Lu An’s face turned red.

He knew that being called stingy wasn’t a good thing.

The eldest aunt’s family had some prestige as they were officials and lived in the commune, which was considered more respectable compared to the countryside.

Tian Tian interjected, “You didn’t see that the wheels are designed to be anti-slip? They’re not suitable for ice skating!”

Ding Guohua chuckled, “You guys are less sensible than Tian Tian. Ice skaters have to wear special ice skates; you can’t just slide on anything.”

Ding Guowen stopped insisting when his older brother spoke.

Ding Guowu then proposed a game of catching thieves.

He wanted Lu Ping and Lu An to play kidnappers and abduct Tian Tian, Panpan, and Xu Xiaoyou.

Lu An refused to play the bad guy.

Ding Guowu pointed at Lu Cuicui, “You look the most like a bad guy. You should play!”

Lu Cuicui was furious, “You’re the bad guy! Your whole family is bad!”

Panpan added, “Kidnappers are short and squat. Second Cousin looks the most like one.”

Ding Guowen, who would turn 14 after the New Year, was chubby and had a slightly opened face but hadn’t grown taller yet.

In Panpan’s eyes, his figure resembled that of a local tinker.

Ding Guowen was annoyed, “Forget it, this is boring!”

He had wanted to invite his uncle over, but he wasn’t there.

Their mother always insisted they visit their maternal grandmother’s house and get close to their cousins.

She even wanted them to help with the autumn harvest.

If it weren’t for their grandmother stopping them, they would have had to work even more.

While other children in high school graduated and were arranged to work in the countryside, their parents tried everything to find them jobs.

His mother, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy making them work in the fields.

If it weren’t for the lack of farm work in winter and the less smelly pigsty, he wouldn’t like coming to his maternal grandmother’s house.

The countryside was too dirty, stinky, and rundown.

Even though it’s considered a rural area, the commune’s central area is paved with cement.

Since his family doesn’t farm or raise pigs, their yard is paved with cement, clean and tidy, without any unpleasant smells or dirt.

Unlike at Grandma’s house, look at all those vegetable plots—imagine how much manure and urine it takes to keep them going!

How stinky it must be!

He unconsciously sniffed the air.

But what he actually smelled was the aroma filling the room!

Lin Shu was frying meatballs!

The children rushed into the house, exclaiming, “It smells so good!”

Lin Shu handed out meatballs to the three little ones and also served some in bowls for the older children.

Lu Hehuan ate two deliciously crispy and tender meatballs and said with a smile, “Wow, there are so many. I’ll take a bowl back for…”

Fang Dihua interrupted, “Then you should just take it back with you!”

Lu Dajie immediately gave Lu Hehuan a nudge and glared at her. “What are you doing? With so many people here, there aren’t enough meatballs as it is. You want to take a bowl back for your mother-in-law and husband? How come you’re so considerate?”

Lu Hehuan, feeling somewhat aggrieved, reluctantly put the bowl down.

Lu Dajie then handed Fang Dihua ten yuan. “Mom, this is New Year’s money.”

Fang Dihua said, “You’ve already given twice before. Let it be.”

Lu Dajie insisted, “It’s only right to give New Year’s money to our parents.”

Fang Dihua only agreed to take five yuan.

Lu Hehuan noticed she hadn’t brought any money.

In the past few months, every time she received her salary, there were always things to buy at home, whether it was flour or something else, or Xu Shihua needed to buy books.

With daily expenses, there wasn’t much left.

She had to save one or two yuan to buy some treats for the kids.

Anyway, her parents’ family is well-off.

This year, both her father and elder brother and sister-in-law are earning, and her third brother’s salary is high.

She thought she could skip giving this year and make it up next year if her salary increases.

Lu Hehuan consoled herself this way.

Lu Dajie frowned, “Hehuan, aren’t you giving money to Mom?”

Lu Hehuan replied, “I don’t have any. My salary is low, and this month Xu Shihua…”

“Alright, it’s not necessary.”

Fang Dihua didn’t want to hear anything about Xu Shihua.

Influenced by Lin Shu, she had no positive feelings toward Xu Shihua at all.

After all this time, Xu Shihua had never properly visited his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Fang Dihua’s only wish was that Xu Shihua and Xu’s mother wouldn’t be too harsh on her daughter and Xu Xiaoyou, but she didn’t care much about how the salary was managed.

As long as she was alive, she couldn’t bear to see her children suffer, but once she was gone, she wouldn’t care much about anything else.

