The next day, Tian Jing woke up late.
Chen Jiqing and Chen Jixiang teased her, calling her a lazy bug.
Tian Jing sat down to eat her breakfast, which was later than the two children's. "The early bird gets eaten by the bird."
The two children looked at her with blank expressions.
Tian Jing explained to them, "The little bird is diligent and likes to get up early. There's a saying that the early bird catches the worm."
"What if the worm sleeps in? Won't the little bird miss it? So, a lazy bug is a worm that can live a long time."
"Pfft!" Mother Li burst out laughing. "Tiantian, don't corrupt the children's worldview."
"Ji Qing, Jixiang, your great-aunt is talking nonsense, don't believe her."
Chen Jiqing and Chen Jixiang nodded. "Lazy bug, talk nonsense."
"Hahaha." Mother Li laughed heartily. "Yes, that's the logic."
Tian Jing was speechless. She was outmatched, even by the two children.
Li Min, who was chopping filling with her elder brother, smiled at her sister-in-law. "Sister-in-law, someone can finally defeat you."
"I don't argue with little brats," Tian Jing said, continuing to eat her breakfast.
...
In the afternoon, everyone was making steamed buns when Li Weibai and Yu Ziyu returned.
Tian Jing asked with concern, "Ziyu, are you cold? Did you have fun on the mountain?"
"Not cold, not cold," Yu Ziyu shook her head. "The scenery on the mountain was beautiful. It's a shame the cave rafting couldn't be done."
Tian Jing said, "You can come back in the summer or autumn next time, and you'll be able to do it."
"Mhm, mhm!" Yu Ziyu nodded. "Next time, I'll definitely choose a season when we can do things."
She glanced at the dough on the cutting board and the basins of filling. "I'll wash my hands and help."
After washing her hands, she had Li Weibai roll up her sleeves. She picked up a piece of dough, kneaded it, filled it, and began to wrap it.
Her speed was quite fast, and she made a bun in a few strokes. The pleats on the bun were also very pretty.
Seeing her efficient demeanor, Li Min was finally satisfied. "Ziyu, do you do chores at home?"
Yu Ziyu nodded. "Yes, otherwise my mother would be too tired if she did it all by herself."
Seeing that she was willing to answer, Li Min continued, "Doesn't your mother work?"
Yu Ziyu, without looking up, continued to shape the buns. "My mother used to work. Later, my father was often transferred, so she took a leave of absence from her job and followed the army."
Li Min pressed on. "What does she do usually?"
Yu Ziyu pointed to the kitchen. "Just these chores. When we lived in a house with a yard, she would grow some vegetables for us to eat."
Li Min didn't understand. "City people are so strange, growing their own vegetables."
"Auntie," Yu Ziyu looked up. "You don't know, we yearn for green, pollution-free vegetables. We grow them ourselves, and eat them with peace of mind."
Li Min waved her hand. "There are so many vegetables in Kūshān Mountain, you can eat as much as you want. I also dried a lot of vegetables in the summer, and I'll pack them all for you to take back."
Yu Ziyu was taken aback and immediately thanked her. "Thank you, Auntie."
"You're welcome." Li Min waved her hand. "I finally understand. Things that are common in the countryside are rare in big cities."
"Yes!" Yu Ziyu agreed. "Like dried vegetables, farmers have them at home."
"If they were truly sent to big cities, citizens might not dare to buy them. They worry the vegetables weren't washed clean, and they worry about rotten vegetables being mixed in. In short, there are many concerns."
"In the future, they'll envy my family for having green, organic vegetables and dried vegetables to eat."
Li Min asked, "You don't find them inferior?"
"Why would I find them inferior?" Yu Ziyu countered. "Did Auntie use rotten vegetables to dry them?"
"How could that be?" Li Min's voice rose. "I only dried them because I couldn't finish them."
"The vegetables you eat now are from greenhouses. When summer comes, you'll eat vegetables that grow naturally by your doorstep."
"We don't participate in the village's vegetable sales with the few vegetables we grow ourselves."
"In spring, we plant everything together. If we don't sell them and don't control the harvest time, they'll all mature at the same time. We'll have more than enough to eat."
Yu Ziyu smiled. "Auntie, you're quite knowledgeable about growing vegetables."
Li Min raised her chin. "Of course, I'm a true farmer."
Tian Jing chuckled, amused. Ziyu was good at talking, and in a few sentences, she had won over Li Min.
Li Weibai, standing behind his girlfriend, relaxed and went to talk with his father.
Hearing his parents' plans for his marriage, Li Weibai felt guilty.
"No wonder Big Brother planned to get married early, so that Sister-in-law could take responsibility at home."
"Now that it's my turn, I realize how helpless I am."
Li Zhengguo patted his second son's shoulder comfortingly. "As a soldier, especially a special one, there are many无奈."
"Back then, if it weren't for your mother, I wouldn't have considered retiring."
"You don't need to feel too guilty. Ziyu is accustomed to the identity and life of a military family member. We also have the ability to provide a better material life for your wife and children, so don't worry."
"Snap!" Li Weibai saluted his father. "Thank you, Father and Mother. We three brothers are the happiest."
Li Zhengguo returned the salute with a smile. "This is what we hoped for."
...
On the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, Mother Li, with a group of women, was making dumplings again.
What needed to be steamed was steamed, and what needed to be stewed was stewed.
They also made some dumplings to freeze, so they wouldn't have to cook in the first lunar month, just boil them directly.
"Grandma, I'm back!"
Mother Li, who was in the middle of making dumplings, was hugged by a figure who rushed in.
"Ranran?" Mother Li excitedly dropped the half-wrapped dumplings in her hand, tears streaming down her face.
"Ranran, it's been over two years, and you're just back. Don't you miss your grandma?"
Li Weixin directly picked up his grandmother and hugged her, patting her. "I miss you! Don't I have leave now?"
Mother Li lightly hit her grandson. "Are you treating your grandma like a child?"
"Isn't it said that old people are like children?" Li Weixin let go of his grandmother. "You're crying, shouldn't I comfort you?"
Mother Li said playfully, "Are you implying I'm old?"
Li Weixin waved his hands repeatedly. "Not old, not old. My grandma is forever eighteen."
Mother Li burst out laughing. "You child, you've learned to be slick-tongued out there."
"Actually," Li Weixin whispered in his grandmother's ear, "I learned it from my dad. He coaxes my mom like this and tells us not to mention age to women."
Mother Li pinched her grandson's face with her floured hand. "Then why did you call me an old child?"
Li Weixin quickly corrected himself. "I misspoke. You're a young child."
"Nonsense!" Mother Li pinched him harder. "You've gained weight. You're a little fatter than when you were home."
Li Weixin snatched his face away. "Grandma, I missed you so much that I turned grief into appetite. I ate and drank more, so I got fat."
"Mouthy!" Mother Li stopped teasing her grandson and pointed to Yu Ziyu to introduce her.
"This is your second brother's girlfriend, Yu Ziyu. Call her Sister Yu."
"Hello, second sister-in-law." Li Weixin didn't follow his grandmother's instructions. "As soon as I came back from my mission, I heard the captain say my second brother was getting married."
"If I call her Sister Yu, I'll have to change it to second sister-in-law later. Might as well call you second sister-in-law directly."
Li Weixin's gaze turned towards the kitchen door. "Isn't that right, second brother?"