Jiang Mengxue remained unmoved and continued to pull her mother out.

"Mom, since I'm here now, I must go visit my eldest sister, right? Otherwise, I might not have time before the New Year."

Jiang's mother thought about it and agreed. She had been here before and took Jiang Mengxue directly to Jiang Dongmei's current home.

It was the house that Liu Yang, Gu Qingbei's comrade at the police station, had found for him.

Jiang's mother only remembered the approximate location, but didn't know which house it was.

"Mom, do you remember the house number? We can look for it by the house number."

Jiang's mother tried hard to recall, but she only remembered number 36 and didn't know if it was correct.

Jiang Mengxue didn't care whether it was right or not, she just went straight to No. 36 and knocked on the door.

After the knock on the door, footsteps were heard, and they stopped not far from the door: "Who are you looking for?"

"Is it Xiaowei? Is this Jiang Dongmei's home?"

The child paused for a moment: "Are you my second aunt? My mother is at work."

The door opened from the inside and Chen Xiaowei's head popped out. When he saw that it was really his second aunt, he immediately ran out happily.

"Second Aunt, it's really you. How come you have time to come to my house?"

"Why do you only see your second aunt and not your grandmother?"

Chen Xiaowei hugged Jiang Mengxue's waist and shyly called her "Grandma".

"When does your mom get off work? She's just leaving you at home by yourself?"

This was Jiang Mengxue's first time visiting Jiang Dongmei's home. It had a small courtyard, three main rooms, and a small kitchen on the side. It was more than enough for a family of three, not to mention that Chen Xiaowei now lived in the same room with his parents.

"My mother will come back from get off work at noon to cook. I'll go call her now."

"No, we'll go find her directly. We'll be taking the bus back soon. Xiaowei, are you going with us or waiting at home?"

Chen Xiaowei has been locked up in the house every day since school was on vacation and has long wanted to run away.

But Jiang Dongmei was worried that there were no adults at home and that he would be doomed if he encountered a kidnapper, so she firmly disagreed with him running around.

I followed Chen Xiaowei to the supply and marketing cooperative. It was very busy and everyone had already started rushing to buy New Year's goods.

Not only people from the county town, but also members of nearby production teams were there. The entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative was so crowded that they couldn't get in at all.

Chen Dongmei was so busy that she had no idea that her mother and sister were outside the supply and marketing cooperative.

There was no other way, so the two of them had to send Chen Xiaowei back home. Jiang Mengxue left a bag of biscuits and half a bag of candy, and stuffed a red seal into Xiaowei's pocket.

"Xiaowei, you stay home and wait for your mother to come home. Don't open the door for anyone who knocks, even if they are people you know, okay?"

Jiang Mengxue regretted not bringing the cart. Otherwise, it would be much easier for the two of them to put the things on the cart and push it one by one.

The roads in the public work team were extremely difficult to walk on, and it was difficult to move forward in the snow.

Jiang Mengxue walked out of breath, with a look of despair on her face: "Mom, you said you only care about me, why bring so many things? Didn't I tell you I don't need anything?"

Isn't Jiang's mother tired? When she came in the morning, her sons helped her carry things to the commune, but now she has to carry them back by herself.

"These are all available at home. Why do you have to buy them in the city? They are not as good as your own."

The two of them panted and struggled before finally reaching the Taoyuan Brigade's territory.

Jiang Mengxue now hopes to meet an acquaintance as soon as possible who can help them transport their things along the way.

But unfortunately, they didn't see anyone until they reached the doorstep.

Jiang's mother knew what Jiang Mengxue was thinking and rolled her eyes. "What are you thinking? On this day, everyone is either at home preparing New Year's goods or lying on the kang. Who would have nothing better to do than to come out and enjoy the cold wind?"

When I got home, the whole family was busy steaming steamed buns and steamed corn bread.

Cover the steamed food one by one and put it outside. When it is frozen solid, put it all in a large vat. When you want to eat it, just steam it for a few minutes.

Jiang Dachun spent half a day cooking and came out to stretch his legs.

"Mom, why are you back again? Xiaoxue is back too. Did you two meet?"

"Could you please be more considerate and take the things away?"

Jiang Dachun reacted and took down the two people's things: "Come into the house quickly, my father is inside."

Jiang Mengxue went in to say hello to Jiang's father, then came to the kitchen to see if she could help in any way.

"Sister-in-law, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Wait a minute, sister. I'll come out as soon as I finish setting up the pot."

Several sisters-in-law were in charge of making the dough, one was cooking, one was kneading the dough, and one was making the dough.

"Where are my second and third brothers? Why aren't the children at home?"

"A few kids went to the lake to skate. Your second and third brothers went up the mountain. They said there's a stream with running water up there. The upper reaches don't freeze even in winter. Let's go see if there's any fish or shrimp. They'll be back for lunch soon."

"Oh my god, sister-in-law, you made so many noodles?"

The big basin on the chair is full of noodles, not counting the ones that have been steamed outside. How long will it take to finish them all?

"Haha, this is still a lot. There are so many people in our family. We can eat it until the weather gets warmer, so we don't have to make it every few days later."

Okay, with more than a dozen mouths to feed, a whole pot of food is not enough for one meal.

Jiang Mengxue rolled up her clothes and tried to help, but was stopped by several sisters-in-law.

"Don't occupy your hands anymore, we'll be done soon. Go to that room and talk to your parents. They haven't seen you for a long time."

When Jiang Mengxue came back, her sisters-in-law were all busy, and she felt embarrassed to sit idle.

Mrs. Jiang saw that Jiang Mengxue didn't want to sit there idly, so she said, "Second sister, go inside and help Dad pick beans. We're going to pick up the beans tonight."

Jiang Mengxue nodded and went to Jiang's father and mother's room.

"Dad, my brothers are still going hunting in winter?"

As soon as Jiang Mengxue entered the kitchen, she saw a lot of meat hanging on the beams, marinated with salt and dried.

"Go if it doesn't snow. Your mother has packed a few for you, along with other dry goods. You can send some to your uncle and aunt's families when the time comes.

You and your son-in-law were married thanks to their help. You should go out more often when your son-in-law is not at home."

"I know, Dad. But we won't be at home for the New Year this year. I plan to take the train to my parents-in-law's place in a few days. They're close to Qingbei, but it'll take a while."

Father Jiang nodded. "That's fine. It's your first year of marriage, so spend some time together as a family. How are you feeling? Are you feeling unwell? If you have any questions, ask your mother and your sisters-in-law. Next year, your sisters-in-law will give birth two months later than you, and your family will be bustling again."

Jiang Mengxue always thought that her brothers and sisters-in-law would not have any more children, and even her third brother's family had two. But when she thought about it, every household now had five, six, seven or eight children, so two was nothing.

Jiang Mengxue doesn't want to have so many children. If possible, she thinks one is enough.

In her previous life, she was an only child, and so was Gu Qingbei. She didn't think having more brothers and sisters was a good thing at all.