In the evening, Fang Dihua and Old Man Liu returned home and saw Xu Xiaoyou there.

Fang Dihua’s expression darkened, and she said to Sister-in-Law Lu Da, “Quickly take your niece’s back to Hehuan. This is her daughter; she should take care of her herself.”

Xu Xiaoyou trembled with fear and instinctively shrank behind Lin Shu.

Even though this grandmother didn’t hit her, she had a loud voice and a fierce look, which made Xu Xiaoyou scared and uncomfortable.

Lin Shu said, “Mom, it’s fine. Let Xiaoyou stay and play with Tiantian and Panpan for a couple of days.”

Seeing that Lin Shu didn’t seem to mind and even seemed to like Xu Xiaoyou, Fang Dihua relaxed.

She didn’t intend to force Xu Xiaoyou away but wanted to support her son’s wife.

If Lin Shu wasn’t willing to take the child, she would send the child back immediately.

If Lin Shu didn’t mind, she could stay for a few days.

The child was also pitiable, looking so thin and weak like a sprout.

To make Xu Xiaoyou grateful for Lin Shu’s kindness, Fang Dihua acted a bit stern, hoping Xu Xiaoyou would appreciate Lin Shu’s hospitality.

The two children Panpan and Tiantian dragged their grandparents into the house to talk about the letter.

Old Man Liu and Fang Dihua quickly became happy again and decided to read the letter later that evening.

Sister-in-Law Lu Er, watching the four of them whispering inside, immediately suspected they might be eating something good behind her back or speaking ill of her.

Xu Xiaoyou, feeling scared and shrinking back, obediently followed Lin Shu, helping her set the table and arrange the small stools for eating.

During summer, to save on lamp oil and stay cool, they ate outside.

While they were eating, Lin Shu suggested to Fang Dihua to build a stove outside so cooking wouldn’t be so hot.

Fang Dihua glanced at Brother Lu Dage, Lu Erge and Sister-in-Law Lu Er “The other two rooms also have stoves. They can use those to cook.”

Brother Lu Dage didn’t oppose, looking somewhat distracted, as if even the stew with eggplant wasn’t appetizing anymore.

He missed his wife and wondered what she was doing.

It had only been half a day, and he missed her already.

Tonight, without his wife at home, he’d have to wash his own clothes and massage his own back.

He’d sleep alone tonight.

He also wondered if his wife, who wasn’t very pretty, might attract some other man.

He thought it unlikely, as she was so attached to him and wouldn’t be interested in someone else.

Sister-in-Law Lu Er disagreed, saying, “In summer, it will be too hot to cook on our stove.”

She smiled and said, “Mom, isn’t it inappropriate for the third family to come into our room? After all, there’s also the second brother…”

Fang Dihua responded, “You weren’t home during the day, so what’s the problem with cooking a meal?”

Old Lu: “We should build a stove outside.”

They discussed whether to build the stove on the open space in front of the main hall or on the empty land by the east or west wall.

Fang Dihua: “Building the stove where we eat is definitely more convenient. Moving things back and forth would be troublesome.

Let’s build it in front of the main hall. We can make a circular fire path and then add a chimney. This way, there will be no sparks flying and no risk of fire. We’ll also put up a tall chimney to ensure the smoke and ash are directed higher.”

If the chimney is too low, the ash settles in the yard, which is irritating.

Lin Shu immediately praised her, “This is great! Mom always has the best ideas.”

Old Lu: “Then we’ll also build a shed in front of the house.”

Second Brother Lu Erge: “The wood from the house can’t be used yet; we need to find someone to exchange it for properly dried planks.”

Fang Dihua: “Let’s do the exchange. Anyone who isn’t in a rush can make the swap.”

Fang Dihua was extremely efficient, with no procrastination at all.

She finished her meal quickly and began sorting through the stored bricks and stones in the corner of the wall.

She then sent Second Brother Lu Erge to buy some stored bricks and tiles from the nearest house being built in the village and to find some dried wood.

Tiantian and Panpan went out with their brothers to look for cicadas, while Xu Xiaoyou stayed behind to catch insects and grasshoppers in the vegetable garden.

