Chen Xuan was used to getting up early, so she woke up at daybreak.
When she was young, she had to get up at this time to feed the pigs and cows and prepare breakfast for the whole family at her uncle and aunt's house. Later, when she went to the Wei family, she also got up very early and made breakfast for the whole family with her eldest sister-in-law. In the end, she returned to her hometown. As a country girl, no one would sleep in in the morning.
This habit might have been so deeply engraved in her soul that even when she lived her life again, she would still wake up early.
Chen Xuan didn't have the habit of staying in bed. Since she woke up, she got up and tidied herself up. She took out an indigo gown from her dowry. The gown was wide and big. Chen Xuan was strong, and the gown made her look big and stupid. However, her dowry was all these clothes, so she had no choice. Fortunately, she didn't have to feel inferior, because everyone in the Wei family, from the old lady to the two aunts, wore this style of gown. The difference was that the material of other people's clothes was more particular, while Chen Xuan's was indigo dyed with home-made cloth from the countryside. It wouldn't be noticeable now, but the color would fade in half a day, and by the evening, it would dye her cotton-padded clothes blue.
It’s no wonder that she felt inferior in the past. Being poor and inferior to others made her feel inferior.
After getting up, Chen Xuan went out to fetch water to wash her face. After she cleaned herself up, she began to clean up the house. This was her own house from now on. Chen Xuan did not have the fear she had when she woke up in this house for the first time. Anyway, Wei Nian would not come. Chen Xuan cleaned up and thought about it, no longer expecting anything. However, this was a new house, and there was nothing much to clean up. She just put a few plates of fine fruits in the gauze drawer of the tea cabinet to prevent them from getting dirty.
After a while, Li came over and saw that Chen Xuan had already packed up. Li smiled, "That's great, I will have a companion from now on." She took Chen Xuan to the kitchen.
Chen Xuan has been working since she was a child. Moreover, with the experience of her previous life, the work in the Wei family kitchen is not difficult for her. It's nothing more than that the grandfather likes to drink cornmeal porridge, and the pickles bought at home are cut into two plates. The other fried fruits, mahjong biscuits, pepper and salt steamed cakes, etc., are bought by Li's eldest son Wei Jie at the breakfast stall at the entrance of the alley. Therefore, the breakfast of the Wei family is very simple, but Li carefully reminds Chen Xuan what kind of heat the porridge should be cooked to suit the grandfather's preference. At one time, Wei Jie bought breakfast, and Li first warmed the porridge on the stove and took Chen Xuan to arrange the breakfast. Seeing that there were two bowls of tofu brain, Chen Xuan knew that these were for the two boys from the eldest aunt's family. Otherwise, the Wei family has always had big rules, and the family members would eat whatever the elderly eat. However, the eldest aunt Wei Jin had already married. People at that time respected the aunt, so whenever Wei Jin returned to her parents' home, her two sons, Zhao Feng and Zhao Yu, became the two most privileged children in the Wei family.
After putting out the breakfast, Li heard her daughter Yunjie come over and say that grandma had woken up. Li quickly told Chen Xuan where the two bowls of tofu pudding were, and then hurried to the old lady's room to help her comb her hair.
Even though Chen Xuan hadn't made breakfast for a few years, she was familiar with it today. After putting the breakfast on the table and bringing out the pickles from the kitchen, Chen Xuan was about to serve the porridge when her second aunt Wei Yin came over. Wei Yin was extremely beautiful, with the unique black eyebrows and beautiful eyes of the Wei family, her skin was naturally white, and she was tall. She wore a pink gown that cleverly showed off her beautiful waist, which was completely different from the fat and clumsy indigo gown on Chen Xuan. As soon as Wei Yin came, she went to the kitchen with Chen Xuan, called "Second Sister-in-law", and helped serve the porridge and dishes. When breakfast was ready, Grandpa Wei and Grandma Wei came to the dining room with Li's service. Also coming were Wei's eldest son, Li's husband Wei Shi, Li's three children Wei Jie, Wei Ming, and Wei Yun, as well as Wei's eldest aunt Wei Jin and her son.
