When they got home, Guang Sheng was also home from get off work. He had a lot of things hanging in his car, and he took them all to the old couple's main room. "These are New Year's gifts from my workplace, a lot of aquatic products from the south. Let's cook some for dinner tonight."

Wang Cuiyun: "If we don't save the good stuff for the New Year, what are we going to eat now?"

"It's fresh now, but it won't be fresh if we eat it during the Chinese New Year."

Wang Cuiyun glared at her son, "Then we'll eat it tonight."

She rummaged through the bags. "How do we eat these crabs?"

"Steam them, and add some sauce. The same goes for the shrimp."

"Okay. I'll go wash the crabs."

After giving his instructions, Guang Sheng picked up his son. The seven-month-old baby never cried unless he was hungry, thirsty, or needed a diaper change. He had been playing by himself on the kang (a heated brick bed), but suddenly his gaze lifted, and he realized he was in his father's arms. His big, dark eyes immediately lit up, "Ah, ah ah..."

Ning Yan was really happy. This child was very communicative. No matter who picked him up, he would babble and chatter non-stop.

"Call me Daddy, call me Daddy and I'll take you out to play."

Whether the little one understood or not, he immediately pointed outwards and leaned forward, yelling "Ahhh..."

Guang Sheng continued patiently teaching, "Call me 'Daddy,' Daddy~ Daddy~"

The little guy shook his head angrily, "Ah!" Then he withdrew his hand, lowered his head, and ignored his father.

Guang Sheng was amused by his son's expression. "Alright, alright, our Niu Niu, don't be angry. Daddy will take you out to play for a while."

He looked and saw that his son was dressed warmly, and his little hands were warm too, so he shouldn't get cold if he took him outside.

Ning Yan still wrapped the child in a small blanket. The father and son went out to have fun, and Ning Yan went to the kitchen to help her mother-in-law cook dinner.

"The team is slaughtering a pig for the New Year tomorrow. I was originally planning to buy more pork, but you bought meat and chicken today, and Guang Sheng also brought a piece of hind leg meat. Should we not buy any?"

Ning Yan: "Mother, I'll buy the meat, you don't need to worry about it."

My older sisters are coming back this year, so let them stay a few more days. I'll tidy up the two rooms on the east side after the kids are asleep tomorrow.

Wang Cuiyun hadn't expected her daughter-in-law to still care about her older sisters, so she quickly said, "No need, no need. We have money at home. You two can save your own money."

This year's harvest was not bad. A strong laborer with full work points could get about thirty yuan in addition to grain. Although only two people in their family worked, the old man had full work points and she had almost the same. The two of them got a total of more than sixty yuan, which was enough for the New Year. If the daughter-in-law wanted to eat meat, they would buy more.

Of course, the family's income is not limited to this.

The son gives the family ten yuan of his salary every month, and in addition, he secretly gives her money twice, one hundred yuan each time, and his daughter-in-law also gives her one hundred yuan each time.

Therefore, the family is not short of money.

She was used to being frugal, so she wasn't used to spending so much money on meat for the New Year.

Ning Yan smiled. After the village slaughters its New Year's pig tomorrow, the villagers will also slaughter their own pigs. She plans to buy more to make some cured meat and braised dishes, and have Guang Sheng take them to give as gifts.

Living in this world, one cannot avoid the complexities of human relationships and social interactions; to live well, one must not escape these customs.

Guang Sheng, who had been visiting neighbors with his son in his arms, returned just as the crabs were ready. "Honey," he said, "our Niu Niu is getting wilder and wilder. He doesn't want to come home."

"Kids are all like that. If you were in their shoes, you wouldn't want to be locked up at home every day either."

Especially in winter, families with poorer conditions don't have enough warm clothes, so not only children but also adults have to stay at home. After a while, they naturally want to go outside.

Dinner was ready and served. Little Niu Niu was held in his father's arms the whole time. His father fed him a bowl of steamed egg custard, and after he was full, he put him on the kang (a heated brick bed) to play by himself.

Then he peeled open a crab and put it in his wife's bowl, saying, "Try it. We don't have this around here, so this is just something new."

That's not just fresh, it's exceptionally fresh.

In this day and age, transportation is inconvenient, and it's too difficult to transport goods from the sea to the inland. Even those who can afford it mostly only get to eat dried goods.

Guang Sheng was able to bring back a large table of seafood, which means he had gained favor with his superiors.

I guess the leader was fooled by his quiet, discreet, and loyal demeanor.

This man looks honest and taciturn; he doesn't talk much but gets the job done.

But that's just how it seems; in reality, he's quite cunning.

The next day, after Guangsheng left, his mother-in-law went to the brigade headquarters to wait for the slaughter of the New Year's pig. Their family received 5.3 jin of pork, and his mother-in-law bought another 10 jin of meat, which was quite a lot.

Over the next few days, people in the village slaughtered pigs one after another. Ning Yan bought a total of 100 catties of meat from several families. She also bought a large wooden basin of ribs, pig trotters, intestines and offal. When she got home, she made most of the meat into sausages and braised a pot of meat. After asking her husband, she packed three portions of meat and asked him to send them out.

At this point, there were only three days left until the Lunar New Year.

In the Guoshan production brigade, the younger brother huddled by the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at Hu Xiaoman with a terrified expression. "Wife, I'll never dare to play cards again, please don't hit me, okay?"

Hu Xiaoman was furious and ignored what the man was saying. She swung the stick in her hand and started hitting her younger brother: "It's all my fault! I was fooled by your face back then. I thought that since your sister is so good, you must be just as good!"

I never expected you to give me such a big surprise, you actually dared to go out and gamble?

"I think you're just a cheapskate, you don't deserve this good life. From now on, I'll beat you every single day!"

The wooden stick struck him with a dull thud. The younger brother dodged left and right, but couldn't dodge it. Before long, he was knocked unconscious.

Just then, the curtain was lifted and Aunt Hu walked in. "Alright, don't be too rough. If you break it, we'll have to find you another one, and that costs money."

Marrying such a son-in-law cost his family over three hundred yuan; it would be such a waste to kill him.

Hu's father also came in and said, "At least wait until you're pregnant before you send him away. This boy is quite good-looking."

Hu Xiaoman pursed her lips, "I'm just afraid the child will be like his father and addicted to gambling."

Hu's father laughed, "What nonsense are you talking about? It's just playing cards with the young people. I don't lose more than three or four cents a day. It's not that serious."

With him around, Ningqiang will never be able to turn upside down, and his daughter isn't one to hold back either. He doesn't believe that after what happened today, this kid will still dare to gamble.

Unfortunately, Hu Xiaoman didn't take her father's words to heart. She had heard villagers say many times before: "A wife you can't beat is like dough you can't knead."

Someone as despicable as Ning Qiang needs to be beaten a few more times. Once he behaves himself, he won't dare to play cards anymore.

So, my younger brother's good days have officially begun!

...

The second brother thought he would soon be living a good life like his eldest brother, but he never expected that his wife's family would be worse off than his own.

He has to cook three meals a day and take care of his wife's family of five.

He earns money by pasting cardboard boxes during the day, and at night he also has to prepare water for his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and wife to wash their feet. (End of Chapter)