Seeing the eldest lady leaving with her basket, Mother Zhang also picked up a wooden tray with a bowl of black chicken soup and white rice specially made for Jiaojiao. She said to Lin Lishan, "Sister, let's go to Jiaojiao's place. She must be starving. We'll go to the main hall later. Juhua, go set the table first. When your sister-in-law comes back, we'll serve the food."

In the bedroom in the west wing, Zhang Guoqing sat in front of the kang and listened to Zhou Jiao whispering about what her mother had said and the deposit slip in her hand, and comforted her from time to time.

Zhou Jiao talked about how touched she was, and the two looked at each other and smiled. This result was better than they had imagined.

After listening to this, Zhang Guoqing chuckled and said, "I quite like this mother-in-law. She's very straightforward and speaks her mind. She doesn't have the narrow-mindedness of other women. She's quite good."

Zhou Jiao opened the third-day-birth gift given by Old Lady Lin and showed it to him. "What should we do about this? We can keep the clothes, but what do you think we should do with these things? I've kept everything that belonged to my mother, but it's hard to keep the old lady's things. From what my mother said, it's not easy. These things are not rare for us, but Old Lady Lin's giving them away like this makes me feel uncomfortable. If she had just given one thing, it wouldn't be a problem, but these ten things are too many for her to have so many grandchildren."

Zhang Guoqing casually flipped through the gold necklace and other items inside and said nonchalantly, "Keep it. It's not a rare item. I'll find some ginseng and fur of similar value to bring back to your mother as a return gift. That'll be enough. I originally gave it to your father to see."

"I really want to give her a sack of gold. Haha."

"Forget it, let's just leave it at that for the sake of our lovely mother. We can talk about these things after they leave."

Zhou Jiao understood, "Okay, divide all the money you gave to your family and move it outside. It gives me a headache."

While Zhang Guoqing was cleaning up, he chatted with her about his son.

"Xiaowu, stop cleaning up and let Jiaojiao eat first." As soon as Zhang's mother came in, she saw her son saying something with a smile on his face. The couple were talking and laughing, shouting happily.

Zhang Guoqing saw the two people carrying baskets and quickly set up the small kang table. "Mom, Mom, you two sit down and rest for a while, I'll come over. Mom, these are for you and Dad from my mother-in-law, as well as for my eldest and second brothers' homes. I'll take them over after dinner."

Zhang's mother looked at all the old things and quickly postponed them, "Sister, you can't do this. These things are very valuable. Just leave some for Xiaowu and Jiaojiao, and take the rest back. It's scary to have so many old things."

You brought so much food, it filled up my cellar, and I shamelessly accepted all of it. You can't take these coats and fabrics anymore, take them all back. You don't know how many favors you owe people for these things these days. Don't do this next time you come, or I won't even let you in."

Seeing that she was anxious, Lin Lishan waved her hands repeatedly and comforted her: "Sister, don't worry, don't worry, I don't owe anyone a favor, these are all prepared by Jiaojiao's grandmother.

As soon as she found out she was pregnant, her grandmother started packing. Our little Ping'an is the Lin family's first great-grandson, and the old lady was so happy she was busy packing all day. You haven't seen Ping'an's clothes yet. There are hats and shoes for her now, all the way to three-year-old clothes.

Luckily, I listened to her grandmother and didn't send a package, but brought it over personally. Her aunt and grandmother made them themselves, and since I had nothing to do at work, I put them all in the closet for us to wear later.

Those military coats were collected by Jiaojiao's uncle-in-law and me. We didn't ask anyone else for favors, and there were only four of them, just enough for the men in the family. These cotton-padded jackets have expanded, so they look a lot, but they're not much.

There aren't many left, just enough to make a set for a few kids. I'd be embarrassed if you kept saying that. Look at Xiao Ping'an's clothes; the whole closet is his.

I originally wanted to give a few pieces to the children, but then I realized I was too stingy to give them away. They were all made by our elders, so I’ll give them to Xiao Ping’an to wear slowly.”

After saying that, she opened the wardrobe door. She was also careful when packing things. She put all the other valuables like milk powder in the box, and the wardrobe was for the clothes of their family of three.

Zhang's mother stared in amazement at the overflowing closet of clothes: layers upon layers of cotton-padded jackets and trousers, layers upon layers of sweaters in every color. There were also spring, autumn, and summer clothes and pants, all in colors suitable for both boys and girls, brand new. Next to them were hats of all sizes and a pile of small shoes. These weren't meant to be passed down to children as young as three; they could be worn even by five. Someone who didn't know, seeing so much, might have thought they were just for a shop.

"So many, oh my, too many, I could wear one set every day. Okay, keep them all for me to wear. I can't give them to others, they are rare. They are too dirty to wear."

Zhang Guoqing was also stunned. They could actually do this. The closet was full of his son's clothes and sweaters. "Mom, this is too much! Will he be able to wear them all? He won't need to buy clothes until he's 5."

Lin Lishan glared at him with a smile, "How can there be too many? Jiaojiao's second aunt hasn't sent them yet. Your grandma asked her to make all the big ones. I made the smallest one, and the ones in the middle were all made by your grandma and your eldest aunt. It looks like a lot, but there are not many to wear. I was thinking how nice it would be if it was a girl, so I could make her a flowery dress. At that time, I didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl, so your grandma changed all of them to medium colors.

Many of the sweaters are made by the girls in the art troupe. They are all very beautiful and come in a wide variety of colors. With these girls around, our children never lack sweaters.

Zhang Guoqing smiled helplessly, "Mom, you're the one who manages the people in the art troupe. They're just trying to please you. Tell grandma and the others to stop doing it. It's too much of a strain on their eyes."

"Okay, mainly because everyone is so happy. Ping'an is our family's first child, and we won't need more children in the future. Your cousins ​​haven't married yet, and finally a child is about to be born. Your grandma is so happy all day long. Don't worry, just accept what they give you, mom is here.

In recent years, we have only had Jiaojiao, and each of their families has several children. Mom has always been generous in giving favors, so no matter how much they give, it’s not too much, you should accept it all.” Lin Lishan advised him, knowing that he was afraid of owing favors.

Zhang Guoqing nodded. "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll keep them all and send some local specialties over later."

Lin Lishan nodded approvingly. "Leave these to Mom. We'll talk about it after you get a job. I've repaid all their favors. We only accepted a few packages from them, and their children often asked me for things. Don't worry about owing me favors. If there are any, they owe us."

Mother Zhang looked at the wardrobe and then at the boxes of all sizes in the house. They were probably all full. This family really knows how to waste things.

Looking at the colorful cabinets again, she walked forward and closed the wardrobe. "Big sister, I will accept them without hesitation. Don't bring so many things next time, otherwise I really won't dare let you in. You are Ping An's grandmother, and this is very precious to him. Buy whatever you want."

Oh, let me calm down first. Big sister, you really scared me. I think there are more than in the department store. When you go back, you have to thank the elders of the children on our behalf. They really troubled them. Xiaowu, we will send these over tonight. We will go eat first. Jiaojiao, when you are done, just leave them there. I will clean up later.

Zhou Jiao was also eager for her mother-in-law to leave. She was really afraid that her mother-in-law would open those cabinets and boxes again and scare her. Didn’t she see that her mother-in-law was still not calm?

"Go ahead, Xiaowu brother. Remember to take a few bottles of the special wine that grandpa brought over for Dad and the others to try. Mom, tell grandpa to drink less and don't overdo it."

"I understand. After you finish eating, just rest assured and take good care of yourself after the baby is born. I'll take care of everything for you."