"Mother," Wang said hesitantly, "how much more grain will this require?"

She was puzzled as to why her mother-in-law always felt that their lives were as bitter as bitter herbs.

Clearly, their lives are already quite good.

They can get three meals a day and have enough water to fill their stomachs, and they don't have to work in the fields. Many young wives in the village are very envious.

Ms. Wang reaffirmed that her mother-in-law truly treated them like her own daughters; otherwise, what mother-in-law would be as afraid of her daughter-in-law being wronged as she was?

No, her mother was even better than her own mother. When her family cooked dumplings, she would only give herself one or two to taste. Her own mother would never say "eat dumplings until you're full" in her entire life.

Jiang Nuan had no idea that Wang was thinking so much. Upon hearing this, she reassured her, "Don't worry, there's always a way out. We'll find a solution."

“Sister-in-law, Mother’s words are never wrong,” Xie said cheerfully. “We can earn money even if we don’t have any, so what’s there to be afraid of?”

He turned his head and looked at Jiang Nuan with a fawning expression, saying sweetly, "Mother, you go and rest in the hall first, your daughter-in-law will go and cook now."

“No, I’ll go with you,” Jiang Nuan refused. “The three of us will cook faster. And that chicken hasn’t been cleaned yet, I’ll help out and it’ll be quicker.”

Jiang Nuan felt ashamed not to help her two daughters-in-law who had been busy all morning preparing food.

Anyway, after resting for so long, it's almost time.

"Mother, you should rest. We can handle these things," Wang Shi gently refused, not daring to let her mother-in-law do any work.

My mother-in-law is in poor health; it will be difficult to manage if she gets sick.

"Don't make a fuss, that's settled then." Jiang Nuan went into the kitchen without allowing any refusal.

Seeing this, Xie quickly said, "Sister-in-law, you clean the chicken. Mother and I can handle the kitchen."

She could do all the kitchen work herself, and she didn't want her sister-in-law to interfere and affect her relationship with her mother.

After saying this, without waiting for Wang's reaction, Xie rushed off to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Jiang Nuan felt a little lost. Although she knew how to use the earthen stove and cook, she didn't know where these things were.

"Mother!" Madam Xie rushed in. "Mother, sit on the stool. I'll knead the dough first."

“Then I’ll chop the filling,” Jiang Nuan replied.

"No, chopping filling is too tiring. Mother, just watch me chop." Without waiting for a reply, Xie pressed Jiang Nuan onto a stool, rolled up her sleeves, and started working.

She was used to doing chores and arranged things in an orderly manner, so Jiang Nuan couldn't help at all and could only sit idly on the low stool in front of the stove.

Wang noticed her boredom and struck up a conversation while working, "Mother, the corvée labor is about to be levied again. Will our family still use silver to redeem it?"

“We used silver in previous years, and we’ll do it this year too.” Jiang Nuan said this with a bit of cunning. She didn’t know how to handle it in the past, so she could only say something ambiguous.

Madam Xie had no suspicions, and said with some melancholy, "It's another two taels of silver to spend, it really hurts."

Thus, Jiang Nuan learned that the Huang family had paid two taels of silver to offset their corvée labor.

Praising her own cleverness, she forced a look of reluctance onto her face. "There's nothing we can do about it. The corvée labor is so heavy it's deadly, and those brothers aren't strong. They could die from going there once. What's the use of keeping the money?"

"Mother has a better eye than any of the men in the village," Xie said angrily after showering him with compliments. "Our family pays money to pay off corvée labor every year, and many people laugh at us. But when someone actually dies, some of them will regret it."

Jiang Nuanshen agreed, "Yes, no matter how important money is, no one is more important. As long as the whole family is healthy, we'll be happy even if life is tough."

Although she didn't know how heavy the corvée labor was, she knew that in this era of scarce medical resources and food shortages, corvée labor wouldn't be easy to endure.

“Mother is right. Just like our family, we may have a tough life, but we’re happy every day.” As she spoke, Xie’s hands moved more nimbly, quickly kneading the dough into a ball and then starting to chop the filling.

The two chatted casually until Xie had almost finished chopping the filling, when Huang Xiaowu and the others returned.

Before she even entered the courtyard, she excitedly called out, "Mom, I'm back!"

Then, he trotted into the yard.

"Xiao Wu, Mom is in the kitchen." Jiang Nuan called out, afraid that Xiao Wu wouldn't be able to find anyone.

"Mom, I dug up a lot of wild vegetables today, and I also pulled up a few bamboo shoots." Xiao Wu ran to the kitchen, looking like he wanted praise.

Jiang Nuan didn't disappoint her either, "Mom's little Wu is really great, he can do chores at such a young age. Go wash your hands first, we're going to cook dumplings today."

"Dumplings?" Upon hearing those two words, Xiao Wu's mouth watered. His excited eyes seemed to sparkle with starlight. "Mom, are we having dumplings today?"

"Yes, aren't you happy?" Jiang Nuan rubbed her fluffy little head. "Your brother and the others can't come back for lunch, so we'll have dumplings, and then chicken and fish for dinner."

Slurp!

These words caused glistening liquid to trickle from Xiao Wu's lips.

Seeing Jiang Nuan's teasing gaze, she blushed, wiped the drool from her mouth, and asked coquettishly, "Mom, what day is it today? Why are we eating so well?"

"It's not a special occasion, it's a reward for you guys, aren't you happy?"

"I'm so happy, so happy." Xiao Wu naively believed Jiang Nuan's coaxing words and laughed like a fool.

Just then, Huang Xiaosi also came to the kitchen.

"Little Wu, you're being affectionate with your mother again!" The shrill tone sounded just like a husband catching his wife cheating.

"Hehehe..." Xiao Wu made a funny face, "Fourth brother, you're just jealous that Mom and I are good to each other."

After Xiao Wu finished speaking, he rubbed against Jiang Nuan's arm in a provocative manner.

This left Jiang Nuan both amused and exasperated.

What to do when children compete for attention? She had absolutely no idea how to handle it.

Jiang Nuan rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit of a headache, and said, "Xiao Si, stop fooling around, go wash your hands and come help make dumplings."

Not knowing how to comfort her son, she simply shifted his attention to the side.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Huang Xiaosi's eyes lit up. "Mom, are we having dumplings today?"

"Yes, your second sister-in-law can't manage all the work by herself, so she came to help out because she wanted to eat earlier."

"I'll wash my hands and make dumplings right now." Huang Xiaosi darted outside and returned to the kitchen with her hands still wet in the blink of an eye.

With the whole family working together, they quickly made two trays of dumplings, totaling more than three hundred.

After the dumplings were cooked, Xie first ladled out two large bowls full. Jiang Nuan assumed that she was leaving them for her two sons who were away, so she didn't interfere.

"Mom, let's take these dumplings to Grandpa and Grandma."

She was overjoyed to be able to spend time alone with her mother again, and Xie Shi beamed with happiness.

"Grandpa and Grandma?" Jiang Nuan froze for a moment, then quickly realized, "Okay, let Xiao Si go with you."

She wasn't ready to meet her in-laws yet. Jiang was the boss at home, and she wasn't used to being domineering. She might not be able to win over her in-laws, so she was a little nervous.

“But,” Xie looked at Jiang Nuan with a puzzled expression, “Mother usually delivers them.”

“Alright then,” Jiang Nuan nodded resignedly, “I’ll go with you.”