Chen Qiaoyue's whispered words were overheard by Chu Wanfang.

The moment the mother and daughter locked eyes, Shen Qiaoyue swallowed hard but said nothing.

"By the way, Auntie, did you come back for a vacation or something?" Jiang Jin asked, looking at Chu Wanfang.

Chu Wanfang said, "I'm retiring. This time it's really retirement."

When it comes to retirement, Chu Wanfang is still very reluctant to leave.

Working is great; it allows me to showcase my abilities. Once I retire, I'll be taking care of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“Retirement is good too.” Jiang Jinyao could see the disappointment in Chu Wanfang’s eyes and quickly comforted her, “Health is the most important thing. Auntie, you can do what you want to do after you retire, which is great.”

“That’s true! I’ll spend the New Year here, and after the New Year I’ll go to Beijing to take care of Luoshui’s child. She has to go to work, so I can also help Qiaoying with her child and tutor Yuanyuan.” Chu Wanfang ultimately decided to go back to take care of her child.

Chu Wanfang planned to give Shen Qiaoyue some money, as she couldn't take care of so much, and Qiaoying's child was young and her daughter was often sick, so she could only help take care of her.

She was fine during the New Year and the Lunar New Year, as Li Xiaoxiao was by her side, which made her feel much more at ease.

Jiang Jinyao nodded and said, "That's good. There are less than two months until the New Year. It's very cold in Beijing right now. It's better to spend the New Year in Fucheng and then go to Beijing."

Chu Wanfang looked down at Xiaoxingxing and asked Jiang Jinyao, "Who takes care of your child?"

Jiang Jinyao chuckled and said, "I still have my vacation time, so we're planning to hire a postpartum nanny to help take care of me. We're still looking."

"Yes, it's really not easy for you all to go to work." Chu Wanfang looked at Jiang Jinyao with heartache.

Chu Wanfang felt heartbroken and helpless thinking that Jiang Jinyao was unaware of her father's serious illness and hospitalization.

While tidying up Chu Wanfang's room, Shen Qiaoyue said, "Sister Juanjuan, the work that the leader arranged for her before, which was suspended for a period of time, can be temporarily taken care of by her. Just pay her the same salary she would normally receive. Sister Juanjuan's monthly salary is thirty yuan. Besides, Sister Juanjuan really likes children and takes good care of them."

Zhang Juanjuan's workplace suspended her for a year without pay, and she lost her job in less than six months. Now she has nothing to do.

"What if Sister Juanjuan's job comes back someday? Many places have fully resumed production now." Jiang Jinyao had also thought about Zhang Juanjuan, but considering that Zhang Juanjuan might have to go back to work, she decided to look for someone else.

Shen Qiaoyue thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.

“Why don’t you take him to work? There’s a baby daycare center in the factory. It’s very close by, so you can leave the child there and take care of him.” Shen Qiaoyue suggested. “The daycare center doesn’t charge much, only ten yuan a month.”

The nursery in the factory is for families with children to take care of their children, but it also costs money, since it's for hiring a nanny or postpartum care specialist.

"We'll see when the time comes." Jiang Jinyao was actually worried that her child wouldn't be well taken care of at the daycare, especially since there were quite a lot of children there.

Seeing that they had their own ideas, Shen Qiaoyue stopped talking.

The children were playing in the yard when Lu Chen returned from outside with three roast chickens. These were the roast chickens he had promised the children, which he had bought from a hunter for eleven yuan.

As soon as I got home, the aroma of the roast chicken wafted out.

"I'm back!" Lu Chen greeted everyone as he walked into the house.

Chu Wanfang was chatting with Jiang Jinyao when she saw Lu Chen and asked, "Lu Chen, you're back?"

"Mom, when did you get back?" Lu Chen was shocked to see Chu Wanfang.

Chu Wanfang said, "I just arrived not long ago. I heard you injured your arm? Is it better?"

"I'm much better. It's just a minor injury, nothing serious," Lu Chen said.

Da Nian and Xiao Nian were the first to smell the roast chicken and swallowed hard before following Lu Chen inside.

"They're back, just in time for dinner. Qianli is too busy tonight and said he wouldn't be back for dinner. Xinlan Hospital is very busy, so I guess he won't be able to come back." Li Xiaoxiao always knew that the couple wouldn't be back for dinner at this time.

She couldn't help but complain, "This couple, if I'm not around, I don't know how they take care of Xiangxiang. They're never home. My poor Xiangxiang!"

Thinking about how she doesn't see her parents all day long, she's fortunate to have her older siblings to keep her company.

Lu Chen placed the roast chicken on the table and led the children to wash their hands and sit down to eat.

Shen Qiaoyue prepared bowls for everyone. The white rice she cooked today was a big pot, enough for two bowls each month.

"I bought a raw chicken, chopped it into small pieces, and brought it back. An Lude, take half of it back later to make soup for Yao Yao," Lu Chen instructed An Lude as he sat down to eat.

"Can I not eat chicken? I eat chicken every day, I'm so tired of it." Jiang Jinyao couldn't even swallow the food in front of her when she heard the word "chicken."

“You’ve become picky. To supplement your nutrition, you’ve eaten all the chickens raised in the entire family compound. Now every household raises chickens. If it weren’t for the chickens on the military’s rural farm, you wouldn’t even see any meat.”

Lu Chen was both worried and angry to see that Jiang Jinyao was taking her good fortune for granted. He noticed how thin she had become.

Jiang Jinyao was so upset by what he said that she didn't want to talk anymore. She lowered her head in grievance, looking at the food in her bowl, but she couldn't eat it.

We agreed that she would come to eat, and we even cooked separately for her, but it was all dishes without any oil or fat.

Seeing how serious Lu Chen was speaking, Shen Qiaoyue tugged at his sleeve.

“There are still some red mushrooms at home. These are the ones left over from before. It would be best to take them back and make soup. You also need to have a late-night snack now. It won’t be much, just half a mushroom,” Shen Qiaoyue added.

Jiang Jinyao nodded; she really didn't like eating chicken.

Anlude quickly smiled and said, "Thank you, brother and sister-in-law."

"Yaoyao, it's okay. I'll cook you something delicious another day." An Lude noticed that Jiang Jinyao was in a bad mood and quickly comforted her.

Seeing this, Lu Chen softened his tone and said, "I'll go to the dock tomorrow to see if the salvage boats that went out to sea have returned. If they have, I'll buy you some fish and shrimp."

Jiang Jinyao's expression softened, and she said softly, "Thank you, brother."

Only then did they continue eating.

The children happily ate chicken legs, selectively ignoring what the adults were saying, because they didn't necessarily understand what they heard.

Xiao Nian looked at her aunt, tore off a small chicken leg, and handed it to Jiang Jinyao.

"Auntie, want some chicken leg?" Any good food during the Lunar New Year is reserved for the family.

"Xiao Nian, your aunt can't eat chicken legs," Lu Chen said to Xiao Nian.

Jiang Jinyao's mouth watered as she looked at the chicken leg; she really wanted to eat it.

"You can eat it after peeling off the skin," Shen Qiaoyue said to Jiang Jinyao, unable to bear it any longer.

"Then Auntie will eat the meat, and Xiao Nian will eat the skin." Xiao Nian listened to his mother and peeled off the skin from the chicken leg and ate it.

"Xiao Nian, you're the best." Jiang Jinyao was touched by how good Xiao Nian was to her, put down her chopsticks, and kissed Xiao Nian, whose face was covered in oil.

"Hehe!" Xiao Nian smiled happily and shyly.

"It's so delicious!" Jiang Jinyao was overjoyed to finally taste a dish with a different flavor.