Chapter 18

When Jiang Chunzao brought little Shitou and little Moli to the house to deliver beef noodles, Mother Lu was at home, busy with preparing winter clothes.

The Lu family had many people, and Mother Lu was getting on in years. She didn’t need to worry about the other family members; she only took care of her own old husband’s food and clothing.

Mother Lu lived frugally, and she controlled all the family finances. She knew exactly how much the Lu family spent on food and drink throughout the year, keeping a mental account of everything.

Because the Lu family didn’t have much in terms of food and clothing, Liu Hongyan had often secretly complained to Lu Ershan, saying that Mother Lu was biased.

The whole family worked in the fields to earn work points, and the third son’s family sent ten yuan a month to support the parents, while Mother Lu could save quite a bit of money each year. They ate sweet potatoes and dry vegetables all the time, which made the people suffer.

Mother Lu naturally didn’t know that her second daughter-in-law was complaining about her behind her back. If she found out, she’d probably just scold Liu Hongyan harshly.

As for the Lu family, the only people Mother Lu truly cared about in her lifetime were her husband, Father Lu, and her eldest grandson, Lu Xuedong. There was no need to mention Father Lu; they had spent their whole lives together as an old married couple, so who else would she care for if not her own husband?

As for her eldest grandson, Lu Xuedong, Mother Lu cherished him deeply, partly because he was the eldest son and grandson of the Lu family, so she naturally loved him more. Another reason was that Lu Xuedong himself was impressive—he was good at studying, smart, and had a good personality.

When Mother Lu walked through the village, everyone in the village would give a thumbs-up when talking about her eldest grandson, Lu Xuedong. Mother Lu felt proud when she heard this, and she loved her grandson even more for bringing her honor.

Today, with no one around at home, Mother Lu secretly took out the new fabric she had gotten for her eldest grandson and husband, thinking that since the weather was good outside, she would wash the new fabric and make a new cotton-padded jacket for both her husband and grandson.

As Mother Lu hummed a little tune while working on the clothes on the kang, she was just about to start on her husband’s jacket after finishing with her grandson’s. It was only then that she realized—didn’t the third daughter-in-law say she was going to make a cotton-padded jacket for her husband?

Wasn’t she just wasting her time?

Thinking of this, Mother Lu became angry. That unfilial woman from the third son’s family—her husband earns a lot of money, and she was so stingy, only thinking about making clothes for Old Lu. Why didn’t she think about making a new outfit for her as well?

In the end, it was all because the third son was unfilial and married such a troublesome woman!

Mother Lu had forgotten that it was her own scheming that led to Lu Lin marrying Jiang Chunzao. She was so upset that she didn’t think straight.

Just then, she heard the sound of the front door slamming. When Mother Lu went to open the door, she saw Jiang Chunzao smiling, holding two children and three bowls of beef noodles, standing at the doorstep.

Mother Lu was already in a bad mood, and seeing Jiang Chunzao with the children naturally put her in a worse mood.

Jiang Chunzao, who had originally come with good intentions, sincerely wanting to deliver the beef noodles to Father Lu and his wife out of respect for Lu Lin, noticed the cold look on Mother Lu’s face. So, she didn’t indulge her temper. She said: “We made beef noodles at home today, so I brought a few bowls for Dad and my elder brother and sister-in-law to try.”

After saying this, Jiang Chunzao didn’t wait for Mother Lu’s response. She directly entered the house, placed the noodles in the main room, and with a graceful turn, left with her two children.

Mother Lu was left standing there, speechless, watching the trio leave, so angry that she couldn’t utter a word.

Mother Lu continued to sulk at home, waiting for the rest of the family to return from work. Once everyone was home, she let out all her frustrations, and Father Lu, knowing his wife well, realized that most likely this time it was his wife who had been unreasonable. He didn’t pay any attention to Mother Lu’s ranting and simply said: “Do you want to eat this beef noodle? If you don’t, then I’ll give it to the eldest family!”

Mother Lu, who had been shouting angrily a moment ago, suddenly went silent. She looked at the steaming bowl of beef noodles, the rich aroma of the meat filling the air. She wanted to have some pride and shout at Father Lu, saying “I’m not eating!” But the hunger in her stomach prevented her from saying such words. In the end, Mother Lu could only eat her words and, with a red face, said:

“I’ll eat it. This is the third son’s offering to his mother. Why wouldn’t I eat it?”

