The Supporting Female Character Refuses to be Cannon Fodder Chapter 70

When both father and son had serious faces, it was quite amusing. Jiang Sen was also exceptionally doting on this late-in-life son. Considering his age, having Jiang Dan as a son was already a great blessing.

Although he was doting, education was still necessary. The deeper the love, the stricter the discipline. The best way for parents to love their children is to nurture them into capable individuals. Even if the parents are no longer around in the future, the children can still live independently.

Jiang Dan wasn’t a naughty child, but he did love to eat. His greatest love was delicious food. It was remembered that when Zhou Yue got married, Jiang Dan cried loudly.

In his words, when Zhou Yue got married, there would be no more good food. At that time, he didn’t know that Zhou Yue’s cooking skills were mostly taught by Jiang Chan. It wasn’t until Lin Shi told him that Jiang Dan completely became Jiang Chan’s little follower.

Jiang Dan, swaying his head and reciting the Three Character Classic given to him by Jiang Sen, finally finished and struggled to jump off the small stool. He stood next to Jiang Chan, who was bent over her desk drawing. Over the years, she had spent almost all her time learning various skills, and her traditional Chinese painting skills had naturally improved by leaps and bounds.

After several years of development, the Jiang family’s house had been replaced with a larger one, and a lotus pond was dug in the courtyard. Besides raising a group of koi fish in the pond, many lotus seeds had been scattered.

It was early summer now, and the lotus buds were just peeking out. Jiang Chan painted a picture of a lotus blooming out of the water, with a dragonfly resting on the small bud, very lifelike. Jiang Dan clapped his small hands, “Sister, your painting is beautiful.”

Jiang Chan slowly stamped her seal and looked at Jiang Dan eagerly, “Why is your mouth so sweet today? Do you have something to ask of me?”

Jiang Dan tugged at Jiang Chan’s skirt and twisted his chubby body, “Sister, your painting is beautiful, but I want to eat dishes made with lotus leaves.”

Jiang Chan poked his little head, “I see you take after father in this way, always thinking about food.”

Jiang Dan knew Jiang Chan had agreed, and he smiled, showing a mouthful of small baby teeth, “Father said that food is the most important thing for people, and enjoying good food is nothing to be ashamed of.”.”

Lin Shi, who was carrying two bowls of tea, laughed. She guessed that Jiang Chan and Jiang Dan had almost finished their lessons, so she came over to check on them.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered, she heard Jiang Dan’s remark about liking to eat not being shameful, and she immediately laughed. She put the tray on the desk and looked at the chubby Jiang Dan.

“Dandan, you’re already so plump, if you eat more, you’ll get even fatter.”

She squatted in front of Jiang Dan, teasing him on purpose.

Jiang Dan stood with his hands behind his back, his little face tight, “It’s okay, I’ll exercise more after eating. If I don’t eat enough, I won’t have the energy to exercise, right?”

Jiang Chan was momentarily stunned. Isn’t this the same principle as the saying, “How can you have the strength to lose weight if you don’t eat enough?” Now, it was actually spoken by this three-year-old child, showing that Jiang Dan was indeed precocious.

Lin Shi was truly overjoyed this time. She held Jiang Dan’s hand and stood up, saying, “Alright, let’s go for some exercise after we’ve eaten our fill.”

Jiang Dan turned to Jiang Chan, “Sister, let’s have lotus leaf dishes for lunch.”

Jiang Chan waved her hand, “Alright, I remember. How about I make you some lotus leaf wrapped rice?”

Jiang Dan was satisfied with this and went off to the courtyard to find Taxue and Naihuang Bao.

Taxue and Naihuang Bao were now five years old and already strong big dogs. When they saw Jiang Dan coming, they exposed their soft bellies, letting Jiang Dan pet them.

Lunch had just been served when Jiang Sen returned from the academy. The former headmaster had retired, and Jiang Sen had become the headmaster of the academy, giving him more free time.

