Liu Yun didn't say anything. She figured she'd just accept it; they were willing to give it to her, and she was busy making money anyway. She could always give them more things later. "Don't forget to bring those two sets of cotton-padded clothes and shoes you made this summer to Mom and Dad tomorrow. I'm afraid I'll forget if I'm too busy."
“Okay.” That cotton coat had been sitting in the closet for more than half a year before he finally got around to airing it out. But his parents didn’t need one; his wife made them a new one every year, and his mother could make them herself.
After the two finished packing, it was already 10 o'clock. Liu Yun was so tired that she didn't even want to wash up and went straight to bed. Fortunately, the coal stove in the kitchen had been burning and there was warm water on it. There were also two thermos flasks with hot water in the house. After taking a shower, the two rested. They were both really exhausted during this period.
Fu Yao was also busy until late at night, just like Yu Qian. He didn't return until the 29th of the lunar year. When he came back carrying bags and bags of things, his mind went blank when he saw the kitchen full of things. He put down his things and ran to the bedroom.
"Honey, are you alright? Didn't we agree that I would come and buy New Year's goods? Why did you go out by yourself? The ground outside is icy, and you're pregnant with Lele in tow. What would I do if something happened to you?!"
Cheng Ke looked at the anxious man, whose worry was genuine. He must have been too busy these past few days, as he had a stubble beard and faint dark circles under his eyes. Cheng Ke felt a warm feeling in her heart.
“I didn’t go out. A-Yun helped me with all of this. She bought it and delivered it directly to my home. I just paid for it at home. I thought I’ve earned quite a bit this year, and we’re going to have another family member. Plus, A-Yun happened to have some stock, so I bought a lot. I can’t handle it all, so it’s just piled up there waiting for you to come back and do it.”
Fu Yao breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Cheng Ke hadn't gone out. Seeing the kitchen full of things, he knew that his wife had really gone all out this time. So he took out the small bag hanging on his chest from inside his cotton-padded jacket. His wife had made it for him to carry money.
"Here, this is what I've earned recently. Keep it safe. Don't work so hard in the future. We're not short of money. You can make clothes for fun to pass the time, but don't push yourself so hard."
Cheng Ke could tell from the bulging little bag that it contained quite a lot, but she was still shocked when she opened it. "How come there's so much? You haven't been messing around outside, have you?"
"Don't worry, it's absolutely safe. It's just that this time we hired Xiao Zhihua. He works as a driver outside and makes a profit by taking a cut of the price."
Cheng Ke was relieved to hear this. She knew he had his own ideas and was safe and not doing anything reckless.
"Did you only have breakfast?"
"After we eat, I'll go check the things in the kitchen and tidy up. You can put the money away now."
Fu Yao looked at the overflowing kitchen and didn't know where to start. There were two roosters, two ducks, two geese, two fish, and ten quails. This was obviously for his daughter. There were also two baskets full of eggs and a small bag of chestnuts.
The quails need to be killed, as do the chickens, ducks, and geese. The sunflower seeds haven't been roasted yet, and the fish need to be killed too. This is a huge project, and with so many things, it can only be done secretly at night, otherwise it will be too conspicuous. We have to finish all of this today, or we won't be able to handle it tomorrow. Fu Yao was busy until after eight o'clock before he finally cleaned up and tidied everything up.
Fu Yao didn't know that Cheng Ke had been busy preparing all of this for a long time, because when she delivered it, the sunflower seeds were dried sunflower blossoms and the chestnuts were hairy chestnuts. It took Cheng Ke and the child two days to finish preparing them. Liu Yun prepared extra chestnuts, especially since they could be used as a staple food and also as a supplementary food for the child.
Even so, she still had plenty of space. She planted about ten trees at once because she wanted to be able to eat fresh fruit at any time. She planted one batch of each kind in her space one by one, so before one batch was finished, another batch started to ripen.
The chestnut trees in her space gradually ripened, and she was almost out of space to put them. She could easily dry fruits like apples, peaches, and pears by simply placing them on the shelf, but chestnuts required removing the fuzzy shells, so she just piled them up there.
Liu Yun was awakened by the sound of firecrackers. For the past few days, the sound of firecrackers in this alley has never stopped. Only families that are doing relatively well will let their children have their way, after all, it's the New Year! During the New Year, it seems that you can do anything. There is even a saying that has been passed down through the ages: "During the New Year, whatever you do will generally be forgiven."
With the arrival of the New Year, everyone in the courtyard is busy. Whether in the front yard or the back yard, you can see busy figures. The men are killing chickens and fish, while the women are washing radishes, cabbages, scallions, ginger and garlic, or cleaning the house.
At this time, everyone in the household was good at doing chores, but Liu Yun did nothing. Yu Qian and others started cooking noodles as soon as Liu Yun got up.
As for the Qin family, Wang Meifen was worried about whether her son was doing well in the juvenile detention center, but life had to go on, and she couldn't collapse because her son would still have to rely on her in the future.
Surprisingly, she had a much easier time during the Lunar New Year this year. Wang Meifen didn't know why. In previous years, she would have to take care of this and that at the end of the year, and even have to flatter and coax the men she had seduced to swindle some money. Sometimes she would even have to go out and earn money, but she didn't have to do any of that this year.
With more food at home, she, as a full-time employee, received half a pound of meat and a fish, as did Qin Fen, while Old Man Qin received a pound of meat and a fish. Looking at the two pounds of meat and three fish, this was something she would never have dared to dream of normally.
Because Qin Fen was tricked into revealing information, everyone learned that the salaries of the three members of the family of four were all controlled by Old Lady Wang. Some of the people who grew up with Qin Fen didn't want him to be cheated and end up destitute in his old age, so they gave him some advice. They told him to plan for himself and have a child in the future. If all the money was in Old Lady Wang's hands, it would all belong to the three Wang brothers. He should keep the money in his own hands.
Qin Fen thought it made sense, so he said a few words to his father. Qin's father was still able to clear his name in this matter, so he told Wang's wife that the young couple would manage their own money, while he would give his money to Wang's wife. Wang's wife knew that people outside were talking about her, so she couldn't do anything more. She could only curse Qin Fen as a stupid pig behind his back, but she still had to coax Qin's father.
She thought about talking to Wang Meifen and telling her to hold onto Qin Fen's money, so that it could only belong to her grandson in the future.
What she didn't expect was that Wang Meifen now hated her to death, because she hadn't taken good care of her son, which was why he had turned out this way.
So Wang Meifen got her hands on Qin Fen's money, but she had no intention of giving it to that wicked old hag, Wang Laopo. Qin Fen treated her very well, always obedient to her, and she didn't need to worry about going out to meet people and earn money in fear of being arrested. Now she just wanted to live a good life with Qin Fen and wait for her three sons to come out so she could teach them a lesson. They couldn't continue like this.
It's no surprise that their lives have improved now. They're both permanent employees, and she receives their salaries, so their lives must be pretty good.
Logically speaking, they should have been living quite well before, earning roughly the salaries of three people. The salaries of the Qin family father and son were almost entirely taken by the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Although they had three more sons, she also received a lot from her lover outside. However, she still lived a hard life. She didn't know this before, but now that she is in charge of the household, she understands and doesn't want to be fooled like a fool anymore.
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