Chapter 126: Finger Spinner, Grinding Tofu

Since Ming Dai had been busy taking care of Zhou Sinian, she had not visited the captain's house for a long time. Auntie Huang and her eldest daughter-in-law, accompanied by Tiedan and Goudan, came over to visit their "big brother."

When they arrived, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian were on the heated brick bed playing with finger spinning tops. Ming Dai had specially asked Liu Dazheng to help make them—tiny little things kept on a wooden tray. They were like cricket fighting; the winner got to draw a line on the loser's face.

Consequently, what Auntie Huang and the others saw was Ming Dai, whose face had been drawn on until she looked like a little tabby cat.

*Wuwu!*

She really regretted choosing to play this game with Zhou Sinian!

Auntie Huang stifled a laugh as she watched Ming Dai wash her face clean before handing over the basket she had brought. It was filled to the brim with sticky bean buns, frozen rock-hard.

"We made these yesterday, so we brought some for you to taste."

Looking at the quantity, Ming Dai estimated it wasn't just "some"—they had probably brought over half of what they had made.

Indeed, Auntie Huang felt that in the short half-year since the young educated youth Ming had come to the countryside, she had been wholeheartedly devoted to the village and their family. She had been especially kind to the children and had often gifted them good things. They couldn't just keep taking without giving back, so they took the opportunity of the New Year to return the favor. Reciprocity was the foundation of a good relationship.

Ming Dai did not decline. She invited them to sit on the heated bed and went to the kitchen to fetch a kettle of hot water. She brewed a steaming bowl of red date tea for each adult, while the children and Zhou Sinian were treated to malted milk.

Goudan had long set his sights on the finger spinning top Zhou Sinian was playing with. He scooted over, inch by inch, forgetting even to drink his malted milk. Tiedan looked on with envy, thinking it looked like great fun.

Ming Dai took out another one and handed it to them. "Go ahead and play."

Encouraged, the two children sat down excitedly. Zhou Sinian cast a disdainful glance at the two little "dirt potatoes," but soon, they were all playing together.

Auntie Huang looked at Zhou Sinian, who was sitting at the head of the bed; his complexion was indeed poor. "Is the educated youth Zhou still not recovered? It's been half a month, hasn't it?"

Ming Dai nodded. "He's better now, but he still needs to rest. His body was severely depleted before, and this illness brought everything to the surface."

Auntie Huang nodded in agreement. "That little face is as pale as a sheet; you must take good care of him."

Ming Dai nodded, remembering her plan, and asked Auntie Huang, "Auntie, do you know which family in the village has a cat?"

Auntie Huang looked around the room. "What's the matter? Are you having a mouse problem?"

Ming Dai didn't deny it. "I want to adopt one to keep. I don't know who has any."

Auntie Huang thought for a moment. "Auntie Dazui in the village might have some. I remember her old cat was pregnant a while back. If there are any, I'll get one for you."

Ming Dai nodded happily. "A yellow one would be best."

Auntie Huang waved her hand. "That's no problem."

As the two spoke, the eldest daughter-in-law, Sister-in-law Huang, was attracted by the half-finished sweater Zhou Sinian was knitting. It was red, but this time, Zhou Sinian was challenging himself with intarsia and jacquard techniques, creating a 3D visual effect on top of the stockinette stitch—each red winter plum blossom seemed to leap off the fabric.

This was something Liu Dazheng and Zhou Sinian had explored together. In Zhou Sinian's room next door, there was a basket crafted with relief work, where the plum blossoms were made from red yarn kindly provided by Zhou Sinian.

"Mother, look!"

Sister-in-law Huang pointed at the unfinished sweater. "Educated youth Zhou's craftsmanship is getting better and better; he can even embroider on sweaters now!"

Auntie Huang looked over as well. Indeed, the red winter plum blossoms bloomed on the sweater—not at all jarring, but exceptionally beautiful.

"Tsk tsk, I never expected a young man like educated youth Zhou to be so skilled! No one in our village can do such fine handiwork."

Zhou Sinian listened with satisfied ears and set the work down. He gave a light cough and pushed the basket containing the yarn balls toward them. He didn't speak, but his meaning was clear: they were welcome to look.

Ming Dai took the basket, and the three women laughed as they saw the corner of Zhou Sinian’s mouth twitch upward.

*Oh my, this educated youth Zhou is just too interesting!*

After playing for a while, Auntie Huang suggested going home. Ming Dai took the opportunity to invite her to come over the next day to help grind beans, as she planned to make tofu. Auntie Huang happily agreed, intending to soak some beans herself to bring over the next day.

Seeing the two children reluctant to part with the finger tops, Zhou Sinian generously gave them two that he considered the "ugliest," leaving the children giggling with their new toys.

After seeing them off, Zhou Sinian climbed off the bed, stretched, and told Ming Dai he wanted to go into the "space." Ming Dai also wanted to put away the bean buns Auntie Huang had given them, so they locked the door and entered the space.