After saying this, Mother Lu shamelessly grabbed a bowl of beef noodles and began to eat, slurping up the noodles and soup, clearly enjoying it.

The Lu family: …….

Slap, slap, slap

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The chaos in the old Lu family’s courtyard didn’t affect Lu Lin’s family. Since the weather was unusually cool tonight, Lu Lin’s family sat outside in the yard enjoying the breeze.

Lu Lin set a small square table in the yard, with freshly cut large watermelons from his own farm placed on top.

To the east of Lu Family Village, there was a large sandy plot of land. Every spring, the villagers planted watermelons there, and by summer, when they were ripe, a portion was handed over to the commune. The rest of the watermelons were divided among the households in the village.

Villagers could either sell them in the city for money or keep them at home to eat—it was entirely up to them.

This summer, the watermelons from the sandy land were all perfectly round, and when cut open, the flesh was vibrant red and juicy. Taking a bite, it was all sweet.

Lu Lin knew his wife and kids loved watermelon, so when the village distributed the melons this year, he happened to be home. The village allocated fifty watermelons to the Lu family, and their third branch also received twenty large, round watermelons.

Lu Lin carried all twenty of the big watermelons home in one trip. Jiang Chunzao and the two children saw the big watermelons, and their smiles were so wide they looked like they were grinning ear to ear. The three of them were so happy that Lu Lin couldn’t help but smile as well.

As for the thirty watermelons allocated to the old Lu family’s courtyard, Mother Lu made the decision to have her two sons, Lu Dashan and Lu Ershan, take them to the city to sell.

Jiang Chunzao, content, sat back in a chair at home with an ice-cold watermelon she had just pulled from the well. The two children, Shitou and Moli, each held a small piece of watermelon, eating happily like little squirrels.

Jiang Chunzao glanced at her daughter, Moli, who was eating watermelon with her head down. The little girl’s small pigtail was bouncing up and down, making her look so cute that Jiang Chunzao just wanted to ruffle her hair!

Feeling playful, Jiang Chunzao reached out her hand to ruffle the soft little head of her daughter. Moli looked up, her big eyes blinking, and in a sweet voice asked: “Mom, what are you doing?”

Jiang Chunzao picked up a small piece of watermelon, smiling as she handed it to Moli’s chubby little hand. “Mom will give Moli some watermelon, and Shitou should eat too. The more watermelon you eat, the faster you’ll grow.”

After Jiang Chunzao spoke, she then handed a piece of watermelon to Shitou.

After hearing this, Shitou puffed out his small chest and made an effort to eat another piece of watermelon.

Seeing how cute Shitou was, Jiang Chunzao reached out and playfully ruffled his little head. But that wasn’t enough for this palyful mom. She looked at both her children’s adorable little faces and gently pinched their chubby cheeks.

Shitou & Moli: “……..”

Mother Jiang, being older, ate one piece of watermelon and then went back to her room to rest.

Meanwhile, Lu Lin, who was sitting nearby enjoying the cool air, only smiled when he saw his wife teasing the children.

Clearly, the two children had often been spoiled with ruffles by their mischievous mom.

The family relaxed and enjoyed the cool evening air in the yard until late at night.

When the children grew tired, their little heads nodding off, Lu Lin took them back to their room to sleep.

Jiang Chunzao was a delicate woman—fragile and tender, and she loved bathing. Every night, she had to take a bath. When she and Lu Lin had just married, he had specifically bought a large wooden bathtub from the county town for her to use.

After Lu Lin had tucked the children into bed, he boiled water for his wife’s bath.

When Jiang Chunzao finished her bath and returned to the room feeling refreshed, Lu Lin quickly took a bath with the remaining water and then went back to the room as well.

Just after finishing her bath and feeling comfortable all over, Jiang Chunzao was sitting by the kang, combing her long, shiny black hair. She heard some movement at the door, and when she looked up, she saw Lu Lin standing there wrapped only in a towel, his dark eyes full of emotions.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Hmm, will she be able to get up tomorrow morning?