang Lianjiang, had already married off his eldest grandson last year. Thus, when Jiang Lianmei got married, Jiang Dajun decided to split the family.

As the eldest son, Jiang Lianjiang naturally stayed in the old house with his father. The second son, Jiang Lianbian, received a plot of land and a sum of money during the division of the family property. Once his own house was built, he moved out.

Jiang Lianmei and her husband, Su Aobai, had a more complicated situation. As an educated youth, Su Aobai lived in the educated youth courtyard before their marriage, sharing a large room with six or seven other youths and sleeping on communal beds.

Jiang Dajun and his wife, Han Juan, didn’t mind their daughter and son-in-law continuing to live at home after marriage. After all, her room was spacious, and one more person wouldn’t be a problem. However, they were mindful that this arrangement could cause friction with their eldest daughter-in-law, who also lived with them, potentially harming family relations.

Moreover, living with the in-laws wasn’t considered prestigious. Jiang Dajun worried that village gossip might affect Su Aobai’s feelings. Although Jiang Dajun didn’t particularly like this marriage, he had no choice. If he had found a local, reliable son-in-law, these issues wouldn’t have arisen. Though rural life was poor, but at least they had their own homes.

Since children were karmic debts from previous lives, Jiang Dajun had to accept the situation. After securing a teaching job for his son-in-law through connections, he also rented a house from the village. This house belonged to an elderly person without heirs and was now the collective’s property.

The dilapidated house wasn’t far from the Jiang family’s old residence.

Jiang Dajun discussed with other village officials and rented it for 1 yuan a month, paid from Su Aobai’s salary. The money went into the village account, and the rent wasn’t excessively cheap due to Jiang Dajun’s position as the team leader. This arrangement prevented any village gossip.

Before Jiang Lianmei and Su Aobai got married, the men of the Jiang family repaired the dilapidated house, making it barely habitable. The old Jiang family house was next door, allowing the elderly couple to keep an eye on any commotion and feel more at ease.

Over the years, Jiang Lianmei gave birth to a son and a daughter. Su Aobai’s behavior was impeccable, which gradually led Jiang Dajun and Han Juan to accept their educated youth son-in-law. Otherwise, Jiang Dajun wouldn’t have quickly arranged for his son to approve the leave request for Su Aobai to go home.

However, the lack of news over the past 3 months had left them feeling disheartened and worried about their daughter’s marriage.

***

“Mingcheng’s dad!”

Su Aobai hadn’t even had a chance to put down his luggage when he ran into the rushing Jiang Lianmei at the door. She was holding a small boy by the hand; initially, she had been carrying him, but she switched to pulling him along when she couldn’t manage.

People of this era were reserved. Even couples rarely displayed affection in public. Despite Jiang Lianmei’s overwhelming emotions and her flushed, excited face, she didn’t dare to show affection towards Su Aobai in front of the villagers. Even in her excitement, she addressed him as the child’s father.

Su Aobai had inherited all of the original owner’s memories, so he naturally recognized the mother and son before him. Perhaps due to the original owner’s lingering emotions, he felt a sense of joy looking at her flushed face and her big, bright eyes.

The original owner genuinely liked this beautiful and pure wife and loved his children. But all of this was secondary to his own self-interest.

“Mei Zi.”

This was Jiang Lianmei’s nickname, used by those close to her.

“I’m sorry for being late. Mingcheng, why aren’t you calling me dad?”

He looked down at the thin, dark-skinned boy standing behind Jiang Lianmei, who was stubbornly looking at the sky, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Humph!”

Su Mingcheng was also feeling happy inside. He wasn’t a fatherless child, but he was a bit sulky at the moment, blaming his dad for coming back so late and not sending any messages home during the journey.

“Where’s Mingmei?”

Su Aobai chuckled at his stubborn son. He didn’t try to coax him but turned to look at his wife. He remembered that the original owner also had a daughter.

“Mom’s watching her.”

Jiang Lianmei spoke as Jiang Dajun, his wife, and Jiang Lianmei’s two brothers hurried over.

“You finally decided to come back!”

Han Juan, holding her 3-year-old granddaughter, blurted out somewhat forcefully.

Su Aobai’s words made the people present alternate between furrowing their brows and relaxing, their moods changing with the content of his words.

Only Jiang Lianmei’s eyes sparkled with joy as she looked at her husband. He had planned both himself and the children in his life. Even with such a good job, he hadn’t given up on this family. Jiang Lianmei felt extremely happy.

