The Yun family courtyard.
Liu Cuirong smiled as she held little Xi Tiantian, shaking a cloth doll.
"Sweet baby, do you like it? Your second sister-in-law bought it for you specially in the county town!"
As she spoke, she took out two carved wooden eagles. "Look, our sweet baby will also soar like a great eagle in the future!"
Little Xi Tiantian: "......"
Second sister-in-law, when did our relationship become so good?
This is blatant bribery! ~
However, looking at the eagle wood carvings, they were polished smooth and exquisitely made.
They wouldn't have cost less than thirty copper coins.
The stingy second sister-in-law was actually willing to spend money on her.
"Sweet baby, hurry up and say it, do you like it?" Liu Cuirong said expectantly, her eyes full of hope.
She had decided that if her sister-in-law didn't like it.
She would go into town again tomorrow and buy her candy and clothes.
Until her sister-in-law was happy...
Little Xi Tiantian rolled her eyes internally, feeling like she was being eyed by a weasel.
"I like it!" Little Xi Tiantian said in a milky voice.
Alas, when something unusual happens, there must be a demon; when words are insincere, there must be a ghost.
Second sister-in-law was up to her tricks again.
Liu Cuirong not only bought gifts for little Xi Tiantian but also gave Madam Gu two handkerchiefs and a knitted scarf.
These two gifts were carefully selected by her.
In addition, old man Yun also received a small jar of millet wine and a piece of pig's tongue.
"Mother, I noticed we were out of brown sugar, so I thought I'd buy some. Taste this and see if it's sweet?"
Liu Cuirong walked in with a bowl of brown sugar ginger water.
Before handing it over, she blew on it to cool it, showing extreme thoughtfulness.
The whole family: "......"
Madam Gu, who was knitting a sweater, glanced at Liu Cuirong and then pointed to the kang table. "Put it there!"
"Yes!" Liu Cuirong placed the soup bowl down with both hands, her eyes darting around.
She stood in front of Madam Gu without moving.
Madam Gu was surprised, "Is there something else?"
"No... no, I just wanted to help Mother get ready for bed. Your daughter-in-law has brought the chamber pot for you! ~"
The whole family: "......"
Good heavens, why does your sudden diligence feel so awkward?
It's like a mountain bandit who suddenly carries an old lady across the road.
Old man Yun silently glanced at Madam Gu, admiring her immensely.
It was truly a brilliant strategy of "fighting fire with fire" and "feinting to the east while attacking in the west."
He suspected his wife had studied military strategy before.
The two maids who had joined the family had, in an invisible way, dealt with Liu Cuirong.
This was called "killing two birds with one stone!"
Yun Erman couldn't stand it anymore and directly dragged Liu Cuirong back to the east wing to interrogate her.
"What did you go to the county town for today?" Yun Erman frowned.
Liu Cuirong blinked innocently. "What else could I do? Of course, I went to buy brown sugar and scarves for Mother!"
Yun Erman snorted and warned her, "Don't think I don't know. Are you secretly going to the county town to find some other man behind my back?"
Liu Cuirong: "......"
Well, they were already starting to suspect each other.
Yun Erman had noticed Liu Cuirong acting strangely these past two days.
She would either cry in secret, mumble to herself, or throw tantrums for no reason.
She must be lovesick and poisoned by infatuation.
Liu Cuirong felt extremely wronged and shouted in a shrill voice, "You good-for-nothing Yun Er, you sneak around at home and then falsely accuse your wife of having an affair outside. Are you even human?"
"Is it wrong for me to be filial to my parents? Are you only thinking about things on the kang all day?"
"You call yourself a wolf-fighting hero, but I think you're more like a dung beetle hero! ~"
She was usually reprimanded and criticized by Yun Erman.
The reasons were mostly for being lazy or causing trouble, so she had no reason to refute him.
Today, being falsely accused by Yun Erman, she finally found an opportunity to retort.
She felt exhilarated...
"What are you shouting about? I was just saying it casually. You... the more nervous you are, the more it means you have something to hide! ~"
Yun Erman stammered, trying to save face.
Liu Cuirong slapped him directly.
Hands on her hips, she cursed, "Yun Er, have you lost your mind?"
"My wife never leaves the house. If I wanted to find another man, who would even look at me?"
"On the other hand, ever since Huaihua came to our house, you've been chopping wood and tending the fire. Why are you so eager to please?"
"Are you afraid that vixen won't know how diligent you are?"
Yun Erman's face turned red from her retort.
He really wanted to pin this woman on the kang and give her a good beating.
Outside the door, little Xi Tiantian sat on a stool, eavesdropping for a while.
Just as she was getting into it, her shoulder was suddenly patted.
Little Xi Tiantian looked back and saw Jin Huaihua holding a corn stalk about the length of a chopstick.
It was emerald green and quite thick.
This kind of corn stalk, once peeled, had a very sweet inner stem, comparable to sugarcane.
Jin Huaihua smiled softly and offered the corn stalk to little Xi Tiantian. "Ah! Ah! ~"
Little Xi Tiantian was stunned for a moment.
Did she want to get close to her?
But the corn stalk was indeed very tempting.
Peeling it and taking a bite, the sweetness would spread through her mouth.
Little Xi Tiantian squinted her eyes slightly. "It's delicious!"
She spat out the residue.
Jin Huaihua smiled broadly and continued to peel the stem for her.
"You eat!" Little Xi Tiantian pushed the remaining half of the corn stalk towards her.
"Ah, ah!" She shook her head vigorously.
This was for the little mistress.
Little did she know, to find a sweet and crisp corn stalk,
One had to walk through many rows of fields, selecting them one by one.
Not all stalks were sweet.
The crops in Dashui Village were finally ripe.
In the past few days, the villagers had been going out early and returning late, starting to harvest wheat and husk corn.
The spacious farmhouse yard was filled with golden hues.
Large ears of corn were tied together and hung by the eaves to dry.
Wheat was also spread all over the ground.
After drying, they were piled up, forming a triangular 'mountain.'
The autumn wind blew chillingly.
An autumn rain arrived as scheduled, drizzling and moistening every corner of Dashui Village.
With the harvest finished, it was time for the slack farming season.
Coincidentally, it started raining, and the entire Yun family gathered in the main hall to make large steamed dumplings with dandelion filling.
These purely vegetarian dumplings were very filling.
Yun Jinshan could eat more than ten of them himself.
"Grandma, do we have any meat left? Just dandelions won't satisfy my craving! ~"
Yun Jinshan wrinkled his nose.
Before Madam Gu could speak, Liu Cuirong hit him on the back of the head. "Eat, eat, all you think about is eating!"
"Even if we have meat at home, it's for your grandparents and little aunt. Don't you dare covet it!"
The whole family: "......"
When these words came from her mouth, they completely lost their original flavor.
At this moment, footsteps were heard from outside the door.
The main gate was not closed, and the Yun family thought it was just neighbors visiting.
Unexpectedly, little Xi Tiantian looked back and saw Yun Jinhe walking in with a stack of books...