She wasn’t greedy and had never hoped to completely free her second brother from his hardships.

She believed that as long as she could help him and his wife eat a full meal each day, that was good enough.

But would her mother agree?

Would her eldest brother and sister-in-law agree?

Lin Shu assured her to leave everything to her.

On the sixth, Lin Xia took a car back to the city for work.

After her second sister left, Lin Shu’s family also went home after lunch.

On the way, Lin Shu asked Lu Shaotang to stop by the Xie family to discuss having her second uncle help with the land reclamation.

She brought a piece of red cloth to Old Lady Xie, not large, just enough to make a pair of red shorts.

She noticed that Old Lady Xie liked bright colors but was too embarrassed to wear a red jacket or padded coat, opting for red shorts instead.

On the third day of the new year, Lin Shu had noticed when Old Lady Xie lifted her clothes that she was wearing a faded pair of red shorts.

In addition to that, she also brought Old Lady Xie a few pieces of red date cake.

Since Lin Xia was leaving, Lin Shu decided to make a family meal together.

Lu Shaotang was in charge of mashing the jujube paste, while Lin Yue sifted it to remove the date skins.

Lin Shu mixed the jujube paste with brown sugar water and flour, stirring it until it formed a smooth batter.

She then let it rise naturally, and after placing a few large jujubes on top, she steamed it.

There was no yeast or baking powder, so it relied solely on the traditional sourdough starter to rise.

The result wasn’t as fluffy, but the taste and texture were exceptional.

Especially since Old Lady Xie and her family had never seen steamed cakes made with yeast or baking powder.

This was the best cake she had ever encountered in her lifetime.

During the New Year in the local area, people would make huangmi hongzao gao (yellow rice and red date cake) with sticky yellow rice flour.

However, they didn’t ferment the dough.

They would simply mold the yellow rice flour into shapes and steam them.

Once cooked, the cakes were hard, and when it was time to eat, they’d slice them up and either fry them in oil or steam them again.

Dipping them in sugar also made for a nice treat.

But now that Grandma Xie was getting older, her teeth weren’t strong enough, and her digestive system had weakened, so she could no longer eat those sticky cakes.

The steamed cake Lin Shu made suited her perfectly.

Unfortunately, Lin Shu only brought two small pieces for her.

Two pieces were just enough for the old lady for one meal.

She ate one piece, but couldn’t resist eating the other.

There was no extra left for her eldest son or grandson.

So, the old lady had to eat them all by herself.

As expected, when Grandma Xie saw there were only two pieces, she was a little disappointed.

She had originally planned to save one piece for her eldest grandson to try, but after finishing the first one, she couldn’t resist and ate the second piece too.

Xie Jinkui felt a pang of disappointment watching this.

Why didn’t she save some for me?

Grandma, aren’t you being a little too selfish?

Too greedy?

She used to save some for me before.

How could she not save any of this delicious red date cake for me?

I’ve never even tasted it!

Xie Jinkui was unhappy, but with Lin Shu and Lu Shaotang around, he didn’t dare show it.

Instead, he kept trying to find topics to chat about with Lu Shaotang.

But Lu Shaotang had no interest in talking to him and only found his chatter annoying.

After finishing the red date cake, Lin Shu showed Grandma Xie the red cloth she brought, and sure enough, Grandma Xie’s old eyes lit up.

She smiled, her face wrinkling up like a dried chrysanthemum.

That’s when Lin Shu brought up the idea of asking her second uncle and second aunt to help her father clear land. “My dad and Lin Yue are tractor drivers and need to go to work at the commune. My mom has to take care of Bao’er and doesn’t have time to clear the land. My second uncle and second aunt are just staying at home, not earning any work points but still eating, so why not have them help my mom? She’ll even feed them, saving some grain for Grandma.”

Lin Shu had really hit the nail on the head when it came to understanding Grandma Xie’s mindset.

Grandma Xie was selfish in that everything revolved around her.

As long as she was pleased, everything else was negotiable.

As for the chores at home when her second uncle wasn’t around, that didn’t concern her.

After all, she wasn’t the one doing the work.

Weren’t there still other grandsons and grandchildren to do it?

Moreover, Lin Shu was absolutely right. If her second uncle went to help her fourth sister, he could not only do a favor but also save some food.

There was no need to ask whether her second uncle was willing or not.

Whatever Grandma Xie said, he had to comply, whether he liked it or not.

Eldest Uncle Xie had no objections, but Xie Jinkui and his mother weren’t happy about it.

Who said Second Uncle had nothing to do at home?

They were still weaving straw baskets, weren’t they?

If those baskets were sold, the production team would give the family a share of the profits!

