Lin Shu and Lin Xia were about to burst with laughter.

Lin Yue was still puzzled.

Why was his grandmother wearing such tattered clothes during the New Year when she hadn’t done so before?

Panpan looked meaningfully at Grandma-Aunt Xie and Grand-Uncle Xie, and also searched for Second Uncle Xie and his wife, sighing heavily as if to accuse them of being unfilial.

How could they let the old lady wear such shabby clothes?

From start to finish, Second Uncle Xie had not appeared because Aunt Xie and Big Uncle Xie had sent him away.

They were worried he would interfere while they pressured Lin Shu and others for money.

Second Uncle Xie and Second Aunt Xie were like the workhorses of the Xie family.

Even during the New Year, they didn’t get a break and were busy weaving grass baskets in their small room.

Although Second Aunt Xie had some intellectual challenges, she was strong and managed to do the work well.

Second Uncle Xie taught her to weave grass baskets, which earned them a lot of work points every year and extra money during the New Year.

When Panpan was tired of telling stories, she and Tiantian went around the great-grandmother’s house to have a look.

To them, the Xie family’s courtyard was so small that it felt like you reached the end quickly.

Due to their storytelling talents, the neighbors found them fascinating and even their walk seemed particularly charming.

The two kids wandered into Second Uncle Xie’s room.

The room was indeed very small, smaller than their own grass hut. It had only a small kang (heated bed), covered with a shabby cotton quilt.

Besides that, the room was bare.

In the dead of winter, the room was as cold as an ice cellar, making the kids shiver.

Second Uncle Xie and Second Aunt Xie were busy weaving grass baskets.

Their hands were covered in frostbite, oozing and bleeding, but they continued to work, wiping their dirty hands on ragged cloths to avoid soiling the woven grass.

When they saw the two well-fed children enter, they were momentarily stunned and didn’t know what to do.

Even though it was their own home, they felt awkward and didn’t know where to put their hands and feet.

Panpan: “Second Grand-Uncle?”

Second Uncle Xie’s eyes reddened with emotion, but he timidly didn’t dare to respond, fearing he might scare the children.

Second Aunt Xie also wanted to find something to give the children to eat, but on New Year’s Eve, they only had boiled sweet potato scraps, which were dark and bitter.

There wasn’t much of it, and it barely filled them up, so there was nothing else for the children.

Both of them lowered their heads in shame, feeling guilty and embarrassed.

Tiantian took out two pieces of white rabbit milk candy from her pocket and said, “People who still work during the New Year are the most hardworking. Our commune’s secretary Grandpa said that such people should be rewarded.”

She offered the candy to them.

Seeing those tender, chubby little hands, tears started streaming down their faces.

In this lifetime, no one has ever been so generous to them, giving them candy?

Oh my God.

This must be a dream.

Xie Erji quickly wiped his eyes with his rough, blood-stained hands and stammered, “No, no, don’t eat it, you, you eat it.”

Panpan reached out and helped stuff the candy into his mouth.

Xie Erji, who had lost a few teeth due to malnutrition, managed to get the candy into his mouth smoothly, and immediately a sweet, milky flavor he had never tasted before spread across his tongue.

Aunt Xie, Eldest Brother Xie, and several children were heartbroken.

Actually, a piece of milk candy wouldn’t make them so green with envy, but since they thought Xie Erji didn’t deserve it, the jealousy towards the candy doubled.

Several people’s eyes were fixed on Xie Erji and Second Aunt Xie.

Panpan did the same for Second Aunt Xie, stuffing the candy into her mouth.

Erji Ma(Second Aunt Xie) was even more awkward, not daring to close her mouth, letting saliva mix with the candy and drop onto the grass mat.

She fumbled to pick it up.

She had never seen this before and knew it must be very expensive; she didn’t deserve it.

Panpan said, “Hurry and eat it. This is a reward!”

Xie Erji didn’t dare look at Eldest Brother Xie and the others outside, trembling as he put the milk candy into his wife’s mouth, letting her savor the taste slowly.

In his lifetime, he had never tasted such a sweet milk flavor.

He had never tasted his mother’s milk.

When he was little, he secretly asked his older sister.

She said she couldn’t remember, but later said it was a little bit sweet.

This milk candy is so sweet.

Is it even better than mother’s milk?

Seeing them eat the candy, Panpan and Tiantian left the cold little house and said to the neighbors in the yard, “Look, my second granduncle and second grandma-aunt are really the hardest working. What about my granduncle? Why isn’t he working? My grandmother says the eldest brother is a role model for the family and should set an example. If he slacks off, he should be beaten with a stick.”

Big Aunt Xie really wanted to strangle those two dead children and throw them out!

She had been serving them for most of the day!

