After finishing his meal, Yu Qianhe saw the contents of the kitchen and finally understood why his mother had been so irritable. There were about ten chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits, and a third of them were still unprocessed. There were also several burlap sacks next to the cupboard, and for some reason, he had a feeling that there might be more than that.
Seeing this, Liu Yun touched her nose. "Isn't this just a lucky opportunity? I buy a little every day when I see it, but I didn't expect to buy a bit too much these past few days. But we still need to take half of this back. I don't know how to butcher, and there are too many people and too many eyes over there, so I brought it all here. We'll take some back tonight and there won't be much left."
Yu Qianhe said nothing, just got to work! So Yu Qianhe and his nephews continued their butchering business, while Liu Yun was dragged by Yu's mother to help with scooping sunflower seeds. Yes, scooping sunflower seeds.
Liu Yun had seen that Yu's mother loved eating melons, so she planted a lot of melon seeds. They were easy to grow and much easier to harvest than peanuts, which led Liu Yun to plant too many. When harvesting, she was lazy and simply cut them and put them in her space to dry. So now all she sees are sunflower flowers. Liu Yun carried a bag of dried flowers over. Now she can only obediently peel them with Yu Shan and Yu's mother, and then roast the melon seeds and peanuts.
After a busy afternoon, we finally finished. We packed up all the frozen meat and will take it all back to the tenement. Since Wang Jiabao and the others went to the juvenile detention center, the tenement is much safer now. We froze everything we killed today except for what we'll need in the next few days, so my parents can eat for quite a while.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Liu Yun and her companion decided to return to the courtyard. However, they did not bring the triplets because the roads were icy and it was too cold to be safe. They had no choice but to take all their belongings back with them.
Liu Yun helped the triplets wash up, while Yu Qianhe packed his things. Yu's mother secretly went to the kitchen and slipped five ten-yuan bills to Yu Qianhe.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"Alright, this year, apart from the lamb and pork, all the other vegetables were bought by your wife. It's fine normally, since you two eat here too, but this is different. You can't pay for everything. I know you're rich, you're more capable than your two older brothers, and your wife is better than your two sisters-in-law, but you two can't pay for everything." After saying that, Mother Yu stuffed the money into her youngest son's hand and then helped pack up the things.
"Mom, Liu Yun doesn't care about these things. Besides, this is our way of showing our respect to you two. And Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, and Beibei are here too, so they need your care and to eat with you."
"I still helped take care of your brother's kids, even though I had to work then! I usually accept the gifts you give me, but this time is different. I'm afraid my wife will feel awkward accepting them. So don't say anything. I usually accept what your wife gives me, but gifts for holidays are a different story. It wasn't easy for your wife to get these things; you can't buy them without connections. In fact, I'm the one who benefits. You should accept them! I asked Liu Yun, and she didn't buy any lamb. You two shared a lot of pork, so I won't give you any. She likes lamb, and your dad bought a lot, so take two pounds home."
It was completely dark by the time Liu Yun and Yu Qian got home, but luckily they had brought flashlights.
When they got home, the two of them tidied up again. They put the frozen meat in a basin, covered it, and placed it in a ventilated place to prevent it from thawing. They put all the fresh meat in the cupboard, along with a lot of roasted nuts and the New Year's goods that Liu Yun had bought at the department store. Everything was piled up there in a mess.
"Why are there so many cookies? And seafood too? Did you buy them?" Seeing the boxes of cookies and the pile of seafood, Liu Yun thought her memory was playing tricks on her.
"The biscuits were given to my parents-in-law a few days ago as New Year's gifts. These dried shrimp and seaweed were brought back by my brother-in-law from his trip to Guangzhou. He gave me some, and I bought some more." It's all thanks to his trip to Guangzhou that they were able to earn so much this time, as he secretly brought back quite a lot of things.
"So much stuff, how long will it take to eat it all? Luckily it's all dried goods, so it can be stored. Did you go to my mom's place?" Liu Yun had always thought he had been away these past few days and hadn't gone over this year, which made her ask Liu Jing to bring back a lot of things.
"I went, and I still had to observe the proper etiquette. I went with my brother-in-law." The custom here is that the son-in-law should give his mother-in-law a New Year's gift before the New Year. This is something that cannot be forgotten; it's a sign of respect for one's wife.
What did you send?
“I heard from my brother-in-law that you and my sister have already sent quite a few things. My brother-in-law and I discussed it and decided that he would send cigarettes and four catties of pork, while I would send wine and two pig legs.”
“This is already enough. I bought quite a lot of things, but my sister is definitely going to be angry again, and my brother-in-law might get a scolding.”
Thinking about how much stuff they sent this time, Liu Aiguo's family would definitely benefit the most, and Liu Jing would be furious. She knew she'd been buying clothes and other necessities for Liu's parents, not letting her eldest son and his wife get anything for free. After all, life is tough for everyone these days; even though they earn more, they also spend more! Not everyone is like Liu Yun, who has almost no savings, especially since the food they're sending is scarce. Xiao Zhihua sent so much food again; she was definitely unhappy about it.
Yu Qianhe immediately understood the situation, realizing the lawsuit between his sister-in-law and brother-in-law. However, he didn't say much, as anyone would be angry from Liu Jing's perspective. Their conflict was inevitable; they had been arguing since childhood, and Liu Jing had never won. Later, her marriage and career would be further manipulated and exploited. Who would give her a friendly look?
Yu Qianhe suddenly remembered the fifty yuan his mother had given him. "This was given to us by my mother. She said that we shouldn't be allowed to buy everything. She would accept the things she bought for us normally as a token of her filial piety, but she would have to pay for things during holidays and festivals. She couldn't take advantage of our family."
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