Chapter 2898

Chapter 2898: Household Trivia

Wang Chengcai and Wang Yucheng were Wang Hechuan’s two sons, both already in university. Wang Chengcai would graduate this year, while Wang Yuchuan had three years left.

“They get subsidies for college,” Zhou Caijuan said. “You gave birth during the previous dynasty’s hundred-day period. Besides, you’ve already had four children. Even if you have more, it won’t be many times. What matters is resting well during confinement to recover your body.”

Zhou Caijuan doted on her sister-in-law. When she married into the family, Wang Suyan was still young. One could say Zhou Caijuan helped raise Wang Suyan.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. Yesterday, Aniu secretly caught plenty of fish. I drink fish soup with every meal now,” Wang Suyan said.

“Can you catch fish now?” Zhou Caijuan wasn’t skeptical, but it had been a long time since it rained. The river levels were dropping.

Experienced elders were worried. If it didn’t rain soon, the crops might die.

“I caught them. I’m keeping them secretly in the water vat outside,” Wang Suyan replied.

Zhou Caijuan knew that if her sister-in-law said so, it must be true. “Those are from your Aniu. What I brought is from my娘家 (natal family) for you. Besides, drinking fish soup every day might get boring.”

In this era, having enough to eat was good enough. Who would get tired of fish soup?

Wang Suyan understood Zhou Caijuan’s good intentions. “Then I’ll accept it.”

“That’s right,” Zhou Caijuan said, satisfied.

Yan Xiwan woke up mainly because she was hungry.

Although she could cultivate, she was currently a mortal. Mortals still had physiological needs.

Yan Xiwan shook her head. Wang Suyan, knowing her daughter’s condition, quickly picked her up, fed her milk, and changed her diaper.

“This child is so easy to care for. She doesn’t even cry,” Zhou Caijuan remarked with amazement.

Wang Suyan smiled. “Isn’t she? She’s so well-behaved. She only makes noise when she’s hungry or has soiled herself. Otherwise, she just sleeps.”

“It shows you have a good bond with the child. Perhaps in a past life, she owed you something, and now she’s repaying the debt,” Zhou Caijuan said with a smile.

In the countryside, an easy-to-care-for newborn meant the child was there to repay a debt.

Of course, such talk had no basis, but people liked to say it.

Wang Suyan naturally liked hearing such words. “I feel our Guai Guai is really as obedient as her nickname suggests.”

Speaking of which, Wang Suyan remembered her three sons. “By the way, where are Miaozhi, Caotou, and Yangtian?”

Miaozhi, Caotou, and Yangtian were the nicknames for Yan Zhicheng, Yan Zhixin, and Yan Zhishan.

“They just came back. They wanted to see their sister, but Aniu stopped them. He told them to wash first, saying they were too dirty to see their sister,” Zhou Caijuan explained.

As the sisters-in-law were talking, three little ones entered.

“Mom, we’re here to see Sister,” Yan Zhicheng said first.

“Miaozhi, bring Caotou and Yangtian in,” Wang Suyan said with a smile.

She let them come to the bedside to look at Yan Xiwan, who had fallen asleep again. “This is your sister.”

“Sister is so pretty,” five-year-old Yan Zhishan said. His pronunciation was still unclear, but mostly understandable.

“Yes, Sister is very pretty. Yangtian, you must protect Sister when you grow up,” Zhou Caijuan said from the side.

“Mhm,” Yan Zhishan nodded firmly.

Yan Zhixin’s eyes were full of joy too. “Sister is really beautiful. Even more beautiful than when Caotou and Yangtian were born.”

“Hmph,” Yan Zhixin huffed. Normally, he would never admit that, but now he was comparing his own sister.

Thinking of Yan Dongzi’s sister next door, who looked like a little mouse, and then looking at her own sister, Yan Zhixin suddenly felt she was far superior.

“Our sister is naturally beautiful. Unlike Huazi, who is so ugly,” Yan Zhixin said seriously.

“Huazi is pretty now too.” Huazi’s full name was Yan Huazi, Yan Dongzi’s sister.

Wang Suyan didn’t want her sons to become obsessed with looks at such a young age, nor did she want them to speak without filter. So she spoke up.

“I admit, Huazi is prettier now, but she still can’t compare to our sister,” Yan Zhixin said with a little arrogance.

Yan Zhicheng said from the side, “Mom, I’ll go catch fish later. Then Sister can drink soup.”

“Don’t go catching fish. Your dad caught plenty yesterday. They’re being kept in the water vat. Besides, your sister can’t drink fish soup yet. If you’re bored, go to the bamboo forest on the mountain and look for bamboo rats. Your uncle loves that dish,” Wang Suyan said. She knew that if she didn’t give the children something to do, they wouldn’t stay still at home.

Going to the bamboo forest wasn’t dangerous, and they might even catch bamboo rats.

“Okay, I’ll take Caotou and Yangtian to the bamboo forest,” Yan Zhicheng said. He felt a strong sense of responsibility as the eldest brother. Knowing his mother had just given birth, he automatically took on the role of supervising his two younger brothers.

