After the eighth day of the first lunar month, the Wei family shop opened for business and started selling goods.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, Old Mrs. Wei took Wei Jin, Zhao Feng, and Zhao Yuyun to Longfu Temple to attend the temple fair. They watched plays all day and returned home in the afternoon.
On the 16th day of the first lunar month, the foreign language teacher Wei Nian hired arrived. The teacher's surname was Jiao, and he looked to be in his thirties. He wore a pair of silver-rimmed round glasses on his nose and a three-piece suit, looking quite elegant. Wei Nian learned foreign language from the teacher every night. With the consent of Mrs. Wei, Chen Xuan would light a charcoal fire in the western room every night to prevent Mr. Jiao and Wei Nian from getting cold. When her elder sister-in-law Wei Jin asked her to make supper, Chen Xuan would privately ask Wei Nian if he was hungry at night and if she wanted to make some for him and Mr. Jiao.
Wei Nian and Chen Xuan are the same age, both are twenty years old. Chen Xuan has a lot on her mind and doesn't want to see the old lady Wei's face, so she doesn't eat more than three meals a day, so as not to make the old lady Wei unhappy. Wei Nian is different. A twenty-year-old boy has a good appetite. Wei Nian nodded, "Okay."
Chen Xuan told Mrs. Wei about this the next day. Although Mrs. Wei felt a little sad about the increase in midnight snacks, since it was for her son and husband, she gritted her teeth and was willing to give it up. Well, now that the chicken, fish, and pork cooked before the New Year are all eaten, new ones have to be made every day. Maybe she will ask Mrs. Li to buy more when she goes shopping.
However, Old Madam Wei still instructed Li and Chen Xuan, "When making mutton patties, don't just make scallion mutton. How much mutton is needed? We have cabbage at home, so mix some cabbage in. It will save money and increase efficiency."
Li and Chen Xuan had no supper anyway, so they both nodded in agreement. Wei Jin, however, refused to agree, "Mutton mixed with cabbage is not tasty, what kind of taste is that! Oh, mom, your beloved little son has been studying foreign languages all night, and you want to mix half of the vegetable leaves in a mutton pie. That's for your son, not for outsiders!" He said to Li and Chen Xuan, "Don't listen to mom, mutton pie must be stuffed with mutton and green onions to be delicious." He also said to Mrs. Wei, "Look at that gentleman, he looks gentle and wears Western clothes. If he doesn't know that you mixed vegetable leaves in his mutton pie, he will think that our family is in financial difficulty."
Old Mrs. Wei rolled her eyes after hearing Wei Jin's complaints, and said to Wei Jin while tying her trouser legs, "If someone is rich, who would come out every night and work like this to earn a lot of money as a teacher? I say, girl, don't think that a person dressed in Western style is rich just because he meets one. Most of them are just for show. Who knows, the bright outer garment may have patches on the inside!"
After Wei Jin told her mother about this, she didn't bother to argue and just said, "Anyway, you can't put cabbage in mutton patties. It tastes terrible. I hate the taste of cabbage the most!"
"After all, it's not that your brother doesn't like it, it's that you don't like cabbage!" Old Mrs. Wei choked her eldest daughter and didn't say anything more about whether to mix cabbage in mutton patties.
Wei Jin muttered, "I can only have a good meal at my mother's house."
Old Mrs. Wei rolled up her trouser legs, put on her shoes, and took Sister Yun for a stroll to the theater in Dazhalan to watch a play.
Wei Nian was not used to the daily midnight snack of mutton pies. After brushing his teeth at night, he complained to Chen Xuan, "Even if my family can afford mutton, we don't want mutton pies every day."
Chen Xuan said, "Big sister loves to eat this."
Wei Nian couldn't do anything about his elder sister who lived in her parents' home all day after getting married, so he said to Chen Xuan, "Other wives go back to their husband's home after the 15th day of the first lunar month, but our aunt lives in her parents' home all year round." Anyway, he couldn't eat mutton pies anymore, "You should think of a way to change it. How can we just give in to her in everything? Just steaming some buns will be fine."
Chen Xuan was sewing clothes and thought for a while, "It's late at night, and it's not even the end of the first lunar month. It's cold, and eating buns won't keep me warm. I'll roll out some noodles and make hot soup noodles tomorrow."
"Okay." Wei Nian is not picky as long as it's not mutton pie.
So, the next day's midnight snack was changed to hot noodle soup.
Chen Xuan thought that Wei Nian was probably tired of eating mutton patties, so she didn't put meat slices in the hot soup noodles. She just stir-fried some plain green onions. When the noodles were ready, she cut a head of cabbage, added a few drops of sesame oil, and brought it to Wei Nian and Mr. Jiao.
Wei Nian also praised Chen Xuan's noodles for being well cooked and chewy that night.
Chen Xuan smiled, "I'm very strong, so when rolling noodles, the dough needs to be hard so that it's chewy."
Wei Nian encouraged Chen Xuan, "Do this next time. Don't make it greasy at night."
