Yun Tangyin gradually took over making decisions about everything at home.
Early that morning, she was checking the accounts in the yard with a notebook covered in blue cloth. Fu Yucheng squatted down next to her and handed her an abacus, watching her carefully draw a checkmark under "30 catties of miscellaneous grains".
"Honey, is the money we saved last month enough to buy coal for the winter?" Fu Yucheng asked, fiddling with the abacus beads.
Yun Tangyin paused for a moment: "We're short two jin of money, but Second Sister-in-law should settle the labor fee she earned for mending for the team. We can make up the difference."
She looked up at Song Yushuang, who was airing out the quilts, and called out, "Mom, have Acheng go to the coal yard to haul coal the day after tomorrow. I've already arranged with Sister Wang to keep the best lump coal."
Song Yushuang patted the bed sheet and laughed: "How come you thought of everything? I was just complaining the other day that coal cinders don't burn well, and you've already arranged it."
She glanced at Jiang Jianhua and saw her pickling radishes. "I used to worry that you were too young to handle things, but now it seems you're much better than this old woman."
Yun Tangyin slammed the account book down on the stone table: "Mom, don't worry, I'll take care of things at home. Oh, by the way, Second Brother said the warehouse is leaking, I asked him to find some oilcloth, we'll go and patch it up together this afternoon."
Fu Yuanshan carried a hoe into the room and, upon hearing this, replied, "I've found the tarpaulin; it's piled up in the woodshed."
He slipped a wild persimmon into Yun Tangyin's hand, saying, "It was just picked from the field, and it's very sweet."
Yun Tangyin smiled and accepted it: "Thank you, Second Brother. By the way, have you talked to Uncle Li about weaving a rainproof straw curtain for the warehouse?"
“I told him his son would come to make them around noon.” Fu Yuanshan’s voice was softer than usual. “The rule you set is good. The seeds in the warehouse are bagged and labeled with dates, and there haven’t been any mistakes since.”
Song Yushuang listened from the side and nodded in agreement: "Yinyin is so thoughtful. Before, the seeds in the warehouse were all mixed together, and it was always hard to tell the old seeds from the new ones when it was time to sow them in the spring."
Just then, Jiang Jianhua brought out the pickled radish: "Yinyin, do you think this is okay? I added Sichuan peppercorns and shredded ginger as you said."
Yun Tangyin leaned over and smelled it: "It smells wonderful! With your skills, Second Sister-in-law, we should fill two jars and sell them at the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow. We can earn some pocket money that way."
Fu Yucheng chuckled and pinched her cheek: "Is our boss about to open a shop?"
"Of course." Yun Tangyin slapped his hand away. "First, we'll get Mom some good fabric to make her a cotton-padded jacket, and then we'll get two new cotton quilts for my eldest and second eldest brothers."
Song Yu's eyes welled up with tears: "Silly girl, Mom has clothes to wear, don't always think about us."
"Mom, don't worry about it." Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of hibiscus cake into her hand. "This was bought by my second brother. Please try it."
At lunchtime, Yun Tangyin divided the steamed cornbread into portions according to the number of people, and added an extra egg to Song Yushuang's bowl: "Mom, eat more soft food."
Fu Yuanshan looked at the cornbread in his bowl and suddenly stuffed half of it into Jiang Jianhua's bowl: "You must have been tired from pickling radishes this morning."
Jiang Jianhua blushed and pushed the cornbread back: "You have to work in the warehouse this afternoon, you eat it."
Yun Tangyin laughed from the side: "Second brother and sister-in-law, don't refuse, there's still some left in the pot."
She turned to Fu Yucheng and said, "Go to the commune this afternoon to get your cloth coupons. Remember to buy an extra foot of coarse cloth for your second sister-in-law; she needs to make a new smock."
Just as Fu Yucheng nodded, Song Yushuang pulled a cloth bag out of her bosom: "This contains my cloth coupons for a few feet. You can use them. Don't always use yours."
