The next day, when Ruan Ruan got up, the whole family outside was already busy at work.

When Zhao Hongmei saw that Ruan Ruan had gotten up, she immediately went to the kitchen to get her breakfast. "Ruan Ruan, come and eat. The steamed buns and mantou are freshly made. Come and have a taste."

After washing up, Ruan Ruan walked to the dining table while drinking water. "Thank you, Mom. It's such a blessing in life to be able to eat freshly steamed buns and mantou as soon as I get up!" she said, picking up a bun and taking a bite.

Over the years, they have spent most of their Chinese New Year in Yuncheng. Unlike the North, where preparations begin well in advance, people in Yuncheng prefer to eat food made in advance. They don't have the habit of preparing all the steamed buns for the first month of the lunar year in advance; they just prepare whatever comes to mind on the day of the holiday.

So it was only then that Ruan Ruan remembered, oh, we still need to prepare food for the New Year.

"No need to thank me. You're all busy right now, and it's rare for you all to be in Beijing this year. It's a rare family reunion for us." Hearing her children, whom she had raised since childhood, say thank you, Zhao Hongmei felt a mix of emotions. She thought her children were grateful, since they had always been very filial to their elders. She also thought that after being away for several years, their relationship might have grown distant, but she didn't really feel anything. Yet, something just felt off.

Zhao Hongmei sighed and looked down at Ruanruan's leg. She then remembered what her husband had told her last night. This morning, her mother-in-law had told her that she had slapped Ruanruan's leg and hurt it. When Huo Haocheng went to work this morning, he also told her that she had slapped his wife's leg and made it swollen because he was too excited. Of course, the whole family knew that she didn't do it on purpose. They were just telling her to be more careful in the future. If she really couldn't help herself, she should look around to see if her husband or son was nearby. She could hit him as she pleased, but if her daughters-in-law were around, she couldn't hit them. They all said that Ruanruan's skin was delicate and that the whole family would feel sorry for her if she hit them.

"By the way, let me see your legs. I really didn't mean it last night. I was just too excited to see you all and couldn't control myself. I heard from Huo Haocheng this morning that your legs are swollen. Let me see them quickly. Have you put any medicine on them?" Zhao Hongmei worriedly reached out to pull down Ruan Ruan's pants.

"Mom, I'm fine. It's not as serious as Huo Haocheng said. You are strong, but you're not so strong that you'd break with a single tap, are you? I'm not made of cotton that would crumble at the slightest touch! It's just a little red, but Huo Haocheng applied medicine for me last night, and it's gone down by this morning. Don't worry, Mom, I'm perfectly fine...!"

This is unacceptable to look at. In this freezing weather, even with underfloor heating, it's unbearable to take your pants off in front of so many people. Even if it's just family, no one can accept it.

Seeing Ruan Ruan's insistence, Zhao Hongmei checked her legs again to make sure she wasn't walking abnormally before withdrawing her hand. "Alright then, but if anything happens, you must tell me. You can't keep it to yourself." She withdrew her hand, but still didn't forget to give a few more instructions. She remembered these children; as they got older, they became more and more opinionated, especially in recent years, as they all went out to make their way in the world. They had all learned to only report good news and not bad.

"Mom, don't worry. I'm a doctor myself. How could I let myself suffer like this?" Her legs had indeed been treated with medicine. Huo Haocheng applied it last night before she went to sleep. This morning, the first thing Huo Haocheng did after getting up was to check her legs. The bleeding had subsided, but he still applied medicine again out of concern. If it weren't for the itching on her legs, Ruanruan wouldn't have known that Huo Haocheng was applying medicine to her.

Seeing that Ruan Ruan had already said that, Zhao Hongmei didn't disturb her meal any longer and went back to the kitchen to attend to her own business.

Over the next two days, Huo Haojie, Huo Haoshi, and their brothers, along with Zheng Xuyang, drove Zhao Hongmei and Wang Qun to the vegetable market and supply and marketing cooperative before dawn. One group of people rushed to buy vegetables, while another group rushed to buy meat. Zheng Xuyang and Huo Haoshen, relying entirely on their good looks, led Lu Shuyan and He Yuwei through the supply and marketing cooperative and the overseas Chinese store, buying them melon seeds, peanuts, various candies and pastries, as well as gifts they needed to bring back for their return visit after the New Year.

It was only at this moment that I realized the importance of facial recognition.

When the whole family went out, Ruan Ruan and Li Huan were responsible for looking after the children with the grandparents. Basically, Ruan Ruan accompanied the three older children as their grandfather taught them to write, while Li Huan sat to the side and listened in, hoping to provide some prenatal education. Yes, Li Huan was pregnant, only two months along. With so many people out during the Lunar New Year, and her pregnancy still unstable, she was asked to stay home with her grandparents. Ruan Ruan was simply too lazy to go out in crowds. In her words, "With so many people, going out means either seeing the backs of other people's heads or getting your heels stepped on, and it's so cold. It's better to stay home and look after the children, and at the same time, listen to Grandpa and Grandma's stories."

And you know what? When the group of people who went out to rob the New Year's goods came back, if they hadn't tidied themselves up in the car, they all looked like they had been in a fight. Huo Haoli, because he went to rob fish with his mother, didn't even realize that a button or something on his clothes had been torn off when he came out.

"You know what, it's really just like Ruan Ruan said. As soon as I got to the market, it was packed with people. I didn't see many faces except for the backs of their heads."

The brothers bought all the groceries they needed for the next few days and carried them to the kitchen while talking about the interesting things they had just seen.

"You bet! When my mom was pushing and shoving me forward, I was saying sorry to the people next to me while shoving the people in front of me to move aside. Oh my god, you didn't see it, but those old ladies were swearing so rudely. I feel like I heard all the curses I've ever heard in my life today." As he spoke, Huo Haoming put down the bag of cabbages he was carrying and showed his brothers what he had done that morning.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!