Wei Nian was not exaggerating when she asked Chen Xuan to make supper for him. She made it for Wei Nian several times. Sometimes it was noodle soup, sometimes it was vegetarian dumplings, and sometimes it was noodle tea. Sometimes when Old Master Wei was hungry at night, she would ask Chen Xuan to make an extra portion. Old Master Wei ate little, and Chen Xuan had to make it for Wei Nian and Mr. Jiao anyway, so she just added an extra spoonful. Old Madam Wei even whispered in private that Chen Xuan's cooking skills had improved rapidly since she came to their house.
Old Master Wei said, "Isn't this good?"
"I didn't say anything bad. Although she is a country girl, she really loves A-Nian and does different things for him every day. She wasn't so smart before." said Old Mrs. Wei.
However, Mrs. Wei did not think about the fact that since the fifteenth day of the lunar month, Chen Xuan had been making most of the midnight snacks every day. Mrs. Wei had always been consistent with Wei Jin, and the mother and daughter ate mutton pies nine days out of ten. Even if Chen Xuan wanted to change the way they eat, she had to worry that the mother and daughter would not be happy.
Sometimes, when Chen Xuan made midnight snacks, Wei Yin would come to help. Occasionally, when she went to the courtyard, she would hear Wei Nian talking to Mr. Jiao, sometimes in Beijing dialect, sometimes in foreign languages. Chen Xuan couldn't understand the foreign languages, but she just thought they sounded nice. Wei Yin was much smarter than Chen Xuan. After listening to them a few times, Wei Yin could even speak a few words in foreign languages. Chen Xuan felt that with Wei Yin's intelligence, if he was allowed to go to school, he might really be able to get into the school called a university.
Moreover, Wei Yin is not only smart, but also a very nice person. These days, he teaches Chen Xuan to recognize a few words every day.
Chen Xuan was grateful. After she finished making the shoes for old lady Wei, she saw Wei Yin sewing new clothes and said, "Second sister, I have finished making the shoes for old lady. Didn't you say you would make four new clothes this spring? I don't have much work on hand now. If you are too busy, I will help you make some."
Chen Xuan's needlework was polished in her previous life and was extremely delicate. She could do embroidery well. Wei Yin was naturally happy when she heard this. Even Mrs. Wei was very satisfied when she saw Chen Xuan taking the initiative to help Wei Yin with work. She thought, as a sister-in-law, shouldn't she love her sister-in-law so much? Wei Yin happily told Chen Xuan about the clothes she wanted to cut. Chen Xuan listened carefully. Wei Yin made cheongsams. As long as the cheongsams were cut, the only trouble was the edging and buttons. Everything else was easy to make.
After Chen Xuan helped Wei Yin make the new clothes, Wei Yin also knew that her second sister-in-law treated her well, so she thanked Chen Xuan profusely. Chen Xuan smiled and said, "What's the big deal? It's not worth thanking for."
Old Madam Wei immediately said, "That's right, your second sister-in-law is not an outsider."
Chen Xuan helped Chen Xuan make new clothes and worked very hard at home every day. Moreover, being diligent is not without benefits. The New Year couplets posted on both sides of the door in the courtyard were old. In addition, there were two heavy snowfalls before the New Year, which wet the couplets. Now there are several damaged places. Chen Xuan talked to Mrs. Wei and thought about taking down the couplets. Mrs. Wei said, "Nian is here, so just take it down. There is some sticky glue on the wall, wipe it carefully and clean the wall."
Chen Xuan happily agreed. Old Lady Wei was still thinking that this silly country girl was honest, but she had good eyesight and knew how to find work. But she didn't know that Chen Xuan was happy because she had been worried about learning so many words but had no paper to write on. Chen Xuan had been staring at the couplet for several days. She was afraid that the couplet was not torn enough, so she secretly tore it twice when no one was looking. When Old Lady Wei asked her to take it down, Chen Xuan hurriedly took it down and put the two faded and whitened couplet papers back into the house. The words on it were not fully written, and there were still many places that could be used.
Chen Xuan cleaned the wall very well. She was so happy to get these two couplets that she secretly wrote several times in the room. As a result, Wei Nian's fountain pen was worn out and she couldn't write anything. Chen Xuan was so scared that her face turned pale. She thought about what Wei Yin said, that this was a very famous brand of pen, and even the nib was made of gold. If she broke it, how could she compensate for it
Chen Xuan wanted to discuss it with Wei Yin, but she didn't know what to say. Hey, it's such a valuable thing!
Chen Xuan was thinking about what to do about this matter. One day, Wei Nian was about to write and was looking for a pen in the room. Chen Xuan twisted her fingers nervously and said to Wei Nian, "Brother Nian, then, then, then..." She stuttered out of anxiety.
Because Chen Xuan was so attentive in making midnight snacks, and because the two of them had been getting along well these days, Wei Nian took a pen and asked Chen Xuan, "What's wrong?"
Chen Xuan whispered, "I broke the pen."
Wei Nian opened the pen cap and asked, "Why is it broken?"
