Song Anxin had already started clearing the dishes. She had intended to do it herself, but Zhang Mei was much faster and quickly took the dishes to the kitchen.

Song Anxin knew that she wouldn't feel at ease if she didn't do something, so she let her be. Lin Fengnian was also there to help her, so she probably wouldn't get too tired.

Single people shouldn't get involved; let the two of them develop their relationship.

She was happy to have some free time, but she didn't forget to tell Lin Fengnian to boil the egg to help Zhang Mei with her bruises. She had to thank Sister-in-law Lin for this; why hadn't she thought of that when she was shopping in the county?

After resting, Song Anxin quickly prepared to take a shower before it got completely dark. She felt like she was about to rot from being covered in sweat all day, and she couldn't stand it anymore.

After taking a bath and changing into her still patched coarse cloth clothes, she urged the younger children to wash up.

While Zhang Mei was taking a bath, Song Anxin secretly placed the clothes she had bought in the county next to her and took out Zhang Mei's old clothes.

She said at the door, "Zhang Mei, I've brought out your dirty clothes for you. I've put the clean ones next to you."

Zhang Mei softly hummed in response, "Thank you, Aunt Lin."

A moment later, Zhang Mei came out wearing that outfit. She clutched the hem of her dress tightly and said anxiously, "Auntie, I... I'd better put my old clothes back on. These clothes are new, aren't they? I... I can't wear them."

When Lin Fengnian saw Zhang Mei come out wearing new clothes, he was immediately captivated. Lin Fengyao, being young and straightforward, exclaimed, "Sister-in-law Mei looks so beautiful!"

Song Anxin agreed wholeheartedly. After carefully examining the clothes, she was extremely satisfied. The dress fit perfectly, the light red color complemented her skin tone, and the lifelike daffodils on her chest made her look youthful and beautiful again. Indeed, clothes make the man, and the girl who had just looked drab suddenly looked radiant.

"This is for you. You'll be a bride tomorrow, so of course you should dress up beautifully to come to our house," Song Anxin said with a gentle smile.

Normally, a wedding should be held on an auspicious day to welcome the bride into the family, but Zhang Mei's situation is special, so she set it for tomorrow. There aren't many customs in the village. Some people who marry far away will bring their brides back a day in advance and hold the banquet the next day.

When Zhang Mei heard that such a beautiful dress was actually bought for her, she was immediately moved. The dress was soft against her skin, made of the finest cotton, and had embroidery. She had never worn such a beautiful dress in her entire life.

She had worn her old clothes to her last wedding, and she hadn't forgotten how her in-laws had looked down on her. But Aunt Lin actually prepared new clothes for her. Zhang Mei's eyes welled up with tears as she said, "Thank you, Auntie. When I marry into your family, I will definitely... I will definitely take good care of you."

Song Anxin gently wiped away her tears: "Alright, please don't cry anymore. You won't look good as a bride tomorrow. You can sleep with me for now, and tomorrow when you're officially married, you can sleep in the room with Feng Nian and his brothers."

Turning to Fengshou and his brothers, he said, "Fengshou, can you sleep in the main room for now? After the autumn harvest, we'll build another room. Fenghe and Fengyao, you can sleep with Mother for now."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fengyao jumped three feet high and exclaimed happily, "Great! I'll sleep with Mom. It's so good that Sister-in-law Mei is here!"

Even Lin Fenghe couldn't hide his excitement upon hearing this.

Song Anxin smiled too. That's right. These two are still young and haven't felt much maternal care since they were little. They still yearn for their mother's love and naturally want to get closer to her. Plus, their mother has gotten better and they are no longer as afraid as before.

Lin Fengshou, on the other hand, looked at the two of them with envy. What was going on? His eyes were filled with disappointment. Could it be...? No, Lin Fengshou was already sixteen this year, practically a grown-up boy. Thirteen was still acceptable for him.

Summer nights are filled with the chirping of insects. In ancient times, there was little entertainment at night, especially in rural areas. Song Anxin had no choice but to go to bed early with Zhang Mei.

I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep with someone else next to me, but I fell asleep quickly, probably because I was really tired today.

------

The next day, Song Anxin woke up just as dawn was breaking. Today was a day of celebration in the family, and Sister-in-law Lin had said she would come to help. She couldn't wait for others to arrive while she was still in bed.

Song Anxin turned her head and saw that Zhang Mei was gone. She thought she had woken up early enough, but she didn't expect that Zhang Mei had gotten up even earlier than her.

When Song Anxin pushed open the door, she saw that Zhang Mei had already washed the clothes that the family had changed out of yesterday and was hanging them out to dry. These ancient people are so diligent! How early must they have gotten up?

And wake up! You're the bride today. What kind of bride gets up early to do chores?

After hanging up the clothes, Zhang Mei noticed that Aunt Lin was watching her. She timidly twisted her hands and said, "Aunt Lin, you're up. I'll go get you some water to wash your face."

He then went to fetch water to help Song Anxin wash up.

Song Anxin quickly stopped her: "Wait a minute, you're the bride today and can't do any work. Go back to your room and rest. If you're bored, you can take a nap."

"And when you come to my house in the future, you won't need to serve me. I'm not so old that I can't move."

Song Anxin knew that in ancient times, daughters-in-law were expected to serve their mothers-in-law. Just thinking about Zhang Mei bringing water to wash her face and feet gave her goosebumps; she could never do such a thing.

Seeing that Aunt Lin looked unwell, Zhang Mei was afraid that she had said or done something wrong, so she didn't dare to say anything and could only obediently go back to her room, but she absolutely dared not go to sleep.

Seeing that Zhang Mei had obediently gone back, Song Anxin quickly washed up and went to the kitchen to start making breakfast. Breakfast was very simple: a bowl of thick millet porridge, which was no longer black but shiny yellow. The white flour would be used to make wedding cakes later, so she used black flour to make a wild vegetable pancake.

The aroma of food woke the four young men from their deep sleep. They rubbed their sleepy eyes and came out, only to be surprised to find that the smell was coming from their own kitchen and that they even saw their mother.

So she asked, "Mom, why are you up so early? What's in the pot smelling so good? Are we eating breakfast already?"

As Song Anxin picked up the flatbread, she smiled and said, "In your eyes, your mother is just a lazybones who only knows how to sleep. From today onwards, our family will eat breakfast every day, three meals a day without fail, is that alright?"

Lin Fengyao was the happiest, clapping his hands and saying, "Good, good, good! Mother, you don't know, I'm starving every morning when I wake up."

Actually, all the brothers are the same; they just tough it out.

"You guys shouldn't just stand there like idiots. Go wash up and eat. Fengnian, go to my room and call Zhang Mei to come eat too," Song Anxin instructed.

The boys were happy to have something to eat, so they went to wash up. Yesterday was not a dream; their mother was still the same good mother she always was.