“It’s a pity, it didn’t succeed,” this answer was already expected by everyone. Moving household registration wasn’t a simple matter.

Han Juan’s expression was filled with disappointment. Although she was somewhat worried about letting her daughter and grandchildren go so far with Su Aobai, it was such a good job! Her son-in-law could earn 42 yuan a month, and her daughter would live a comfortable life in the future.

“A month ago, I gave up. So I talked to my parents and suggested letting my younger sister take my Mom’s place. My younger sister is working as an educated youth in the northwest. She’s young and not in good health. If she could return to Ning City, my parents would also be more reassured.”

The original owner had an older brother and two sisters. The older brother had taken over their father’s job early on and now lived with their parents in a less than 40-square-meter apartment allocated by their unit. The original owner and the other two sisters were eligible for the countryside policy.

The older sister, like the original owner, couldn’t endure the hardships of rural life and married a local villager. The younger sister went to the countryside later and hadn’t found a partner yet. She was afraid that once she got married, she would be tied down and never able to return home.

The Su parents were quite surprised by their son’s decision. They couldn’t understand why their youngest suddenly changed his mind. But since he was unwilling to abandon his wife and children in the countryside and was willing to let his sister take over, his parents pondered over it all night and eventually agreed.

So they sent a telegram to their youngest daughter. After Su Xiaomei returned to Ning City to take over, Su Aobai returned.

***

“I didn’t discuss this matter with the family. Mei Zi, you’re not angry with me, are you?” Su Aobai looked apologetically at Jiang Lianmei.

Of course she wasn’t angry. Su Aobai knew that his wife, in her simplicity, wouldn’t even consider such things.

“Not at all,” Jiang Lianmei quickly shook her head, smiling sweetly at Su Aobai.

She only knew that her job had been given to her sister-in-law, and her husband would continue to live in the village as before. And Su Aobai had just said he hadn’t discussed it with his family, which meant he considered them as his own family

After explaining the situation, the anger that the Jiang family had accumulated over the past 3 months dissipated by half.

They still had some doubts. They felt that even if the problem was difficult, Su Aobai should have sent a message back, rather than letting his family in the countryside worry so much. But then they thought again, Su Aobai was still young, and it was understandable that he didn’t consider things thoroughly.

Just by giving up such a good job and returning to live a good life with Jiang Lianmei, the Jiang family recognized him as a good son-in-law.

For the first time, Jiang Dajun admitted that he might have been mistaken back then. Su Aobai was clearly a real man, a capable and reliable guy.

Seeing him return from Ning City looking dusty and tired, the Jiang family felt it was inappropriate to keep him any longer. Besides, after being apart for three months, the young couple might have a lot to talk about privately.

As they left, Jiang Dajun reminded his daughter and son-in-law to come over to the old house next door for dinner tomorrow, so the whole family could enjoy a reunion meal.

***

After they left, Jiang Lianmei couldn’t even think about being intimate with her husband. She rushed to the kitchen to boil water for him. After sitting on the train for several days, people felt a bit stale. They were too happy to notice before, but now with her parents and brother gone, Jiang Lianmei still wanted to hug her husband.

However, before she could get close, she was overwhelmed by the smell. Feeling embarrassed to mention it, she quickly ran to the kitchen, leaving her husband’s sour odor for their two children.

In the living room, only Su Aobai was left with his son and daughter staring at him with big eyes.

Su Mingcheng was waiting for his dad to comfort him, but Su Aobai turned and went to the side to tidy up the parcels he had brought.

He didn’t want to comfort the two little brats. After all, his mindset before was always bout being a good child to his parents, right?

Acting in front of the Jiang family earlier was just to stay, he hadn’t adjusted his mindset yet to truly accept this role.

Without him comforting them, Su Mingcheng stubbornly pursed his lips and glared at his back, while his little sister alternated between looking at her brother and her father, busily bustling about.

By the time Su Aobai had organized everything from the parcels onto the living room table, Jiang Lianmei had finished boiling the water.

There was already a pot of water on the stove that had been kept warm by residual heat. She just added some firewood, and soon it boiled. Su Aobai took the clean clothes she had prepared for him and headed towards the small bathhouse made of boards next to the kitchen.

Seeing his figure disappear, Su Mingcheng, who hadn’t been comforted yet, was on the verge of tears out of frustration.