Old Master Wei was very satisfied when he saw Chen Xuan busy with breakfast. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Everyone, please sit down." After Old Master Wei sat down first, Old Madam Wei and the younger generations sat down. Li sat below Old Madam Wei, so that she could serve her mother-in-law. Wei Shi sat below Old Master Wei to serve his father. On the other hand, Wei Jin sat next to Li with his two sons, while Wei Jie, Wei Ming and Wei Yun sat with their father Wei Shi. As for Chen Xuan, she sat below Zhao Yu, the youngest son of her eldest aunt Wei Jin, the last seat. This place was close to the door, so it was convenient for her to help with tasks such as adding rice.
The Wei family was not a wealthy family, and they did not have the rule of not talking after eating. Old Master Wei was very caring towards Chen Xuan and said, "You were busy all day yesterday. Take a good rest and don't get tired."
Chen Xuan nodded, "Yes, Dad."
When the new daughter-in-law came in, Old Master Wei was in a very good mood. Even though he hadn't seen his second son, he was still in a very good mood. Anyway, the daughter-in-law had come in, so the marriage was settled! Old Master Wei thought proudly.
After breakfast, Grandpa Wei and his eldest son Wei Shi went to the shop to support the business. Wei Jie and Wei Ming were older and had to go to school, each carrying a small schoolbag to study. The rest were a group of women and children at home.
Li took Chen Xuan to clean up the table and wash up. When they arrived at the old lady's room, they saw Zhao Feng and Zhao Yu eating the same small snacks. Wei Jin smiled when she saw Chen Xuan. It was strange. All the members of the Wei family had black eyebrows, beautiful eyes and white skin, but Wei Jin only inherited one white face. The rest of the eyebrows and eyes were like her mother, old lady Wei. Therefore, she became an outlier among the brothers and sisters. Among the four brothers and sisters, she had the most ordinary appearance. Although old lady Wei had ordinary eyebrows and eyes, she was petite. Wei Jin was chubby, but in this chaotic world, such a plump figure was rare. Wei Jin smiled, and her eyes were squeezed small by the flesh on her face. Her round face did not look friendly. Her voice was a little sharp and a little harsh. She sat next to old lady Wei and said, "Children's stomachs are hungry when they say they are hungry. This snack will not taste good if it is left for a long time. There is no other food at home. I took it from my sister-in-law's room. Don't be unhappy."
Even though Chen Xuan was always kind, she still felt that this was not very pleasant to hear. She remembered that in her previous life, Chen Xuan was a new bride, and she was shy and didn't know what to do, so she didn't say anything. Now, Chen Xuan didn't want to remain silent. She looked at Yun Jie'er who was guarding her aunt Wei Yin, and said, "It's originally something from our family, why can I be unhappy? Why only Feng Ge'er and Yu Ge'er eat it, but Yun Jie'er doesn't eat it?"
Before Wei Jin could speak, Li said, "Sister Yun is not hungry."
Chen Xuan knew that her elder sister-in-law loved to stir up trouble and had a mean temper. Chen Xuan did not plan to stay in the Wei family for a long time. She would rather go home to farm and find an honest man in the countryside than torment the years in the Wei family. Chen Xuan said, "Even if I don't eat now, I will be hungry soon. I don't like snacks. Feng and Yu are coming to my mother-in-law's house. They are honored guests. You two can each have a plate. There are two plates left. Ask Jie, Ming, and Yun to share them." After saying that, Chen Xuan handed the two plates of snacks to Li. Li was always weak. Seeing that her mother-in-law and aunt looked unhappy, how could she dare to accept them. Chen Xuan simply sent Li to her room by herself. When she came back, she asked, "Mom, do you think this is okay?"
Mrs. Wei originally wanted to keep these cakes for herself, her daughter and her grandson. How could she be happy when she saw that Chen Xuan was asked to take half of them? She said with a stern face, "You have already divided them all, what else can I say?"
Seeing Wei Jin's embarrassed face and Mrs. Wei's unhappy face, Chen Xuan felt a kind of happiness that she had never experienced in her two lifetimes. Then, to feel more happy, she said, "Mother didn't say anything, which shows that my idea is good."
So, Old Mrs. Wei looked as if she was choking.
Even Wei Yin, who had been fiddling with fabrics and sewing clothes on the small kang by the window, couldn't help but glance at Chen Xuan and smile at Yun Jie'er.
