Grandfather Wang and his son looked at the bowls full of dumpling soup and egg pancakes in surprise. "Bingfa, your family has made a fortune recently, haven't you? You have good food and clothes. Look at your two daughters-in-law and your daughter, they are all wearing new coats."
"Dad, this meal today is a great deal."
Yan Bingfa smiled but said nothing.
"What's the point of getting rich? Since I invited you, Brother Musheng, to help, I naturally have to treat you well. This daughter-in-law has been home for so many years, and she hasn't made many sets of clothes properly. This year, Chunxiao is back again, so I gritted my teeth and bought some cloth and asked them to make a set each. I'll be in charge for many years to come, and I'm just spending money to buy peace of mind."
Yan Musheng looked at Zhou and said, "You are a good mother-in-law, but if you do this, many old women in the village will be blamed."
Zhou scoffed. "I'm already busy managing my own business, so I don't have the time to bother with other people. Just live your own life."
"That's right." Yan Musheng looked at Chunxiao, "In our village, your mother is the best to her daughter. You are a lucky person."
“Uncle Musheng, Brother Wangzu, you should eat more today and eat your fill. My mother has done enough, and I haven’t thanked you enough for coming to help.”
"Dad, do you want to go to Uncle Mu's house tonight?" Dashan sat by the stove, eating and warming his shoes.
"Our family doesn't interact with his family very often, so we can just go and help out on the day of the funeral. We don't need to be there to watch over the casket." Da He was a little unsure, and he looked at Yan Wangzu again, "Are you going to your family?"
"Our family doesn't have five generations of mourning, so we definitely have to go. Your family shouldn't have to."
Chunxiao came out of the kitchen after finishing her meal. She couldn't stand the smell of these grown men roasting shoes together. The younger ones were eating in the main room with their bowls in hand. "Auntie, are you done with your meal?"
"I'm done eating."
"Grandma told us to go home after dinner, but we don't want to go back. We want to play here. Can you talk to Grandma about it?"
Chunxiao pinched Shufeng's little face and said, "There's nothing to do outside, and there's no place for you to play. You should go back first and come back to play after the fields are dry in two days." She still had to collect coal in the afternoon, and the children would definitely surround her and ask her questions again.
After dinner, Tian and Zhang changed back into their previous clothes and went to help in the backyard with their husband and father-in-law, while Chunxiao and Zhou were weaving curtains in the back.
"Why are you in such a hurry to build a shed back here? I saw you cut down a lot of wood in the mountains this morning. How big a shed are you planning to build?"
Yan Bingfa looked at the backyard and said, "Just build it along the right side of the fence, from the back door all the way to the end. Make it all the way to the side. Turn it around and connect it to the back door, so it won't get wet in the rain."
Yan Musheng looked at the area he pointed to and clicked his tongue twice. "You're not building a shed, you're building a corridor. I've never seen anyone build such a large shed in the countryside. What's the point of building this shed? It's just to block the sun. You might as well start a vegetable garden."
Yan Bingsheng smiled and said, "If the child likes it, let her do as she pleases."
Yan Musheng also laughed, "You dote on your daughter so much, I think your daughter-in-law and the others are also very happy. This is your family." He gave a thumbs up, "It's much better than the family next door to ours."
"Dad, don't say that Sister Zou is a bitch. I actually think that if it weren't for Sister Zou, Daqiang's family wouldn't be where they are today! Sister Zou earns the majority of our family's income from selling piglets every year."
"You can't just ride on the shoulders of your father-in-law and mother-in-law just because of this. Let's see if Aqin will come back! She's just afraid of her sister-in-law. But your Aunt Sun still listens to her."
"So what if she doesn't listen? Just like Wang Zu said, Zou may be a bit of a talker, but she's the one who makes the money, and whoever makes the money has the final say." Zhou laughed. "I'm going to her place to catch piglets in a couple of days. I think I saw Sanjiang from their family when I went to the village today. Is he back from the county town?"
When Chunxiao heard the name Sanjiang, he suddenly thought of the man by the river in the morning.
"Yes, he came back. There was no work in the county before the New Year. He said he would go back after the New Year. I heard he made a lot of money. The old couple was very proud of it."
Yan Wangzu smiled and looked at his father. "Dad, if you're envious, just be envious. Don't just say sour words."
"I'm not envious at all." Yan Musheng was a little angry. "What's there to brag about? Wangfu might have more when he comes back. I don't know what his family is thinking. They made money but didn't properly arrange a marriage for him. His wife has been dead for two or three years, and he's been alone like this all this time. Sigh."
"Maybe they won't appreciate it if I tell them, and then it's hard to say what will happen next." As they spoke, they began to stake the bamboo. According to Yan Bingfa's instructions, they needed to connect the bamboo for at least five sheds. They had to be very careful when it rained, as not having a stake could easily cause a fall. Three of them reached the top, while the rest helped pass things from below.
Chunxiao was busy for a while before heading back to the front. It was time for her to start the charcoal. Everyone was busy in the back, so no one would go to the front to interfere with her. However, she would have to wait until night to start the charcoal, as she would have to keep an eye on it.
After lighting the three kilns of charcoal one by one, Chunxiao looked at the ground. It was completely dry and cracked. This was probably the driest place in the entire yard. She rubbed her cold hands, closed the utility room door, and went back to the backyard.
Although everyone worked quickly, Yan Bingfa had detailed requirements and asked them to make sure the shed was solid, so they only built half of it in an afternoon. Yan Bingfa knew that Chunxiao was going to burn charcoal, so they finished work as soon as the sun went down, without waiting for dark.
After everyone left, Chunxiao hurriedly started to build a rack to burn charcoal. The wood at home was only enough to burn for two days, and it would take a few days to rest.
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