"Okay, we've finished eating. Let's go straight to Hongmei's house. Tomorrow morning we'll go to Big Brother's house first thing in the morning. Did you two hear me?"

The two nodded. "Let them go. It's the sister-in-law who'll be unhappy. It won't do anything to us."

"Second sister, we'll go back to Liujiatun the day after tomorrow."

Missing home?

"I miss Dad," Sanya said, sounding a little downcast.

“Even if you don’t tell us, we still have to go home. I’m getting engaged, and we need to let Grandma and the others know.”

At 8 o'clock, the four of them started packing their luggage, estimating that they wouldn't arrive at the station until at least 8:30.

After checking everything and finding nothing missing, the four of them sat on the bed, all a little excited. The two younger ones had never left home before. Er Ya, who had been away for several years, always looked forward to holidays. She only stayed this time because she knew San Ya and Shi Tou were coming.

As for Cheng Guangxu, he was simply excited about getting a wife soon.

After getting off the bus, the four of them shivered; it was so cold. It seemed that Shi Tou's suggestion was absolutely correct.

I sat in a noodle shop where there was no cold wind, but it was still chilly, waiting for their hot noodle soup.

They all ordered large bowls of noodles, but when the bowls were served, Cheng Guangxu was dumbfounded. Such a big bowl? It wasn't that he couldn't finish it, but he just thought the bowl was terrifying.

All four of them lowered their heads and ate their noodles. The taste was actually quite good.

After eating, I felt warm all over. I sat for a few more minutes before carrying my luggage home.

When I got home, it felt like there was less wind than outside; it was like an icebox.

Shi Tou and Cheng Guangxu were in charge of starting the fire, while Er Ya and San Ya washed the pots and boiled water. Once it was warm, they would soak their feet in the hot water.

It wasn't until after ten o'clock that the water finally boiled, and Er Ya and San Ya wiped the kang mats in both rooms clean. They also wiped them inside and out.

But the room was still cold; there was nothing that could be done, the temperature wouldn't rise that quickly.

Stone found two braziers in the storeroom and started rummaging through the charcoal in the stove.

The temperature inside the room finally rose a bit.

"Second sister, let's not sleep, or we'll catch a cold tomorrow."

"Yes, once the kang gets warm, let's sit on it."

Shi Tou and Cheng Guangxu were shoveling charcoal into the room. It was already midnight, and the kang (heated brick bed) was scalding hot, raising the temperature in the room by at least ten degrees.

The four of them then soaked their feet and went to bed on the kang (heated brick bed).

The next day, Er Ya got up early and lit both stoves, but there wasn't much food left in the house. She opened the rice jar and luckily found half a bag of rice.

Rice porridge, pickled vegetable shreds.

Cheng Guangxu got up when he heard the noise, and seeing his wife cooking, he quickly squatted down to start a fire.

"Cheng Guangxu, you stay home and watch the fire, I'll go out and buy some fried dough sticks. Otherwise, you and Shitou won't have enough to eat."

"It's too cold outside, I'll go. Just tell me the approximate location, and I can find it by following the smell."

Cheng Guangxu didn't go to the wrong place and soon arrived at the fried dough stick stall.

Finally, I bought two pounds of fried dough sticks and eight boiled eggs before going home.

Sanya and Shitou also got up. Although Cheng Guangxu had only walked for ten minutes, the fried dough sticks were cold when he got home. He had even carried a covered bowl with them.

The rice porridge was hot, and the egg was heated in the pot of boiling water.

The young men were incredibly strong. Two jin of fried dough sticks, one for Er Ya and one for San Ya, Cheng Guangxu ate three, and the rest went into Shi Tou's stomach.

After finishing their meal and cleaning up, the four of them packed their belongings and set off, taking a bus for only five stops. After getting off the bus, Cheng Guangxu felt a little unsteady on his feet. He was incredibly nervous.

Sanya turned around and saw Cheng Guangxu's expression. She immediately burst into laughter, "Brother Cheng, what are you afraid of? Don't people say that a mother-in-law is more and more satisfied with her son-in-law the more she looks at him? Don't be nervous, my mom is great."

Cheng Guangxu awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth. He felt this wouldn't do; people would definitely look down on him.

After hearing her sister's words, Er Ya turned to look at the nervous Cheng Guangxu and smiled, "Cheng Guangxu, you really don't need to be nervous. Just be yourself."

Stone had already knocked on the door. Cheng Guangxu took a deep breath and repeated it several times before he felt much better.

Liu Jianguo opened the door. He was on the night shift and wouldn't go to the textile factory until 4 p.m.

Liu Jianguo was startled when he opened the door and saw his younger brother. "Why are you back?"

Sanya, quick-witted, said, "Why can't we come back? If Big Brother doesn't want us to go in, he can call Mom out."

Liu Jianguo knew that the young woman had been very upset with him ever since the last salary issue, and that it was his fault. However, being talked back to like that was unpleasant, but considering the age difference, he didn't want to argue with her.

Seeing her second sister, she forced a smile. "Er Ya is back. Come inside quickly, Mom is cooking."

Er Ya called out "Big Brother!" and pulled San Ya along, beckoning Cheng Guangxu to enter the courtyard. Li Cuihua heard the commotion, peeked out, and saw her second daughter and two younger children entering the courtyard.

"Didn't you go to Hongmei's place for the New Year? Why are you back now?"

Er Ya rushed into the kitchen and grabbed Li Cuihua's hand. "Mom, why do you have so many cuts on your hands?"

"It's alright. It's cold in winter, and your nephew eats and poops a lot, so he has to wash his clothes all the time."

"mom!"

Er Ya turned around and glared at Liu Jianguo, "What are you good for? This is your mother, not your slave!"

Liu Jianguo, a grown man, really hadn't paid attention to these things. When he heard his second sister's words and glanced at his mother's hand, he was also startled.

"Mom! Why didn't you say anything?"

Sanya chimed in sarcastically, "Besides work, all you ever think about is your wife, your son, and your mother-in-law. How could you possibly pay attention to our mother?"

After saying that, Sanya grabbed Li Cuihua's other hand.

"It's a success, you two stop talking. Your timing is perfect, your dad will come to pick me up today."

Hearing the commotion outside, Liu Jianguo's wife gave her mother a wink. She immediately put on her shoes, got out of bed, and went out of the house.

"Oh, it's Second Sister and Third Sister! Second Brother's back? Hurry up and come inside. What are you all doing standing in the yard? It's so cold!"

After saying that, he went into the kitchen and reached out to take the bag from Er Ya's hand.

Er Ya grabbed her and pulled her over. "No need, Mom, let's go back inside. It's been two or three months already, and you're still acting like a pampered young lady? You didn't even have a full month of confinement after giving birth to Shi Tou and San Ya, you're so lucky."

"That's right, she has a man who loves her. Who told our dad not to care about his wife?"

Liu Jianguo stood there, head bowed, not uttering a single word.

Er Ya looked at Yao Yufen, who was blocking the doorway, and said, "This isn't your home yet, it's Mom and Dad's. What? Are you blocking us?"

Yao Yufen smiled awkwardly, "How could that be? Second Sister, how could you say that?"

"Alright, that's enough. Your dad came here today to divide the family property."