At breakfast in the morning, Xia Lina complained that the breakfast she got from the cafeteria was not tasty, while Fang Boran complained that Xia Lina tossed and turned at night and did not sleep well, and even kept bothering him.
Xia Lina, who was being rejected, was eating the steamed bun in her hand. She was so angry that her heart ached when Fang Boran clearly rejected her.
Xia Lina felt that her man had changed and was becoming less and less patient with her.
Fang Boran had a simple breakfast and left in a hurry.
Without Liu Jiao's provocation, her husband had no contact with the girl next door. Xia Lina calmed down and realized that her husband was having an affair with Yang Shuying, that vixen, and it was impossible for him to be hooked up with her.
But Xia Lina felt very uncomfortable because of her man's cold attitude towards her.
The atmosphere in the Chen family yard was not very harmonious early in the morning.
Uncle Chen Xi and his nephew sat facing each other at the table in the main hall and ate breakfast.
Chen Yi was very unhappy when he woke up and found himself sleeping alone. His uncle also didn't let him go to the next room to see his aunt.
Chen Yi nibbled on the steamed bun in his hand while wrinkling his white, chubby face, and said, "Uncle, why do you keep trying to steal my aunt?"
Chen Xi automatically ignored the boy's words, thinking, why is he calling him "little aunt"? She's obviously his wife!
Chen Yi was not satisfied with his uncle's lack of response and deliberately complained, "The steamed buns are not tasty, not as good as the ones made by my aunt!"
He took another sip of the porridge and complained that it didn't taste good.
"Don't eat it if it doesn't taste good!" Chen Xi glanced coldly at the boy in front of him who was deliberately causing trouble.
Chen Yi changed his usual attitude of not daring to breathe, and puffed up his cheeks and said, "I won't, I want to eat, and I will also tell my aunt that you abused me and didn't let me eat breakfast!"
While saying this, the kid deliberately took a big bite of the steamed bun in front of him with a whooshing sound and looked at him proudly.
Chen Xi didn't pay much attention to it. He ate a little casually, gave the child a bun, and cleared the dishes on the table.
Let the child eat his own dishes and clean up after himself.
Before leaving, Chen Xi repeatedly told the boy not to bother his wife and let her have more rest.
Chen Yi said proudly: "When you are not at home, my aunt and I sleep well every day!"
Chen Xi ignored what the boy said and walked out with a refreshed look on his face.
After Chen Xi left, Chen Yi got up and pushed open the door of the compartment, but remembering his uncle's order, Chen Yi obediently ate breakfast and went out to play with the three Gao brothers.
Today is the weekend and the three Gao brothers are all at home.
The gate of Gao's courtyard was not closed. When he entered the courtyard, the Gao family was sitting in the main room eating breakfast.
Mrs. Gao spotted Chen Yi and called him over, and Gao Tuan also invited him to the table to have breakfast together.
Gao Zhi was the oldest, so he pulled Chen Yi's younger brother's hand and let him sit at the table. Mrs. Gao also served him a bowl of sweet potato porridge.
Chen Yi did not sit at the table, but sat at the door of Gao's main hall and said, "No need, I've eaten before. My uncle cooked porridge, but it tastes terrible!"
"Oh, Chen Tuan can also cook porridge?" Mrs. Gao said while glancing at her husband. It was really annoying to compare people with each other. She knew very well that Chen Tuan was the one who washed the dishes in Yang Meizi's family, while her husband only knew how to eat and wouldn't even help if the oil bottle fell over.
Like most men of this era, Gao Tuan believed that kitchen matters were women's business. How embarrassing it would be for a grown man like him to do women's work?
As for Chen Tuan's willingness to do women's work, it's because the couple is young and just married. Let's see if Chen Tuan will still do it after a while!
Gao Tuan Gan coughed and asked Chen Yi: "Where is your aunt? Why isn't it your aunt who makes breakfast?"
Chen Yi said: "My aunt is still sleeping. My uncle said that my aunt is very tired. Every time my aunt sleeps with my uncle, she is very tired. When my uncle is not at home, my aunt and I sleep very well!"
The child's innocent words made Gao Tuan and his wife Gao Dasao burst into laughter, but the three Gao brothers didn't understand what was so funny.
Gao Yuan flattered him and said, "My boss sleeps very well, and I sleep very well with him too!"
Chen Yi said proudly: "My aunt must really like sleeping with me!"
