“Pour me a glass of water first,” Wen Jiajia said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her hair was already wet with sweat.

Wei Dai poured her a cup of warm water and then went in to clean the stove.

The stove is relatively easy to clean, mainly because every household doesn’t have much oil or water at this time, so there is not much old oil on the stove, but there is some old ash from the smoke.

Wei Dai worked quickly. In just over ten minutes, he had cleaned the stove, including the inside of the stove, the wall beside the stove, and the place where firewood was placed.

The busy morning passed by.

After cleaning the kitchen, there was also laundry, quilts, and even the walls of the house…

Although he was not at work, he was busier than the team members who were at work.

Wei Dai was also exhausted. After hanging the last piece of clothes in the front yard, he asked, “What should I do with the chickens at home?”

Wen Jiajia had thought about this question before, and she even specifically inquired about whether it was possible to bring chickens and ducks on the train in this era.

The answer is some can, some can’t.

According to people who have taken the train, several trains in their city are not working.

Wen Jiajia asked, “How about leaving them with our parents?”

Wei Dai: “How about killing them and taking them away?”

It only takes about ten hours at most, and there is no need to worry about the meat going bad.

Wen Jiajia: “I can’t kill it. I still have four chickens at home, and three of them are egg-laying hens. It would be a pity to kill them and eat them.”

She sighed, “Let’s keep them.”

Let them contribute some eggs.

We had lunch at Wei’s house.

Wei Dai came back on a 28-inch bicycle, and Wen Jiajia, Wen Chun, Wen Xuan, and a few chickens could all be taken away together.

After arriving in Hegou Township, Wen Jiajia was completely freed from housework.

Someone cooks the meals, someone sweeps the floor, and even someone washes the clothes.

Well, Wei Dai did the laundry.

Wen Jiajia is not that crazy. She stays in bed early in the morning and leaves her clothes for her mother-in-law to wash.

“Ah, things far away smell good; things near up smell bad; things far away smell good; things near up smell bad.”

Wen Jiajia lay on the bed, pedaling with her legs in the air. Life was so comfortable that she regretted not living in Wei’s house. This was the only way she could comfort herself.

Today is Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival is highly valued in the local area, and it is said that the Chinese New Year is over after the Lantern Festival.

In the past, on the Lantern Festival, the countryside would invite theater troupes to perform and even hold temple fairs.

Now? It would be good enough if we could hire a projection team to show a movie.

It’s a rare reunion during the Lantern Festival, and even Sister Wei took time out to come, so Wei’s parents prepared a sumptuous meal.

What’s there? Braised fish, pig’s feet stewed with soybeans, stuffed tofu, and braised pork with taro.

It can be said that she likes to eat everything.

Father Wei’s cooking skills are pretty good. Wen Jiajia’s mouth was watering when he started cooking, and she looked at Wei Dai eagerly.

Wei Dai touched his nose and said, “Don’t be greedy, don’t be greedy. Let me pick some for you to eat first.”

Wen Jiajia glared at him and said unhappily, “Idiot!”

Is that what she meant?

What she meant was that she hoped Wei Dai could learn more, and if he had this skill, she would take Wei Dai with her wherever she went.

The stupid guy looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him and his wife. Then, Wen Jia quickly hit Wei Dai twice.

Wei Dai immediately surrendered with both hands: “Okay, no, no.” She was obviously greedy, but she refused to admit it.

Wen Jiajia puffed her cheeks and refused to admit that she was greedy.

The interaction between the young couple was actually seen by Sister Wei, who was standing at the door. She didn’t dare to go in, so she waited outside the door and only went in after the couple calmed down.

Although Sister Wei is the oldest among four siblings, she is very afraid of her younger brother.

When she insisted on marrying her current husband, her second brother scolded her harshly.

Since then, her nose is not a nose, her eyes are not eyes, her face is expressionless, but her body exudes an aura of dislike from the inside out.

It means that things have been a little quiet in the past two years; otherwise, she would not be happy to come back and see her family’s cold faces.

When Sister Wei passed by Wei Dai, she subconsciously slowed down her footsteps, went to the kitchen, and quietly took a rice dumpling. Just as she was about to leave, she felt it was not enough, so she took another one and then quietly left.

Wei Chengcai, who was cooking at the side, wanted to say something, but he held it back before he could speak.

It is no exaggeration to say that the eldest daughter is so old that she may become a grandmother in ten years. Even if he cannot bear it, he will hold it back and save some face for her.

Wen Jiajia actually wanted to chat with Sister Wei. She felt that Sister Wei’s appearance really suited her aesthetic taste.

But Wei Dai was not happy about it. In his words, “My eldest sister is a little bit mentally ill, you shouldn’t get too close to her.” He was afraid that his wife would be led astray.

Wen Jiajia became interested: “Why do you say that? If you ask me, Wenzhu is already this old; you should stop being cold to your elder sister. It will make the little girl look bad.”

No matter what, she is still the little girl’s mother.

Wen Jiajia was very close to her adoptive mother in her previous life. Even if they sometimes had conflicts, they were only between mother and daughter.

Wen Jiajia would also get angry if her adoptive father’s family tried to sow discord between her and her adoptive mother.

Wei Dai sneered: “It’s only for Wenzhu’s sake that I won’t bother with her now.”

He paused and said, “My eldest brother-in-law is a bit old now, and he has two children.”

Wen Jiajia understood that this was being a stepmother.

I also understand why Wei Dai dislikes this eldest sister. She leaves her own children, who should be raised by their own parents, but she goes to raise other people’s children.

If this was her biological elder sister, she would also be angry.

But how can I put it? Wen Jiajia felt that her elder sister’s mental state was pretty good.

