Many people went home to celebrate the New Year this year. In addition to Zhao Huimei and Zhang Han who were pregnant, Xu Lijie, Chen Dafen and several deputy battalion commanders' wives also went home. Zhu Xiaofang's family even brought her father-in-law over.

Although the New Year's Eve was a little quiet this year, Chen Yun bought a little bit at a time like an ant moving house. Unexpectedly, she even got all the New Year's goods by herself. Liu Qiao smiled and said, "Then should I still accompany you to Dragon City?"

Chen Yun waved her hand and said, "No need. We are going to start the brine pot today. I have already bought the ingredients for the brine. Just help me take care of Zi Rui and don't let him play around."

Star anise, cinnamon, a little soy sauce and dried chili peppers, this is the most common way of brining. When the water boils, Chen Yun puts pork head, chicken, duck and pig ears in, and lotus root and kelp later. She is satisfied when she sees the brining slowly filling up.

This time she sent halved vegetables to several families who were celebrating the New Year here. Zhang Han gave Zi Rui a big red envelope, as did Zhao Hui Mei. Similarly, when Chen Yun sent halved vegetables to the next door, the Gao family was in a mess.

Gao's mother and Zhu Xiaofang had a quarrel, and when the quarrel became serious, they ignored their son Gao Mengxiang. As a result, Gao Mengxiang stepped one foot into the boiling pot and immediately got skinned.

There was chaos in their family, and Chen Yun went home quietly. She called her parents' home to report that she was safe.

When she saw Liang Ya again, it was already spring. When the Gao family next door started to move, Chen Yun learned that Gao Guobin was going to change his job and return to his hometown.

She asked Liu Qiao in confusion: "Why do they want to go home so soon?"

Liu Qiao laughed and said, "Zhu Xiaofang almost shot herself in the foot. She ordered people to check Zhao Huimei's background, but Liang Ya found nothing. Instead, Zhao Huimei's family became alert. Didn't the Gao family leave because they knew they wouldn't be here for long?"

He felt that Gao Guobin, who had originally started from the same starting line as him, had really made some mistakes now, especially after getting married, he had made many stupid moves.

Chen Yun sighed: "It's good for him to go back to the local area now. At least he has a job. And Zhu Xiaofang has always wanted to start a business. He will definitely have some connections there."

Zhu Xiaofang left without saying goodbye to anyone. When I saw Liang Ya again, she was already in the delivery room. Everyone in the delivery room was looking at Zhao Huimei's son. After all, she was an elderly mother, and everyone was still very concerned about her child. Chen Dafen and Xu Lijie were very familiar with talking about motherhood.

By the time spring came and flowers bloomed, Liang Ya had returned to Beijing to attend school, and Chen Yun's shop was about to reopen. She bought a lot of stationery to sell and made a lot of money at the beginning of the school year. Although things became dull afterwards, she still made more money every month than Liu Qiao, and the couple lived a more comfortable life than before.

Because Zhu Xiaofang left, Chen Dafen's part-time job changed. She can only work two jobs every day, and her income is much less than before. After her husband knew that she had an income, he would still send money home, and Chen Dafen's salary was used as living expenses.

Chen Dafen certainly doesn't want to make money anymore, and she is now in a tug-of-war with her husband.

Chen Yun didn't care about these things. Her business was gradually getting better, but she was short of staff, so she wanted to choose someone to help her run the store. Liu Qiao did recommend someone to her: "Do you remember the wife of a company commander under me? She has a prosthetic limb now, but she is a very honest person."

It turned out to be her. Chen Yun thought she was good. Captain Yuan’s wife was also from the countryside. After his wife was hit by a car before, he not only did not abandon her, but the two of them became even more affectionate. They rented a house near the company and asked someone to take care of his wife. Now his wife has a prosthesis. I heard that he has spent all his savings and borrowed a lot of money. But these two people never cry because they feel they are in trouble. Instead, they work hard and you never see hardship on their faces.

"That's fine. Remember there's a small yard behind the bungalow? I didn't rent it out because I was afraid someone else might have bad intentions. So I just let her live in it this time."

Liu Qiao was very happy to see that his wife supported his work so much, and he told Captain Yuan about it immediately.

Captain Yuan was very grateful to Chen Yun. After all, she provided him with a place to stay for free, and he only earned fifty yuan a month for running the store, which was already very good.

Chen Yun and Liu Qiao went to help them make the bed personally. Captain Yuan's wife had a round face and a nice name, He Xiang. She couldn't walk very well, but her hands could move normally and she was very diligent.

Not too enthusiastic, not too cold, just a little grateful in her normality. Chen Yun asked her to do it here first. When Chen Yun came in the morning on the first day, the aroma of meat porridge in the backyard had already wafted out. He Xiang brought the meat porridge to Chen Yun: "Sister Chen, please eat it. This is my craft. How do you like it?"

Chen Yun took a bite and found the taste different from what she had tasted before, especially sticky but very nice. She asked, "What's the secret to making this? Why is it so delicious?"

"The rice should be marinated overnight, then boiled over high heat and then reduced to low heat. This is how it tastes." He Xiang said with a smile in her eyes.

Chen Yun saw at first glance that she was a girl who loved life very much. She thought it was a pity that such a girl, even if she had not received much education and had no experience, could not stop the vitality in her.

She smiled and said, "It's delicious, but will it be too much trouble for you? I brought a lot of rice and vegetables today. Can you heat it up for me at noon and we can eat together?"

Chen Yun's words did not mean to look down on others. Apart from Liu Qiao, she ate little and the baby ate even less. She brought He Xiang here simply because she thought it was a waste for her to cook by herself.

She said it very naturally, and He Xiang agreed.

Chen Yun said happily, "It's good to have you here. I have more time to take care of the baby. You don't know how tiring it is to look after a child. When there are too many people around and the child needs to be taken care of, I wish I could split myself into two people."

He Xiang always has a smile on her face and is very enthusiastic. She feels like a fish in water working for Chen Yun, and Chen Yun has more time to go to wholesale. She and He Xiang are drafting a purchase order together. He Xiang thinks for a moment and says, "Sister-in-law, I found that the spicy strips seem to be selling well. I think we can also buy some. We also have a lot of instant noodles."

"Okay, I've got that. Anything else?"

He Xiang said a few more things, and Chen Yun wrote them down one by one, then said: "Then you can take a day off tomorrow, and you don't have to open the store. I will give you this month's salary first, and you can buy some food and drinks and take care of yourself."

"Sister-in-law, this won't do. Let's just do as we said before and pay the salary on the 10th of every month." Although He Xiang owed others money, she didn't want to break their rules.