“By the way, don’t forget your homework,” Wang Suyan added.

“We won’t forget,” Yan Zhicheng said. “Knowing we were coming to see Sister today, Caotou and I finished our homework late last night.”

“That’s good. Go ahead,” Wang Suyan said. She took out three pieces of rock sugar and put them in the three children’s mouths, then let them go.

If it were anyone else, they might not even have brown sugar, let alone rock sugar.

However, Yan Jia’s third brother, Yan Tiebao, worked at the supply and marketing cooperative. Whenever he heard that any of his brothers’ wives were pregnant, he would find a way to get some brown or rock sugar for them.

Of course, even among brothers, accounts were clear. Although Yan Tiebao prepared the sugar, each brother bought it from him with their own money and sugar coupons.

It wasn’t for the sake of being cheap, but for convenience. In these times, many things were in short supply.

For example, sugar, grain, and so on.

Yan Zhicheng took Yan Zhixin and Yan Zhishan to the bamboo forest to look for bamboo rats.

Yan Xiwan wasn’t actually asleep. She was just closing her eyes to rest. As a baby, she couldn’t speak or move much, so she could only let her mind wander. She happened to hear the conversation among her brothers in this life.

No matter what, as a mortal, she was the Yan family’s daughter. Yan Tieniu was her father, and Wang Suyan was her mother.

Similarly, the three Yan Zhicheng brothers were her siblings.

Thinking this, she felt a sense of relief. She had made a breakthrough in understanding亲情 (family affection).

The Tribulation of Seven Emotions was simple in theory but difficult in practice. If one couldn’t understand it, they would get stuck.

Yan Xiwan’s luck was quite good. She understood the initial meaning of family affection just three days after birth.

This meaning didn’t need to be too profound. At least one thing was certain: Yan Xiwan understood that before she returned to her position, she was the daughter of Yan Village, the daughter of Yan Tieniu and Wang Suyan, and the sister of Yan Zhicheng, Yan Zhixin, and Yan Zhishan.

Although it was only preliminary, it made her realize that for mortals, family affection was very important.

A month of thirty days passed quickly. For her full moon celebration, Yan Zhong invited all five branches of the Yan family to gather at her place.

In these times, grain was very scarce, so celebrating a full moon was basically impossible.

“It’s really unfair to our Guai Guai,” Grandma Yan said with a regretful expression.

“Grandma, why regret it? Guai Guai eats well and sleeps well every day. Besides, for any good day, the most important thing is family reunion,” Wang Suyan said, not minding this point.

“I wonder when these times will end,” Grandma Yan sighed.

“A while ago, I heard that some people would be sent down for re-education. Our Yan Village was assigned three,” Yan Tielong said to Yan Zhong.

Yan Zhong said, “These times are neither good nor bad. The only thing is to not do anything with a guilty conscience.”

Yan Zhong had lived for over sixty years and experienced a lot. He naturally knew that such turbulent times would eventually pass. So, it was best not to make enemies.

Yan Xiwan, in Wang Suyan’s arms, listened to Yan Zhong’s words and nodded silently in her heart. Her grandfather was indeed smart.

Yan Village itself was a relatively peaceful place. Even if someone wanted to target this place, they couldn’t do so temporarily.

Compared to the world outside, Yan Village was like a paradise.

Once Yan Xiwan reached one month old, Wang Suyan started going to the fields to work and earn work points.

Of course, Wang Suyan left Yan Xiwan with Aunt Zhou Da to help care for her. Every noon, Wang Suyan would come over to feed Yan Xiwan.

After understanding the family’s situation, Yan Xiwan didn’t complain much.

Born as a cultivator, she knew her situation was different from ordinary people. Suffering was inevitable.

Her father, the Emperor, had sent her to this world mainly to let her comprehend life through hardship.

However, peaceful days also had their unrest.

The winter of that year seemed particularly cold. Yan Zhong received a letter.

“Old man, did something happen to the second son?” Aunt Zhou Da asked.

The letter was sent by Yan Jia’s second son, Yan Tiehu. Yan Tiehu was currently traveling with a transport team, so his income was quite substantial.

“Mhm. Second son said that among the people sent down this time, one is Old Zhang,” Yan Zhong sighed.

“What? Old Zhang? Wasn’t he doing well? How did he get sent down too?” Aunt Zhou Da asked.

“To put it bluntly, he was implicated by his son. His son knew a friend who was overseas. You know how sensitive overseas connections are now. Old Zhang was implicated like that,” Yan Zhong sighed. He then threw the letter into the fire bed nearby and burned it.

“When Old Zhang arrives, all we can do is help and take care of him secretly. Second son’s letter was for this reason,” Yan Zhong said calmly.

“There’s no other way,” Aunt Zhou Da agreed. After all, her family and Old Zhang’s family had a decent relationship. “I just wonder how Old Zhang’s children are doing?”

“Second son’s letter didn’t mention it. I suppose he doesn’t know either,” Yan Zhong thought for a moment and said.