Gao Tuan and Gao Dasao laughed so hard that tears came out.
Gao Tuan is an experienced person and he understands Chen Tuan quite well. After all, he has just been on a mission for so long, and it seems like a short separation is better than a new marriage for the young couple!
Mrs. Gao thought that with the frequency of the couple's troubles, it seemed that Miss Yang would be pregnant soon. Mrs. Gao smiled and said, "Chen Yi, your aunt will be pregnant and give birth to a brother for you in a while! Do you like it?"
"I don't have a younger brother. I am the only one my aunt has!" Chen Yi said seriously.
This child is so funny. If it wasn't too late, Gao Tuan would have liked to hear more from the child.
After Gao Tuan had breakfast and left, Gao's wife was still coaxing the child, saying that when his aunt had children in the future, they would not be able to support them if they didn't save money.
After coaxing the child, Mrs. Gao cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them.
Gao Zhi was older and understood more, so he said, "Brother, when adults get married and sleep in the same bed, they will have babies!"
Gao Xiang said: "The doll is not fun, it only cries, my brother is a crybaby!"
Gao Yuan was very unhappy: "I was very well behaved when I was a child. I never cried!"
When Chen Yi learned that his aunt would have a baby in a while, he remembered that his stepmother wanted to have a baby with his father and didn't want him. His face turned pale and he immediately stopped playing with the three Gao brothers and hurried back to his own yard.
"Brother, why did you leave?"
Shuying didn't wake up until nearly ten o'clock, and he lay in bed for more than half an hour before he was able to get up.
Fortunately, today is the weekend and I don’t have to go to class.
Shuying, who was suffering from back pain and lower body aches, had just finished washing up in the backyard and walked into the main room when his right leg was hugged by a young man who came running in from outside.
Seeing that the boy looked unhappy, Shuying touched his soft chin and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong? Why are you unhappy?"
Chen Yi's face was a little confused and worried. She shook her head and said nothing.
She was a little hungry after being too exhausted last night, so she took the child to have breakfast. Shuying was worried that the child might be hungry while drinking porridge, so she gave him a bun.
Chen Yi is not hungry and just shakes his head and refuses to eat.
Shuying had no choice but to eat by himself. He took a mouthful of porridge with steamed bread. The warm porridge felt very comfortable in his stomach. "Are you really not hungry?"
Chen Yi shook her head.
After a simple breakfast, Shuying washed the dishes. Chen Yi changed from his usual chattering self. Not only did he not like to talk, he was also particularly clingy to her.
Wherever she went, the child would follow her with the pendant on her leg, holding onto her leg.
When she was sitting at the door of the main hall with her child hooking shoes, she couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you go play with the Gao brothers?"
Could it be that this child had a conflict with the Gao brothers?
Chen Yi squatted in front of him and shook his head.
"Okay then, help auntie hook shoes!" Shuying brought over a small stool and let the child sit next to her.
These shoes are for the child. The tree shadow has mostly been drawn, so let Chen Yi take off his shoes and try them on.
When Chen Yi learned that the shoes were for him, his unhappy face finally broke into a smile. He was extremely happy and blushed. He took off his shoes and tried them on while asking in a sweet voice, "Auntie, are these my shoes?"
Shuying hummed and looked at the size of the shoes the child was trying on. The sole size was bought according to the child's size. Not surprisingly, it was just right. "Do you like it?"
"I like it so much!" Chen Yi said happily.
Shuying asked the child to take off his shoes while she continued to hook them. Chen Yi was reluctant to take off his shoes. Seeing this, Shuying wanted to laugh. She touched the child's head and indicated that he could wear them after she had hooked both shoes.
Chen Yi then took off his shoes in a depressed mood.
While hooking shoes, Shuying noticed that the child was particularly quiet today. Could it be that he was really having some conflict with the three brothers of the Gao family?
She had some free time on the weekend, so she crocheted some shoes and planned to make candied haws that her children had picked yesterday. She decided to forget about making candied haws and try another way to eat them.
Shuying plans to make hawthorn snowballs, which are also very delicious.
When it’s ready, let the kids take it to next door to eat with the three Gao brothers. Who knows, maybe they will get along well again.
Shuying put the insoles and wool into the house and took the child into the kitchen.
The hawthorns were washed and drained, and Shuying wiped them dry with paper and placed them in a basin. As soon as Chen Yi saw his aunt take out the hawthorns, he knew that she was going to make something delicious for him.
