"What about the stove at Uncle's house? Aren't we going to fix it?"

Xu Mingwan knew that her parents must have some savings, but knowing her father's personality, the money still had to come from her third brother. But right now, her third brother definitely didn't have any money, so...

"If you don't fix it now, people will come and smash it again. Let's wait until your third brother pays the fine first!"

If the baby is born well, then paying the fine will be a happy experience. But if it's another daughter, then it's hard to say; she'll probably still have to be given away.

Xu Mingwan thought about it and agreed. "Forget it, we'll see about it later!"

"Let's not even talk about your third brother. You're not young anymore, you're twenty-two, it's time to find a partner."

Granny Liu looked at her youngest daughter, who was tall, beautiful, and had fair skin; she had truly inherited all of her mother's best features.

Several families have inquired about their daughters this year, so she needs to choose carefully. A woman's marriage is like a second chance at life; she can't be careless.

"Mom, I'm still young! My fourth brother and youngest brother haven't found wives yet either. You should urge them to."

Xu Mingwan didn't want to listen to her mother bring up this topic. She was only twenty-two, not thirty-two, so what was the rush?

Besides, she didn't fancy any of the men her mother mentioned before.

"What do you mean 'little'? You're a girl, how can you compare to your fourth brother and your youngest brother? No matter how old they are, they can still find partners."

Girls are different; their prime years are only a few. If you don't choose carefully while you're young, when you get older, you won't have that luxury!

What Granny Liu said reflects the thoughts of most parents: girls can only marry someone older or the same age as them; no one wants to marry someone younger.

Men are great, they can find younger and younger partners without any problems, and people even praise them for their abilities.

"Okay, Mom, I've got it. Let's not talk about this now. Go and cook! I'm hungry."

Xu Mingwan knew that the more she talked, the more she would say, so she might as well stop the topic altogether.

"It's only ten o'clock, and you're already hungry? I told you not to eat a proper breakfast." Granny Liu glanced at the clock on the wall; it was only ten o'clock!

Despite saying that, he quickly stood up. "Let me steam some egg custard for you first! The food takes a while to cook, you'll have to wait."

"It's okay, take your time. I'll go to Third Brother's place first and pack up their clothes." Xu Mingwan wasn't really hungry; it was just an excuse.

"Don't go there, there's nothing left there. I've packed everything up in the innermost room. Look for anything you can use and take it with you."

The second son's family is taking the house back, so how can we put our things in their house?

Xu Mingwan stopped walking, turned around, and went into the house.

I found my third brother's clothes in the box in the far corner, and quickly packed a few pieces. Anyway, my third brother will definitely come back after the baby is born, so I'll let him take them himself then!

"Did you find it?" Granny Liu came in with her hands in her pockets and saw her youngest daughter packing clothes.

After thinking for a moment, she took a plastic bag of clothes from the innermost cabinet and handed it to her, saying, "Take these to your third sister-in-law! They're all clothes that Panpan wore when she was just born, so we won't have to buy any more."

Xu Mingwan looked at her clothes, then at the sky outside, and hesitated, "This doesn't seem to fit the season, does it?"

Panpan was born in April, but the one in my third sister-in-law's belly will probably be born in September!

Granny Liu rolled her eyes at her youngest daughter. "How could I not know? And Dingwen and the others wore those too. He was also born in the summer."

Hearing her mother say that, Xu Mingwan understood and quickly packed all the clothes she wanted to take into her luggage bag.

"So when are you going to go see your third brother?"

"Tomorrow, I'll leave tomorrow morning." Xu Mingwan originally wanted to stay at home for a few days before going, but she didn't want to listen to her mother's old nagging, nor did she want to be chased by the village aunties and grandmas asking about her salary or asking her to introduce her to potential partners.

"Is there such a rush? Why not stay home a few more days?" Granny Liu noticed that her youngest daughter's face had become thinner, probably because she hadn't been eating properly while working at the factory. She thought that staying home a few more days would allow her to recover properly.

"No, I..."

"Mom will kill a chicken for you, and you can keep the chicken leg."

"...Okay." Xu Mingwan still couldn't resist the temptation of the big chicken leg. She had been craving the chickens her mother raised for a long time. They looked plump and juicy, and they must taste really good.

In the evening, Zhou Nianmei saw that her sister-in-law had returned and her mother-in-law had killed another chicken, so she shamelessly followed her to the old house for a free meal.

"Xiao Wan, I heard you're not working at the button factory anymore? If you ask me, jobs are so hard to find these days! I want to go, but I can't! You..."

"Alright, alright, I, as the mother, haven't said anything, so why are you, as the sister-in-law, having so many opinions?"

Granny Liu glared at her eldest daughter-in-law. Even eating couldn't shut her up; she was always nagging. Where did all this talk come from?

"..." Zhou Nianmei was speechless at her mother-in-law's words. Fine, she thought, I won't say anything more. She doesn't appreciate kindness.

Xu Mingwan smiled and put a piece of chicken on her chopsticks for her two sisters-in-law. She explained with a smile, "The aunties in the factory gossip a lot. They always stare at me and say bad things about me. I'm not very happy working here, so I want to change jobs."

"Yes, they're here. Did my older brother and the others say when they'll be back?"

The eldest and second eldest sons of the Xu family have been working together for others for about half a year now.

"Sigh, there's still no news. Who knows! We can't count on him for anything at home. We just hope he can bring back some money when he comes back."

The Xu brothers, Mingri and Minghui, were learning bricklaying from a master craftsman. When the master took on a job, he brought them along. They've been there for about half a year now, so they must both have work to do.

Granny Liu did some mental calculations and then said, "The eldest and second eldest have been learning from the master for three or four years now! They should be ready to graduate by now."

Working under a master craftsman only earns you an apprentice's wage, but if you can take on jobs on your own, it's a different story.

"Yes, Minghui called back a while ago and mentioned that he and his older brother took some time to learn plumbing and electrical work from someone. They said that if they work for another six months this year, they can work on their own next year."

Chen Fengjuan recalled what her husband had said to her last time: if she could master the craft and start her own business, she could earn much more money than she had.

"I'm just worried that no one will hire them. Most people prefer to hire older masters who are experienced and have traditional skills." As she said this, Granny Liu worried that it would be a waste if no one hired her after she had completed her apprenticeship.

"Take your time. Even the most experienced craftsmen started when they were young. I'm sure my older brothers are very skilled; they're bound to be sought after!"

Xu Mingwan comforted his mother and two sisters-in-law, saying, "Things will work themselves out! A living person can't be killed by holding their pee!"

“Yes, Xiaowan is right, Mom, I…”

"Aunt Liu, are you still eating? Oh, you're even having chicken! The food is pretty good!" As soon as Wang Yunmei entered the house, she saw the Xu family eating lunch. There was a large bowl of braised chicken in the middle of the table.