Yun Tangyin opened the cloth bag and saw several tickets neatly folded inside. Her eyes welled up with tears: "Mom, we have enough..."
"Take it!" Song Yushuang pressed the cloth bag into her hand. "You manage this house so well, I'm overjoyed. The other day, Aunt Zhang told me that she envied me for having such a capable daughter-in-law who manages the house so well."
Fu Yuanshan, shoveling rice into his mouth, said in a muffled voice, "She also said that if her daughter-in-law were half as capable as Yinyin, she could sleep soundly every night."
Jiang Jianhua couldn't help but laugh: "That's right, Aunt Li also asked me why the house suddenly changed."
Yun Tangyin blushed at what was said: "It's all thanks to everyone's help."
"Okay," Fu Yuanshan replied, placing a piece of pickled vegetable into Jiang Jianhua's bowl. "It's what you like."
Looking at the scene, Song Yushuang couldn't stop smiling: "I used to worry about the mess in this house, but now, even looking at the pickled vegetables makes me feel at ease."
She said to Fu Yucheng, "You must treat Yinyin well; this girl is our family's lucky star."
Fu Yucheng hugged Yun Tangyin from behind: "Mom, don't worry, I cherish her."
Yun Tangyin slapped his hand away: "Stop fooling around."
Yun Tangyin was writing down what she needed to do in the afternoon in the ledger when she heard Fu Yucheng's words. She gave him a reproachful look and said, "You're being so irresponsible in front of your mother."
Song Yushuang smiled so much her eyes narrowed into slits: "You two love each other so much, it makes Mom happy."
Yun Tangyin closed the ledger. "After lunch, I'll go to the kitchen with my two sisters-in-law, and my second brother and Acheng will go to the warehouse. With a clear division of labor, we can finish in half a day."
After finishing the last bite of rice, Fu Yuanshan put down his chopsticks and said, "I'll go and call Uncle Li's son and have him come and weave straw mats as soon as possible."
"Second Brother, wait a minute." Yun Tangyin called out to him, "We don't have enough rope for weaving straw mats. I'll have Acheng go buy two bundles. Let's go check how bad the leak is in the warehouse first. If it's serious, we can find some plastic sheeting to cover it temporarily."
"Okay." Fu Yuanshan replied, walking briskly outside.
As Jiang Jianhua cleared away the dishes, he said with a smile, "Yinyin's mind is clearer than an account book; she thinks of everything so thoroughly."
"Second Sister-in-law, you flatter me." Yun Tangyin helped her stack the bowls. "By the way, Second Sister-in-law, you said your hand hurt last time. I asked Acheng to go to the commune clinic to buy you a bottle of ointment and some fritillaria cirrhosa. I'll boil it for you later and see if it works."
Jiang Jianhua felt a warmth in his heart: "How do you remember everything? I almost forgot about this."
Yun Tangyin just smiled and said, "How can you manage a household if you can't even remember these?"
Song Yushuang listened from the side, feeling secretly pleased: "I used to worry that you two sisters-in-law wouldn't get along, but now it seems I was worrying for nothing."
In the afternoon, everyone performed their duties and worked enthusiastically.
After Yun Tangyin and Jiang Jianhua finished brewing the ointment, they went to help Fu Yucheng and Fu Yuanshan repair the warehouse.
After a busy afternoon, the warehouse was finally finished, and the straw mats were woven.
Everyone smiled with satisfaction as they looked at the newly renovated warehouse.
Back home, Yun Tangyin started planning for tomorrow: "Mom, I want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to get some salt and soy sauce for the house, and also see if there's any cheap fabric so I can make new clothes for everyone."
"Go ahead, go ahead, you can make the decisions about things at home," Song Yushuang said with a smile. "Is the money enough? If not, Mom has more here."
"That's enough, Mom. We don't need the money," Yun Tangyin said. "By the way, Mom, what would you like to eat? I'll buy it for you while I'm at it."
"I don't want to eat anything, you can buy whatever you want," Song Yushuang said. "Come back early, don't overwork yourself."
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