Chen Yi opened his eyes wide and swallowed his saliva: "Auntie, are we going to make candied haws?"
"Let's not make candied haws today, let's make hawthorn snowballs!" Shuying turned on the coal stove, took out a lot of rock sugar from the cupboard, added water, and stirred it with a shovel. When the rock sugar became thick, he added some vinegar and turned off the fire.
Pour the syrup into a bowl and stir quickly with a spatula so that each hawthorn is covered with syrup. Continue stirring until the temperature cools down and the syrup on the surface of the hawthorn turns into white icing, which looks like real snow and is very beautiful.
Chen Yi stood on tiptoe with curiosity and asked, "What is a hawthorn snowball? Is it as delicious as a candied haws?"
Shuying took a hawthorn covered with icing sugar and stuffed it into the boy's mouth, and tasted one himself.
The sour and sweet hawthorn snowball tastes different from candied haws, but is just as good as them.
Chen Yi's cheeks were bulging from chewing. He liked the sour and sweet taste very much. He ate with his eyes wide open, and his big round eyes were stuck in the bowl.
Shuying brought him another hawthorn snowball, and Chen Yi put it in his mouth and chewed it.
She poured some of the hawthorn snowballs in the basin into a small bowl and asked the child to take it to eat with the three Gao brothers.
She sealed the remaining hawthorn snowballs in a bag and put them in the cupboard for the children to eat the next day or the day after tomorrow.
Chen Yi held up his hawthorn snowball and said, "Give it to my brother, not to anyone else!"
"What brother?" Shuying asked in confusion.
Chen Yi summoned up the courage to say, "Xiaoyuan's mother said that you are pregnant, so I have a little brother!"
Shuying was almost choked by the child's words. Seeing that the child's eyes were red and he looked like he was about to cry, Shuying knew that the child had no sense of security, so he quickly pulled the child to the main room and said, "Auntie is not pregnant!"
Chen Yi stared in disbelief: "Xiaoyuan's mother said you were pregnant!"
Shuying didn't understand why Mrs. Gao suddenly told the child that she was pregnant, so she asked what happened. When she learned what happened in the morning, she was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say! She hurriedly told the child not to tell anyone about what happened in her room in the future.
"Why can't I say it?" Chen Yi asked in confusion.
Looking at the confused look in the child's eyes, Shuying made up her mind that she could no longer tolerate her man tormenting her every day. If it weren't for the man tormenting her and making her wake up late, how could there be so many problems?
It also brought shame to the Gao family!
Shuying patiently explained to the child that a pregnant belly would swell, and took the child's hand to touch her flat belly, indicating that she was not pregnant. She also promptly said that even if she had a baby in the future, she would still love him the most, which put the child at ease.
Take the child's hand and take him to Gao's house next door.
However, before she went to Gao's house, she ran into Mrs. Liang and Liang Goudan who came to visit.
"From Chen Tuan's family!"
"Auntie Chen Yi!"
Both Mrs. Liang and Liang Goudan have loud voices. Shuying responded and asked Mrs. Liang what she wanted to talk to her about.
Mrs. Liang came to her specifically to ask how French fries and fried buns are made. Last time, her children ate them and kept clamoring for more. When she heard that French fries had to be fried in oil, Mrs. Liang felt reluctant to let her grandson eat them, no matter how much she doted on him.
The child has been making trouble these days. Two days ago, he was beaten by his daughter-in-law and eldest son. She felt distressed, so she brought the child to ask how these French fries and fried buns are made?
As Mrs. Liang asked, she saw Chen Yi holding a bowl of something red and white. Liang Goudan's eyes were also glued to Chen Yi's bowl. He was asking Chen Yi what was in his bowl!
Chen Yi replied: "This is a snowball my aunt made for me. It's super delicious!"
Chen Yi was not stingy either. He gave one to Liang Goudan and put one in his own mouth and chewed it slowly.
Hawthorn snowballs are not only good-looking, but Liang Goudan also particularly likes their sweet and sour taste.
Shuying also took a few and gave them to Mrs. Liang to taste.
Mrs. Liang only took one to taste, and when she found out that it was made of hawthorn and rock sugar, she was impressed by the ingenuity of the Chen family.
She also tasted it and found out that the white layer outside the hawthorn was all sugar. She sighed at how generous the Chen Tuan family was and how much they doted on their nephew!
