Sister-in-law Lin laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, just spoil these kids. Even a salted duck egg costs money."
Song Anxin said nonchalantly, "They're all my own children, of course I'll spoil them. Money is meant to be spent, and I'll make the children happy with what I spend."
Seeing the children having so much fun, Sister-in-law Lin no longer felt bad about wasting that salted duck egg.
Grandma Han and Zhang Mei watched and laughed, and in the end, the group cheered them on, enjoying themselves immensely.
To Song Anxin's surprise, Lin Erxi unexpectedly broke through among the many young men.
Song Anxin thought she had only ever beaten Dongzi and Fengyao, but she didn't expect that Erxi would be quite the heroine among women.
Song Anxin solemnly awarded the salted duck egg to Lin Erxi, who was so happy that his mouth twisted into a grin. The others, though defeated, were convinced and genuinely applauded and cheered for Lin Erxi.
Sister-in-law Lin smiled helplessly and said, "My Erxi doesn't look like a girl anymore. She's almost become a tomboy. I don't know how to talk to her about her future husband."
Lin Erxi was holding his prize with pride when he heard this and turned around to say:
“I don’t want to go to any husband’s family. Can’t I live without a man? I can live on my own. Look at my second aunt, she’s not living without her second uncle, and her life is getting better and better.”
Song Anxin had just been admiring the girl's independent thinking, but now that the topic had suddenly shifted to her, she felt awkward.
Seeing how far things had gotten, Sister-in-law Lin was even more afraid of upsetting her younger brother and sister-in-law, so she pretended to get angry and pinch Lin Erxi.
Lin Erxi quickly hid behind Song Anxin, rubbing against Song Anxin's shoulder as if she knew she had said something she shouldn't have.
Song Anxin said with a smile, "Forget it, sister-in-law, I won't be sad. It's been so long, I've come to terms with it."
Erxi and her aunt won't blame you. You're right. It's certainly good to have a man who treats you well and cares for you, but if you can't find one, you must be independent and strong, and live a good life.
Granny Han wholeheartedly agreed. Having lived a long life and seen through many things, she concluded that relying on oneself was best.
“Fengnian’s mother and Erxi are both right. Who says we women have to rely on men to live? We can live a good life on our own!”
After hearing this, the boys decided in their hearts that they must treat their wives well in the future, otherwise what would happen if they ran off to live alone!
After a brief interlude, the meal was ready, and Brother Lin came over from the fields, bringing two large wooden buckets with lids specifically for delivery.
A group of people sat around a table and began to eat. The dishes were delicious, including a large bowl of braised pork belly, each piece glistening with red oil, making it look incredibly appetizing. There was also stir-fried green beans with pork, eggplant with minced pork, steamed eggs, stir-fried vegetables with pork cracklings, and two large plates of "rich and oily eggs" cut into flower petal shapes...
There was also a large pot of radish and pork bone soup, the broth was stewed until it turned milky white, and the most tempting thing was the whole braised and roasted rabbit in the middle! The aroma was so enticing that it made one's mouth water.
This was the first time that Granny Han, Han Xiaohe, and Lin Shitou had ever seen such a grand spectacle. The amount of delicious food here was more than they had ever eaten at the dinner table since they were born.
"This old woman has never seen such delicious food, let alone eaten it. I'm only doing this because of Fengnian's good fortune. After eating this, I'd be happy to die tomorrow!"
Grandma Han sighed.
Song Anxin “...”
Why do you ancient people die just because you eat a good meal? Stone Mother did the same thing last time.
"Pah, pah, pah, you can't talk nonsense like that, Granny Han. You are the oldest person in our village, you will live to be a hundred years old." Sister-in-law Lin quickly spat out.
People in ancient times had short lifespans, and living to sixty was considered a long life. Granny Han was almost seventy, so she was indeed a long-lived elder in the village.
Han Xiaohe also said, "Grandma, you must live to be a hundred years old. I still need to earn money to buy meat for you."
Granny Han laughed heartily and said repeatedly, "Good, good, good."
At this moment, Song Anxin raised a bowl of bone broth in front of her and said:
Today marks the day our family successfully closed our first business deal. Everyone has worked incredibly hard over the past month, and I'm grateful for everyone's support. I, Song Anxin, would like to express my sincere gratitude with this soup instead of wine!
Upon hearing this, everyone solemnly raised their soup bowls. How could these words make one's heart tremble, as if they had done something extraordinary?
Song Anxin continued, "Especially my elder brother and sister-in-law. I saw you helping my family make tools with a torch at night, elder brother."
"Sister-in-law, as soon as you finished your chores at home, you brought Erxi and Dongzi to help me. I saw it and I remember it. On behalf of my family, I sincerely thank you."
Lin Fengnian and his younger siblings also quickly thanked their uncle and aunt's family.
Brother Lin and Sister-in-law Lin held up their bowls, something flickering in their eyes. These days, younger siblings are truly heartwarming.
The honest man coughed and said, "You are the second son's wife and the mother of Fengnian and the others. It's only right that the family helps each other with this little bit of work."
Sister-in-law Lin: "That's right, sister-in-law, why are you being so formal? We're family, why are you saying thank you?"
Song Anxin stopped rambling. She was very content with having such family and relatives. She said loudly, "Everything is understood without words. Cheers!"
Brother Lin and Sister-in-law Lin... Lin Fengnian... Granny Han... Lin Shitou...:
" cheers!"
Everyone enjoyed the dinner to the fullest, their mouths greasy with food. Grandma Han, Han Xiaohe, and Lin Shitou said that they could call on them anytime if there was anything they couldn't handle at home.
The next day, as soon as it was light, Song Anxin took Lin Fengnian and Lin Fengshou to deliver the goods. All the duck eggs were put into a large wooden barrel and covered with a lid. The two of them worked together to lift it onto the truck.
Today, only the mother and her two children were in Uncle Lin's car. Uncle Lin was already used to it, and this was considered good; sometimes he would travel alone.
Sitting in the car, Song Anxin said, "Since this is the first time I'm delivering goods, I'll go with you. From now on, you two brothers will come by yourselves."
Lin Fengnian: "Okay, Mother, you rest. Leave it to us."
Lin Fengshou: "Mom, don't worry, my brother and I can do it!"
Song Anxin nodded. He couldn't follow them around forever; they needed to gradually become independent.
When the car arrived at the city gate, Uncle Lin offered to take the heavy items to their destination. Song Anxin thanked Uncle Lin and then told him to go to the "Junyue Restaurant" first.
Manager Meng of Junyue Restaurant was already waiting at the entrance. Seeing Song Anxin and her entourage slowly approaching in an oxcart, he quickly went to greet them and said:
"Second Sister-in-law Lin, you've finally arrived!"
Song Anxin got off the oxcart and smiled gently:
"Why did Manager Meng come out to receive the goods in person? Does he think I'll run away?"
Manager Meng chuckled awkwardly, "Sister-in-law Lin, you're joking. The guests tasted this 'Rich and Oily Egg' yesterday and gave it a very positive response. Everyone wanted me to serve them a plate."
But I didn't get the goods yesterday, so I had to have them come again today.
Song Anxin joked, "Oh, is this because I didn't reserve any for you yesterday?"
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