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Back at home, Xie Youshun placed the stone on the kang, while Mu Tou sat beside it. They both took off their cotton shoes and leaned against the pile of quilts. Xie Youshun touched the kang; it was still warm. He went to get some charcoal for the charcoal basin, making the room warm and cozy.
Xiao Lihua looked at the cloth on the stone's head, feeling heartbroken.
The stone said, "Mom, it doesn't hurt anymore. Please don't cry; I'm not crying."
Mu Tou knelt up and puffed air towards the stone's head, saying, "Mom, I'll blow on my brother, and it won't hurt anymore."
"You are both good children. Mom won't cry. But remember this: don't fight over small things like building a Snowman. It's not that you should just let others hit you or watch someone else get bullied without doing anything. You can fight for family, friends, or those who deserve help, but make sure you are safe too; that's what matters. A Snowman can be rebuilt if it gets ruined, so it's not worth getting hurt over that. Do you understand?"
Xiao Lihua was educating her two kids. She didn't think fighting was entirely wrong; which boy doesn't fight? Especially in the countryside where boys run wild every day, fighting is common. She never intended to raise her sons to be soft and unable to fight back; she just wanted them to assess situations before acting. She felt it was necessary to raise her sons to be Little Schemers.
Mu Tou blinked his big eyes at his mother, somewhat understanding but not fully.
The stone understood clearly and said, "Mom, Dog Egg not only knocked down our Snowman but also kept saying bad things about you. I don't want him to say bad things about you. I was standing up for you."
Xiao Lihua felt warmth in her heart and said, "What a good son you are! Dog Egg was wrong, but he had Big Tiger with him at that time, right? Both of them are strong and taller than you; you couldn't possibly beat them."
The stone nodded. Mu Tou was too small to fight; Xiao Yue was a girl and wouldn't fight either. It was good enough that they didn't add to the chaos. Only he and Copper Coin could confront Dog Egg and Big Tiger, but they rarely fought and were shorter than those two village bullies.
"Mom, if we can't win, we can't just run away, right? That would be so embarrassing."
The stone said dejectedly. He didn't want to run away; they were saying bad things about his mom, and he wanted to make them stop.
Xiao Lihua chuckled softly and reached out to pat the back of the stone's head, saying, "You little rascal know what face means? Face is important, but running away doesn't mean you've lost face. Think about how you can run away while still teaching them a lesson."
Mu Tou chirped up brightly, "Call Dad."
"Little Wood is really smart."
Xiao Lihua also touched the back of his head, watching him smile and reveal his small white teeth. She then reached out to poke his little chin, feeling the softness that was so comforting.
"The best thing to do right now is to call the adults. Aren't you right at the door? It's easy to call someone; just a shout will scare them away. If they don't leave, at least the adults can catch them and teach them a lesson. That way, you won't get beaten, and they will be dealt with. Isn't that a better outcome? At least you won't get hurt, and your mother won't have to feel sad for you."
Shitou nodded after hearing this and said, "Mother, I know what to do from now on."
Mutou also nodded and said, "I know too."
Xiao Lihua smiled and nodded. Xie Youshun listened nearby and thought his wife was teaching well. Boys fighting wasn't a big deal, but they needed to know when to fight and when not to. He hoped both of his sons would be as smart as his wife.
"Mother, I'm hungry," Mutou said, holding his stomach and looking at Xiao Lihua with big eyes. His little belly cooperatively grumbled.
"I'll go make something for you."
Xiao Lihua thought it was time to cook. At that moment, Wang Dashan and Zhang Lianxiang came in with Copper Coin. After leaving the village chief's house, Xie Youshun had invited them over for dinner, so they came over with a piece of meat and some noodles.
"Why did you bring things over? We have enough at home," Xiao Lihua said when she saw Zhang Lianxiang bringing more items. "You can take them back later; we can just eat at your place next time."
Zhang Lianxiang replied, "Since we've brought it, we can't take it back! Just cook it all; your cooking is good, and we want to eat more! Today we're counting on filling our bellies before heading back; just don't say we're a family of three who are gluttons."
"Being able to eat is a blessing. I made plenty today; there will be enough for you all."
