Fearing she wouldn't have enough to eat, Lin Momo took the empty bowl and filled two more bowls to eat with her older sister.
Unexpectedly, after finishing the bun in her hand, Lin Daya refused to eat any more.
Just then, the courtyard gate was slammed shut with a loud "bang".
It must be my eldest cousin, Lin Zhiyong, who has come to pick me up in a mule cart.
Lin Momo finished the bun in her hand in a few bites and told her older sister, "I'll go open the door. You should drink the ginger soup while it's hot so it'll warm you up on the way. I guess my older brother hasn't eaten either, so this bun can be a little something for him."
As he spoke, he picked up the remaining bun and ran to open the door.
Lin Sanya, who was still craving steamed buns, finally withdrew her staring gaze from the bowl of buns and lay back down.
*
Before leaving, Lin Daya didn't dare disturb her mother's sleep. She only said goodbye to Lin Musheng, who had already woken up on the kang in the kitchen, and then left her mother's home in a mule cart.
Lin Momo carried the new bamboo basket that her father had woven for his in-laws, and escorted them two miles outside the village before jumping off the mule cart at Lin Daya's repeated urging.
Before jumping off the vehicle, she secretly placed a piece of pork weighing about two pounds into a covered bamboo cage at her feet.
This can be considered the second return gift from the Lin family to the Cai family.
For the villagers at the foot of the mountain, eating wild pheasants and rabbits is nothing special, but only pork with plenty of oil is the meat that truly makes people happy and envious.
This kind of return gift is already quite decent.
Lin Momo knew from the beginning that Madam Xu would definitely not prepare anything for her eldest daughter to take back to her husband's family.
However, although returning a gift is a small matter, it is of great importance.
Lin Daya has been staying at her parents' home for so many days, and her in-laws will definitely have opinions. If she goes back empty-handed, they will be even more uncomfortable. Not only will they say some unpleasant things to her face, but they will also think that this daughter-in-law is not valued by her parents' family and can be bullied by their own family.
How could Lin Momo allow such a thing to happen?
Needless to say, Lin Erya only had a chance to live because of her, and later she was raised by this older sister.
During the few days that Lin Daya returned to her parents' home, she took care of the patient and handled all the housework by herself. She never had a moment to rest and also took on a lot of things for Lin Momo.
Furthermore, Lin Momo also quite liked this older sister's personality.
Of course, we should think about her.
We definitely need to prepare some return gifts to help this woman save face in front of her in-laws and make her look good.
Lin Momo, wanting to be a good younger sister, even prepared a gift for her older sister.
She handed the bundle in her arms to Lin Daya and whispered, "Inside are the clothes you wore when you came. There's also a box of face cream underneath. It's for rubbing your hands and face in winter to prevent chapping. Remember to use it."
Actually, there was also a plain purse inside, containing some copper coins and loose silver.
If given the money in person, Lin Daya would definitely refuse it no matter what. The two sisters don't know if they will ever see each other again, so it's better to leave her some money as a dowry.
Watching the mule cart carrying Lin Daya gradually disappear into the distance, Lin Momo also turned around and walked back.
Actually, she really wanted to leave with them, but she still had things to do.
The majestic, continuous Nanshan Mountain behind it is like an eternal backdrop, lying there quietly for thousands of years.
Braving the early winter wind, Lin Daya, wearing a padded jacket, felt warm both physically and mentally on the mule cart heading down the mountain.
Only when her second sister could no longer be seen did she withdraw her gaze and turn to look at the bamboo cage that her father had woven by hand.
She couldn't help but chuckle to herself, thinking that her in-laws wouldn't laugh at her for coming back empty-handed this time.
It wasn't until she got off the bus and picked up the bamboo basket that she realized the real return gift was probably in the basket.
Upon opening the lid, I was momentarily speechless.
It was a piece of fatty pork!
Lin Daya knew perfectly well what was going on and couldn't help but chuckle. This must be the work of her second sister again.
No one else in that family had the inclination to do this, and she was the one who carried the basket onto the car. Who else could it be but her?
Sigh, this girl doesn't know how to save the money she earns; she just squanders it.
Although she felt disgusted, she couldn't stop smiling.
When they arrived at her in-laws' house, Lin Zhiyong noticed she hadn't gotten out of the car for a while. He turned around and saw her grinning at a basket. He asked, "Da Ya, what's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Lin Daya replied with a smile, then picked up the bamboo basket and got off the vehicle.
As she walked into the courtyard, she unconsciously straightened her back.
Lin Zhiyong saw the person off, exchanged a few words with his in-laws who came out to greet him, declined their offer to stay for a meal, and took his leave, saying that his family was waiting for the mule cart.
After seeing the people off and returning to the courtyard, Lin Daya, in front of the whole family, handed the bamboo basket slung over her arm to her mother-in-law and asked calmly:
"Mother, here are two pounds of meat. Do you want to eat it while it's fresh, or make it into cured meat and save it for later?"
Although she spoke casually, she felt very relieved, which truly made her feel better.
"What, meat? What kind of meat? It can't be pork, can it?" Granny Cai finally looked away from her eldest daughter-in-law's new clothes. She was startled at first, but then she remembered that her eldest daughter-in-law had said she was making cured meat, so it could only be pork.
"Great! Now we can have meat!"
"Mom, please cook some meat today. How long has it been since our family has had meat?"
"Yes, Mom, let's eat meat!"
The courtyard immediately erupted in chaos.
Seeing that she had taken the bamboo cage, Lin Daya eagerly lifted the lid to look inside. She smiled faintly, then turned and went back to her room amidst the noise.
She placed the bundle on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), opened it casually, and thought she would take out the clothes, wash them in a while, and then put them away to wear next year.
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