"He used to write very well, but suddenly he can't write anymore." Chen Xuan said worriedly, "I don't know how it broke. I was thinking, Brother Nian, do you know anyone outside who can repair pens? Yin said that this pen is very valuable. Well, I still owe you one dollar and fifty cents, and now, I broke your pen again." Chen Xuan felt that she was really sorry for Wei Nian.
Wei Nian almost burst out laughing. Seeing that Wei Nian was holding on to the table and laughing so hard that he couldn't straighten his back, Chen Xuan asked Wei Nian, "What are you laughing at?" What should he do with the money
Wei Nian originally wanted to tease Chen Xuan, but he also knew that Chen Xuan was an honest person. Seeing her so worried, Wei Nian said, "It's not broken, it's just that there's no ink inside. Just pump some ink in and it will be fine."
"Is it really not broken?"
Wei Nian nodded, and Chen Xuan let out a long breath. Wei Nian asked her to go to the west room together, and took out a two-inch high glass bottle with a plastic cover from the drawer. Wei Nian unscrewed the lid and showed it to Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan smelled the faint odor of ink, and saw that there was still half a bottle inside. Wei Nian said, "This is the ink." He unscrewed the pen to suck out the ink, and asked Chen Xuan, "Do you often use my pen secretly?"
"Not often, just a few times." Chen Xuan felt relieved when she saw that the pen was not broken. After watching Wei Nian suck ink into the pen, Chen Xuan screwed the lid on the ink bottle and put it back in the drawer.
Wei Nian tore a piece of paper from the notebook on the table, wiped the ink around the pen tip, and threw the paper on the ground. Chen Xuan saw that the snow-white paper was thrown away! She immediately bent over to pick it up, folded it on the table, and prepared to take it to the house later if Wei Nian didn't want it. Wei Nian said, "You can use an eyebrow pencil to draw the flower pattern. Don't use a fountain pen just because it's rare. It's not good to draw flowers with a fountain pen."
Chen Xuan said, "I'm not painting flowers."
"What is that for?"
"Writing." Chen Xuan whispered, "A Yin has taught me to recognize more than a hundred characters."
"Oh, that's incredible." Wei Nian said casually, "It won't hurt to learn more characters."
"Yes." Chen Xuan nodded and discussed with Wei Nian, "Can you let me use your pen in the future?"
Wei Nian wanted to laugh when he thought of Chen Xuan's worried and sad look when she told him "the pen is broken". Wei Nian held back his laughter and said, "Yes, you can use it whenever you want."
Chen Xuan thanked Wei Nian and said, "Don't you like to eat Hutazi? I'll make it for you tomorrow morning. It's best to eat it while it's hot."
Wei Nian smiled, "Okay."
As a result, Chen Xuan kindly got up early and made porridge for Wei Nian.
As a result, Wei Nian's careless mouth almost made Chen Xuan angry to death.
Here's what happened. The Wei family usually cooked corn cob porridge at home for breakfast, and bought some fried dough sticks and tofu pudding from outside. They didn't make hutazi very often. Chen Xuan chopped green onions, beat eggs, and mixed the batter to make hutazi early in the morning in order to thank Wei Nian for agreeing to let her continue to use Wei Nian's pen.
Old Master Wei is old and loves soft food. He nodded and said, "Second daughter-in-law's Hu Tua Zi is delicious." Because Hu Tua Zi is delicious only when it is made right away, Chen Xuan made it in the kitchen and the Wei family ate it first.
Mrs. Wei also said it was not bad, especially because it was cheaper than buying food outside. It was also affordable.
Wei Jinze said, "What's wrong with my second brother's wife? She has never been so attentive before. The sun is rising from the west."
These words were really unpleasant to the ear. Old Master Wei couldn't help but frown and look at his eldest daughter.
Wei Jin tore open a piece of glutinous rice cake, gave half to each of his two sons, and said to his sons, "Eat it quickly, it tastes better while it's hot."
Wei Nian also felt that the hutazi tasted better than the fried dough sticks and fried cakes he ate every day, so he put one in each bowl for his two nephews, Wei Jie and Wei Ming, and said proudly, "You all benefited from me. A Xuan mainly served them to me."
Wei Yin asked with a smile, "Second brother, what good things have you done?"
"Your second sister-in-law wants to write with my pen." Speaking of this, Wei Nian said to the eldest sister, "Look at Axuan. She has only been in our house for a few days, but she can recognize more than a hundred words. Look at you. You are also the eldest lady in the Zhao family, but you can't even recognize a single word. You are not as good as Axuan."
Wei Nian was so loudmouthed that he told everyone about Chen Xuan's learning to write. Then, Wei Jin said, "A country girl, you have to learn some foreign things when you come to the city." Chen Xuan was very dissatisfied with Wei Shang's loudmouthedness. The direct manifestation was that Wei Nian ate mutton patties for supper for ten days, and his mouth was covered with blisters. He apologized to Chen Xuan, and Chen Xuan forgave him.