As evening fell, the sky darkened, and the world was covered in a blanket of white.

Wen Zhaoye was washing vegetables in the main room, Zhou Jinyan was slicing beef and mutton, Jiang Ci sat silently beside them, and Wen Jiaojiao was earnestly learning to knit from Xu Cuifen. She looked up at Wen Zhaoye and smiled slightly.

"Brother, how about I knit you a sweater?"

Wen Zhaoye felt that with her patience, she had a feeling that she'd be lucky to even give him a pair of socks in the end, but she still readily agreed:

"OK."

Wen Jiaojiao followed along for a while, but then her knitting became either too loose or too tight. She adjusted it stitch by stitch:

"I'll knit you a scarf instead. Sweaters are too much work and too much trouble. Scarves are simple and straightforward."

Wen Zhaoye chuckled softly:

"Why don't you knit a hat for our child? It will be just the right size for him to wear."

Even though Wen Jiaojiao was so troubled by the needlework that she had no idea how to knit it neatly, she still said:

"Sure, I'll knit you a scarf and a little hat for our child."

A steaming aluminum pot was rising from the stove nearby. Jiang Ci poured the hot pot ingredients she had prepared from the earthenware pot into it.

The next second, because he poured it too quickly, boiling water splashed onto the back of his hand.

"Hiss!" Jiang Ci gasped. Zhou Jinyan took the small earthenware pot, and with his other large hand, he took her slender hand and placed it in the vegetable washing basin beside her, saying:

"How about it?"

Jiang Ci glanced at the hand he was holding, then pulled it back and said:

"fine."

Zhou Jinyan's eyes remained unchanged, but she tightened her grip even more, saying:

"You need to soak it, otherwise it will still hurt."

Wen Jiaojiao narrowed her eyes slightly and said bluntly:

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate? You're planning to get married, and now you're all arguing and pulling at Jiang Ci. It's not very proper."

"I will make it clear that I am refusing."

Zhou Jinyan had considered convincing herself to compromise, but in the end, she couldn't resist the urge to give it a try.

Jiang Ci's eyes flickered slightly, and Wen Jiaojiao analyzed:

"His parents definitely won't agree. Have you thought this through?"

Zhou Jinyan looked at Jiang Ci with a disapproving gaze and said:

"Anyway, you never intended to marry me in the first place, so let's date for a year. If the novelty wears off, we'll argue and have all sorts of conflicts, and maybe by then we'll both give up."

Jiang Ci's cherry lips parted slightly, her long eyelashes lowered, and she said:

"I'm sorry, thinking about it now is very irresponsible, but I really like you, it's just that I can't get past my parents' objections."

Zhou Jinyan smiled slightly and said:

"It's okay. I'll be 24 after the New Year. If it's not a good match after a year, or if your parents still don't agree, then let's just forget about it."

I'll pay the price for my impulsiveness for a year, but I can't be willful forever; after all, my mom is anxious for me to have a child.

Jiang Ci, exuding an air of shyness, said, "Mmm."

Xu Cuifen suddenly spoke up:

"What's there to be afraid of? As long as you two have a child, you don't have to worry about your parents disagreeing."

Wen Jiaojiao felt that Xu Cuifen's thinking was unusually biased, so she asked in return:

"Mom, if I had forced you to agree to get pregnant before I got together with Xu Dajun, how would you have felt?"

Xu Cuifen said with a reluctant expression:

"Can that bastard even compare to Xiao Zhou?"

Wen Jiaojiao patiently explained:

"Because Jiang Ci isn't your daughter, you think Zhou Jinyan is great, but in Jiang Ci's parents' eyes, her other half must be an exceptional person."

Furthermore, if a man truly loves his partner, he should prove his own abilities and strive for success, rather than trying to be with her by dragging her down with him.

Zhou Jin said, "Although I agree with this idea, I haven't seen you make any effort to be with Zhao Ye."

Wen Jiaojiao said unhappily:

"Who said that? I buy houses and land all over the place; that makes more money than any business investment. I bought one before filming."

After filming wrapped, I used the money I had to buy a small apartment. These are all assets. Who says you have to work yourself to the bone to be considered hardworking?

Zhou Jinyan bluntly exposed:

"With your acting skills, if Zhaoye hadn't invested in you and made you the lead, you could have been an extra your whole life."

Wen Jiaojiao: "I can play many musical instruments. In the future, I can play the piano or violin in Western restaurants or coffee shops."

Zhou Jinyan said without any mercy:

"That's not as much as the suona players in the village earn."

Wen Jiaojiao was speechless for a moment, and Wen Zhaoye helped her out:

“My wife is definitely going to become a musician. When we have kids, they can learn those things too. It’ll look so luxurious.”

Wen Jiaojiao's lips curled up slightly, and Xu Cuifen interjected:

"Daughter, when did you learn that? How come I didn't know?"

"I learned it outside," Wen Jiaojiao replied casually, then turned and put all the beef and lamb slices into the pot, calling out towards the door:

"Dad, stop shoveling the snow and come eat."

Wen Zhaoye put the vegetables in, then picked up a slice of meat, let it cool slightly, and held it to Wen Jiaojiao's lips, saying:

"Wife, have a taste."

Wen Jiaojiao's eyes curled upwards as she swallowed the food in one gulp, saying:

"It's a bit bland, add some more salt."

Zhou Jinyan followed suit, picking up a piece and handing it to Jiang Ci, saying:

"You should try some too."

Jiang Ci felt burdened by her own concerns and thought it inappropriate to do such things in front of the elders, so she shook her head and refused.

But the next second, Wen Xiaojian picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, put it in the bowl, and handed it to Xu Cuifen first:

"Honey, hurry up and try this."

Jiang Ci looked surprised and suddenly felt a little envious of this kind of family atmosphere.

After the group finished eating hot pot around the stove, Jiang Ci and Wen Jiaojiao slept in the new bed, while Wen Zhaoye and Zhou Jinyan slept in the old bed they used to sleep in.

The next morning, the group went to the market. Wen Jiaojiao and Wen Zhaoye arrived at the bank window and said:

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