Hearing this, everyone was immediately taken aback.
Li's Mother paid them no mind; her focus now was entirely on the braised meat.
Zhou Tingting was also thinking about how their family could start earning money, and perhaps she could even become a boss like her eldest brother in the future. Her heart swelled with joy.
She hurried to help as well, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law worked together in a bustling, lively flurry.
...
The sky wasn't dark yet.
In the Zhou family's kitchen, steam rose vigorously from the hot pot.
This weather was just perfect for hot pot, and the little ones were all eating until they broke a sweat.
The kitchen was somewhat dim, with a few candles placed on the table.
Si Nian asked Zhou Yueshen, "Has the transformer still not been replaced?"
Zhou Yueshen, holding Yaoyao in his arms and feeding her, gave a slight nod. "It might take a few more days. You should all rest early these days."
Power outages in the countryside were already a common, unremarkable occurrence.
Electricity was expensive now, and people generally weren't willing to turn on lights unless necessary. They usually went to sleep before it got completely dark.
But it was winter now, and darkness fell early.
By six in the afternoon, it was basically dark.
So power outages in winter were the most troublesome.
Every household could only resort to candles and burning firewood.
Si Nian thought it made sense. In this era, nothing was convenient.
She could understand.
Noticing the man still wearing a tank top in this severe cold, Si Nian said, "The temperature has dropped quite a bit these past few days. When the weather gets a little better in a couple of days, I plan to go into the city to buy some warm clothes—for Little Dong, Little Han, and Yaoyao needs some too."
If it was this cold already, it would be unbearable if it snowed.
The children's old clothes weren't very good, and what she had bought for them were just some thin jackets.
The Second Child had started sniffling again these past two days.
Si Nian was a bit worried he might catch a cold.
Zhou Yueshen, thinking about the recent weather, said in a low voice, "We should buy some."
Recently, more and more people were on holiday, the supply demand was high, and with no electricity, the factory had to rely on flashlights for night patrols. Even the piglets had caught colds.
Zhou Yueshen had also been so busy he barely had time to catch his breath.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry, you have to worry about everything."
Si Nian shook her head. "It's fine. Anyway, Little Dong and Little Han will be on winter break in a couple of days. I'll take them along for the trip."
Si Nian glanced at the two little ones whose eyes instantly lit up and turned towards her, and she smiled. "I might as well buy them a few more winter break homework books while we're at it."
The two children: "..."
After dinner, the sky was completely dark.
The whole family returned to their rooms early, making use of the last bit of light.
Si Nian stood in front of the wardrobe changing into her pajamas. In just those few seconds, she shivered violently from the cold.
The sky was too cold, and Zhou Yueshen's house was very large.
They had now moved their meals to the kitchen.
The spent firewood, still holding embers, kept the kitchen quite warm with the doors and windows closed.
But coming out from such an environment made the other rooms seem even more spacious and colder.
Si Nian wondered how she had kept warm in winter as a child. Things like electric blankets—she wasn't sure if they existed in the eighties.
Thinking this, she buttoned her pajamas one button at a time.
She needed to buy winter pajamas too; the list of things to buy was really growing.
If it were just herself, it would be one thing, but there were also the little ones. From head to toe, sleepwear and loungewear couldn't be missed.
The old man too. She had rummaged through the wardrobe; for winter, he only had that one military overcoat. It seemed he cherished it quite a bit, washing it clean and tidy, usually reluctant to wear it.
In the dead of winter, he was always in a thin tank top. Wearing a long-sleeved shirt was his final concession to the season.
Even if he claimed not to mind the cold, this wasn't sustainable.
It wasn't good for his joints and such.
It might not be obvious now, but it would show in old age.
Zhou Yueshen walked in and saw Si Nian standing frowning in front of the wardrobe putting on her pajamas.
She must be cold; she wasn't wearing that dress today.
The pajamas were somewhat loose, tied in the middle with a belt that cinched at her waist, hugging her curves.
In the faint light, the curves of her figure were exquisite to the extreme.
Zhou Yueshen's Adam's apple bobbed. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What's wrong?"
The man's body was like a heater, instantly blocking out the chill that had surrounded her, exceptionally warm.
Si Nian hummed in acknowledgment. She said, "There are many things to buy. I was also thinking, we're running low on firewood at home. We can't just keep burning wood all winter, can we?"
If they didn't burn wood, it would definitely be cold.
But if they did, the consumption would be enormous.
Every household did the same; the mountains would be stripped bare.
Si Nian sighed softly.
Zhou Yueshen hadn't expected her to be worried about this. His eyes darkened slightly.
Here he was, a grown man, yet she still had to worry about such things.
He drew her closer into his embrace, his large hand enveloping hers.
Her usually soft hands were exceptionally cold.
She wasn't joking; she was truly afraid of the cold.
Villagers in previous years just toughed it out. Everyone had lived through winters like this for over a decade and were already accustomed to it.
But Si Nian didn't need to make do like them.
He said, "I'll buy a stove. We'll burn coal."
Coal nowadays was astonishingly expensive.
In the village, almost no household could afford to burn it.
It was even hard to buy.
But its lasting power was something firewood couldn't match.
When she was young, her family had a square stove in the middle where they burned coal. You could not only cook on it, but the whole room would be warm and cozy.
Si Nian's eyes lit up. "That sounds perfect! Then we won't have to run to the kitchen to eat. We can eat around the stove, and for hot pot, we can cook and eat at the same time!"
Since coming here, the most inconvenient thing for her had been eating hot pot.
But with a stove, whether it was spicy hot pot, trotter hot pot, or mushroom hot pot—there was nothing she couldn't make, only things she hadn't thought of.
Just thinking about it made Si Nian's mouth water.
She quietly added many hot pot ingredients to her mental list.
But with so many things and having to take the children, she probably wouldn't be able to carry everything.
Zhou Yueshen wrapped his arm around her waist, looking down at her.
He said, "After you finish buying things in the city, leave them at the department store. Take your time browsing. I'll finish work in the afternoon and come pick you up."
Si Nian blinked. She looked up, meeting his eyes in the dim light.
Deep as the sea, dark as the night.
She gazed quietly for a few seconds.
Zhou Yueshen was stirred by her look—it held a hint of admiration, of satisfaction.
Even though he had done so poorly, she had never blamed him.
She tilted her chin up, her neck slender, the exposed skin bearing faint kiss marks like blooming flowers, tempting one to pluck them.
Zhou Yueshen's Adam's apple moved. He lowered his head and gently brushed his lips against hers.
Once, then again. In his usually profound gaze, there was an exceptionally doting, tender light.
So tender it made Si Nian's heart flutter.
—I'm so pitiful, I need the power of love to recharge—