Xiao Lihua decided not to insist further, thinking that she would let them take some leftover dumplings back later.
Wang Dashan saw that Xie Youshun was going to call Xie Qingfeng and his wife, so he told him to rest while he went himself. It didn't take long before he brought Xie Qingfeng and Yumiang over.
The women quickly got busy together and soon finished wrapping the dumplings. Xiao Lihua stewed all the meat that Wang Dashan brought, making a large bowl of fragrant braised pork, along with a mixed vegetable stew, dumplings in a small bowl, and lamb radish soup. The three men sat at the table on the ground eating while the three women and three children sat on the kang eating.
On a snowy day, enjoying meat, dumplings, soup, and wine in a warm house is a very comfortable experience, with laughter occasionally echoing throughout the room.
Xie Youshun also discussed with Wang Dashan and Xie Qingfeng about selling Cured Meat, asking them to find a way to gather pigs so they could make some extra money. This was initially communicated to Xie Youtai, who felt that he couldn't gather so many pigs alone. He suggested that they inform anyone else they thought could help, and naturally, Xie Youshun thought of these two who often assisted him.
"This is great news! Once the snow stops, you can prepare the Cured Meat for sale. As soon as you say you can gather pigs, we'll immediately go collect them," Wang Dashan said happily. His family had a somewhat better life, but they were not wealthy; he was certainly pleased at the prospect of making more money.
Xie Qingfeng also looked excited, his eyes bright and his face flushed. He still had debts to pay off, and if he could earn some money to settle them, he would feel much lighter. However, he was more concerned and asked, "If we gather pigs from other villages and sell them at a high price, won't Hua Gongzi be unhappy?"
"He won't be unhappy; we're helping him concentrate the pigs and saving him a lot of effort. He should give us some compensation for our hard work," Xiao Lihua replied with a smile. Then she changed the subject, "However, this opportunity to gather pigs from others will only happen this year. Next year, I doubt anyone will sell pigs to you; they'll go directly for the higher prices."
Everyone nodded in agreement, realizing they were seizing this opportunity.
Even this one time would allow them to make some money, which made everyone very happy.
After dinner, Zhang Lianxiang and Yumiang helped Xiao Lihua clean up before sitting together to chat. The three men talked in the Hall for a while. Eventually, Xie Youshun stood up; he needed to visit the Xie Family Old Residence and bring back some medicine for Shitou. Seeing Xie Youshun leave, Zhang Qingfeng and Wang Dashan decided not to stay any longer either.
Zhang Lianxiang looked at the three children happily playing on the kang and said to Xiao Lihua, "It's wrong for Shackles to help outsiders bully their own brothers and even tell lies. It's really unacceptable. It's right that you don't associate with them anymore; they can't tell good from bad."
Xiao Lihua replied, "They've led good children astray; I wonder what they'll grow up to be like."
Yumiang softly said, "Let's keep the kids away from them in the future. They handle things too roughly; what if someone gets hurt? It pains me just watching."
Zhang Lianxiang asked Yumiang if she felt any movement in her belly yet. Yumiang's expression darkened as she shook her head.
Xiao Lihua said, "Don't rush it; you just separated from your family not long ago. You need more time."
Zhang Lianxiang smiled and added, "Yes! We went to the temple and got a good fortune; you'll definitely have a big baby when the time comes. Once you have the first one, there will be a second. You might end up having the most children among us; it could keep you quite busy."
Yumiang smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."
The snow continued to fall heavily, and by the time it got dark, it was deep enough that one could sink past their ankles. Wang Dashan had come to pick up Zhang Lianxiang, but he was reluctant to carry Copper Coin. He wanted to trudge through the snow instead, but after being nudged a couple of times, he finally complied. Xiao Lihua asked them to take some of the leftover dumplings, which they also declined, and Yumiang left with them to head home.
"This year's snow is heavier than in previous years; I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Xie Youshun said as he returned, shaking the snow off his shoes. Xiao Lihua offered him a few words of comfort.
"Why were you gone for so long? What happened?" Xiao Lihua asked. "Were you still with Second Brother and Second Sister?"
