"Okay, then I won't say anything more. As long as you're doing well now, I'm relieved."
Wei Yuhan nodded, understanding her sister's thoughts, and stopped trying to persuade her.
"Well, how are you and your brother-in-law doing? Is there enough food at home?"
Wei Yuyan looked at the family's abject poverty and her sister's faded clothes.
I already had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but I still wanted to hear what my sister had to say.
"Things are going well... Although we don't have much land, we can still eat our fill."
These past two years have been a bit tough, because as soon as I married into the family, we separated from them, and all the money from that separation went to building a house.
Then I got pregnant, so I couldn't do farm work, and it was also inconvenient for your brother-in-law to go out to work, as he had to take care of the fields and me.
After having a child, I could occasionally go out to find work, but it was really hard to find work in town.
"I often couldn't find him, and he was starving outside. Gradually, I didn't want him to go anymore."
As her sister spoke, a look of heartache appeared on her face, and Wei Yuyan finally understood.
My brother-in-law is also the introverted type who doesn't talk much, just like Li Cai, and he has a hard time making a living.
However, she is good to her sister; the two of them support each other and are quite happy.
"Well, sister, actually, an old Chinese medicine doctor taught me a few herbs that can be sold for money."
I picked them for about a month and made several hundred coins from them. Now that I'm selling steamed buns, I've stopped picking them.
You don't have much of a way to make a living right now. I think, why don't you teach your brother-in-law how to collect herbs? That way, you can have an extra source of income.
Wei Yuyan thought that it was better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Gathering herbs was quite inconvenient for a woman, but it was quite suitable for a man to do.
"Really? You can earn several hundred coins a month by collecting herbs?"
Wei Yuhan could hardly believe it.
"Well, it also depends on whether you have these herbs on your mountain."
There are some on the mountain near our village, but not many; we have to take a break after picking them for a while.”
Wei Yuyan seemed to be thinking, "Sister, there might not be any Panax notoginseng or Dendrobium on this mountain. We'll have to go up the mountain to check."
"That's great! I hope there will be some on the mountain. Yu Yan, I'm so grateful to you."
Wei Yuhan never expected that her younger sister would now be taking care of her, and she felt a little guilty about it.
“There’s no need for formalities between us sisters. I’m just looking forward to the day you give me another little nephew, that would be so much fun.”
Wei Yuyan hugged Yueyue, and Yueyue's eyes were fixed on Wei Yuyan. It was unclear whether Yueyue had mistaken Wei Yuyan for her mother.
"Let's wait a few years. I'll definitely have her in a few years. Your brother-in-law hasn't come back yet. I'll start cooking the rice first."
Wei Yuhan handed Yueyue over to her younger sister, then tidied up the things on the table and prepared to cook.
"Sister, don't cook too much food. It will spoil if we can't eat it in this weather."
Wei Yuyan gave her special instructions.
"Okay, don't worry."
About fifteen minutes later, my brother-in-law Chen Yu returned carrying a vegetable basket.
"I'm back. You must be hungry. I'll go chop some vegetables right away."
Chen Yu thought it was getting late and he didn't want his guests to go hungry.
"Chen Yu, what groceries did you buy today?"
As soon as she entered the kitchen, Wei Yuhan began to ask questions.
"I arrived too late, so there wasn't much good meat left. I just bought a pound of pork belly and a pound of spare ribs. Is that alright?"
Chen Yu lifted the vegetable basket to show his wife.
"Okay, we still have a few eggs at home, that should be enough."
Wei Yuhan took the meat out to wash, and Chen Yu went to the vegetable garden to pick some peppers and side dishes.
"Hmm~".
Suddenly, Yueyue in Wei Yuyan's hand started to wriggle, as if she was unhappy.
"What's wrong, Yueyue? Don't you want to sit anymore? Walk around, Auntie will carry you around."
Wei Yuyan carried Xiao Yueyue around and swayed her back and forth. Yueyue stopped fussing and stared intently at the flowers, trees, and butterflies.
She also found it very interesting to see Xiao Lei and Qian Qian playing nearby.
"Dinner's ready. Yu Yan, Xiao Lei, Qian Qian, and this gentleman, please take a seat."
My sister and brother-in-law quickly prepared the meal and put it on the table.
"Wow, it smells so good."
Qianqian ran over happily, her stomach rumbling as she looked at the sumptuous meal.
Because I got up early this morning and ate breakfast early, I didn't eat much on the way.
"Xiao Lei, Qian Qian, come on, eat some ribs. Yu Yan, Big Brother, come on."
As soon as we sat down at the table, my sister enthusiastically served everyone food, as if afraid that we wouldn't feel comfortable.
"Brother-in-law, put Yueyue on the bed and come eat with us."
Wei Yuyan saw that her brother-in-law was holding the child and did not come to the table.
"It's okay. Yueyue is a little reluctant to be put on the bed now that she's older. She almost fell off last time."
From then on, we took turns eating it, otherwise we wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it on the bed.
My brother-in-law explained that Yueyue is getting bigger and likes to crawl all the time. If we put her on the bed, she will definitely fall off.
"Yes, it will be great when she's a little older and can walk. Then we can put her on the ground and let her walk by herself."
Wei Yuyan thought that Yueyue would probably be able to walk by the time of the Chinese New Year.
"Yes, you should eat more. Yuhan, serve them some food."
My brother-in-law was holding Yueyue and watching from the side, and kept telling Wei Yuhan to serve everyone food and rice.
As a result, Wei Yuyan ate until she was stuffed.
"Sister, do you have any extra beds at home for them to rest on?"
Wei Yuyan saw that the two children and Li Cai had been traveling all morning and were tired, so she felt a little sleepy after eating.
"Yes, Xiao Lei and Li Cai can sleep here, and Qian Qian and Yue Yue can sleep together."
Wei Yuhan's home has only two rooms, but luckily there are two beds.
"Brother-in-law, did my sister tell you about my idea to teach you how to collect herbs?"
While everyone else was resting, and her brother-in-law was eating alone at the table, Wei Yuyan decided to chat with him to see what he thought.
"She just told me, 'Sister, your brother-in-law feels guilty and sorry for not letting your sister have a good life.'"
Now that I have this opportunity, I will definitely study hard and pick medicinal herbs well so that your sister and Yueyue can live a good life.”
As the saying goes, poverty makes life miserable for couples, and Chen Yu was actually quite anxious.
There's not much income in the family, so we just eat whatever we can get, only eating until we're about 70-80% full.
He just hoped his wife could eat more so that she would have enough milk for the baby.
"Okay, I'm relieved that you think that way. Let's go up the mountain this afternoon."
We won't go back tonight; we'll stay here and spend the night. We'll go with you again tomorrow morning.
Wei Yuyan thought that since she was going to teach her brother-in-law how to pick herbs, it would take at least half an afternoon for them to go up the mountain, given how strong the sun was.
I'm going up the mountain this afternoon, and I'll definitely be home late. I might as well stay here for the night and see if my brother-in-law remembers to come back tomorrow morning.
"Okay, why don't you stay here for a couple more days?"
Chen Yu finished eating the food in his bowl and started clearing away the dishes.
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