Zhang Hong took the water, drank half a bowl, let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from her face, and then cautiously glanced at her sister-in-law.
"Ah Xia, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm perfectly clear-headed."
Ji Xia smiled slightly at her and casually stuffed a peeled egg into her hand: "Sister-in-law, have an egg. I'll make dinner later."
"I already ate this morning, this is what Mom cooked for you."
When Zhang Hong saw the eggs in front of her, she couldn't help but swallow hard and quickly declined.
She knew her sister-in-law's status in the family, so she dared not snatch the eggs that had been specially cooked for her sister-in-law.
Ji Xia chuckled nonchalantly, "Why are you being so polite? It doesn't matter if I eat one less, but the baby in your belly should eat one too!"
She glanced at Zhang Hong's belly; it was only six months along, but bigger than other women's eight-month bellies.
She knew that Zhang Hong was pregnant with twins this time.
Because of Lin Haodong's affair in her past life, the Ji family spent thousands of yuan and then spent money on her wedding banquet, emptying their savings.
Because of this, household expenses were reduced, Zhang Hong suffered from malnutrition and was born prematurely; the child's health was not good. This incident also caused conflicts between the couple and Mr. and Mrs. Ji, disrupting their family life.
Feeling guilty about having to do it all over again, Ji Xia wanted to make it up to her.
"The child needs nutrition, so feel free to eat whatever you like, don't be shy."
She got up, went back to her room, and brought out a bag containing two bags of milk powder and a bottle of malted milk powder.
“I brought back two bags of milk powder. I’ll give one to Mom, and the rest is for you. Make a cup every day, and let me know when you’re done.”
"No, no, leave it for Mom."
Zhang Hong was taken aback and looked at her sister-in-law in disbelief. In the past, she had always given the nice things she bought to Aunt Lin, and she hadn't even given any to her mother-in-law.
Is she really planning to break up with Lin Haodong?
Ji Xia generously stuffed the bag into her hand: "Take it if you want it. We're family, why be so polite? Consider it as me giving my nephew some extra nutrition."
"Thank you, A-Xia."
Zhang Hong accepted it with a happy face, feeling touched and somewhat fortunate.
Her great-aunt said she was lucky, that she married the best among her sisters, and now she finally believed it.
After marrying into the Ji family, her husband was considerate, and her mother-in-law was also understanding. After she was four months pregnant, she didn't have to go to the fields, and her mother-in-law would always give her extra food every day.
Even my sister-in-law has become more generous and considerate.
Thinking of this, she gratefully took the bag and, remembering Lin Haodong's situation, comforted him, "Don't keep things to yourself. If you're unhappy, talk to your sister-in-law."
"Don't worry, I know. I'll have my brother come out with me tonight to settle things."
"It's over? How do you plan to settle it?" Zhang Hong asked curiously.
“I broke off the engagement, returned the betrothal gifts, and also made him pay back the money he owed me.”
Zhang Xia was quite surprised to hear this. Her sister-in-law was actually willing to give up that man?
It's a pity that her fiancé, who finally got into university, now belongs to someone else.
However, Zhang Hong also knew that her father-in-law intended to call off the marriage, and it was good that her sister-in-law could come to terms with it.
An egg and two bags of milk powder instantly brought the two sisters-in-law closer. Ji Xia boiled water and cooked rice, while Zhang Hong picked vegetables nearby.
She saw the pheasants lying around and asked, "Xia, where did these pheasants come from? Did you buy them in the city and bring them back?"
"No, Chen Jing just shot two pheasants and gave one to our family."
Upon hearing about Chen Jing, Zhang Hong subconsciously glanced at her sister-in-law: "Although Chen Jing isn't good at studying, he's a very honest person. He's not only good at hunting, but he's also very caring."
Zhang Hong could tell that Chen Jing had feelings for his sister-in-law, but unfortunately, his sister-in-law was completely infatuated with Lin Haodong and didn't pay any attention to other men.
