"By the way, have you thought about your job? You know your sister-in-law has married into the family, and she’ll be having children in the future. I’ll need to help her take care of the kids, so it really won’t be convenient for me to keep working."
Mother Bai really wanted to pass her job on to her daughter. Since Bai Jiu had sent the mother and son of the Gao family to the firing squad, Mother Bai was worried her daughter would have a hard time if she returned to the village.
Bai Jiu genuinely didn’t want it. Even if the factory was planning to transfer Mother Bai to a different position, she still wanted to find a job on her own. If Mother Bai kept her job, she wouldn’t be as exhausted as before, and she’d feel uncomfortable relying entirely on her children to support her.
"Let’s talk about it later. I want to look around first," Bai Jiu replied. There were still a few days before spring arrived, so she wasn’t in a hurry. She happened to be having dinner with the Xiang family tonight anyway; she could just ask Aunt Xiang about it then.
"You’re just too stubborn." Mother Bai was furious. She threw down her rag and stormed into the kitchen.
Since dinner was just for the two families, they could afford to prepare heartier, more lavish dishes.
The Xiang family came over early. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for them to come at noon, but they could visit in the afternoon once the other guests had left. Originally, Bai Xingguo was supposed to pick them up, but he had gotten drunk at noon. Left with no choice, Father Bai had to go personally to invite his in-laws over for dinner.
And so, the Xiang family arrived.
"Happy New Year, my good in-law." Mr. and Mrs. Xiang arrived at the door with their children and grandchildren, carrying plenty of gifts. The Bai family was generous, so their family couldn’t afford to be stingy. After all, their daughter would be living in this house from now on.
However, the Bai’s home had a much more spacious courtyard than the Xiang’s home. The brothers all had their own rooms, so there would be enough space even if they had more children. This was unlike the Xiang family, who were all squeezed into a house of just a few dozen square meters. Even when they had children, there were no extra rooms for them to sleep in.
Currently, the eldest brother of the Xiang family still shared a room with his children. Now that Xiang Gaoli had married and moved out, a room had freed up. But she still had an unmarried younger brother at home, so the room had to be given to him.
But I digress. Let’s return to the present.
"Happy New Year, Happy New Year!" Mother Bai greeted them happily, stepping forward. "Hurry inside! Don’t freeze out there in the cold."
"HAHA, we’re not that fragile. We walked all the way here, so we’re actually quite warm." Xie Mei had a very good impression of her daughter’s mother-in-law.
Although the Xiang family had only moved to the area recently, they had heard their fair share of rumors about the Bai family. That was exactly why they had initially opposed their daughter’s relationship with Bai Xingguo. If not for her stubborn persistence, they would have married her off to someone else long ago.
"You must be tired anyway. Come inside and have a cup of tea," Mother Bai offered.
While the two women exchanged pleasantries, the men skipped the formalities and went straight inside.
Seeing that her mother-in-law hadn’t gone inside, the Xiang family’s eldest daughter-in-law felt it inappropriate to enter first, so she could only follow behind. She and her younger sister-in-law took the opportunity to observe the Bai’s home. They had to admit, they were envious.
Once they were all inside, Mother Bai gave the two children a red envelope each.
"What are you doing, in-law? We don’t stand on such ceremony," Mother Xiang said. It was too embarrassing to accept red envelopes right after walking through the door.
"What do you mean? This is to bring the children good luck. There isn’t one for you," Mother Bai joked, directly stuffing the red envelopes into the two children’s arms. She didn’t care what the adults thought; she was happy, and she wanted to do it.
In truth, there wasn’t much money in the envelopes—just one yuan each—as a token of goodwill.
The two daughters-in-law of the Xiang family were a bit flustered and looked to their mother-in-law, waiting for her to speak. Xie Mei was a straightforward person and didn’t want to keep pushing the envelopes back and forth. "Accept them," she instructed. Besides, she had also prepared red envelopes for the Bai family’s grandchildren.
"Quick, thank Grandma Bai," the two Xiang daughters-in-law immediately urged their sons.
The two little boys happily accepted the gifts and smiled at Mother Bai. "Thank you, Grandma!" They completely ignored the "Bai" part and just called her Grandma, which absolutely delighted Mother Bai.
"HAHA, good boys." After a hearty laugh, she immediately called out toward the inner rooms, "Xiuxiu, Zhengyang, come out quickly! Take your older brothers out to play."
