On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Mu Yi'an and Jiang Qi took their three children to the old house.

The whole family was there except for Jiang Shuyun.

Jiang's parents changed into the new clothes that Mu Yi'an and Jiang Qi had made for them, and Jiang's older brother also returned from the county school.

After passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar, Brother Jiang went to the county school, where his father was the only teacher.

Fortunately, there weren't many children in the school preparing for the imperial examinations; most were just starting out, planning to study for two years, learn some common characters and arithmetic, and then they could go to the county to work as apprentices.

Jiang's father loved teaching, and if he didn't teach, the family would lose an income and run out of money.

Jiang's mother still controls the family finances. Jiang's sister-in-law doesn't have much money; her dowry wasn't much either, and she hasn't spent it over the years. Moreover, Jiang's older brother doesn't have any extra income; his father gives him one tael of silver a month from the school.

Therefore, among the entire Jiang family, the eldest brother's family is the worst off. However, since they live with their parents, they shouldn't need to worry about money.

As for how much money Jiang's parents had, Mu Yi'an didn't know, nor was she curious. After the family split, they were two separate families, and it was best for each to live their own lives peacefully.

Today, Mu Yi'an didn't come empty-handed either. Li's wife made braised dishes, so Mu Yi'an took a braised chicken, a piece of braised pork belly, and some vegetarian braised dishes: dried tofu rolls, kelp rolls, lotus root slices, peanuts...

Jiang's mother killed a chicken, bought a fish, and also bought meat; there was quite a lot of stuff.

"Second sister-in-law, why didn't you send your servants to cook?"

"Sister-in-law, as you said yourself, she is a servant in my household, so of course she works at home."

Mu Yi'an felt that Sister Jiang was like an unkillable cockroach, always popping up and causing trouble whenever she felt like it.

"Second sister-in-law, that's too formal. Even though we've separated our households, we're still family, aren't we?"

“Sister-in-law, the family you’re talking about is probably different from what I think of. Now that we’ve separated, let’s all live our own lives peacefully. We won’t neglect our filial duties to our parents, but as for other things, we’re two separate families now.”

Mu Yi'an didn't want Jiang's sister-in-law to have any misconceptions. They were all family, and they could discuss things together in the future. She worked so hard to earn money, not to benefit others.

"Second sister-in-law, you..."

Jiang's sister-in-law looked at Mu Yi'an, not knowing what to say, and truly realized that in Mu Yi'an's eyes, they were two families, relatives.

"Daughter-in-law, everything is ready. Hurry up and cook. What are you thinking about?"

"Okay, Mother, I'll go right away."

Jiang's mother also felt uneasy. Her second daughter-in-law's words were very clear: after the family division, they were two separate families, and she should have realized that. But as a mother, she still harbored illusions, always hoping that her children could unite and look after each other.

Listening to his wife and daughters-in-law's conversation, Jiang's father sighed inwardly. His eldest daughter-in-law had been a bit too presumptuous. She had happily separated from her divorced sister-in-law back then. Now, seeing that Shuyun's family was doing well, she wanted to obscure things and try to take advantage of them—truly short-sighted.

Even between brothers, accounts should be kept clear.

Since you've made your choice, don't regret it. Their good fortune is the result of their hard work. You, instead of striving for wealth through diligence, always try to take advantage of our brotherhood. There's no such thing as a free lunch. When others are in trouble, you back down, but when they benefit, you rush in—it's too late.

"Shaoming, take good care of your younger brother and sister. Mom is going to the kitchen to cook."

"Okay, Mom, I'll take good care of my younger brother and sister."

Shao Ming knew that his cousins ​​liked to bully the younger ones, so he had to protect his younger siblings.

Mu Yi'an only does what she is supposed to do. She doesn't need to go back to the old house for meals very often throughout the year, and she can manage that.

Jiang Qi had already gone into the kitchen, and Jiang Lan had also been called in by her mother. Li Qiu Niang's belly was too big, and she was going to give birth in the next few days, so she was resting inside. There were many children in the yard, and they were afraid of bumping into her.

Jiang Shuwen returned yesterday and had already taken leave. He will go back to work in the county town after Li Qiuniang gives birth. As for his elder brother and sister-in-law, he won't comment much. Next year, he will help his second sister-in-law grow watermelons for a year, save some money, and buy a house in the county town so he can live there with his wife and children.

In the kitchen, Jiang's wife was stir-frying vegetables with a ladle, while on another stove, chicken was stewing, its aroma filling the air. Mu Yi'an looked around and casually asked Jiang's mother, "Mom, is there anything else we haven't done?"

"Peel the potatoes in the bowl; we'll add them to the chicken later."

Following the direction Jiang's mother pointed, Mu Yi'an saw the potatoes soaking in water and began to peel them.

The kitchen was stuffy and hot. Mu Yi'an thought to herself, "It's easy for people to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go back to frugality." Lately, with Aunt Li cooking at home, she hadn't gotten used to the stuffy heat in the kitchen.

In the courtyard, Jiang's father and eldest brother were playing chess, while Jiang Shuwen sat at his doorway, watching the children. His son, Shao Kun, usually followed behind Shao Yun, but his eldest brother's son, Shao Qin, sometimes teased the younger children for fun.

"Big brother, let's play cat's cradle. I brought the string."

Shao Yun took out a colorful rope from his pocket. It was made by Mu Yi'an using embroidery thread, with more than ten colors twisted together to form a beautiful five-colored rope.

"Okay, let's sit here, it's not sunny here."

Shao Ming, holding his sister's hand, led Shao Yun and Shao Kun to sit on a bench in the shade.

"Brother, I can't."

Shao Kun had never played it before, and he didn't know how to play it.

Shao Ming patiently explained it to him and even demonstrated it with Shao Yun, letting Shao Kun watch twice and then try it twice more. After teaching Shao Kun, he didn't forget to take care of Chu Yue, even though his little sister was still young and didn't know how to play very well, he didn't leave her behind.

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