“I know about milk,”
As a member of the Qin family, and having grown up under the care of the old man and woman, Qin Jing was certainly not stupid. Aside from a few perplexing questions, he grasped most things quickly.
“I know my grandparents. My dad also told me that on the surface, we are taken care of by our grandparents. In fact, they do take care of us and worry about us a lot. However, our grandparents are getting old, and this is my third uncle and aunt's territory. No matter what, they can't really sit idly by for our grandparents' sake. So, rather than saying that, it's more accurate to say that we and our grandparents all need the care of our third uncle and aunt.”
Moreover, my dad said that my third uncle was his brother, and my grandparents' biological son. No matter what, he would take care of us. So my third uncle's attitude was not important. What was more important was my third aunt.
If my third aunt doesn't agree, then no matter how my third uncle tries to balance things out, she'll still be dissatisfied and have complaints. This will affect their lives, and then my grandparents will have to worry not only about us but also about my third uncle.
The old lady and the old man exchanged a glance, their eyes both smiling.
"So, what conclusion did you draw?"
Qin Jing let out a soft breath, as if he had just come to his senses himself.
"My dad said that the lady of the house is very important. The old saying that marrying a bad wife ruins three generations is true."
My aunt is very generous, but she told us not to go too far. We shouldn't keep taking advantage of her just because she's generous or pity us.
My dad said that our family will definitely not have any problem with food and drink, but social relationships need to be reciprocated in order to last.
We can't give them anything right now. He told us to be sensible, that our third uncle can't always be home because he's at work, and that our third aunt needs to do something. He told us to be observant, to be diligent, to do more work and talk less, not to be disliked, and not to cause trouble for our third uncle and aunt.
I would say that my third aunt is not a heartless person. Given her personality, as long as we don't cause trouble and are diligent, she won't bully us even if she doesn't like us.
Third Uncle, well, my dad said that Third Uncle only has eyes for Third Aunt. As long as Third Aunt is happy, he can accept anything as long as it's not a matter of principle.
So no matter what, we must make Auntie happy first. If Auntie is happy, Uncle will be happy, and things will be better at home.
The old lady and the old man looked at each other, and although what she said seemed to make sense, something still seemed off.
The two children next door were so excited about being able to stay for the New Year that they couldn't sit still at all.
After putting up the couplets and the character "福" (good fortune), they didn't give Jian Dan a chance to refuse. The two of them went to find the ingredients as if they knew the way well and started preparing lunch. Jian Dan wanted to say something several times but couldn't, so she simply gave up. Anyway, they knew her tastes, so she might as well make it. As for what the man made, they could eat it tomorrow.
"Sis, what kind of dumplings do you want? I'll make the filling."
Cheng An peeked in and saw Jian Dan eating fruit. He walked in and rummaged through the fruit basket. It was mostly common fruit like apples, oranges, and bananas. The most eye-catching items were small, bright red persimmons, about the size of a thumb. They'd eaten them before; he'd asked his mother, and she said they were fine, so he didn't say anything. He then carried the bowl of frozen pears and persimmons to the windowsill and the plate of watermelon to the cabinet lid. Jian Dan, who was biting into an apple, paused.
"What are you doing? I haven't eaten yet!"
Cheng An casually placed the sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and other nuts he had brought in onto the kang table.
"Sis, eating something too cold isn't good for your health, let's eat less, okay!"
"Would you like some pine nuts? I'll shell them for you in a bit."
It seems like the roles have been reversed; they're treating me like a child.
"What kind of filling do you want for the dumplings? I'll make the filling first, and we'll wrap them after lunch. Then we'll freeze them outside so you don't have to bother in the evening. My brother-in-law can just bring them back and cook them whenever he gets off work."
The two children did their work very efficiently, and Jian Dan didn't even have a chance to interfere. When Qin Jing brought over the meatballs that the old lady had made around lunchtime, he was momentarily stunned, feeling a little unsure of where he was.
He'd known them for quite a while, but this was the first time he'd seen them cooking so earnestly. Cheng An carefully sprinkled the seasonings, while Cheng Rui handed him the spice bottle. Their movements were so natural, as if they'd done it many times before, and they showed no embarrassment whatsoever when they saw him.
"Qin Jing, you're here? Your lunch should be ready soon, right?"
"Come in quickly, my sister is inside."
Qin Jing awkwardly handed him the plate.
"These are fried meatballs made by my grandma. She asked me to bring them over to add to my aunt's dish."
Knowing that she didn't lack anything, the old lady simply brought her one of her signature dishes. She didn't care whether it was a meat dish or not; Jian Dan didn't pay any attention and immediately picked one up and popped it into her mouth.
"Mmm, delicious!"
How many dishes did you cook at home?
Xiao An, cut a plate of that aspic for Xiao Jing.
You've probably made all the other dishes at home. This is what your third uncle made; it's the first time he's ever made it. Take it back for your grandparents to try.
Take this basket of fruit back with you. It's good you came; otherwise, I would have had to carry it over later.
Qin Jing, who had originally intended to refuse, took the opportunity to bring it up.
"Third Aunt, I'll head back now."
As expected, Qin Qinghuai never came back. Even after having reunion dumplings at the Qin family home that evening, Qin Qinghuai still hadn't returned. However, compared to the harrowing experience of last year, Jian Dan still hoped that this year's Lunar New Year's Eve could be spent peacefully.
She didn't have any particular attachment to staying up all night on New Year's Eve. When she got sleepy, she sent the children to sleep and drifted off to sleep herself. She didn't know how much time had passed when a sudden noise startled her. She sat up in a fluster and saw that it was already slightly bright outside.
Then came a series of more sounds. Jian Dan had a vague guess in her mind, but she wasn't quite sure.
"Sis, sis? Are you alright?"
I shook my head and realized that I was covered in sweat and felt sticky.
"It's alright, please come in!"
Cheng An then pushed open the door, holding a candle in his hand.
"Sis, if I'm not mistaken, that was gunshot. Were you scared?"
He yawned, quickly threw on a robe, and sat down on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed). He figured his sleep was going to be ruined.
"I'm fine, I was just startled. You all heard it too?"
"Um,"
He reached out and pulled her cotton-padded coat tighter around her, lit the candles in the room, and poured her a cup of water from the thermos, handing it to her.
"Sister, sit down and rest for a while. My brother went out to check the situation. I'll go and light the kang and the fire wall. Why don't you sleep a little longer?"
Shaking her head, and looking at the increasingly bright sky outside, Jian Dan's sleepiness was almost gone.
"I'm not going to sleep now, let's talk about it later. You go ahead, I'm going to change my clothes."
Using the excuse of changing clothes, she took a quick shower in her spatial dimension and felt revitalized. When she opened the door, Cheng Rui was back, but he didn't look well.
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