"Nothing much happened; we just talked about Shackles. From now on, we have nothing to do with them; it's as if I never had that Third Brother," Xie Youshun replied. Upon hearing this, Xiao Lihua realized he must have been upset at the Old House. She could imagine how unreasonable those people could be if they started causing trouble. She patted his shoulder, thinking that it was probably for the best not to associate with them.
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua threw some snow around in the yard before going to feed the Cattle, Sheep, Chickens, Rabbits, and then they retreated back inside.
That evening, they warmed up the leftover food from lunch and soon the whole family lay down early on the kang to rest.
The next day, the snow finally stopped, and the sun came out, illuminating the snowy landscape. Many people were throwing snow out of their doors, and numerous children began building Snowman. By midday, there were Snowman all over the village, filling it with a sense of childhood joy. Many children came to see Shitou, excitedly telling him how many Snowman they had built and how big they were. Shitou listened with wide eyes but stayed obediently at home.
With such heavy snow, Auspicious returned home with her husband. As soon as she arrived, she started crying, saying that the snow was so heavy it had collapsed her house and she wanted to borrow money for repairs.
At that time, Xiao Lihua was at the Xie Family, seeking advice from the Zi Clan on a embroidery technique when this incident occurred.
Li Family responded unhappily: "Last time we gave you thirty taels of Silver, which should be enough for you to build a new house. Now you're back asking for money again? Do you think we have money just lying around? I won’t give you a single cent; we need to build our own house next year too. We can't lend you any money."
The Fang Family remained silent.
The Wang Clan asked Bai Da: "What about those thirty taels of Silver?"
Bai Da said with a grunt that he had given his younger siblings some nourishment, but the Wang Clan did not believe him. They sneered and said, "You’ve nourished them with thirty taels? What kind of body can be nourished for thirty taels? You must be hoarding it all, trying to pull my daughter into this for money, right? Let me tell you, no way. Didn’t you say your house was damaged? Fine, you can stay here. Whenever your house is repaired, you can go back. If your mother doesn’t want you to be a son-in-law, then just stay here."
Bai Da's face turned red instantly. Which son-in-law would want to live at his wife's family home? That would truly make him a son-in-law; he certainly did not want that.
Auspicious's eyes lit up upon hearing this. She thought living at her family home would be great; she could enjoy a good life without caring about being a son-in-law or not.
The Li Family laughed and glanced at the Fang Family, saying, "Mother is wise; this idea is good."
The Fang Family shot a glare at the Li Family, saying, "Mother, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? It would make us the laughingstock. We don’t have any Silver, but the Fourth Brother's family does. Why not borrow some from them for Auspicious?"
Xie Shengcai said, "No way, don’t think about the Fourth Son. Don’t forget what Auspicious did last time."
Xie Shengcai glanced at Xiao Lihua beside him, feeling somewhat awkward.
Xiao Lihua thought that although her father-in-law had a soft temperament, he could still stand firm when necessary. Besides the Second Branch, there was finally someone sensible in this family.
The Wang Clan glared at Xie Shengcai, remaining silent but watching Xiao Lihua. However, Xiao Lihua didn’t even glance at her. She couldn’t ask Xiao Lihua for Silver, and in fact, she didn’t want to give any to Auspicious. After all, Xie Youshun was her son; no matter how much she loved her daughter, she couldn’t keep squeezing her son for money. Nevertheless, Xiao Lihua's indifferent attitude still displeased her.
Auspicious looked at Xie Shengcai with grievance and said, "Father, are you really planning to cut off my ties with the Fourth Brother and them? I am his biological sister."
Xiao Lihua, with a stern face beside them, said, "Being a biological sister doesn’t matter. If you truly knew you were his sister, you wouldn’t have done such things. You can find whoever you want for this matter; just don’t come to our house. Otherwise, I’ll bring out the broom. I’m saying this here; if you don’t believe me, go ahead and try."
After finishing her words, Xiao Lihua walked out. Just as she stepped outside and hadn’t gone far, she heard Auspicious calling her. Initially intending not to turn back, she stopped when she heard Auspicious mention something important to tell her.
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