Ning Shu woke up early today to send roast ducks to her hometown.

She had prepared four ducks: one each for Lin’s parents, the first house, the second house, and Lin Xiaojing.

This is a signature dish from the capital and quite rare.

If she only sent them to Lin’s parents, they would probably ask her to send some to the first house and the second house as well.

Moreover, she had gotten along well with both the first house and the second house during her last visit.

The main reason is that both the first house and the second house are easygoing families.

Although she had some initial conflicts with Zhang Qinfang from the second house, those issues were resolved, and there have been no further conflicts since then.

Ning Shu is the kind of person who reciprocates respect generously.

In essence, she is doing this to give face to Lin Guodong and Lin’s parents and to keep the Lin family happy.

Out of respect and obligation, she definitely will meet these expectations.

“Yi Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, Mom is going to send things to Grandpa and Grandma. I’ll be back by noon to make lunch,” Ning Shu said.

Her app now has many items, so they can eat well recently.

Especially with Lin Guodong away and the kids at school, she feels much more at ease.

“Got it.”

The three children went to school, and Ning Shu went into the city.

After she finished sending the items at the post office, she placed the items from her app into a basket: ribs, pig’s feet, crabs, and a sack of oranges.

With the restoration of college entrance exams and the rehabilitation of many comrades, those Red Guards have gradually become more low-key, and private trade has increased.

The three children were particularly energetic today.

With their mother back yesterday, they had regained their vitality.

“The duck meat we had yesterday was so delicious; it was brought from the capital by Lin Haizhi’s mom. Do you know the capital? It’s a big city, a very large city.”

“Lin Haizhi and the others will be moving to the capital soon. When I grow up, I’ll go to the capital to find them.”

“We can apply to universities in the capital in the future.”

The classroom echoed with the voices of Yang Wen Jie, He Jia Xing, and Cheng Ying Yong.

The delicious roast duck from yesterday made them develop a special fondness for the capital.

If the duck was so good, there must be many other delicious things there.

“When we get to the capital, we can send you that duck meat,” Er Bao suggested, seeing how much his friends liked it, “But you’ll have to pay for it.”

“Right, why didn’t I think of that?” He Jiaxing’s eyes lit up, “Of course, we’ll pay. We don’t expect to eat for free.”

“Our family wants some too. I told my mom about how delicious the duck meat was yesterday, and she immediately knew it was a special local delicacy from the capital.

She said that if we ever go to the capital, we must try the duck meat. Unfortunately, they don’t have the chance to go, so they can’t try it.” Yang Wen Jie said.

Ying Yong asked, “Is the duck meat expensive? If not, I might buy some myself and surprise my mom.”

Yang Wenjie and He Jiaxing’s eyes lit up, and they looked eagerly at the three brothers.

Yi Bao replied, “You’d need to ask my mom about that.”

He Jiaxing said, “Let’s ask Auntie at lunchtime.”

He licked his lips, hoping they could have lunch at Auntie’s house.

He Jiaxing really liked Ning Shu’s cooking; her meals were just that good.

Kids are like that—when they enjoy a meal from someone, they want to go there often.

Yang Wenjie and Cheng Ying also felt tempted by He Jiaxing’s suggestion.

Over the years, they had enjoyed many meals at Lin’s house and were always warmly welcomed by Ning Shu.

Sometimes they would bring a few dishes from home or get seafood like fish from Haikou to share with Lin’s family.

Er Bao’s eyes sparkled with realization. “You all want to come to my house for a meal, huh?” He, being quite clever, guessed their intentions.

He Jiaxing and the others laughed heartily.

Yi Bao said, “If Mom doesn’t know you want to come, and if she doesn’t cook enough for you, what will we do?”

Yang Wenjie had an idea. “How about we buy some food from the cafeteria?”

The six of them discussed their lunch plans.

Ning Shu, who had already returned from the city, was unaware of these plans.

She began preparing lunch, feeling a bit guilty about sneaking food while her husband was away, but the opportunity was too good to miss.

She planned to make scallion oil crab, sweet and sour pork ribs, and braised pig’s trotters.

She cooked the trotters for two hours until they were as soft as buns.

Along with these three dishes, she made a stir-fried vegetable and a radish dish.

The meal was quite generous for her family of four.

However, Ning Shu underestimated the situation.

“Mom… Mom…” At lunchtime, Er Bao rushed home, “Mom, Yang Wenjie and the others want to come over for lunch.”

Before Ning Shu could respond, Yi Bao arrived and said, “We weren’t sure if you had extra food, so Yang Wenjie said they’d buy some from the cafeteria. Is that okay?”

“Sure, let them come over. There might not be enough rice, but we can see how much food we have after they bring the food from the cafeteria. It might be a bit tight with three growing boys.” Ning Shu thought her cooking might not be enough.

As for the dishes, there was still quite a bit of braised pig’s trotters in the pot.

She planned to…

Ning Shu had originally planned to store the duck in the refrigerator and take some out when needed.

However, with Yang Wenjie and the others coming for lunch, she decided to serve a bowl of it now.

After waiting for about half an hour, Yang Wen Jie and the other two arrived.

Each person carried two lunchboxes: one with rice and the other with vegetables.

