Chapter 4: Breakfast at the Fu Family  

Su Ruanruan and Fu Wenjing headed to the largest private plot of land owned by the Fu Family. It was some distance from the Fu Family’s residence, but it was close to the river, making it very convenient for fetching water and irrigation.  

When they arrived, they saw Fu Chunshan standing at the edge of the field with his hands clasped behind his back.  

Fu Chunshan was Fu Wenjing’s father and the Brigade Leader of the Hongqi Production Brigade. He is 58 years old this year.  

Fu Chunshan had married early—more precisely, people of his generation all married early and had children young.  

He had married at eighteen, and by the following year, he had his first child. After that, the children came one after another, and in total, he had seven sons.  

Eldest Son Fu was 39 year old, a full 14 years older than Fu Wenjing.  

Like his father, Eldest Son Fu had also married young and had children early. His eldest daughter was already 20; she’s 2 years older than Su Ruanruan. She had married last year and moved to a neighboring brigade.  

In this era, it was common for people of the same age—or close in age—to belong to different generations within a family.  

Su Ruanruan found it somewhat peculiar, but it was not something she couldn’t accept.  

As she looked at Fu Chunshan, he also turned his gaze toward them.  

“Seventh Son, what are you bringing your wife here for?”  

Fu Wenjing led Su Ruanruan to stand before Fu Chunshan and stopped. “Father, I brought Ruanruan to see our family’s private plot. Didn’t you say the land needed watering?”  

“Your brothers are already handling it. You don’t need to. Take your wife back home.”  

Just as Fu Chunshan finished speaking, Eldest Son Fu approached, carrying two buckets of water on a shoulder pole.  

Seeing this, Fu Wenjing stepped forward, helped set the buckets down, and picked up a bamboo pole with a ladle tied to it to scoop water for irrigation.  

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law said she can’t manage cooking alone. Go back and help her with the fire. I’ll take care of things here.”  

At these words, Eldest Son Fu’s face immediately fell. “How can she not manage? Every time it was her turn to cook, didn’t she always do it alone? The older she gets, the fussier she becomes!”  

As he was muttering under his breath, Eldest Son Fu walked off.

From his demeanor, it seemed less like he was going back to help with the fire and more like he was going back to pick a fight.

“All day long, she only knows how to stir up trouble.” Fu Chunshan muttered, casting an annoyed glare at Eldest Son Fu’s retreating figure. But when he turned back to look at Fu Wenjing, his face broke into a smile. “Seventh, take your wife around for a walk. You haven’t been back for years—you probably wouldn’t even recognize our brigade anymore. I can handle things here.”  

Fu Wenjing worked swiftly, nearly finishing an entire bucket of water. Hearing Fu Chunshan’s words, he didn’t stop.  

“Father, you go take care of your work. I’ll be done watering this plot soon, and besides, Ruanruan is here to help me!”  

Fu Chunshan glanced between Fu Wenjing and Su Ruanruan before finally nodding. “Alright, but once you’re done, head back quickly. Breakfast should be ready soon.”  

With his hands clasped behind his back, Fu Chunshan walked away.  

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Su Ruanruan approached Fu Wenjing, intending to help with the watering.  

Before she could get close, Fu Wenjing called out to her.  

“Ruanruan, just stand to the side and keep an eye on things. You don’t need to do anything.”  

Su Ruanruan looked at him in confusion. “Keep an eye on what?”  

“Watch me water the field.”  

“???”  

“It’s just watering. If I still need your help, wouldn’t that make me completely useless?”  

Fu Wenjing spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Somehow, Su Ruanruan even found his reasoning somewhat convincing.  

In the end, Fu Wenjing did all the watering by himself while Su Ruanruan stood at the edge of the field, occasionally chatting with Fu Wenjing.  

Since she retained the Original Owner’s memories, she was quite familiar with the entire Hongqi Production Brigade. No matter what Fu Wenjing asked, she was able to answer.  

By the time Fu Wenjing finished watering the vegetable field, Su Ruanruan had also told him nearly everything about the brigade’s current situation.  

When the two of them returned to the Fu Family’s house, breakfast was already prepared, and everyone else had also come back. The household had dozens of members, making the place lively and bustling.  

“Seventh and Seventh’s Wife are back!” Liu Xiue’s voice carried a mocking tone. “The food’s already on the table, and you two just happen to come back now—talk about perfect timing.”  

“Eldest Son’s Wife, even when it’s time to eat, you still can’t keep your mouth shut. If you don’t feel like eating, go to the fields and work right now!”  

The one who spoke was Fu Chunshan’s wife, Wang Maoni.  

Wang Maoni was the same age as Fu Chunshan—58 yeard old. She was about 1.6 meters tall, of medium build, with her hair neatly combed and pinned at the back of her head, giving off an aura of sharpness and efficiency.

Although Wang Maoni was older now, her features still showed that she had been a beautiful woman in her youth.  

Among her seven sons, Fu Wenjing resembled Wang Maoni the most. As the youngest son, he had joined the military at a young age and had been away for many years. Because of this, Wang Maoni could never dote on him enough.  

Since Su Ruanruan was the daughter-in-law Wang Maoni had carefully chosen for her youngest son, she naturally received extra protection as well.  

Being scolded in front of the whole family, Liu Xiue pouted in dissatisfaction. “Everyone says the youngest son is the eldest grandson, the apple of the parents’ eye. Mother, since you dote on your youngest daughter-in-law so much, you should also show the same affection when Da Wa’s wife joins the family in the future.”  

Wang Maoni shot Liu Xiue an annoyed look. “I can’t even see even the shadow of Da Wa’s wife. What am I supposed to dote on? Thin air?”  

Liu Xiue had been rebuffed by Wang Maoni again, but instead of being upset, she looked rather excited. “Mother, speaking of that, I was just about to tell you—I’ve found a girl. She’s perfect in every way and a great match for our Da Wa.”  

She then added smugly: “She even graduated from high school. Just the right kind of wife for the Fu Family’s eldest grandson!”  

As she said this last sentence, Liu Xiue glanced at Su Ruanruan, her eyes full of pride.  

Su Ruanruan found the look completely baffling.  

So what if the girl had graduated from high school?

What did that have to do with her?

Why was Liu Xiue looking at her like that?  

Although her current body had only graduated from middle school, before she came here, Su Ruanruan had completed her graduate studies. She had never missed a single day of education, nor had she skipped any of the knowledge she was supposed to learn.  

Wang Maoni didn’t immediately respond to Liu Xiue. Instead, she waved at the crowd. “Don’t just stand there—sit down and eat. Everyone has work to do later!”  

With so many people in the Fu Family, one table was not enough.  

As long as the weather was good, they would set up several tables in the courtyard, and the entire family would eat outside.  

Since Fu Wenjing hadn’t been home for so many years, now that he was back, he couldn’t be close enough to his parents. Naturally, he sat next to Fu Chunshan. He also pulled Su Ruanruan to sit beside him.  

Liu Xiue, eager to continue her conversation with Wang Maoni, sat directly next to her.  

At that time, countryside meals were quite simple. The table was filled with food, but there was little to no meat.  

There were golden steamed cornmeal buns and porridge with barely any rice grains in it.  

A bowl of homemade fermented soybean paste sat in the middle, accompanied by freshly washed spring onions and small radishes, which could be dipped in the paste and eaten directly.  

Stir-fried eggplant, green beans, and green peppers made up the only hot dish.  

Additionally, there were homemade pickles, including radish strips and mustard root.