Chapter 16: The Full Moon Banquet (1)

When Zhang Guihua came over to call for Si Yueyue, An An had just finished eating, and Lele was still asleep. Grandma Zhao told her to go wash up first—if Lele woke up midway, they’d deal with it then.

With her mother-in-law watching the children, Si Yueyue quickly grabbed her clothes and went to the makeshift bath area outside the house to take a shower.

There was a clatter of noise as she bathed.

The moment the water touched her skin, Si Yueyue couldn’t help but feel a rush of emotions in her heart.

“Ah~ It feels like I haven’t bathed in a century. When other people transmigrate, they end up as palace nobles or wealthy heiresses.”

“Why is it that when it comes to me, I end up in the body of a woman giving birth? This past month has been sheer torment.”

After bathing, Si Yueyue looked silently at the tub of murky water.

“I… was actually this dirty? Me? A pristine beauty of the 21st century? A single bath and the water turns this black?”

“Oh my god, no way—I need to sneak into the space next time when no one’s around. This just doesn’t feel clean enough.”

Si Yueyue was still mumbling to herself when she heard Zhang Guihua shouting from outside.

“Yueyue, are you done?”

“Eh, Sis-in-law, I’m done. Coming out now.”

Si Yueyue quickly dried herself off and packed up her clothes and other items. Seeing that everything was in order, she stepped out of the bathing area.

“Hurry up, Lele’s awake and crying his lungs out. Wrap your hair up. I’ll help you wipe it later after I’m done with things here.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll go over right now. Um… sorry about the dirty water, Sis-in-law.”

“Hey, don’t mention it. Just go.”

“Mm-hmm, thanks, Sis-in-law. I’m off!”

Zhang Guihua shook her head with a chuckle as she watched her sister-in-law dart away like the wind.

Inside the second room, Grandma Zhao was distressed to see her little grandson crying his heart out.

“There, there, Lele, don’t cry. Mom’s coming soon. Don’t cry…”

“Wah… wah wah…”

“Lele, Mom’s here.” As soon as Si Yueyue got near the room, she heard her youngest son wailing and immediately called out.

“Lele, Mom’s here, Mom’s here, it’s okay now, don’t cry.”

Just as Grandma Zhao was speaking, Si Yueyue burst through the door, quickly shut it behind her, and rushed to feed her younger son.

Once Lele latched onto her breast, he stopped crying. Si Yueyue looked down at her baby in her arms, wiped away her imaginary sweat, and thought to herself how frantic she had just been.

Grandma Zhao, watching her little grandson suckling eagerly, sighed and said: “Aiya~ look how hungry my poor little grandson was.”

It was only then that Si Yueyue realized she hadn’t covered herself. She silently reached for a nearby piece of clothing and draped it over herself.

Zhao Cuilan noticed her second daughter-in-law’s subtle movement and couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

As if no one else has ever breastfed before.

Oh well, she decided not to stick around and be a nuisance.

“You feed the baby first. I’m going to wash up too.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Outside.

Zhang Guihua was helping her three kids bathe. While washing Lei Qingyun, she said:

“How did you get so filthy? It’s only been two days since you last bathed and you’re already this dirty. Did you bring half the dirt pile back onto the kang bed?”

“Mommy, that’s not true! Xiao Yun didn’t bring dirt onto the bed. Ask Brother if you don’t believe me!”

“Then explain—how did you get this dirty?”

“Um… Xiao Yun doesn’t know either. It just happened.”

That confident tone made Zhang Guihua both frustrated and amused.

“If you get this dirty again, I’ll have you sleep in the chicken coop with the old hens. Don’t stink up your brother.”

“Mommy, people can’t sleep in chicken coops! They’re too small. Xiao Yun is this big.” As he spoke, he drew two circles—one big, one small—on his chest to show Zhang Guihua.

“It’s fine. Mommy will have your dad build you a bigger nest.”

Lei Qingyun blinked his big eyes at his mother. “Mommy~”

Zhang Guihua squinted at her youngest son. “You’re not allowed to do this again, got it? If you’re dirty, you have to wash up. No clean, no bed.”

“Got it!”

“Alright, alright, come out now. Grandma still needs to bathe. Don’t hog the spot.”

Outside, the family bustled with cheerful bathing sounds. Inside, after nursing the baby, Si Yueyue hurried to dry her hair…

That night, everyone in the household enjoyed a refreshing bath, ready to welcome the next day’s full moon banquet.

Early morning.

Members of the Lei family got up one after another. Since it was the full moon banquet for the two grandsons, everyone in the family had taken time off from work.

It also happened to be Saturday, so the children didn’t have school either. The house was particularly lively.