Old Lu went inside to quietly read the letter. After reading it, he was stunned.

What does the third son mean by this?

Is he asking his wife to remarry?

No, it says that if she wishes to remarry under the assumption of his sacrifice, she is free to do so.

What is this third son thinking?

Is he seeing someone else?

Damn it, that’s outrageous!

He quickly went outside to discuss it with his wife.

Fang Dihua glanced at Lin Shu, who was collecting fallen leaves and old vegetable leaves, and whispered, “Calm down. How could the third son be like that? He must just feel guilty for not coming back soon and wants to give his wife the freedom to choose.”

Old Lu sighed with relief, “I was worried and misunderstood the third son. So, you’ve already asked her?”

Fang Dihua: “No need. She’s already told me she doesn’t want to remarry. Besides, wasn’t it she who said that Shaotang was still alive?”

In other words, Lin Shu had mentioned that the third son was still alive, so there was no need for remarriage.

Old Lu was pleased but then sighed again, feeling sorry for her.

Marrying into their family was almost like living as a widow.

Xu Xiaoyou worked hard catching insects, and her nimble movements allowed her to catch quite a few grasshoppers that were hopping around.

Lin Shu observed, noting that children who aren’t favored by their family, especially girls, often develop a strong character.

She was sensitive and strong-willed.

Knowing that not letting Xu Xiaoyou work would make her nervous, Lin Shu decided to praise her more.

Xu Xiaoyou worked even harder as a result.

By the time Lu Ping and the others returned with Tiantian and Panpan in the evening, Lin Shu had already dealt with the mosquitoes.

The children were cleaned up in the yard and then, wearing just their little underwear and belly bands, were carried by Fang Dihua to bed.

They were lined up to sleep.

Lin Shu had arranged for Xu Xiaoyou to sleep on her own bed.

She spread out the mosquito net, letting Xu Xiaoyou sleep at the head of the bed while she slept between the two girls, with Panpan still on the outside.

Tiantian was very obedient while sleeping and could stay curled up beside Lin Shu all night without moving.

Panpan, though, appeared to sleep well but actually spent the night tossing and turning, kicking and flipping around.

By morning, he’d be sleeping on his pillow as he should, but since he had to sleep on the outside, he often got bitten by mosquitoes.

Panpan talked about the bad luck of Huzhi when looking for cicadas, and within a few minutes, he was asleep.

As soon as he yawned, Tiantian fell asleep too.

Although Xu Xiaoyou had slept a lot during the day, she fell asleep quickly, comforted by Lin Shu’s pleasant scent.

Lin Shu then called Fang Dihua.

Fang Dihua, just out of the bath and wearing a large cloth shirt, asked, “Can you sleep comfortably? If not, I can let Panpan sleep in our room.”

Lin Shu replied, “I’m fine.”

She whispered, “Mom, today Panpan opened the box and showed me the old letters.”

Fang Dihua didn’t understand why Lin Shu wanted to look at the old letters but said, “They’ve all been soaked and are unreadable. What are you looking for?”

She didn’t suspect Lin Shu was looking for money or anything else.

Lin Shu whispered, “Mom, don’t you think valuable items should be stored securely?”

Fang Dihua replied, “I have it locked up, with two locks.”

Lin Shu said, “But Panpan can open them. Others could find the keys too, and even if they don’t have the keys, they could still pry open the locks.”

Fang Dihua wasn’t worried, saying, “Who would dare steal from our house? They must be crazy.”

Lin Shu was not so sure.

Although currently, no one dared to steal because of the family’s good health, it was always best to be cautious.

“Mom, you should still save the pension money. What if someone desperate tries to steal it? It’s better to keep it in a savings account where it’s more secure.”

As long as the passbook and the seal were kept separate, even if someone stole the passbook, they couldn’t withdraw any money.

Fang Dihua pondered for a moment and said, “That money needs to be returned to the government.”

“If the son is fine, then of course we won’t take the condolence money. We won’t take advantage of it.”

Lin Shu: “We should still save it, then we can withdraw it later.”