As soon as Mu Yi'an entered the room, she found that Chu Yue on the bed was already awake and had rolled to the edge of the bed, trying hard to sit up. The little one, who is over six months old, has recently been able to sit up for a while.
"Little Chuyue is awake. Let Mommy take you to pee."
Mu Yi'an picked up the little girl, patted her pants, and thankfully, she hadn't wet the bed.
Mu Yi'an quickly carried him to the washroom, which was a small room built separately at one end of the house for their use. Each room had one, which was convenient.
"Mom, I need to pee."
Just as Mu Yi'an came out carrying Chu Yue, Shao Yun also came out of the room, followed by Shao Ming. Well, they were all awake. Shao Kun in the west wing also woke up and heard the familiar crying sound.
Jiang Shuyun came out of the study and took his two sons to the toilet. He was tired after copying books for so long. He was especially worried about developing occupational diseases in his wrists and cervical spine from prolonged copying.
"Sister-in-law, Shao Yun is awake. Bring Shao Kun out. Don't cry inside."
"Okay, Second Sister-in-law, I'll change his clothes."
Okay, so you wet the bed. You're not crying because you're embarrassed.
Before long, the sound of children laughing and giggling could be heard from the yard, carefree and joyful.
"Husband, you stay in the yard and watch the children. I'll go to the backyard to check on the sheep and milk them. The children must be hungry."
"Okay, go ahead. I need to rest my eyes for a bit. Later, I'll make some chrysanthemum tea, for what reason, right?"
"Yes, drinking two cups a day will also have an effect."
Mu Yi'an took the wooden bucket to the backyard. The sheep in the sheepfold bleated when they saw someone coming.
There are three ewes in the house now, and they take turns feeding and cleaning them. No matter how unwilling Sister-in-law Jiang is, there's nothing she can do. No one will always indulge her; they're all Jiang family daughters-in-law, and no one is inferior to anyone else.
The sheepfold was very clean and didn't smell too bad. Mu Yi'an threw some hay into the sheepfold, opened the gate, walked to her own ewe, and began milking her.
This sheep is good; it produces plenty of milk, and we squeezed it all out in no time.
"Sister-in-law, I'm going to boil some goat milk. I'll let Shao Kun have some too."
“Okay, my sister-in-law took Shao Ning and Chu Tong with her, and they’ll be back soon. My sister-in-law has been staying for quite a while this time, more than a month.”
Dinner would be prepared later, and Li Qiuniang and Mu Yi'an chatted idly on the side.
"Would it be better to stay at my aunt's house than at my own home?"
Mu Yi'an was not familiar with Jiang's aunt, and even the original owner of this body was not very familiar with her, having few memories of her aunt.
Jiang's father was an only son, and Jiang's aunt was his only sibling. For several generations, their branch of the family had not produced many children. It was only after Jiang's mother married into the family and gave birth to five children in a row, and raised them all to adulthood, that the curse of Jiang's father's branch of the family not having many children was broken.
“My aunt’s family has a girl who is the same age as my sister-in-law. The two get along well and keep each other company. Besides, my aunt’s family is well-off; they are considered middle-class in the county.”
Li Qiu's aunt's family was also from the county town. Her aunt's general store was no ordinary small shop; it sold a wide variety of goods, including many rare items. Moreover, it had two stores in the county town and several employees.
"That's true. My aunt's family doesn't need to do anything in the kitchen; they have maids to serve them."
Mu Yi'an remembered this. Her aunt was quite capable, managing the general store's business and always busy throughout the year, rarely coming back. In all the years since Mu Yi'an had been married, her aunt had only returned once, with a coachman driving the carriage and maids and servants following her, quite a grand affair.
"If it were me, I probably wouldn't be able to stay there. It's more comfortable to stay at home."
The two sisters-in-law were cooking goat milk and chatting, and time passed quite quickly.