Liang Goudan wolfed down a hawthorn snowball and was still thinking about eating more. His eyes were glued to Chen Yi's bowl, and he pulled Liang Saozi's hand and shouted for food.
Shuying simply asked his own child to take Liang Goudan to the next door to eat hawthorn snowballs with the three Gao brothers.
But this made Mrs. Liang feel extremely embarrassed.
Chen Yi got along well with Liang Goudan, so Chen Yi was not stingy and took him to Gao's house next door to play.
After the two children went to Gao's house, Shuying was busy asking Mrs. Liang how to make French fries and steamed bread slices. She could also see that Mrs. Liang would definitely not be willing to use oil.
After all, things are different now than they were in the past, when you can buy as much oil as you want.
Nowadays, oil is rationed, and it is very difficult to buy more oil after eating. If she didn't have a shopping mall, she might not dare to spend so much oil.
So, after Shuying roughly explained how to make French fries, he said that French fries do not need to be fried, but can be pan-fried over low heat with a little oil. As for the steamed bun slices, they can also be fried in oil.
Mrs. Liang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
Seeing that Mrs. Liang also liked to eat hawthorn snowballs, she patiently explained the process of making it. Mrs. Liang was very grateful on the surface, but she felt in her heart that Chen Tuan, this daughter-in-law, had a really good temper. She spoke softly and was particularly patient and generous. She must have a very good impression of her.
So, on the way back, Mrs. Liang kept telling people how nice the people in Chen Tuan's family were, with good tempers and gentleness. She said that Chen Tuan was so lucky to marry such a beautiful, clever, and virtuous daughter-in-law.
When Mrs. Liang praised Shuying, some people compared her with Xia Lina. After all, the two families lived next door to each other and their ages were not much different.
Just now, someone mentioned that they heard Xia Lina and Deputy Captain Fang quarreling from time to time a few days ago, and also said that Xia Lina did not do any work and could not even cook.
In fact, some people have talked about this before, but at that time Xia Lina was teaching in the military area, had confidence, and earned a salary of several dozen yuan, so no one said much.
Xia Lina doesn't get paid much now, and everyone is very dissatisfied when they see that Deputy Captain Fang has to go to the cafeteria to get meals for Xia Lina after training every day.
Someone said: "Deputy Commander Fang is really unlucky to marry her. I would say that you should marry a capable wife, but how can you marry someone who is good looking but can't do any work? I wonder if Deputy Commander Fang regrets it? Not everyone can be as lucky as Commander Chen!"
These words were heard by Xia Lina who was passing by. She became so angry that her face turned blue and her whole body was shaking.
So, thinking of her man's cold attitude towards her, Xia Lina gritted her teeth and made up her mind to suppress Yang Shuying, that vixen. She didn't believe that she could not compare with Yang Shuying, that vixen. That vixen could pretend to be virtuous and a good person, so she could do the same.
In the Chen family's yard, Shuying had no idea what was happening outside. After Mrs. Liang left, she was kneading dough to make dumplings.
She was too lazy to cook lunch, so she would just eat some dumplings with the children at noon, and then cook some dishes and dumplings in the evening.
While the dough is resting, Shuying prepares the fillings. She plans to make two kinds of fillings, one with mushrooms and meat and the other with cabbage and pork.
She also secretly took out some shrimps from the mall, chopped them up and mixed them with the pork.
After preparing the two fillings, she went to Gao Dasao's house to borrow a rolling pin.
In the Gao family's main hall, the three Gao brothers, Liang Goudan, and their children were eating hawthorn snowballs happily.
The three brothers of the Gao family don’t have much delicious food on weekdays. They haven’t eaten anything delicious for a long time. Recently, the most they eat is dried sweet potatoes. The sour and sweet hawthorn snowballs are so delicious to the three brothers.
The five children rushed to eat the food and enjoyed it so much.
When the three Gao brothers saw the shadow of the tree, they shouted loudly, "Auntie Yang!"
"Auntie Chen Yi!"
"Auntie!"
"Take your time eating. I'm going to borrow a rolling pin from your mother!"
At this time, Gao Yuan ran to the tree shadow and said: "Aunt Yang, are your family going to make dumplings? My family is going to make dumplings this afternoon too, and my mother is buying meat!"
Gao Yuan swallowed his saliva as he spoke. Shuying pursed her lips, smiled, touched his head and replied to him. She borrowed a rolling pin from Gao's wife and returned to her own yard. After eating the hawthorn snowball, Chen Yi also hurried back with her aunt.