Ye Yunniang was unaware that Chunyao already knew about her relationship with Jiang Mingzhe, as well as Li Ping's affair. She was now somewhat worried about whether something might happen in the courtyard.
Considering Jiang Mingzhe's intelligence and resourcefulness, he won't let anyone discover it.
Ye Yunniang put aside her worries and focused all her attention on preparing New Year's supplies and making small clothes.
The baby clothes are for Cai Damei's unborn child. She's due to give birth next month.
This year marks the first time Ye Yunniang has independently organized the preparation of supplies for the Lunar New Year. Fearing she might not do it well, she prepared plenty of everything.
The three children were very happy, following Ye Yuntang around, their mouths open, waiting to be fed.
Her little face is round from eating.
Today, Ye Yunniang is preparing to fry meatballs. It's her first time, and fearing she won't know how, she's asked Chunyao and Liang Maimiao for help and guidance.
Chunyao arrived with her youngest son, Jindou, along with Xu Jiada Lei and Erlei, and the Li family's six children, making a lot of noise in the house.
"Is it alright?" Ye Yunniang asked Chunyao after mixing the filling.
Chunyao smelled it and nodded, "Yes, it smells very nice."
"I'll start the fire." Liang Maimiao sat down in front of the stove to start the fire.
Chunyao and Ye Yunniang started frying the dumplings. Chunyao showed Ye Yunniang how to fry them properly.
The three of them worked while exchanging the latest news. Liang Maimiao and Chunyao did most of the talking, as they knew more.
"Wang Jizu's marriage is settled," Liang Maimiao said, sharing the latest news.
"It's done? Where did all that money come from?"
"The Wang family sold the courtyard."
"He sold it. Wasn't his yard rented?"
"Before the marriage contract was signed, Wang Qiang bought the courtyard. Alas, now, to find a wife for Wang Jizu, the old man Wang sold the courtyard. After the New Year, the whole family will move to Sanjiaofang in the south of the city."
"Why move to Sanjiaofang? That's not a good place."
"Is there anything wrong with Sanjiaofang?"
"The people living in Sanjiaofang are either working in Qinglufang or local thugs and petty hooligans. Well, Qinglufang is either a gambling den or a brothel. It's a mixed bag, and ordinary people shouldn't go there."
"I heard that Wang Qiang earned his money by working at Qinglufang."
"The Wang family has no intention of getting better."
"It's good that they moved away. You don't know about Wang Jizu and Wang Yaozu, they run to the alley entrance every day. They stare at the Ma family in a sinister way, it's scary."
"Have they cursed Hongyan?"
"It's probably not as simple as blaming someone."
"Won't you harm Hongyan and the baby in her belly?" Ye Yunniang couldn't help but interject.
These words silenced the kitchen for a moment.
“It’s quite possible. A few days ago, I went to the Tie family to exchange my knife. I saw Wang Jizu skinning a rat alive.” Liang Maimiao’s body tensed up when she thought of what happened, and she couldn’t help but move closer to the fire in the stove to drive away the chill.
"I'll remind Hongyan when I get back." Chunyao and Hongyan got along well, and Chunyao knew how much Hongyan longed for the baby in her belly.
"Speaking of Hongyan, she's about to give birth, isn't she? Her belly looks quite big."
"She'll give birth at the end of March next year," Ye Yunniang replied, showing great concern for Hongyan's belly.
"It was the perfect time to give birth then, when the weather wasn't too cold or too hot. When I gave birth to Da Lei, it was the dead of winter, and I was freezing during my postpartum period. When I gave birth to Er Lei, it was July, the hottest time of the year. I was so hot I almost fainted."
"Me too. When I gave birth to my baby, Jin Gao, it was the middle of summer, and I got heat rash all over my body. It was so itchy every day. Ever since then, I get heat rash all over my body every summer."
“I also get prickly heat in the summer. Aunt Cai told me about a folk remedy. It worked really well.”
"What kind of folk remedy?"
“Collect a jar of the first snow of winter and put it in the cellar. When prickly heat comes in the summer, use the snow water to apply it; it works really well.”
"Really?" Chunyao looked at Ye Yunniang.
"Yes, I used to get prickly heat a lot when I was little. This is how my mom would apply it to me. I haven't gotten prickly heat in the summer since."
"That's wonderful. Our whole family loves prickly heat." Chunyao planned to buy two large jars to hold the snow.
"By the way, Yunniang, when is Aunt Cai coming back?" Liang Maimiao remembered that Cai Damei had been gone for almost two months.
"I received a letter a few days ago saying that it's raining and I can't leave. I estimate I'll be back after the New Year." Ye Yunniang told the two of the story she had prepared earlier.
"Oh dear, there's just nothing you can do when it's raining or snowing."
"Yes. I remember one year, Da Mai and his father went to the countryside to harvest wheat. It was snowing heavily on the way. They were stuck in a dilapidated temple for three days and three nights. When they ran out of food, they used melted snow to cook wheat. Da Mai can't say 'cooked wheat' now, or he'll get angry."
"Mom, are the dumplings ready?" Jin Dou ran to the kitchen, drawn by the aroma.
"Go away, go play." Chunyao waved her hand to shoo them away.
"They're fried." Ye Yunniang took a clean bowl, scooped a large bowl from the bamboo basket, and handed it to Jin Dou, "Take this and eat it with your brothers."
"Aunt Yun is so kind." Jin Dou smiled as he took the bowl, stuck out his tongue at his mother, and left with the bowl.
"You brat, you're asking for it. When we get home, I'll have his dad beat him up," Chunyao laughed.
“Boys are just so mischievous,” Liang Maimiao remarked.
"Want a girl?"
"Well, I want to have another girl. But I'm afraid it will be a boy," Liang Maimiao hesitated.
“I’m scared too.” Chunyao nodded in agreement.
"I have something to tell you all, Xiumei is pregnant." Speaking of pregnancy, Liang Maimiao remembered something.
"Xiumei is pregnant. How did you know?" Xiumei is in jail.
“Xiumei’s family and my mother’s family are neighbors. Xiumei’s mother and my mother have a good relationship, that’s what she said,” Liang Maimiao explained the source of the information, which is absolutely accurate and reliable.
"Whose child is that?"
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