Chen Xuan soon paid the price for her hasty words in the morning. When it was time to cook lunch, Wei Jin put a bowl of leftover noodle soup on the steamer and said, "Our family is not as rich as other families. Nowadays, there are many beggars with broken bowls outside. We can't waste this good noodle soup. What do you think, sister-in-law?"
Chen Xuan squatted in front of the stove and turned on the stove. "Yes."
At noon, Chen Xuan put the food on the table and then brought out the bowl of reheated noodle soup.
Wei Yin couldn't help but ask, "Why did Second Sister-in-law have leftovers?"
A smile appeared on Wei Jin's round face, and he said, "What's wrong with leftovers? It was made by my eldest sister-in-law for my younger sister-in-law yesterday. My younger sister-in-law came from the countryside, and she knows better than us how hard it is to get a bowl of porridge and a meal. I also told my younger sister-in-law that she didn't need to eat it, but she wouldn't agree. She was afraid of wasting food, so she insisted on heating it up before eating. In my opinion, when looking for a wife, you have to find someone like my younger sister-in-law who knows how to live. Mom has a good eye. She found someone like my younger sister-in-law who is frugal and knows how to live for my second brother."
It turns out that words can be said in such a confusing way. Chen Xuan has really broadened her horizons in her two lifetimes.
Chen Xuan didn't think there was anything wrong with eating a bowl of leftover noodle soup. She did feel inferior because she came from the countryside, and felt that she was not worthy of the Wei family. But after all, she had died once and had experienced what happened in the Wei family. Therefore, Wei Jin's words could have given Chen Xuan a warning in her previous life, but now, it was not enough. Chen Xuan stirred the noodle soup in the bowl. It still had a good noodle aroma, but the noodles had been left for a long time and were a little soggy, and not as chewy as last night. Chen Xuan didn't care, nor was she unhappy about Wei Jin's words. She said calmly, "Yes, in the countryside, white flour is hard to come by. I would feel bad if this noodle was wasted. Besides, my eldest sister-in-law made it specially for me last night. I was worried about Brother Anian yesterday, so I didn't feel like eating it. I tried it today, and it's the same."
Chen Xuan said this, and Mrs. Wei was very satisfied. In Mrs. Wei's opinion, the leftovers should be eaten by her daughter-in-law. Look, the eldest daughter-in-law Li didn't eat the freshly steamed salt and pepper flower rolls at noon, but ate the leftover fried dough sticks from the morning. As for Chen Xuan's performance, it was even more pleasing to Mrs. Wei.
Old Mrs. Wei smiled, "As expected, she is the daughter-in-law of our Wei family. She knows how to live and she is destined to be our Wei family." Then, Old Mrs. Wei talked about how difficult the Wei family had been in the past. When the old lady was talking, she saw Wei Yin also took a leftover fried dough stick from the morning and immediately asked, "Why are you eating leftovers?"
Wei Yin broke open a small fried roll with oil and salt, put two slices of Yueshengzhai's braised beef in it, pinched a piece of fried dough stick and wrapped it together to eat, saying, "I heard you say how difficult our family was in the past and how hard it was for my father to make money. I'm being frugal and giving you the new ones and I'll eat the leftovers."
"We don't need you. We have your sister-in-law and second sister-in-law." Wei Yin was the eldest daughter of Old Lady Wei. She loved this little girl very much. When she saw her daughter eating the leftover fried dough sticks from the morning, she felt distressed again.
Chen Xuan knew that Old Lady Wei was always partial to her, but she was not dissatisfied. Being a daughter-in-law was naturally different from being a daughter. The younger sister-in-law was naturally better off at her parents' home. However, every time she saw Old Lady Wei loving Wei Yin so much, Chen Xuan would always wonder unconsciously, now that her mother was still alive, would she still love her like this
Chen Xuan just ate a bowl of leftover noodle soup, but she didn't expect that Old Lady Wei's opinion of her would rise to a higher level. In the evening, Old Lady Wei said to Old Master Wei, "I think she knows how to live."
Old Master Wei said, "How can my vision be wrong! Go tell that beast Anian that if he doesn't come back, he doesn't have to go home anymore!"
Although he was satisfied with his second daughter-in-law, when he thought of his second son, Old Master Wei couldn't help but get angry again.