Hearing their grandmother’s call, Xiuxiu and Zhengyang ran out of their room, carrying an armful of snacks and toys. Looking at the two unfamiliar boys, they knew these were the older brothers from their eldest aunt’s family.
"Let’s go play, older brothers!" Xiuxiu was never shy around strangers. She ran straight up to the two boys and asked with a bright smile.
Mother Bai patted the top of her head. "This is your eldest aunt’s mother. What should you call her?"
Xiuxiu was a clever and obedient child. "Hello, Grandma."
After the two children greeted her, Mother Xiang also took out two red envelopes and handed them to Xiuxiu and Zhengyang. Mother Bai didn’t put up a polite refusal; it was just a simple exchange of courtesies.
"Keep them, and take your brothers to buy some tasty treats later," Mother Bai said, letting them accept the gifts with a smiling reminder.
"Okay!"
Children were always full of energy, and before long, they all ran outside to play. Hearing the cheerful laughter from outside, the adults in the room were also infected with joy.
"In-law, where is Gao Li? Why hasn’t she come out?" After being there for a while without seeing her daughter, Xie Mei asked with a hint of concern.
"Oh, they had to wake up so early for the wedding today, so I sent them back to their room to rest. We’ll call them when it’s time to eat," Mother Bai said openly.
Hearing this, Xie Mei’s heart was completely warmed. What mother didn’t want her daughter to be respected in her in-laws’ home? Finding a good mother-in-law was much harder than finding a good husband.
"In-law, you truly are the best." Xie Mei gave her a thumbs-up. She didn’t suggest bringing her daughter out, either. Gao Li really had gotten up too early, and she had gone to bed late last night. It was best for her to get some rest.
The two sisters-in-law of the Xiang family were observant. Seeing that it was getting late, they offered to help out in the kitchen. Mother Bai didn’t stand on ceremony with them and simply thanked them for their hard work. After all, her own daughter was already in the kitchen.
Bai Jiu was a bit dazed when she saw them walk in. It took her a moment to react, but she quickly addressed them as her eldest and younger sisters-in-law since one was older than her and the other was younger. Everyone felt a bit awkward hearing the formal titles, so they introduced themselves by name.
"Little sister of the Bai family, don’t act like a stranger with us. Just call me Sister Xiangyun, and call her Juan," the older one said.
Since they were being polite, she couldn’t be ignorant of manners. "Sister-in-law Xiangyun, Juan." It was only right to call the older one "Sister-in-law," and using the younger one’s name was perfectly fine. "My name is Bai Jiu. You can just call me by my name."
The two of them smiled and called her Bai Jiu in return.
Soon, mouth-watering aromas began wafting from the kitchen. The delicious smell made the mouths of everyone waiting outside for dinner water.
"It smells incredible. Bai Jiu, you’re amazing! This is my first time seeing this kind of steamed pork belly," one of them praised. Not only did she use glutinous rice, but she also added brown sugar. Who else would dare to cook such a lavish meal?
"Oh, I made plenty. When you go back later, take two bowls with you. It’s nothing that precious," Bai Jiu said generously. She had eaten this dish in the south before, and the flavor was undeniably addictive. Once you ate it the first time, you couldn’t help but crave it a second time—let alone the people of this era. It didn’t just contain meat, but also refined grains and sugar, all of which were highly treasured precious ingredients.
"We couldn’t possibly." How could they have the nerve to eat their fill and then take some home?
"We’re all family now, so don’t stand on ceremony. Let’s hurry up, it’s getting late."
Bai Jiu didn’t argue with them; she would just pack it up for them later. They had been slightly skeptical when their mother-in-law told them that the Bai family’s youngest daughter was a generous person. Now, seeing it with their own eyes, they were truly touched.
Even though Bai Jiu was a widow, she was highly capable. Their sister-in-law might end up enjoying a good life by marrying into this family. Her judgment in choosing a husband was truly excellent.
Meanwhile, Xiang Gaoli, who had just woken up from a nap and stepped out of her room, saw her parents and eldest brother gathered in the house. Her face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
"You silly girl, how could you sleep for so long? You didn’t even think to come out and help," Xie Mei immediately scolded, though her tone was a mix of joy and nervousness upon seeing her daughter’s glowing, radiant face.