She couldn’t stand it anymore, so she picked up about ten eggs for Mom’s basket. Seeing the eggs, Mom was stunned: "This is?"
"Your daughter bought these and secretly hid them. I gave two or three jin to Grandma and Grandpa (about eight per jin), and brought the rest over here."
Although she only brought about two jin to Grandma and Grandpa’s, seemingly less than Grandma and Grandpa’s share, Mom didn’t seem to mind at all because she thought her own offering was quite humble. Daddy even secretly gave Mom so money and said they’d give so money to the elders when the ti ca. Unexpectedly, her daughter even saved so eggs.
Of course, she didn’t think Ye Huan would have eaten them herself, but she was very happy with the big surprise her daughter gave her, because among the three sisters, she was the poorest, but Eldest Uncle and Third Uncle were even poorer.
With the eggs, coupled with other things, this festive gift didn’t seem so humble and could be considered quite presentable.
Generally, when a wife returns to her parents’ ho, the n don’t participate. Grandma’s house was about five li away from their ho. In an era without transportation, they relied on their legs to walk.
During the Famine Era, people didn’t care for each other, but Grandpa had been a soldier and was a village cadre. He was wise and resourceful enough to preserve the family without fleeing, so even if they hadn’t sent a word during the famine year, Mom didn’t resent them at all, because a daughter who marries out is like water thrown away. Between their grandsons and granddaughters, they surely would take care of those with the surna Chen before those with the surna Ye.
Aunt married into the capital, and Uncle was a soldier. After his service, he worked in the logistics of a school, living a very good life.
Due to inconvenient travel during the New Year, they wouldn’t co back, but during the lunar February, when it’s Grandpa’s birthday, they usually co back, including the Second Uncle’s family.
Second Aunt and Second Uncle were doing business in the town. The in-law’s house was in the neighboring village, and they lived well, being relatively well-known figures in the vicinity.
As for Eldest Uncle and Third Uncle, they were farrs and didn’t live as well as their family. Grandpa favored the eldest family, which dissatisfied Third Aunt, so Eldest Sister-in-law and Third Aunt didn’t get along well. The children of Second Uncle’s family once stole money from Second Aunt’s house, and no one admitted it, leading to them reporting to the authorities, which offended Second Uncle’s family. As a result, they haven’t spoken to each other since.
Anyway, those who once ate from the sa pot as children beca relatives when they grew up, and because of various reasons, they no longer spoke to each other or kept in contact.
Eldest Sister-in-law’s family was from Sichuan, so they didn’t return to their parental ho for the New Year. Third Aunt’s family was local, and when they visited, they hadn’t left yet.
At this ti, they definitely wouldn’t leave until Second Aunt and Mom had visited and exchanged New Year’s money before leaving. The eggs were hidden under the buns because if they saw them, they might take them back to their own parental ho, as was customary.
These people liked playing mind gas, which Ye Huan really disliked, but there was nothing she could do, since they were relatives.
Eldest Uncle’s family had three boys and a girl. Second Uncle’s family had three boys. Third Uncle’s family had one boy and three girls. She was already earning money, so she didn’t get a share of the New Year’s money, but her older cousin did, which was ridiculous, wasn’t it?
They didn’t care whether returning to their parental ho at eleven was too late. Anyway, they took their New Year’s money, picked up so dessert Second Aunt brought for Grandma, and then set off.
Even though they lived together and didn’t separate, generally everyone did their own thing, only getting together to mooch off Grandma and Grandpa for als during holidays and festivals.
On days like today, it was always Mom and Second Aunt who did the cooking, while Eldest Uncle’s family shalessly ca over to eat without helping or bringing anything. They even nitpicked about the cooking speed and quality, especially those cousins, each being extrely selfish and arrogant, showing a clear lack of upbringing.
Second Aunt’s three daughters and son were all in school, naturally understanding humanity. They were kind to her and her sister, so they would be thoughtful enough to help the adults cook, while the others just sat in the yard eating the sunflower seeds and peanuts brought by Second Aunt without the slightest embarrassnt.
Second Aunt secretly gave her and her sister New Year’s money in the kitchen, along with a silver coin each, and Mom quickly stopped them when she saw it.
"Sis, why are you giving so much? You don’t need to give Huanhuan money; she’s already earning."
"What do you an already earning? She’s not even as old as Feifei. Take it! Why should others have it and she doesn’t? You, as her mother, are also biased. Huanhuan, take it."
Second Aunt had always been very kind to them. While preparing the dumpling filling, she asked about Third Brother and Fourth Brother’s situation, which imdiately brought a wave of heartache to Mom.
"They’re still alive, and occasionally they send letters back. But they move around so often, without settling down. Today, they’re in Hunan, and tomorrow they might be sowhere else. I can’t rember how many years it’s been since I last saw them. Sigh, I don’t ask for much, just for them to be safe and sound. Our eldest sister-in-law always gets sad thinking about her Eldest and Second during the holidays. Do you think our two...
At the painful point, Mom couldn’t help but shed tears. As she cried, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea and hurriedly covered her mouth and ran to the tree in the yard to retch.
Second Aunt, who had previously worked as a midwife, rushed over when she saw Mom’s condition: "What, did you get pregnant again?"
Mom married Daddy at sixteen. Her Third Brother is already twenty-three this year, and Fourth Brother is twenty-one. After many years she gave birth to her and her sister, thinking she would stop after Ye Yu, but who would have thought, at forty, she’s pregnant again?
After they left grandma’s house, Second Aunt took Mom to the town’s health clinic for a check-up, and it was confird that she was two months pregnant. Oh my, was their family’s thirteenth about to make his debut?
User Comments
0 comments from readers