After Hu Tao left, Jiang Xuan distributed the candies, smacking her lips and gazing longingly at the fruit candies.

"No, you just had an IV drip, and your stomach is still very weak. You can't be subjected to any more stimulation. Let's talk about it when you're better."

With a pitiful look on her face, she said, "But I'm all better now."

"Didn't the doctor tell you to take the medicine for three days? I'll save some for you and give it to you when you're completely better."

Dian Dian was unhappy. She counted on her fingers and said angrily, "We still have to wait three more days!"

Lu Shengye wiped the coffee table and said seriously, "Dian Dian, be good."

Dian Dian dared not speak anymore.

Jiang Xuan asked Lu Shengye, "Should we go to Grandpa's house at noon or in the evening?"

"Let's go tonight, after Fanxing gets out of school this afternoon, and then take the kids with us."

"Okay, then let's have lunch with Sister Lan and the others."

"Sister Lan is a good person. The Sun family treated her like that, and her salary was all taken by the men. It wasn't easy for her to save any money."

"She spent money to buy ribs for us to eat again today. I was thinking, why don't you go to the store later and buy two cans of malted milk powder? Sister Lan's child is malnourished. He's 8 years old but still only as tall as Fanxing. Let the child get some supplements. What do you think?"

"Sure, I'll go buy it later."

"I'll divide the candy into four bags, one for Sister Lan's family, one for Sister Mei's family, and two for Grandpa. What do you think?"

"good."

Lu Shengye hung the rag to dry and then went out.

Just as Jiang Xuan finished distributing the candies, she heard a knock on the door. "Jiang Xuan, are you home?"

"I'm here, Sister Lan, come in quickly."

Ma Xiaolan was holding two thick red pillowcases in her hands when she spotted Dian Dian immediately. "Oh, the child is here too. Didn't he go to school?"

"Yeah, I had a stomachache from eating popsicles yesterday, so I took him to the hospital for an IV last night. He didn't go to school today."

"Oh, an IV drip? Is it that serious?"

"The doctor said it was caused by cold or raw food that triggered acute gastroenteritis."

"That means the child has a weak stomach. You should give him less cold food."

Ma Xiaolan handed the pillowcase to Jiang Xuan and said softly, "This was given to us by our company last month. You just got married, so we're giving it to you as a gift."

Jiang Xuan was afraid that the Sun family would make things difficult for Ma Xiaolan because of this, so she said, "Thank you, Sister Lan. I know your intentions. You don't need to give me anything. If you want to give me anything, just wish me a happy marriage."

Ma Xiaolan said with a smile, "Don't worry, this isn't a benefit from the factory. It's for outstanding workers, and they don't even know about it."

"Okay, then I'll accept it. Thank you, Sister Lan."

"Then you guys start cleaning up. The ribs are already cooking. I'll call you for dinner later."

Jiang Xuan grabbed her arm. "Sister Lan, is it really convenient?"

“It’s convenient. My in-laws have gone out and probably won’t be back until noon.”

"What did they do today?"

Ma Xiaolan smiled and said, "They went to the eldest son's house again. Wasn't it their precious grandson's birthday yesterday? But he ate something that upset his stomach, so they went to see him today."

Jiang Xuan was really puzzled. Why didn't the old couple live at the eldest son's house?

Hearing that the elderly couple wouldn't be coming back today, Jiang Xuan felt much more at ease and said, "Okay, Sister Lan, I don't have anything to do here, I'll cook for you."

"No need, I've already rolled out the dough. It'll just be a bowl of noodles in a bit. There's nothing else I can help with. You go ahead and do your thing. I'll be going now."

After walking a few steps, Ma Xiaolan turned back. "Oh, by the way, I have a prescription for regulating the spleen and stomach. I'll look for it for you later, and you can use it on your child."

"Thank you, Sister Lan. Please take this candy and give it to the child."

Ma Xiaolan beamed, "Okay."

*

When Ma Xiaolan saw Jiang Xuan standing at the door with malted milk powder, she was stunned.

These days, malted milk powder is a luxury item, costing more than five yuan a can.

Ordinary workers only earn twenty or thirty yuan a month, which is equivalent to a quarter of their wages.

"What are you doing? Why did you bring malted milk powder?"

"Sister Lan, don't overthink it. This is a gift for Xiuxiu. Xiuxiu is growing and needs to get proper nutrition."

Sun Xiuxiu peeked out from behind her mother and saw Lu Diandian, who was about the same height as her.

Lu Diandian pointed at her, "Are you Xiuxiu?"

Sun Xiuxiu nodded.

Lu Shengye said in a low voice, "That's impolite. You should call her 'sister'."

"She's not tall, why should I call her 'sister'? I don't call Fanxing 'sister' either, Fanxing always calls me 'brother'."

Xiuxiu bit her lip and didn't say anything.

Lu Shengye: "Calling someone 'brother' or 'sister' isn't based on height, it's based on age."

Ma Xiaolan quickly said, "Why are you looking at me like an idiot? Come in quickly."

After entering the house, Ma Xiaolan hurriedly served tea and water.

This house has the exact same layout as Jiang Xuan's, but you can tell from the furnishings that many people live in their house.

The two small tables were cluttered with various items, including tea canisters, pipes, sewing baskets, playing cards, wine bottles, and newspapers.

There was even an old quilt without a cover on the sofa, with a dirty pillow on top of it.

"There are many people living in our house, and it's quite messy. Please excuse the mess."

"Sister Lan, we're all on the same side, you don't need to bother."

Ma Xiaolan handed them water, moved some things from the table to the sofa, cleared the space, moved to the middle of the living room, found some stools, and said, "Let's eat here then."

"OK."

"Then you guys sit down first, I'll go cook some noodles."

"I'll go with you."

In the kitchen, Ma Xiaolan said in a low voice, "Oh dear, why did you come all the way here? I was thinking of eating in the yard. I'd be too embarrassed to let you into our house."

Jiang Xuan laughed and said, "It's okay, Sister Lan. I already told you, we're all family."

Ma Xiaolan put the noodles into the pot and stirred them with her chopsticks. "It's precisely because they're family that I feel even more embarrassed. Let me tell you, there's not a single normal person in their family, especially my sister-in-law. She's so slovenly you'd want to die. You wouldn't dare go into that house; the stench would make you faint."

Jiang Xuan was quite surprised, "Is it the eldest sister-in-law or the youngest sister-in-law?"

“My sister-in-law is 32 years old, which is 6 years older than me.”

"Is she married?"

The white foam in the pot rose, and Ma Xiaolan scooped in some cold water. "It's settled. The son is a year older than Xiuxiu, he's nine years old."

"So she got divorced?"

"No, the couple has a great relationship." Ma Xiaolan smiled self-deprecatingly. "Anyway, I think any man is better than Sun Jianjun."

Jiang Xuan guessed that Sun Jianjun was probably Xiuxiu's father.

"Then why does she want to stay here with you?"

“She was a sent-down youth before, and after returning to the city, she found a temporary job, but she couldn’t get a house, so my parents-in-law let her family live here.”

Jiang Xuan was so shocked her eyes almost popped out. "A family? They live here as a family?"