However, now that Lin Haodong and his sister-in-law have broken up, she thinks Chen Jing is not bad either.
Not only did they know each other well, but Chen Jing's father was the brigade leader and Ji's father was the brigade party secretary. Their families were of similar economic means and were a good match in many ways.
Ji Xia smiled faintly as she heard her sister-in-law praising Chen Jing.
"Sister-in-law, Chen Jinghao is a good person, but I don't want to think about this issue for the time being."
Most importantly, she wasn't Chen Jing's soulmate, and she didn't want to ruin Chen Jing's future.
Hearing her sister-in-law's words, Zhang Hong felt a pang of regret.
Zhang Hong scalded the pheasant with boiling water, and then went back to the kitchen to start a fire and cook dinner.
The pheasant Chen Jing gave us was quite plump, weighing at least two pounds.
She planned to make chicken soup, and for dinner she would make sweet potato rice with sweet potatoes and rice.
Chop off the chicken head and feet, then cut the chicken in half. Add water and ginger slices to an iron pot and simmer to make chicken soup.
After boiling for twenty minutes, she used chopsticks to poke through the chicken's back and saw the blood inside gradually fade before taking the two halves of the chicken out and removing the skeleton and bones.
Put the chicken bones back into the pot and cook for another half hour, then add the washed spinach.
Soak the deboned chicken pieces in cooled boiled water for a while, then chop them into pieces and arrange them on a plate. Finally, make a sauce with sand ginger, minced garlic, and scallion oil.
Stir-fry some water spinach with garlic, wash and slice the tomatoes, add sugar and make a cold salad, then grab half a bowl of pickled cabbage, wash and chop it, stir-fry it in the pan, and scrape the oil out of the pan completely.
Around six o'clock in the evening, Secretary Ji returned with his mother and eldest son, Ji Zhijun, wearing a straw hat and carrying farm tools.
Secretary Ji has three sons and one daughter. Besides the eldest son and the youngest daughter who stayed with him, the second son, Ji Xiangjun, is the captain of a transport truck in the city, and the third son, Ji Yuanjun, has been promoted to battalion commander in the army.
The three sons each had their own strengths, but Ji Xia was the one that Secretary Ji and his wife loved the most, and also the one that Ji Xia felt most guilty about.
Seeing her parents return, Ji Xia's eyes reddened, and she quickly bowed her head to offer them cool well water and a wet towel.
"Dad, Mom, wash your face to feel better before you drink some water."
Secretary Ji sighed, handed the straw hat and farm tools to Ji Xia, took the cold, wet towel and washed his face and neck before taking a big gulp of water from her.
"Tell me, why are you being so attentive? What do you want your father to do?"
Ji Xia's eyes were slightly moist, but she smiled and fanned him with a palm leaf fan: "Dad, you and Mom have worked hard. What's wrong with me bringing you a basin of water? What else do you need?"
Ji Zhijun handed the towel to his wife on the other side and laughed, "Little sister, just say what's on your mind. If you don't explain clearly, Dad won't be able to eat."
Mother Ji looked at the father, son, and daughter and shook her head: "Can't we sit down and talk while we eat?"
Mr. Ji chuckled and said, "I was afraid that the things she brought up would be too difficult to handle, and she wouldn't be able to enjoy her meal."
Especially with such a lavish dinner, including chicken and soup, and tomatoes sprinkled with so much sugar, Secretary Ji was even more apprehensive.
Ji Xia rolled her eyes at her brother, worried that her pleading for Lin Haodong would put him in a difficult position.
In her past life, she did cause her father some trouble for a few days, but in the end, the family had to suffer a huge financial loss to ensure that she could marry Lin Haodong normally.
This time, however, she will never again cause trouble for her family because of a scumbag.
Ji Xia pouted unhappily: "What trouble do I have? Don't worry, Dad, you don't need to. After dinner tonight, have my brother accompany me to collect a debt."
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