Now, he came home every day for meals, often hearing Jiang Dan’s childish talk and Lin Shi’s gentle voice at the table.

After taking a few bites of rice, Jiang Sen suddenly said, “By the way, I ran into Jiang Miao on the way back. He gave me a message, saying Jiang Xing is getting married on the eighth day of next month.”

Jiang Chan’s hand paused. Jiang Xing… she hadn’t heard any news about her for a long time. Back when Jiang Mu’s family caused such a scene and completely fell out with each other, Jiang Chan had never seen them again.

In recent years, she has always stayed in town and has not visited the village even once. This includes the annual ancestral worship on the first day of the lunar new year in the village. By this calculation, it has been a full three years since she last saw Wang Shi, Jiang Mu, and Jiang Xing.

She had seen Jiang Miao a few times, but they only greeted each other from a distance, without talking. Hearing Jiang Sen mention Jiang Xing now gave Jiang Chan a surreal feeling.

She was eighteen this year, and Jiang Xing was sixteen, the age for marriage.

Jiang Chan put down her chopsticks, “The eighth day of next month? That’s soon, today is already the twenty-ninth of April. Why the rush? I didn’t hear about Jiang Xing getting engaged.”

Jiang Sen paused for a moment. He hadn’t thought about this. When Jiang Miao told him, he only mentioned hoping he could come and have a celebratory drink. He didn’t say anything else. Why was it so sudden?

Thinking back now, I suppose there might be other reasons behind this. He paused for a moment and then said, “Forget it, she’s our niece after all. When the time comes, we’ll just give her more dowry.”

Jiang Chan had neither paid attention to Jiang Xing nor cared about her in recent years, so she had no idea what kind of life Jiang Xing was living. Now that Jiang Xing was getting married, she should attend both out of duty and curiosity.

No matter what, the original owner was Jiang Xing’s older sister. Even if nothing else, she still had to add makeup¹ for Jiang Xing. Besides, it was also a chance to see how Jiang Mu’s family was doing now. She didn’t know how they were getting along.

Jiang Dan, while struggling with lotus leaf chicken, interjected, “Is it sister Jiang Xing from uncle’s house? Sister, what does ‘getting married’ mean?”

Jiang Chan simply stuffed a chicken leg into Jiang Dan’s mouth, “Just eat.”

Jiang Dan immediately lowered his head.

The eighth day of the fifth month was a good day for marriage. The Jiang family set out for the village early in the morning. Beside Jiang Chan was a little girl named Hong Yu, about eleven or twelve years old, whom she had brought back from the medical center a few days ago.

She followed Jiang Chan, mainly doing errands, not much else. Hong Yu had worked hard to stand out at the charity hospital and become Jiang Chan’s helper.

Who doesn’t know Jiang Chan at the charity hospital nowadays? As long as you follow Jiang Chan for a period of time and learn, you’ll be able to make a living on your own afterward. Hong Yu is the same.

In recent years, many children have left the charity hospital, going to all corners of the country. However, none of them have forgotten their roots. Once they have settled down, they always send letters back to the charity hospital.

In the letter, it described the encounters and experiences over the years, the sights and sounds from outside, and some small achievements they had attained. This also allowed Hong Yu to realize how vast the outside world is.

1. In Chinese culture, the phrase “添妆” (tiānzhuāng), which translates to “adding makeup,” refers to the tradition of giving gifts to a bride as part of her dowry. This practice is deeply rooted in Chinese wedding customs and signifies the support and best wishes from the bride’s family and friends as she starts her new life. The gifts, often including jewelry, clothing, and other valuable items, are meant to enhance the bride’s appearance and signify prosperity and good fortune for her marriage.
   The term “makeup” in this context goes beyond cosmetics and includes anything that can “adorn” or “beautify” the bride’s new life. It represents the love, care, and blessings bestowed upon the bride to ensure her well-being and happiness in her marriage. ↩︎