CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 52: SISTER-IN-LAW IS DIFFERENT FROM GRANDPA AND GRANDMA

Lin Qiao bent over with laughter, nearly unable to hold her needle. "Uncle was really interesting when he was young."

"He was indeed interesting. In such a big family, he was the most childlike. He would call out to everyone he met, and the village people absolutely adored him." Song Qin opened up her chatterbox, shedding her previous reserve, and began talking about Song Tingfan’s childhood.

As the sun gradually set, the young man arrived at the doorway just in time to hear the young woman’s laughter, "Was Uncle really that bold?"

"He was very bold when he was young. He climbed the jujube trees until they were completely smooth. Once, he even fell asleep on a tree and fell off, giving us all a fright."

"But as soon as he fell, he got up again as if nothing happened."

The old woman couldn’t help but laugh, while the young woman laughed out loud.

"Granny." The young man called out in embarrassment, trying to stop Granny from recounting his childhood blunders.

Perhaps because of the laughter earlier, Lin Qiao’s face still held a smile, "Uncle is back."

Song Tingfan, both shy and obedient, greeted, "Sister-in-law."

Lin Qiao stood up and brought him a bowl of water from the kitchen, then asked, "What did you learn today?"

"The teacher taught us to write, ’Do not disdain a small good as unworthy; do not be willing to do a small evil.’"

The young man took the water, answering seriously, then added with a bit of childishness, "Sister-in-law, ’good’ is hard to write."

Teaching children the right concepts, Lin Qiao didn’t answer immediately. She thought for a moment, then patted his head, "It’s hard to write because it’s important."

"Good is very important. Don’t you agree, Uncle?"

"Yes."

The simple young man nodded in confusion, his clear and bright eyes wide, earnestly applying what he’d learned, "Sister-in-law’s name is also hard to write."

"So Sister-in-law is very important."

Lin Qiao: "..."

Well, you could say it like that too.

She smiled warmly, "Of course, Sister-in-law is important to Uncle, and Uncle is very important to Sister-in-law."

You could say as important as life itself.

The young man didn’t know her inner thoughts. His eyes lit up, and he wanted to confirm once more, cautiously asking, "Sister-in-law, is that true?"

"It’s true. Sister-in-law wouldn’t deceive Uncle for anything." Lin Qiao spoke with confidence, for it wasn’t a lie. She called it a perfect performance.

Song Tingfan sincerely said, "Sister-in-law is also very important to me. Sister-in-law is the most important."

Seeing his earnest expression, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but want to tease him. She glanced at Song Qin, "Uncle, Granny will be upset if she hears that."

Song Tingfan quickly looked at Song Qin and hurriedly explained, "Grandpa and Granny are also important, it’s just... not the same."

"How is it not the same? Aren’t Grandpa and Granny family, just like Sister-in-law isn’t?"

Lin Qiao didn’t think much of it; children’s thoughts are very simple.

Song Tingfan couldn’t explain how it was different, but it just was. Sister-in-law was like malt candy, sweet and delightful. Seeing her made him happy every day.

He stammered, "Sister-in-law is, I mean..."

Unable to articulate, the young man began to stutter, making Lin Qiao laugh out loud. She decided to stop teasing him, "Sister-in-law understands. I’ll go make dinner now, has the teacher assigned any homework?"

Seeing him nod, she continued, "Go write it, and you can have some pie once you’re done."

Seeing how well the nephew and sister-in-law got along, Song Qin’s face was alight with smiles.

The chicken had been stewing in the pot for quite a while. Lin Qiao uncovered it and poked it with chopsticks; the meat was already tender.

She took out some lean meat, minced it, grabbed coarse flour to mix in, and since there wasn’t much left from the midday meal, she grabbed a bit more.

Soon, the pies were cooking in the pot, releasing a delicious aroma.

At this moment, voices came from next door; the Wang family had returned from their feast.

Lin Qiao brought out a bowl, placing three meat pies in it, "Uncle."

Just as the words were spoken, Song Tingfan came running in, "Sister-in-law, what’s up?"

"Slow down, no rush." Lin Qiao handed him the bowl. "Take it over to Granny Wang."

Then she remembered something, "And ask if they have any extra straw."

"Got it."

Song Tingfan sniffed the air appreciatively and sincerely praised, "Sister-in-law, the pies smell so good."

Lin Qiao smiled, tore off a small piece, blew on it twice, and naturally fed it to him, "Try it, see if it’s good."

Being nice reflexively to the young man had become second nature to her.

Taking it in a bit awkwardly, Song Tingfan nodded under her gaze, like a pecking chick, "It’s good."

"If it’s good, have more later. Now quickly take it over to Granny Wang."

"Got it."

Song Tingfan headed to the Wangs. As he arrived, Old Man Wang, who had just entered, was the first to speak, "Tingfan, what’s up?"

"Sister-in-law asked me to bring you some pies." Song Tingfan stood at the doorway and handed them over.

"Oh, no need, keep them for yourselves." Old Man Wang chuckled, waving his hand.

"Sister-in-law insisted I bring them to you." Song Tingfan stubbornly insisted.

Sister-in-law instructed, so he had to fulfill it.

Old Man Wang had no choice but to accept, "Thank your sister-in-law on behalf of Grandpa."

"No thanks necessary, Grandpa. Do you have any spare straw bales?"

"For kindling? Yes, yes, yes, I’ll get you a stack. We were wondering how to store them." Old Man Wang handed the bowl to his grandchildren, telling them to share, then carried out two large bundles of straw for Song Tingfan.

"Can you manage, Tingfan? If not, I can help carry them to your place."

Song Tingfan carried them with both hands, wearing a look of determination, "Grandpa, I’ve got it."

The straw wasn’t heavy, and Old Man Wang didn’t say much else. Then he recalled something, "What illness does your grandpa have? Why does he seem so thin?"

"A cold."

"Oh, colds shouldn’t be taken lightly. Did he get medicine?"

"Yes, Sister-in-law got it for him."

"That’s good."

Once Song Tingfan left, Old Man Wang closed the door and shouted at his grandchildren fighting over the bowl, "If you break the bowl, I’ll whack each of you with a stick."

Worried they’d break the bowl and wouldn’t be able to return it to the Song Family, he stepped over, picked it up, and handed it to Old Mrs. Wang, "Tingfan’s grandpa has caught a cold."

"No wonder he looks that way. Did he get medicine?"

"He did. Tomorrow, I’ll bring something over to visit them. Check how many eggs we have."

"There are twelve."

"Pack them all up for me. I’ll take them to the Song Family tomorrow."

...

Song Family

The dishes were just being set on the table when Song An brought in some fried cured meat, followed by Song Mei and Song Hao.

Lin Qiao hurried to the kitchen to get chopsticks and realized there was one bowl short. She handed her bowl to them, "Uncle, Cousin, Cousin, have some chicken."

"Sister-in-law, no need." Song Hao felt a bit embarrassed.

Lin Qiao smiled, "Have some, I left a bowl in the pot, planning to bring it to you later."

"Did Aunt not come? I’ll go call her to eat."

Despite Mrs. Song being indifferent towards them, Song An’s slight prejudice against her diminished, "Don’t worry about her, just eat."

"Uncle, I’ll still go invite her; a family meal is lively." Lin Qiao noticed Song An’s change of heart and secretly raised an eyebrow.

Song Mei held her back gently, "Sister-in-law, Mom has eaten and is already asleep."

Song Mei was quite pretty, considered one of the beauties in the village, with many families wanting to arrange a match.

Speaking of the Song Family, they were generally good-looking, with even the young man’s appearance being representative of the family.