Lei Jun was the first to rise in the family. He thought he’d take a quick trip up the mountain before guests started arriving, hoping to find something to add to his two nephews’ full moon banquet.

Once her husband woke up, Zhang Guihua also got up—there was plenty of work to do at home today.

Soon after, the family patriarch, Lei Dashu, and Grandma Zhao also woke up.

“Mom, there’s porridge simmering in the pot. Can you watch it? I’ll go wash clothes down by the river.”

“I’ll go with you. More hands, quicker work. Let your old man watch the porridge.”

Hearing this from under the eaves, Lei Dashu nodded and shouted: “You two go ahead, I’ll watch the pot.”

Since the head of the household had spoken, Zhang Guihua didn’t argue. She picked up a wooden tub full of dirty clothes and headed off with her mother-in-law to the river.

Over at Si Yueyue’s room.

After waking up, she first fed both sons and soothed them back to sleep before stepping out of the room.

By this time, the kids in the house were all up. Grandma Zhao and Zhang Guihua were hanging up laundry, while Eldest Uncle had just returned from the mountain with over a dozen wild eggs.

“Dad, Mom.”

“Eh? Why are you out? The kids awake?”

“They just woke and I got them back to sleep. I came out to see if there’s anything I can help with.”

“There’s not much going on—everyone’s already split up the work.”

“Exactly. Just go back and keep an eye on the kids. If they wake up crying and no one hears, they’ll wear out their throats.”

“Mom, it’s fine. They just fell asleep again. They won’t wake so soon.”

Grandma Zhao thought for a moment. “Alright. After breakfast, I’ll assign you something.”

“Okay.”

After breakfast, Grandma Zhao had Lei Qingyao and her younger brother go to the second room to look after An An and Lele.

The rest of the family got busy washing vegetables, slicing meat, borrowing tables and chairs…

Seeing her mother-in-law giving out all the instructions while completely ignoring her, Si Yueyue had no choice but to step forward and volunteer.

“Mom, how about I cook today? What dishes are we planning?” Si Yueyue asked as she rolled up her sleeves.

“That won’t do. How can you stand for so long? What if the kids start crying and you have to go back to them?”

“Then I’ll just make two dishes. You and Sister-in-law can do the rest. Would that be okay?”

“But you—”

“Mom~ I’ve been married into the family for a year, and no one’s tasted my cooking yet. Let me cook this time, please.”

Si Yueyue had gotten pregnant not long after marrying into the Lei family, so the family hadn’t let her do any heavy work.

Even when she did cook, it was usually just thin porridge or stir-fried greens—simple stuff. No one had ever tasted her full-on cooking.

Otherwise, if she suddenly showed cooking skills out of nowhere, the family might get suspicious.

Grandma Zhao gave her second daughter-in-law a sideways glance. This girl was quite good at acting sweet.

“Alright, fine. You can cook. We’re feeding a big family, so just two tables is enough. Six dishes per table. These are the ingredients we’ve prepared—do as you see fit.”

“Got it, Mom.”

“Guihua, help Yueyue out here. I’ll go check if anything else needs doing.”

“Okay!”

Once her mother-in-law had left the kitchen, Zhang Guihua looked at her sister-in-law. “Yueyue, what dishes are you planning to make?”

“Hmm… Braised pork with eggs, cabbage stewed with vermicelli, radish meatballs, cold cabbage salad, and a little pickled side dish.”

“What kind of pickled side dish?”

Si Yueyue gave a mischievous smile. “Hehe… You’ll see when it’s done. Could you help me pick some yardlong beans and green peppers? And peel a few baby potatoes too?”

“Sure. I’ll head to the kitchen garden. You start on the other stuff.”

“Okay.”

After Zhang Guihua left, Si Yueyue secretly pulled out some oil and seasoning from the space and set them aside for use…

In the main room, Lei Yu saw his sister-in-law hurrying out with a basket and called out: “Sister-in-law, where you headed? Need help?”

“Going to pick vegetables from the garden. You go peel some baby potatoes for me.”

“Alright, got it!”

While Zhang Guihua was picking vegetables, Si Yueyue took out a small piece of meat from the space, blanched it in hot water, then boiled the eggs and peeled them.

She cooked the meat into braised pork, pan-fried the eggs until golden and slightly crinkled, then tossed them into the braised pork to simmer together. After it was done, she plated the dish, cutting the eggs into smaller pieces.

Outside, as Lei Yu peeled potatoes, he sniffed the air hard.

“What’s that smell? Smells amazing!”

“Mom, did you smell that? Smells incredible…”

Grandma Zhao had smelled it too. “Look at you drooling. Did I starve you, huh?”

“Hehe~ Not really.”

“Alright, keep peeling. Your sister-in-law’s waiting on those.”

“Okay, okay, got it.”