Zhou Sinian had recently fallen in love with fishing; it was the only activity Ming Dai did not restrict. He didn't go straight to the pond, but first took a small basket to the strawberry patch to pick a basketful of berries. They couldn't consume the two long rows of strawberries, so they usually picked them when they ripened and stored them in the warehouse, where quite a stock had already accumulated.

After washing the strawberries, he sent a portion to Ming Dai in the pharmacy, took a plate for himself, and headed to the pond with his knitting basket.

Arriving at his exclusive fishing spot, he began to fish. Zhou Sinian fished purely for entertainment, so he didn't care about the results. His bait every day depended on what he was eating. For instance, today’s bait was strawberries. He ate the tips of the strawberries, and whichever fish were fated to do so ate the bottoms.

With warm sunlight and a gentle breeze, Zhou Sinian lay comfortably on a lounge chair, watching the water, eating strawberries, and occasionally knitting a few stitches. Two words described him perfectly:

*Comfortable!*

While he was relaxing, Ming Dai was inside the pharmacy preparing medicine for him. Over the past few days, to ensure he rested well, she had added quite a few sedatives to his medicine. Now that he had recovered significantly, she planned to adjust the formula. At the same time, she was brewing some ointment; the scars on Zhou Sinian's body needed treatment, especially the one from the tiger's claw. Whenever he moved, it would surely itch or hurt, but Zhou Sinian was so used to enduring pain that he never mentioned it.

Actually, grinding tiger bones into powder to add to the ointment would be more effective, but Ming Dai didn't want to take the risk yet; she would wait and see.

The next day, early in the morning, Auntie Huang arrived at the educated youth station with her two daughters-in-law and the children. Ming Dai had already cleaned the stone mill and soaked the beans. She arranged for the children to play with Zhou Sinian on the heated bed, bringing out some fruit and hot tea for Zhou Sinian to host them.

Tiedan and Goudan were familiar with the place, and although Huang Tao and Huang Xing only dared to watch at first, they soon became comfortable. Zhou Sinian looked at their identical red headscarves and nodded with satisfaction—they were his little brothers!

Outside, Sister-in-law Huang took her mother-in-law and sister-in-law to wash their hands, luxuriously using soap. Auntie Huang watched her eldest daughter-in-law carefully scrubbing under her fingernails and thought that Zhou Sinian’s habit of hitting people wasn't such a bad thing after all—it could even cure laziness!

Zhou Pandi, while rubbing her hands, glanced around the kitchen, feeling a surge of envy at the brand-new furniture and organized cabinets. Seeing her sister-in-law talking intimately with Ming Dai, she felt a wave of grievance in her heart.

*Mother didn't bring me because she thought I wouldn't make a good impression!*

Initially, her mother-in-law had only intended to bring Huang Tao and Huang Xing. It was only because she had fought for it that she was allowed to come along. Ming Dai had visited their home so many times, yet she only spoke to her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, treating her with nothing more than a nod.

*She must look down on me because I haven't given birth to a son!*

*Why is my life so bitter?!*

If Ming Dai knew her thoughts, she would think Auntie Huang was being wronged. She didn't get close to Zhou Pandi simply because she knew they were not on the same wavelength and couldn't be friends. After interacting with the Liu family for a long time, she knew exactly what kind of person the second daughter-in-law was.

In Auntie Huang's words, this daughter-in-law was the biggest fool in Liuwan Village, suffering from a persecution complex, always assuming people looked down on her because she hadn't given birth to a son.

*Laughable!* Auntie Huang didn't care at all, did she?

No matter what, they all shared the Liu bloodline. Two grandsons and two granddaughters—wasn't that a perfect "good" (*hao*)? Why have so many grandsons? If raised well, granddaughters could bring just as much honor to the family!

Therefore, the only person in the Liu family who cared about whether she gave birth to a son was herself. Zhou Pandi just couldn't see it clearly. Her personality, shaped since childhood and brainwashed by her own family, made her attribute every unpleasant thing to that issue, resulting in how she was today.

Fortunately, she was as timid as a mouse and very obedient to her husband, Liu Laiwang. Aside from being a daily nuisance, she hadn't done anything truly bad. Auntie Huang, seeing that she was pretty and that the two daughters she had given birth to were also very beautiful, turned a blind eye to her behavior.

As for the "differential treatment" she complained about, Auntie Huang admitted it.

*Of course, there has to be differential treatment!*

Her eldest daughter-in-law wasn't perfect and often did silly things, but she was obedient and willing to change, and she didn't hold grudges. She just kept on smiling and getting things done.

And her?

Because of the grandson issue, she and the old man had taken turns saying they didn't dislike granddaughters, nor did they think she was at fault for not having a boy. But Zhou Pandi wouldn't listen! Instead, she would think Auntie Huang was insinuating things and cry even harder!

Later, Auntie Huang just gave up. She warned Liu Laiwang to keep his wife in check, or else they would just split the household and kick them out! After all, this troublesome wife was the one he had chosen for her looks, so he was the one who had to deal with her!

Amidst Sister-in-law Huang's joy and Zhou Pandi's solitary sorrow, the stone mill began to turn.