He Ruixue returned home carrying large and small bags. In her travel bag were various clothes she had bought for herself, and in her other hand she was holding a bag of cotton weighing nearly 40 kilograms.

She happened to bring back all the system rewards that she hadn't used up last time.

In the vegetable garden, Wang Taozhi was bending over to add sheep manure fertilizer and planting this crop of cabbage and radishes, which would be ready for harvest around the winter solstice.

This year, we don’t have to buy all the winter vegetables at home, so we can save some money.

Zhao Meiya was enjoying the cool under a tree. When she saw He Ruixue come back, she took the things in her hand and went to the table to pour her some water.

"Dongbao is back. You must be tired. Mom will cook for you. The day before yesterday, I asked your dad to go to the village and buy two chickens. They are both big roosters, flapping their wings vigorously. They have been raised in the chicken coop for several days. I want to fry them for you."

"Mom, don't be busy. I'm back after dinner. Where's my third sister-in-law?"

"Your third sister-in-law was in so much pain last night that she went to the hospital. The doctor said she'd have surgery the day after tomorrow. She was so scared she said she wouldn't go through with it until you came back.

She is lying in the room now. She deserves to suffer. What's wrong? Can you treat a disease?"

He Ruixue didn't understand either.

Perhaps it was because her tone at the time was too firm that it became the source of confidence for the third sister-in-law?

"Then I'll go to the hospital with her the day after tomorrow."

Wang Taozhi washed her hands and went back into the house. Seeing what she had brought back, she was startled and asked, "Dongbao, are you going on a business trip or are you out to rob people? Wow, that's a lot of cotton, maybe thirty or forty kilograms?"

"No more, no less, exactly thirty-nine pounds."

She was stunned. "How come there are both zeros and whole numbers?"

“When I went to buy it, they only had this much.”

"From what you're saying, you bought it all? You don't need so much. We still have some cotton left at home. If you buy more and can't use it all, it won't keep you warm for too long..."

"Okay, stop talking. Dongbao was originally in a good mood, but you insisted on spoiling her fun."

Although Zhao Meiya also felt that she bought too much, she would not allow anyone to blame her daughter and immediately defended her.

"Isn't Dongbao getting married soon? This cotton is perfect for making a few new quilts. If all the bedding is new, it will be more impressive when others see it."

"Where can we get so much cloth to make a quilt cover?"

"Aren't you guys from a textile factory? Think of some ideas. Remember, you want red material with flowers on it. It's festive and looks lively."

Wang Taozhi rolled her eyes inwardly.

I said city gate tower and you said hip axis.

I told you the difficulties and how hard it was to find enough fabric, yet you made demands instead.

Wang Taozhi was sitting on the sofa and was sewing small shoes with a few pieces of soft cloth. The soles were thick so that He Yannuo would not hurt his feet even if he wore them when learning to walk.

When He Ruixue came back from visiting her third sister-in-law in the house, she heard the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law discussing things in the yard.

"Do you think Old Chen has taken a fancy to Miss Tan? Their two families have been having dinner together these past two days and they seem to be getting along pretty well."

Old Chen is the new male owner of the Chen family who moved into the courtyard. His name is Chen Laishun. His wife died of a cerebral infarction a few years ago. He lives alone with his two sons. The older one is almost an adult, and the younger one is only seven or eight years old.

He now works in the factory's bathhouse as a barber, responsible for cutting hair and shaving.

I heard that he was a barber in his early years, and he followed his master and walked around the streets carrying a barber's shoulder pole.

We escaped famine here in the 1940s. The whole family was crowded into a small hut with a big bunk bed. We could squeeze into each other when we turned over.

Seeing that his eldest son was about to reach marriage age, Chen Laishun made up his mind to use his savings of many years to buy two houses, just in time for Zhou Erya's eagerness to make a move.

After three days of negotiation and with the help of Li Youlu, the two sides finally agreed on a satisfactory price.

Wang Taozhi blinked. "No way. Old Chen is already so old, and he looks old. He looks like he could be Tan Wei's father. How could she possibly be interested in him?"

People at the post office often stand at the door and call people to collect their letters, which are all from major newspapers, as well as remittance slips for royalties.

So everyone knew that Tan Wei was a writer who could publish articles in newspapers many times, and they undoubtedly had more respect for her.

Zhao Meiya couldn't even recognize a few words, but regardless of her education, "What's wrong with being a little older? Tan Wei is not a virgin anymore. She already has two daughters. If they can be a couple, they can have both a son and a daughter. What a wonderful thing."

"I think this is a close call. Tan Wei looks kind, but she's quite arrogant. Aren't all cultured people like that?"

Wang Taozhi got along well with Tan Wei and tended to speak from her perspective. "Old Chen invited her to dinner for a reason. His eldest son was called Gangdan and his youngest was called Tiedan. They had always called them that.

Don't go on a blind date anymore. Or this name would make people laugh if it was mentioned to others, so I asked her to pick two new names. Now they are Chen Pengxiao and Chen Wanli, which sound very impressive."

"He's not good enough. It's useless to choose a fancy name. Our Dongbao's name is more auspicious."

Zhao Meiya showed a bit of pride. The names of the first three children were randomly chosen by her and the old man according to the season.

Only the youngest daughter had to pay four fortune tellers to choose this pleasant and auspicious name.

Wang Taozhi didn't know what she was so proud of. She rolled her eyes inwardly and continued, "But Old Chen should get married. His two children are like refugees from famine, with tattered clothes and rags. The house is not well kept, and the floor is covered with dirt.

No wonder they say a family can’t be called a home without a woman. Look at how they live.”

Zhao Meiya is keen on pairing up all the single men and women. "It's not easy for him to raise two children by himself. Isn't there a widow named Zhong Guilan in your courtyard? I think they are quite suitable.

"The Niu family's son is already so old. Will he be able to treat his younger brothers and sisters well for the rest of his life after he gets married? You'll see. Sooner or later, the family will be divided. At least she won't have to worry about food and drink if she goes to Old Chen's house."

Wang Taozhi winked at her and said, "You can't say for sure, Mom. Stop meddling in the Niu family's affairs. If you really marry Qian Guilan off, the Niu An family will be the first to be unhappy.

Tan Wei said she doesn't want to find another one, so let's not worry about her. Besides, Old Chen is about to have a daughter-in-law, so it would be inappropriate to marry another one."

"Is there something wrong with the feng shui in your courtyard? Many young men and women of age don't want to find a partner.

Like Zhao Yong from the Zhao family, Li Duoliang from the Li family, Chen Pengxiao from the Chen family, Fang Xiaoyong from the Fang family, and Xiaojie from our family... I think we can still find a few more couples."

"You're messing around with matchmaking again. Fang Xiaoyong already has a partner, and they're getting married younger than him, and the other person is a second-married woman."

"Oh, her husband had a child before?"

"She didn't have any children. I heard her family was well off, living in a house near Dongjiekou. I heard they had five rooms. They said they would find her a job, and she agreed without a second thought."

"It's fine if she doesn't have children. Being a stepmother is not easy. Why is it that her family is forcing her to earn money and why is she so anxious to work?"

"Doctor Fang doesn't care about her. I guess it's her own idea."

He Ruixue thought that Fang Xiaoyong wanted to work, probably because he wanted Fang Yongliang to come back from the countryside.