Chapter 113: Grandma left behind, saying she also wanted to contract a farm here.

With the peach tree's illness temporarily resolved, Lin Huijun began thinking about buying a house for her eldest daughter.

The knitting needles in her hand danced through the yarn: "If we don't hurry, this year will be over, and there will be tasks for next year too."

Chen Mian, who rarely gets a day off, sprawled on the sofa, her feet propped up on her mother's legs. The calico cat jumped onto her and found a comfortable spot to lie down as well.

Chen Mian asked languidly, "What mission is there next year? I don't know anything about it."

“There are so many tasks next year,” Lin Huijun said, listing them off as if they were her own. “We need to find a partner for your brother, and Muhe also needs to be put in charge. In case you get pregnant, we’ll have to take care of you.”

"Oh, by the way, your Aunt Xiaoyue is about to give birth. She has no one to take care of her, so I'll definitely have to go and help her during her postpartum period."

Chen Mian stared in disbelief: "You must be very busy, even taking care of Ji Yu's mother giving birth?"

Lin Huijun glared at her with her beautiful eyes, "Who do you think I'm serving for? She's at the age of giving birth, and she doesn't have a mother-in-law. If I don't go, then you, as her daughter-in-law, will have to take care of her."

Chen Mian didn't understand: "Why? Can't she hire a nanny like Hongmei?"

"Besides, how would I know how to take care of someone during their postpartum period? I don't even know what to do."

“No nanny can take care of you as attentively as your own family,” Lin Huijun said. “Besides, I haven’t even considered the design drafts and exams from the clothing company yet.”

At Chen Mian's urging, she and her husband both registered for the adult exam, which was scheduled for the end of November.

"I'll take care of the house myself. You should focus on your exams; there aren't many days left." Chen Mian stroked the calico cat's soft fur and fluffy body, looking relaxed.

The hat that Lin Huijun is knitting is already taking shape. As the weather gets colder, she plans to knit a woolen hat for each of her parents.

“If you count the days, your maternal grandmother and uncle’s family have been in Xinjiang for almost a month now. I don’t know how much longer they can stay.”

As Lin Huijun thought this, the knitting needles in her hand paused for a few seconds before resuming normal operation.

Chen Mian asked in confusion, "Mom, didn't Grandma tell you? They're not going back."

"What do you mean by not going back? Are you staying until after the New Year before going back?"

“No, Grandma said she also wants to contract a farm here and build a yard.” Chen Mian sat up, holding the cat in her arms, and continued to sit cross-legged on the sofa.

"I thought it was something you and Grandma had discussed, so I didn't tell you anything more."

Chen Mian: "I'm resting at home today. Tomorrow morning I'll take my grandma to the city to complete the procedures. Di Muhe has already been chosen, and it's right next to our house."

Lin Huijun had knitted the woolen hat in the wrong place, and the stinging pain in her fingertips brought her back to her senses.

"When did you decide on such a big thing? I had no idea."

Chen Mian recalled carefully: "So many things have happened recently. I just remember that my grandmother asked us to help her get a piece of land so that she could plant things before winter."

"Alright, you and Ji Yu can handle the house situation yourselves. Anyway, it's going to be bought for the two of you together."

Chen Mian: "Mom, how about we don't buy this house yet? Let's save the money to expand the farm and upgrade our equipment, maybe get a harvester or something to play with."

Lin Huijun glared at her daughter with annoyance and tossed her the yarn ball in her hand, "You're home right now, hold it for me while I roll up a ball of yarn."

"Oh." Chen Mian put the cat in her arms on the ground, picked up the yarn ball, spread her arms forward, and unrolled the yarn ball onto the cat.

Lin Huijun found the end of the yarn and began to wrap it around Chen Mian's arm, making it into a ball of yarn.

"The house purchase was agreed upon beforehand. Ji Yu's family bought him one. Mom doesn't want you to be outdone by others."

Lin Huijun: "As long as it's within your parents' capabilities, you should have what others have too."

“We already have one apartment; we wouldn’t have enough room for more.”

“If you can’t fit it all in, you can rent it to someone else. That way you can collect rent.” Lin Huijun worked quickly, finishing one ball of yarn and starting to roll another of a different color.

"Didn't your sister say that houses will get more and more expensive in the future? Let's just consider this an investment in advance. What's the use of a harvester on a farm? We're not just growing wheat."

Hearing her mother's words, Chen Mian felt a surge of warmth in her heart. Although she was already married and had a family, there were even more people in the world who loved her.

…

A few days later, Yan Yuhua's land was approved.

She directly contracted 500 acres of wasteland in her own name, and even came up with a name for it: "Yuhua Farm".

As for what to plant on the farm, Yan Yuhua said, "Your dad and I like to tinker with the fields when we have nothing to do. This time we plan to plant a few more things so that we can have a harvest all year round."

She saw on TV that there are now large harvesting machines, but she has never seen one before.

Chen Mian also thought her grandmother's idea was great, and even offered her suggestions, "Grandma, we can plant those big round pumpkins. When we harvest them, the golden expanse will definitely look beautiful."

"You can also grow rapeseed. It's very beautiful when the rapeseed flowers bloom in spring, and you can also press oil from the rapeseed to eat."