She smiled and said, “Tiantian, don’t you still have some White Rabbit milk candy in your pocket? Give some to your brothers.”

The granddaughter said no.

Tiantian patted her bulging pocket and said, “No, really none left.”

During the New Year, every time she went out, her grandparents and uncles would stuff her pockets full and tell her to be generous to any friendly kids she met.

She had given out several pieces before, but Panpan hadn’t even given away half a piece.

She liked this milk candy herself, too.

“Can’t divide it up.”

“You folks didn’t work during the New Year, so you don’t need a reward.”

This Second Grand-Uncle Xie was very similar to her Second Uncle.

Her Second Uncle was also hardworking, never idling at home, so she wanted to reward him.

Of course, her Second Uncle wasn’t as pitiful as Second Grand-Uncle Xie.

Her Second Uncle had thick cotton clothes and pants, and he even complained that they were inconvenient for work, asking for thinner ones to be made.

Second Grand-Uncle Xie’s cotton pants, hmm, they probably didn’t have any cotton in them, just all patched up.

After patrolling the Xie family’s house, Panpan brought up the debt issue again, “Grandma-Aunt Xie, if you repay the money you owe my mother soon, she will be able to take better care of Great-Grandma. Great-Grandma doesn’t even have decent cotton pants.”

Aunt Xie struggled, “I’ll give the money to your Great-Grandma too; consider it as your mother’s respect.”

Tiantian was unhappy, “How can it be the same? My grandmother said that you can’t be a good person just by talking. If you use my things to look good, people will think it’s all you. What about my mother?”

Aunt Xie wished she could throw them out, throw them into the mountain ravine.

Damn it, why didn’t that cursed blacksmith take these two little pests away?

Seeing that some neighbors were still lingering, she began to force a smile and shoo them away, “It’s noon; go home and make lunch.”

“Oh, it’s the New Year, it’s fine to eat a few times, no rush.”

“Yes, we just finished eating.”

Aunt Xie, annoyed, said, “It’s the third day of the New Year. Aren’t you going back to your family? Don’t your daughters visit?”

“Visiting is just a way to socialize, look at how lively these relatives are. They’re better than anything.”

“Not really. It’s been years since the village had stilt walking or yangge dance. These two kids are more exciting than any stage show.”

Inside the house, Xie Laotai(Great-Grandma Xie) asked Lin Shu and Lin Yue how they were doing, deliberately ignoring Lin Xia.

She had always been like this, playing favorites with her children and grandchildren.

Though she wasn’t a big shot, she had mastered this power play, lifting one up while putting another down, making everyone curry favor with her.

When Lin Xia was young, she had caused a big scene at her maternal grandmother’s house because of this behavior, and after that, she never visited again.

For many years, Xie Laotai continued with this routine.

Only a fool would fall for it.

Xie Laotai had once favored Elder Sister Lin while putting Lin Xia down.

Later, when Grandma Lin intervened, she turned her favor to Lin Shu, trying to manipulate her marriage, but Grandma Lin interfered again.

Xie Laotai had always hated Grandma Lin but took pride in her own longevity, believing that living a long life was the real achievement.

Lin Shu smiled at Xie Laotai and said, “Grandma, Second Sister is really impressive at work, and now she’s even helping to bring electricity to the countryside. It’s possible that we might get electric lights here thanks to her efforts.”

Just think about it. Haha.

Old Lady Xie couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked at Lin Xia.

Did this simpleton really have such ability?

Lin Xia smiled and said, “Yes.”

She then surveyed Old Lady Xie’s room, “If the electricity comes through, you can put the lightbulb here. The switch can be on the side where you can reach it easily; just pull the string to turn the light on or off. No need for an oil lamp.”

Old Lady Xie looked up, and her mind immediately started calculating.

Could this simpleton really be that capable?

She smiled and said, “Well, you’ve really got some skills.”

When the simpleton finally brings electricity to her village, she’ll make sure to promote the good deeds of the Xie family throughout the village.

“My granddaughter helps you with electricity; shouldn’t you show your gratitude?”

Even if they don’t give eggs or money, they should at least remember the favor.

In the future, her family would have extra face in the village, and everyone would have to smile along with them.

She quickly planned to have her eldest daughter-in-law and eldest granddaughter-in-law hint to the village women that the first to come to her place to sign up would be the first to get electricity.

She hadn’t even considered asking Lin Xia whether it was possible, and just assumed it would happen.

As for Panpan’s suggestion about repaying the money, Old Lady Xie didn’t take it seriously.

Borrowing money is easy, but paying it back is hard.

It’s not so easy to repay, is it?

Besides, the eldest daughter-in-law would probably just spend the money herself rather than handing it over to her for safekeeping.

It would never be repaid.