“Nana, if my second uncle goes to my fourth aunt’s house…”

Grandma Xie was still savoring the rich taste of the red date cake and admiring the red cloth, grinning from ear to ear. “Yes, let them go. Tell them not to slack off and to help clear more land for the Fourth Daughter family. Your father works as a tractor driver at the commune; that’s something to be proud of. When people hear about it, you’ll look good too.”

And just like that, it was settled.

Second Uncle Xie, of course, was happy to help.

He was truly selfless and hardworking.

Whether the work was for his elder sister, younger sister, or fourth sister, he never complained and always helped willingly.

He didn’t even think about getting extra food at his Fourth Sister’s house.

Grandma Xie glanced at Second Uncle Xie’s tattered cotton jacket and pants, with blackened cotton sticking out from the holes, and for once, she decided to be generous.

She handed him her old, patched-up cotton pants, “Take these and have your wife stitch them together into something decent. Don’t go out and embarrass the Xie family.”

She then beamed at Lin Shu and her family of four, “Come by more often with the children. That red date cake was delicious. Next time you come, teach me how to make it.”

Once she knew how to make it, she’d have her eldest daughter-in-law make it for her all the time.

Lin Shu smiled as if she and Grandma Xie were the closest of grandmothers and granddaughters, with no sign of any tension between them. “When the weather gets warmer, I’ll come see you again.”

If you want to eat more cake, stay away from my mom and stop trying to control her.

After that, Lin Shu and her family left.

Tiantian and Panpan even acted as if they were reluctant to part, waving goodbye to Grandma Xie, looking like they were the closest family members in the world.

What a family of actors.

Once Lu Shaotang left with his wife and children on the bike, Xie Jinkui and Xie Jinlan were displeased.

So, they came over twice and didn’t bring anything?

By rights, if they had slaughtered a pig for the New Year, they should’ve at least brought a couple of pounds of meat or a few steamed buns, right?

But no, they didn’t bring anything for the family!

The last time they even ate fried eggs and hand-pulled noodles for free!

The eldest aunt xie thought about the 30 yuan that Linshu had borrowed, along with the bedding, cotton, scissors, and other things she took.

Then she looked over at her mother-in-law, who was now holding a piece of red cloth swaying there, truly infuriating.

Old Lady Xie glanced at her, “Don’t be so narrow-minded. The Lu family boy comes by a few times, the brigade leaders look at you with smiling faces, and you walk around the village with your back straighter. Could you earn that kind of respect on your own?”

Auntie Xie grumbled inwardly: Who’s narrow-minded?

You or me?

They gave you a piece of scrap fabric, and you got bought off, even sending two laborers to work for your maiden family.

Are you losing your mind in your old age?

But Old Lady Xie wasn’t foolish.

She only cared about her own comfort, especially when on the fifteenth day of the first month, Lin Shu came to bring her two pieces of millet and red date cake!

It tasted even better than last time!

Of course, she ate it all by herself because there were only two small cakes the size of a child’s palm.

She didn’t even eat her fill, so how could she share with her eldest son and grandson?

Xie Jinkui was quite bitter, complaining that Lin Shu was stingy for only bringing two small cakes.

Lin Shu, however, didn’t mind and cheerfully said goodbye to Old Lady Xie, promising to visit again.

Second Uncle and Second Aunt were really hardworking.

In Linjiatun, they were the most diligent at opening up land, and the two of them stubbornly refused to eat more or eat well, so Mother Lin had to make purely coarse grain meals for them.

Fortunately, the ground sweet potato pulp mixed with a bit of cornmeal to make pancakes with vegetables tasted better, and they were quite content with it.

For this, Lin Shu thanked Old Lady Xie with two millet cakes.

Xie Jinkui complained to Old Lady Xie, but she defended Lin Shu, saying, “What’s the rush? Relationships are nurtured little by little, aren’t they? She cares about me as her grandma, and slowly, we’ll get closer and closer. This millet cake may look ordinary, but it has brown sugar and red dates inside. Do you know how much that costs? You know how stingy her mother-in-law is; who knows how long she saved up to make these two cakes for me. It’s not easy.

Once the girl gets closer, you won’t even need to ask, and she’ll bring over more and better things, right?

Fishing takes patience; you have to let the fish willingly take the bait.

Zhao Meifeng completely agreed and had already taken the bait.

Even before the first month was over, she was eager to urge Lin Shu to take orders to make clothes, offering to help sew buttons and finish the edges.

She needed to coax Lin Shu to repay the money and fabric she had borrowed!

But Lin Shu acted as if nothing was wrong; after the New Year, the peak period for making clothes had passed, and only a few people were getting summer clothes made.

Fang Dihua and Old Man Lu were really impressed listening to Panpan sweetly talk about the Xie family.

Fang Dihua whispered to her husband, “If it were me, at most I’d just break ties with the old woman after a big fight. She’s an elder, so I’d have to swallow my pride a bit. But the third daughter-in-law is different. She handled it even better. Just look at how skillfully she’s playing this.”