Yan Yuhua looked at her granddaughter and asked, "Do you want to grow this, or do you want to eat it?"

"Oh dear, I want to think about everything."

Lin Shanhu, who was standing nearby, teased her, "Should we bring the apple orchard and swing from your old home over here?"

Chen Mian's eyes lit up, and she shyly covered her face: "Really? Grandpa? You love me so much, I'm so embarrassed."

Lin Shanhu chuckled: "You, even though you're married, still act like you've never grown up."

Chen Mian, with her left arm around her grandfather and her right arm around her grandmother, said in a spoiled tone, "With you two pampering me every day, why should I grow up?"

"I'll come and stay here again once your house is repaired."

Lin Shanhu: "Okay, you can stay here. I'll reserve a room just for you."

"I want to keep eating my grandma's cooking."

Yan Yuhua: "As long as you come, I'll make whatever you want to eat."

"Right now I want to eat Grandma's radish balls and Mapo tofu." Just thinking about the taste of Mapo tofu made Chen Mian's mouth water.

"That's easy, I'll get it done for you right now."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Yuhua rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen.

Eating radishes is good for your health when it's cold. The radishes are all freshly picked from the field, and I have several stored in the kitchen.

She picked up two green radishes that were as long as her arm, and then found three smaller carrots, washed them all, and shredded them.

This makes the meatballs look more appealing, with both green and red colors.

The key to making radish balls is steamed buns. Peel and dice two large white steamed buns, then crush them into fine crumbs by hand.

Blanch the shredded radish in boiling water until just cooked, then remove and gently squeeze out the excess water. Add a few eggs, then add chopped green onions, minced garlic, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and salt, and mix well.

Finally, add the crumbled steamed buns and a little flour, and stir until it becomes a thick paste. The ingredients are now ready.

While waiting for the oil to heat up, you can use your hands to shape the radish paste into small balls for later use.

The radish balls need to be fried twice in total to achieve their golden and crispy texture.

As for Mapo Tofu, it's even simpler to make.

Cut the handmade firm tofu into cubes and set aside. Also, cut some minced meat, stir-fry it in a pan with garlic sprouts until fragrant, and then remove it from the pan.

Add oil back in, then add chili sauce, fermented black beans, and minced garlic and stir-fry evenly. Add minced meat and tofu, then pour in a bowl of water, just enough to cover the tofu.

After bringing it to a boil over high heat, reduce to low heat and simmer for a few minutes to allow the tofu ample time to absorb the broth. Then thicken the sauce over high heat.

A delicious, spicy, and flavorful Mapo Tofu dish is ready.

Chen Mian's favorite way to eat it is to dip steamed buns in the Mapo Tofu sauce. It's numbing and spicy, and it goes perfectly with rice.

While the Mapo Tofu was stewing, Yan Yuhua also made a cold cucumber and tofu skin salad.

Smash and chop the cucumber, blanch the dried bean curd in hot water, add several common seasonings and chili powder, pour hot oil over them to release their aroma.

Add soy sauce, vinegar, and a little sugar, and it will be fragrant even when dipped in shoe soles.

After lunch, Chen Mian helped her grandmother contact the construction team that had previously repaired the house, and then drove to the city to run some errands.

Ji Yu has a colleague who wants to sell his house and buy a bigger one.

It's a small two-bedroom apartment, located near a small restaurant in Taoyuan.

Chen Mian thought it sounded good and the price was right; the other party asked for 80,000 yuan.

When they arrived, she parked her car in a small alley next to the police station and waited for Ji Yu and his colleagues to get off work so they could go see the apartment together.

A short while later, Ji Yu and the others came out.

The residential buildings weren't far apart, so the three of them decided to walk there. The route they chose would just pass by Chen Mian's restaurant.

Although the pesticide issue has been resolved, the restaurant remains closed.

Chen Mian posted a piece of paper on the door that read, "Shop renovation and upgrade, opening for business in December."

The three walked side by side, and Ji Yu's colleague was introducing the house to them.

As Chen Mian listened, she casually glanced at the surrounding shops. It had been a while since she had walked this road, and she noticed that several shops had changed owners.

“Our house is really nice. It was my wedding home when I got married, and I personally oversaw the decoration.”

"If my wife hadn't given birth to our second child, and we really didn't have enough room in the house, I wouldn't have been willing to sell it..."

Chen Mian suddenly tugged at Ji Yu's sleeve and whispered, "Look at that woman in black over there, isn't she looking at our restaurant?"

Ji Yu reflexively stopped and looked to the right of the road. His colleague also stopped talking and became alert.

A woman in a black coat was hiding behind a tree, peeking out furtively, her gaze fixed on the location of Taoyuan Restaurant.

Chen Mian, guided by some intuition, boldly guessed, "Do you think that person could be Chen Zhelan?"

After all, she had spent several days with Chen Zhelan, and looking at their backs, she did think they did look somewhat alike.

Ji Yu had only seen Chen Zhelan's portrait, and could not confirm it directly from just looking at her back.

He glanced at the surroundings and said, "Mianmian, you and Aishan retreat into the alley. I'll go take a look."

"Aishan, protect my wife."

"knew."

Ji Yu circled around from the side and slowly approached the woman in black...