After the children finished drinking the goat's milk, while Mu Yi'an and Li Qiu'niang were busy in the kitchen, the family's mule cart returned.
"Mom's back, let's go out and see."
Hearing the commotion, Mu Yi'an called Li Qiuniang to go out together.
Jiang Shuqi was the one who drove the truck. After unloading the goods, he drove the truck around to the backyard, where there was a gate for livestock to enter and exit.
"Mom's back. You must be tired from the journey. Come inside and rest for a while."
Li Qiuniang greeted her mother-in-law, while Mu Yi'an looked at her sister-in-law, a fourteen-year-old girl who had just begun to blossom, getting out of the carriage. She had an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, wore a pink cotton dress, and had her hair styled in a girl's bun with a pearl flower in her hair; she looked quite pretty.
"Second sister-in-law, why are you staring at me like that?"
Jiang Lan frowned. She didn't have a very good relationship with her second and third sisters-in-law. One was taciturn and very tight-fisted, while the other spoke without thinking and had a loud voice. Jiang's eldest sister-in-law had married into the family early. At that time, Jiang's mother was very busy, and it was Jiang's eldest sister-in-law who took care of Jiang Lan when she was five or six years old.
"No, it's just that I feel my sister-in-law has become prettier."
Mu Yi'an wasn't lying. In the past month or so, Jiang Lan had been eating well at her aunt's house, and her physical development had become quite noticeable.
No one dislikes being praised, and Jiang Lan was no exception. After hearing Mu Yi'an's words, she finally showed her first smile since returning.
"Mother, little sister, you're back?"
Jiang Shuyun came out of the study, looked at Jiang Lan who was both familiar and unfamiliar, greeted her, and then said nothing more.
"Shuyun, it's good that you're out. Let's move all these things into my room together. They're all gifts from your aunt."
Jiang's mother was a little tired, mainly mentally. Jiang Lan, having stayed at her aunt's house, had become a little restless.
Jiang Shuyun kept moving things with her head down, and Li Qiuniang and Mu Yi'an also helped. The other children watched the adults busy, but they just found it interesting.
Shao Ming didn't join in the fun; he stayed by the crib, watching over his younger sister.
After all the things were moved into Jiang's mother's room, Mu Yi'an and the others left without lingering. As for what their aunt had given them, they weren't interested.
It was getting late, and the children from the neighboring school were starting to let out; their excited footsteps were clearly audible. Mu Yi'an sighed inwardly, "No matter the era, children always love leaving school!"
Li Qiuniang began preparing the meal, and Mu Yi'an went to help, while Jiang Zhonglin took the children to wash their hands. By the time Jiang's father and eldest brother returned, dinner was already set out.
"Let's eat."
Jiang's father changed his clothes and came out, followed closely by Jiang's mother, and the others took their seats one after another.
"Is this what we're having for dinner?"
Jiang Lan frowned as she looked at the stir-fried green beans with pork, steamed buns made from mixed flour, and porridge on the table.
"Haven't we always eaten like this at home? How come my sister-in-law doesn't even recognize her own house after staying away for a few days?"
Li Qiuniang has a quick temper. Her sister-in-law would immediately find fault with the dinner she made, so how could she be happy about it?
"Third sister-in-law, I didn't say anything. It's just that I've gotten used to having four dishes for every meal at my aunt's house recently, and I haven't been able to adjust yet."
Jiang Lan sighed softly, reluctantly picking up her chopsticks as if the food in front of her was poison rather than food.
"Jiang Lan, if you don't want to eat, you can leave the table. If you feel that the house can't meet your needs, I'll have someone send you to your aunt's house right now."
Jiang's mother spoke in a very unfriendly tone, saying, "A son doesn't despise his mother for being ugly, and a dog doesn't despise his home for being poor. This child has been blinded by wealth."
Because of her mother's words, Jiang Lan lowered her head, ate her food in small bites, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't dare to let them fall.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one; in the main bedroom, someone was still awake.
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