But she was also afraid that she might have guessed wrong, so she endured without asking. She took a step forward to help Liu Yuzhi unload the basket and arrange the items.
The joyful smile on Liu Yuzhi’s face didn’t fade. “I have energy now when working. I just look forward to going home and eating the meal you cook. Your cooking is really delicious. Grandma Chen has been talking about it for a while, saying that the fragrance of your dishes can be smelled from afar. She even compares it to her own cooking, calling hers tasteless.”
Yun Qinghuan covered her mouth and laughed. “It’s not that exaggerated. We use the same ingredients. I can’t turn them into a delicacy.”
But she was pleased to receive compliments on her cooking.
She also thought that her mother-in-law, Liu Yuzhi, was very supportive. Perhaps it was to prevent others from looking down on her. Every time they went out, Liu Yuzhi praised her to the sky.
Liu Yuzhi praised her so much that Yun Qinghuan was stopped multiple times when she went out, with people insisting on complimenting her.
Even though Yun Qinghuan had developed a thick skin, she couldn’t help blushing when people praised her excessively.
“That’s not the same. The same ingredients, but my daughter-in-law cooks better than others.” After putting down the items, Liu Yuzhi went to wash her hands and disagreed with the statement.
Anyway, she felt that her daughter-in-law’s cooking was particularly delicious.
Yun Qinghuan pursed her lips and smiled, “Next time I make something tasty, we can share some with Grandma Chen.”
“That works.”
Liu Yuzhi had told her about Grandma Chen, a pitiable elderly woman.
Grandma Chen’s real name was Chen Meiling. She wasn’t from the Bai family village but had sought refuge here two or three decades ago. It was said that her husband had gone to fight alongside others, and there was no news about whether he was alive or dead for all these years.
Some speculated that her husband might not be dead and possibly joined everyone in escaping to the other side of the sea. Of course, these were just rumors, and no one could confirm them.
Anyway, Grandma Chen had spent all these years rooted in the Bai family village, raising a son and a daughter. She didn’t remarry. Unfortunately, her son, at the age of marriage, encountered an unfortunate incident and passed away. Losing a child before herself, she fainted in grief several times. If it weren’t for her filial daughter, Grandma Chen might not have been able to hold on and might have followed her son at that time.
Grandma Chen’s son was named Wang Xianhe. He had a minor illness at first, which no one paid much attention to. Unexpectedly, his condition worsened suddenly, and he couldn’t be saved. Her daughter, Wang Zhuyun, married a man from the Bai family village, living nearby. She occasionally came to visit Grandma Chen, providing some comfort. Fortunately, with Wang Zhuyun as a dutiful daughter, Grandma Chen had some solace in these years.
It was just that being a daughter, and with rural people having relatively conservative ideas, Wang Zhuyun wanted to bring Grandma Chen to live with her in her own small family. However, Grandma Chen refused, stating that in the countryside, it was unheard of for a mother to live with her daughter, and people would gossip about it. She was stubborn, and after Wang Zhuyun couldn’t persuade her, she stopped bringing it up.
Now, Grandma Chen lived alone. Though Wang Zhuyun was filial, she was married and prioritized her own small family. Grandma Chen was often lonely.
Moreover, being alone, she cooked perfunctorily. Perhaps she cooked only one meal a day, reheating the leftovers for another makeshift meal.
But she and Liu Yuzhi were quite close. Whenever Liu Yuzhi made something delicious, she would ladle a bowl and have An’an take it over for Grandma Chen to taste.
So, hearing that her daughter-in-law planned to do the same now brought her great joy.
During the meal, Yun Qinghuan hesitated to speak several times. Liu Yuzhi couldn’t help but smile, “Alright, just ask whatever you want. You’ve been giving me those looks for a while, and it’s making you uneasy.”
Putting down her bowl, Yun Qinghuan didn’t hesitate and directly asked, “Mom, seeing how happy you were when you came back today, did my job find a place?”
As a family of four having meals every day, with only Liu Yuzhi earning work points, even if others didn’t say it, Yun Qinghuan felt anxious herself, fearing she might not have enough food later. After all, the rice jar and noodle jar at home were almost empty.
Bai Naihan, upon hearing this, also looked over, slowing down his eating.
Even the little An’an understood the importance of his mom having work for the well-being of the family and quickly looked over.
The little one was quite sensible. Recently, whenever there was free time, they went out to pick wild vegetables, adding a plate of greens to the family.
Seeing everyone looking at her, Liu Yuzhi’s smile grew even brighter. She didn’t keep them in suspense and directly put her bowl down. “Indeed, there’s good news. The person in the village responsible for cutting pig grass is heavily pregnant and unable to work temporarily. I boldly asked for this job from them. Although you’ll have to return the work when they recover from childbirth, it’s good to have it for a while.”
Cutting pig grass was considered a relatively light job. It involved cutting three baskets of grass daily, especially during this spring and summer season when grass was abundant. Of course, the work points weren’t exceptionally high. Completing a day’s work could earn around five work points, but for Yun Qinghuan, it was already quite good.
Yun Qinghuan couldn’t help but smile upon hearing this. “I should be able to handle this. Thank you, Mom.”
“What’s there to thank for? I didn’t want you to cut grass in the first place. While it’s called cutting grass, it’s quite tiring, especially when the basket is full, and you have to carry it back alone. It’s very heavy. You try it for a day. If you can’t handle it, we won’t continue.”
Liu Yuzhi still cared for her daughter-in-law and spoke directly.
Yun Qinghuan felt warmth in her heart. “It’s okay, Mom. I’ll try it for a few days. If I can contribute something to the family, I’ll feel better.”
Liu Yuzhi was still concerned and specifically looked at her younger son. “These days, accompany your sister-in-law to cut grass. You can also lend a hand to help her.”
Yun Qinghuan glanced at her pitiful brother-in-law sitting in the wheelchair and waved her hand, “Mom, really, I can manage on my own.”
“Naihan has nothing to do at home. It’s good for him to accompany you,” Liu Yuzhi insisted, directly making the decision and asking her son if it was acceptable.
Bai Naihan dared not say it was not acceptable. After all, he was already considered idle at home.
The woman responsible for cutting pig grass had an urgent situation. It was said that her amniotic fluid suddenly broke while cutting grass today. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be willing to leave the job. Pigs needed to eat every day, and they couldn’t stop eating just because she was about to give birth. Therefore, Yun Qinghuan would go to work tomorrow.
After dinner, without her having to wash the dishes, Bai Naihan directly took care of it. Yun Qinghuan washed up and casually cleaned her personal clothes before entering the house. As she wasn’t too sleepy, she leaned on the table and wrote a novel for a while.
Since she wasn’t very familiar with this era, she had to put a lot of thought into the novel. After finishing it, she polished it a bit. If there was still no response after some time, she planned to submit the manuscript to other newspapers.
After completing the novel, she spent some time reviewing high school books and working on exercises. Only then did she lie down in bed, preparing to sleep.
On the bed, little Bai Jin’an had already fallen asleep, his small hand resting on his belly, making cute snoring sounds. Amused, Yun Qinghuan couldn’t help but smile.
∞
Translator Note
Happy new Year!
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- “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” — Proverbs 31:25 (NLT)