Look at that hand again, it’s even more tender than Wei Xiaomei’s.

Of course, Wei Xiaomei is a veterinarian, and she is also the professional of the whole commune. She has to climb mountains and wade through water to treat chickens, ducks, cows, sheep, and pigs from time to time. She is usually busy and definitely cannot maintain her health.

As for life, only you know how it feels, and it is difficult for outsiders to explain what goes on between husband and wife.

My eldest sister lives in the next county, but someone sent her back this time and last time.

Wen Jiajia watched from a distance and thought that this man was probably her eldest sister’s husband. Her eldest sister’s husband knew that the Wei family didn’t like him, so he just left after sending her off. When Wei’s eldest sister wanted to go back, he came to pick her up.

This aroused Wen Jiajia’s curiosity. Could it be that her brother-in-law had been staying in the woods during this time?

Wei Dai didn’t say much, but Wen Jiajia learned about her elder sister’s situation from Wei Xiaomei.

She ignored Wei Dai’s words, strolled into the courtyard, looked around, and asked Wei Xin: “Where is the elder sister?”

Wei Xin was feeding the child in her arms malted milk. She looked up and said, “The eldest sister must have brought food to her cowherd… ahem, to her eldest brother-in-law.”

Wen Jiajia burst out laughing, and the child in Wei Xin’s arms kept looking at her.

Wei Xin pursed her lips and smiled: “I’m not afraid of you laughing at me, but my second brother has told you everything about my eldest sister, right?”

Wen Jiajia nodded.

Mrs. Wei, who was picking vegetables nearby, said, “Jia Jia, listen to Wei Dai. Brother Wei Dai thinks the same as Wei Dai, but I think her elder sister is smarter.”

Wen Jiajia nodded. It didn’t matter whether she listened or not. She had to make her own judgment when looking at people and things.

Perhaps fearing that Wei Wenzhu in the room would hear what she said, Mrs. Wei lowered her voice and said, “My brother-in-law works in a machinery factory. He is already a level 7 engineer. If he wants to move up, he will have to work as a deputy chief engineer in the city. From what my sister said just now, he will get a promotion by the end of this year… Ah, my brother-in-law is only about 40 years old. His monthly salary is enough for our family’s annual income. Look at the clothes my sister wears every time she comes back. They are all new.”

As he said this, he sighed and said that it was really hard to predict one’s fate.

Maybe it’s because the Wei family members all worship intellectuals in their bones. Although eldest sister Wei only finished elementary school, all the men she found were intellectuals.

Wen Jiajia was stunned.

And then sighed.

Oh! As the saying goes, if you master mathematics, physics, and chemistry, you will not be afraid to travel around the world.

She studied liberal arts in her previous life. If she had studied science and engineering, she would probably have gone to work in a factory after making her life a little better.

As long as you have technology, you will be popular.

If you work hard and take an exam, you may be able to become a technician.

Sister Wei came back again. When she came over, Wen Jiajia and Mrs. Wei shut up tacitly.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Nothing to talk about.” Wei Xin said, “By the way, sister, is the eldest brother-in-law going to the city at the end of the year?”

Sister Wei asked, “Were you talking about me just now?”

Wen Jiajia: “…”

I really don’t know how to respond to this, so I can only smile awkwardly.

Sister Wei took the child from Wei Xin’s arms and rocked him twice: “You’ve taken such good care of him. Is he still breastfeeding?”

Wei Xin: “I usually feed her with goat milk.”

Sister Wei nodded and said, “My son Xiaoyuan needs milk every day. There is no milk delivery in the county, so I will find a family that raises sheep. When we go to the city at the end of the year, we will be able to order milk.”

Xiaoyuan refers to her own child, Su Zhiyuan, who is only two years old. He is said to be very cute. Although the family doesn’t like Sister Wei and her husband, they still love this grandson very much.

Wen Jiajia guessed that the slight thawing in their relationship in the past two years was probably due to Xiaoyuan.

After all, the child has been born. Is it possible to get divorced?

It was time to eat, and Wei’s parents were so kind that they allowed Sister Wei to bring her husband home for dinner.

This is how people get older: they become more open-minded about many things. If you argue with your daughter, you will end up being the one who gets hurt.

Sister Wei was visibly happy.

This was the first time that Wen Jiajia saw her brother-in-law up close. He looked… how should I put it? Very much like a science and engineering guy.

He was wearing a blue work suit, had a few strands of white hair on his temples, and looked quite elegant. If Sister Wei liked this type of man, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to fall for him.

He was very reserved, and his attitude towards Wei Dai was the same as that towards Sister Wei: somewhat fearful.

Wen Jiajia almost laughed out loud.

“You’re so horrible,” Wen Jiajia whispered to Wei Dai secretly, “You’ll never be a good cop in your life.”

Wei Dai’s face darkened even more.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were finally led to the dining table by Wei Wenzhu. The two girls kept exclaiming “Wow” and their eyes were bigger than copper bells.

“Grandpa, you are a great cook!” Wen Xuan praised hurriedly, “It smells so good, even better than the dish for killing pigs. It’s the most delicious dish I have ever eaten.”

Good-natured Wei Chengcai is rarely praised so openly; he has little authority at home, let alone among his grandchildren.

So when Wen Xuan praised him, his dark face turned red, and he could only smile stiffly, unable to speak.

He secretly passed the chicken leg to Wen Xuan, thought about it, and then passed another one to Wen Chun. It can be seen that this good guy also needs others to provide emotional value, and he is also very happy after being praised.

Wen Jiajia couldn’t stand the flattering Wen Xuan.

She vaguely remembered that Wen Xuan had also said this to her, to the cook at the nursery, and even to Lao Bai.