Watching as dish after dish was served, Fang Dihua…

Ding Runsheng had been to many county restaurants and was amazed by the progress in Lin Shu’s cooking skills.

“Third Sister-in-law’s culinary skills have really improved by leaps and bounds!”

Fang Dihua responded, “It’s just that she loves to learn and experiment.”

Ding Runsheng chuckled, “It’s a shame that Brother-in-law didn’t come; he missed out on a great meal!”

Lu Hehuan looked at the delicious braised meat, sausages, pickled cabbage with boiled pork, and fried meatballs.

She thought of inviting Xu Shihua over for a meal.

If Xu Shihua was impressed by her cooking, perhaps their relationship would improve, and she might visit their home more often.

With many people at home, the men gathered in the east room to smoke and drink, while the women and children had their own table in the west room.

As young hosts, Tian Tian and Panpan were responsible for serving Lin Shu’s homemade sweet soup to the guests.

Ding Guohua, who would turn 17 after the New Year, was considered an adult in the countryside, so he could join the adult table and have a couple of drinks.

Next year, he would graduate from middle school and would need to think about his future.

He had to consider either going to the countryside or finding a job arranged by his family.

Lu Dage inquired, “What about Ding Guohua’s job prospects?”

Ding Runsheng took a sip of his drink and said, “His grandfather mentioned that there are many people waiting for job placements these years. Currently, there aren’t any suitable openings. Next year, we’ll see if he can get into the county textile factory or the grain management office. If not, when my father retires, Guohua can take over the position.”

He mentioned that once his father retired, Ding Guohua could become a stationmaster or at least a deputy stationmaster.

His other two sons could also get positions in the grain management office, making Guohua the stationmaster after his father retired.

If the current stationmaster had fewer children, there would be more positions available for their family.

His father also suggested another good path: as Lu Shaotang gets older and possibly promoted, if he has more influence and his own children don’t need job placements, he could help his nephew join the army.

Both Guowen and Guowu could join the army and, with their uncle’s support, secure positions like communications officers, which are not too strenuous or dangerous and offer good benefits and wages.

The only issue was that Lu Ping would also need a job soon, and he might compete with Guowen for opportunities.

However, if Lu Shaotang had the capability, arranging jobs for three or five people shouldn’t be a problem.

Lu Dage smiled and said, “Having a job is good. And it’s great that the family can take over when retiring. I heard that’s how it works in the city.”

Ding Runsheng advised, “Eldest Brother, you should plan like this too. Once Lu Ping graduates from middle school, let him be the production team accountant first. When you retire, he can take over as the team accountant. Lu An could either join the army with the third brother or learn medicine from our father. You need to be able to manage; city workers often have succession plans.”

Lu Dage nodded, “Why not?”

“Really?”

He suddenly remembered something, “Oh, right, Eldest Brother’s wife drives a tractor. We could have Lu An drive the tractor later. After all, we can always find work for him.”

Just then, Sister Lu Da, who was out refilling water, overheard and said, “That won’t work. The commune’s machinery operators need to be selected. You can’t just take over.”

Ding Runsheng laughed, “Every organization has its selection process. But when you’re in a position, you know more about things. You’ll naturally find a way to get your child into positions that others can’t, and that’s also a kind of succession.”

Second Sister Lu Er snorted.

With jobs in the big house and the third house, Panpan and Tiantian would definitely follow their father into the army, leaving the second house with no one to manage.

She said, “Eldest Sister, you could take Cui Cui with you and have her take over your work.”

Fang Dihua replied, “That’s a matter for the distant future. We don’t need to worry about government affairs.”

Second Sister Lu Er was frustrated.

Why did Mother-in-law always counter everything she said? Did it mean she had no standing in this family?

Angered, she decided to speak up anyway!

She continued, “If that doesn’t work, then let Cui Cui learn to make clothes from her older sister and Third Sister-in-law. Each set of clothes earns one yuan and seventy to eighty cents.”

She wanted to say that if Lin Shu earned this money, and everyone helped with the work, should she keep it herself or contribute it to the commune?

Fang Dihua glanced at Lu Cui Cui, who was hiding behind Xu Xiaoyou on the kang and secretly scooping up jam with a spoon, “She’s out of the house all day. How can she sit still and learn to make clothes? You really dare to think so!”

Second Sister Lu Er was almost in tears from anger.

Was everything she said going to be met with opposition?

Her eyes reddened, and she turned away without eating, heading back to her room.

Lu Dajie asked, “Second Sister-in-law, where are you going? We’re having a meal.”

Fang Dihua said, “Let her be.”