His parents remained concise in their letters, only mentioning significant matters, and he had to guess everything else.

They were fine, as were his siblings and their families.

The only thing his parents mentioned about his wife was that she had changed, possibly due to the impact of his sacrifice.

The child has grown a lot and has developed a strong passion for learning.

But the details of her remarkable experiences were left unsaid.

The specifics of how she became so diligent and enthusiastic about learning were also not disclosed.

And the devoted wife didn’t send him a single word in response.

She… probably, maybe, most likely, certainly… still dislikes him?

In the letter he sent earlier, he told his parents that if she wanted to leave, they should let her go freely.

But now, seeing the children’s letter, he was overwhelmed with a tenderness he had never felt before.

She had taught the children well. If she left, would she take the children with her?

They were his children, too.

Even though he had never seen them, they had occupied his thoughts for over a thousand days and nights.

He wanted her to stay.

Shouldn’t his parents have told her that he was still alive?

But he had already written a letter allowing her to leave. Did they receive his letter?

So… would she leave?

Or would she stay for the children, remain in the Lu family?

---

The next day, Sister Lu Da was going to the city’s tractor factory for training.

In the afternoon, she went back to her family’s house to visit, and Lin Shu stayed home to alter Lu Da’s clothes on the sewing machine and make some shirts for herself.

Sewing by hand was slow and tiring; she had been looking forward to using the sewing machine.

Now that she had the sewing machine, it made the work much easier and more enjoyable.

Panpan and Tiantian woke up from their nap and nibbled on a cucumber.

They had planned to go out and play, but soon kids like Huzi and Huahua came over to look at picture books.

Lin Shu placed the long, two-meter oval mat in the living room for them to sit on with their bare feet.

Tiantian read aloud, while Panpan explained and added sound effects, and Huzhi and Huahua acted as the atmosphere team.

When Tiantian reached a tense part, Panpan went “woo woo…” while Tiantian read about the Eighth Route Army cornering the enemy, Panpan added “da da da…”

The atmosphere team cheered, “Wow!”

Lin Shu occasionally glanced up from the sewing machine to watch the children, feeling immensely happy.

As long as she was alive, her children could grow up strong, avoid detours, and no longer be bullied.

Children, your mother will clear all obstacles for you.

No more problems, like the traffickers and Sun Xiaohong, they can all just leave.

When Lu Da returned, Lin Shu presented her with new shoes and the altered clothes for her to try on.

Lu Da put them on and exclaimed, “I actually have a waist?”

Lin Shu laughed, “Sister Lu Da, of course, you have a waist. You’re just tall and strong.”

In the afternoon, Lin Shu mixed some cornmeal with boiling water to make a batter and tried cooking pancakes in the evening.

She enjoyed experimenting with cooking in her past life.

For these pancakes, she knew that besides using cold water to make the batter, you could also use boiling water.

Pancakes made with boiling water don’t turn out dry or tough. You can also use boiling water to soften dough, then roll it out on a griddle to make pancakes.

If making pancakes is challenging, rolling out the dough can be an alternative.

Pancakes made with batter tend to be thicker and softer, while those made from boiled dough are more flexible and chewy, which is great for wrapping vegetables without falling apart.

She made two types: pancakes from batter and those from boiled dough.

She planned to make more of whichever type her family preferred.

She also thought about making different flavored pancakes by adding ingredients like millet, sweet potatoes, mung beans, soybeans, and peas.

Sister-in-law Lu Da was amazed at the thin pancakes. “Sister-in-law, you’re getting better and better!”

She almost forgot how Lin Shu used to cook.

Lin Shu playfully said, “Don’t worry, Big Brother will definitely love these.”

Sister-in-law Lu Da was delighted and said, “These pancakes with braised eggplant will be amazing.”

Tian Tian and Pan Pan also praised the pancakes, using all the flattering phrases they had learned from picture books. “These pancakes are great! So delicious!”

Lin Shu had prepared many sides to go with the pancakes: boiled greens, lettuce, cucumber strips, and a dish of eggs with pickled Chinese toon sprouts.

Even without adding the vegetables, the pancakes were delicious with just soybean paste, scallions, garlic shoots, or chives.

When Fang Dihua and others returned home, Sister-in-law Lu Da and the kids were already full.

Big Brother Lu Dage loved the pancakes, giving a thumbs-up and praising Lin Shu. “These are really delicious! Sister, your cooking keeps getting better!”

Lu Ping and Lu An couldn’t stop praising the food and enjoyed it so much that they could barely talk.

Grandpa hadn’t returned yet, so Pan Pan and Tian Tian eagerly went to meet him, with Lu Ping and Lu An following along.

Soon, Old Lu came back with a basket of eggs. Lu Ping and Lu An brought the eggs to Lin Shu.