“Aunt, today we have braised pork!” He Jiaxing excitedly opened his lunchbox to reveal the braised pork inside.

“I also made braised pork,” Yang Wen Jie opened his lunchbox as well.

“So did I,” Cheng Yingyong also had braised pork.

In the cafeteria, braised pork was always the most popular dish.

Looking at the three lunchboxes of braised pork, Ning Shu wondered if she had made too much meat today.

“Well, you can all eat a little more today,” Ning Shu said with a smile.

The dining table was already set with dishes.

Besides the food, there were also two beautiful plates of oranges, bright yellow and orange, which added color, aroma, and flavor to the table.

“Wow!”

“Aunt made scallion oil crab today,” He Jia Xing quickly took his seat.

They were familiar with scallion oil crab because Ning Shu often traded seafood from Haikou, and they had enjoyed it several times over the years.

“There are also sweet and sour ribs and big pig’s feet,” Er Bao, who had just had meat yesterday, felt hungry again today.

“Let’s start eating. Take your time and don’t rush,” Ning Shu picked up a piece of crab herself first.

The children were polite; although they were seated, they didn’t start eating until Ning Shu did.

Once Ning Shu picked up her chopsticks, they began to eat.

Er Bao grabbed a large crab leg: “The meat in this is so fat.”

With his good teeth, he bit into the crab leg, and the shell cracked.

He then showed a satisfied smile, taking the broken shell out of his mouth and showing off, “Look, isn’t the meat fatty? The crab leg is the best part. I love it the most.”

“There are several,” Yang Wen Xing also took one, bit into it, and then…

…

In Qinglin Bay Production Brigade

While the villagers were working, the mail carrier called out Lin’s father’s name.

“We’re coming, we’re coming…” Lin’s mother had recently been thinking about Lin Guodong and his family of five, wondering if they would come back for the New Year this year.

She didn’t expect a package to arrive at this moment.

The package was definitely sent by the third daughter-in-law.

Thus, under the envious eyes of everyone, Lin’s mother approached the mail carrier.

Lin’s mother took the package from the mail carrier and hurried back home.

Once inside, Lin’s mother opened the package and was stunned to see the roast ducks.

She hadn’t expected the third daughter-in-law to send four roast ducks.

Having never tasted roast duck before, Lin’s mother thought it resembled preserved duck.

In addition to the four roast ducks, there were also a can of milk powder, a pack of fruit candy, a pack of White Rabbit milk candy, and a letter.

Lin’s mother opened the letter and found two meat coupons inside.

Although she had never been to school, she recognized the value of meat coupons.

By noon, the children from the first house and the second house came home from elementary school.

Lin’s mother hurried out and said, “Haicai, your third aunt has sent a letter. Come and read it to Grandma.”

Because Haicai had a good relationship with the third house and had learned more characters over time, Lin’s mother often asked him to read letters.

Also, Haicai was very tight-lipped.

Although he was naive, he was stubborn and wouldn’t reveal the contents of the letter no matter how much his mother, Qian Ai Fen, asked.

After this happened several times, Qian Ai Fen stopped asking.

There was no need for a mother to make things difficult for her child.

“Coming.” Under the envious gazes of his older siblings, Haicai went to Lin’s mother’s room.

Seeing him enter, Lin’s mother quickly handed him the letter, “Come, look. This is a letter from your third aunt. What does it say?”

“Alright.”

Haicai began reading and translating the letter.

After Hai Cai finished, Lin’s mother remained in shock for a long time.

Initially pleased with the four roast ducks, she was now stunned by the news that the third daughter-in-law had been transferred to the capital.

But Lin’s mother was still quite pleased; this was a promotion after all.

Lin’s mother hurriedly took two handfuls of candy from each pack and gave them to Haicai, saying, “Go and share these with your older brothers and sisters. If there’s any left, you can keep it for yourself.”

“Okay!” Hai Cai bounced happily and ran outside.

Soon, the courtyard was filled with the laughter of children.

When Lin’s father and the couples from the first house and the second house returned from work, Lin’s mother eagerly shared the news about Lin Guodong’s promotion with them.

The whole family was very happy.

Lin’s father was pleased that his son was becoming more successful.

His happiness was unconditional.

The first house and the second house were naturally happy as well, but their happiness also had a personal interest.

The more successful Lin Guodong became, the more confident they felt in their hometown.

It would also be easier to ask for help for their children in the future.

Next, Lin’s mother distributed the roast ducks to Qian Ai Fen and Zhang Qinfang, saying, “These were bought by the third daughter-in-law from the capital. She said these are special products from the capital and wanted each household to try some. I’ll send one to Xiao Jing in the county tomorrow. The third daughter-in-law was thoughtful to send four. Let’s all share them.”

Qian Ai Fen and Zhang Qinfang, upon hearing that the ducks were from Ning Shu in the capital, felt reluctant to eat them even though they were meat.

Things from the capital were prestigious.

By the afternoon, thanks to Zhang Qinfang’s boasting, everyone in the brigade knew that Ning Shu had been to the capital and sent back ducks from there.

Many villagers couldn’t help but ask, “How does the duck from the capital taste compared to the duck here?”