Lin Shu asked, “Dad, who gave these?”

Grandpa Lu replied, “These are payment for the medical services.”

Pan Pan sighed, showing her little money-conscious side, “I knew it. Grandpa must be spending money as a doctor.”

Tian Tian added, “That’s because Grandpa is kind-hearted. Grandma said we should help others when we’re not in need ourselves.”

Panpan pressed her little heart and sighed.

Old Man Lu washed his hands and patted Panpan’s head, saying, “We’ve actually made a good deal.”

At first, people came to the clinic with money to see the doctor, but over time, they started to think differently.

When money was tight at home and they wanted to treat a chronic illness, what could they do?

How about using eggs?

An egg was worth five to five and a half cents at the supply and marketing cooperative, but could be sold for eight cents on the black market, so Old Man Lu settled for five cents.

Old Man Lu was happy to agree.

Anyway, as his wife said, if the family didn’t sell the eggs, they would be used to improve their diet, so earning money was also about buying rice, flour, and eggs.

This way, he also saved the trouble of buying eggs himself.

At five cents each, he was actually getting a bargain.

Most of the people using the eggs were quite decent.

To avoid being accused of being stingy or taking advantage of Doctor Lu, they specifically chose larger eggs for him.

Fang Dihua said, “If we have more eggs and can’t finish them, don’t let them go bad. We should send some to the supply and marketing cooperative.”

She advised Lin Shu to eat more eggs in the future.

Even without meat, eggs are also good for the body.

Lu Dage, who loved food, began listing dishes: “Boiled eggs, pickled eggs, water-cooked eggs, steamed eggs, egg pancakes, egg and chive pies, egg flower soup, and occasionally scrambled eggs… slurp.”

Fang Dihua gave him a disdainful look but didn’t scold him further. With plenty of eggs at home, she was less annoyed by his cravings.

Seeing that there were quite a few eggs today, she asked Lu Ping to send ten to Jin Ping’er.

Old Man Xu still acted like a servant of the Lu family, often working in their private fields and never listening no matter how many times he was told otherwise.

In the future, some of the earnings should be saved for the eldest and youngest daughters.

Although Lu Hefan was annoying, she was still their youngest daughter, so as parents, how could they not care for her?

Fang Dihua was justified in dividing the money and earnings from Old Man Lu.

She mostly kept the money sent by Lu Shaotang, as it was earned by their third son, and only used what was necessary to support his wife and children, saving the rest.

No matter what they used it for in the future, saving some money was always wise, and she would not let others know about it.

Even though dinner was already quite sumptuous, Lin Shu still boiled a pot of white sugar egg flower soup.

Let everyone have some. In the hot summer, it’s easy to get heatstroke, and this helps to reduce it.

Each person could have a bowl.

Lu Erge drank a couple of mouthfuls and then gave the rest to his daughter and his wife Lu Er.

Old Man Lu finished his own and still thought about his wife and children.

Lu Ping divided some for Lu An, who was afraid his father would take it.

After finishing his own share of the food, Sister Lu Da wanted to serve some to her husband Lu Dage, but Fang Dihua gave him a stern look.

Sister-in-law Lu Da’s hand wobbled as she poured some into Lin Shu’s bowl instead. “Sister-in-law, you should drink more for your health.”

Sister-in-law Lu Er’s frustration grew as she saw Mother Fang and Sister-in-law Lu Da both giving servings to Lin Shu.

Why was she being left out?

Grandpa Lu gave his share to Tian Tian and Pan Pan, while the older kids didn’t get any.

Tian Tian and Pan Pan wanted to drink with him, which made Sister-in-law Lu Er even angrier.

She glared at her daughter, Lu Cuicui, but Cuicui avoided her gaze, quickly finishing her meal and running off to join the boys in catching cicadas.

The next morning, Sister-in-law Lu Da headed to the commune early.

She wore the new cloth shoes Lin Shu had made and her clothes, altered by Lin Shu, fit her better.

Fang Dihua gave her two five-yuan notes, explaining that she could spend one, but if nothing important came up, the other should be returned.

Brother Lu Dage begged Fang Dihua to let him see his wife off. “I’ll just take her to the commune.”

Fang Dihua said, “You’re just trying to slack off. Take her and come back quickly to get back to work!”

Brother Lu Dage cheerfully agreed.

As Brother Lu Dage and Sister-in-law Lu Da were leaving, Fang Dihua overheard him sweet-talking his wife. “Don’t forget to bring back some good food for me.”

Sister-in-law Lu Da responded, “Of course, I heard there are sauced pig knuckles and trotters in the city, and they’re not expensive. I’ll definitely get some for you.”

Brother Lu Dage added, “Check if Old Cui’s family at the commune is still selling roasted chicken.”

Fang Dihua almost grabbed a piece of firewood to hit him in the head!