Su Bingcheng quickly rubbed her back to help her catch her breath. "If they don't give anything, then they don't. Maybe the package is just delayed on the road and hasn't reached the island yet."
"Keep lying to yourself," Xu Yueyun said angrily. "Su Lang didn't care in the past, but can he bear to watch his wife suffer now? Sooner or later, the brotherly bond will be completely drained by those two older ones."
Su Bingcheng felt uncomfortable hearing this.
He was getting old and just wanted the brothers to support each other, keeping the whole family harmonious.
Having spent half a lifetime together, Xu Yueyun knew exactly what he was thinking before he even spoke. She warned, "You are not allowed to tell them. I want to see if they still have a conscience!"
"I know, I won't tell them, alright?" Su Bingcheng sighed, just hoping the eldest and second sons would show some sense.
Xu Yueyun glanced at her husband and snorted, "The boys are all grown up and married now, each with their own families. From now on, they're just close relatives. How could you expect them to be as thick as thieves like when they were kids? It's impossible."
Su Bingcheng lowered his head and sat on the sofa in silence.
Xu Yueyun didn't try to comfort him either. Among their three children, Su Lang was the most successful.
Before Su Lang got married, he didn't mind taking a loss.
But now that he had a wife and children, he might be able to swallow his grievances, but he wouldn't let his family suffer.
...
To prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner, Lin Zhilan took the children on a special trip to Yan Yuan's house.
She also brought him a pair of boots while she was at it.
She had noticed last time that Yan Yuan was wearing straw sandals when beachcombing.
Even though the island's temperature was generally high, the seawater was still a bit chilly in winter.
Plus, there were many broken shells on the beach, making it easy to cut the soles of his feet if he wasn't careful.
Yan Yuan and his grandfather naturally tried to decline the gift. Lin Zhilan had no choice but to say, "The New Year is almost here. This is a New Year's gift for the child, it wasn't expensive."
Jiang Chengzhou put an arm around Yan Yuan's shoulders. "Just take them. I have a pair too, we can go beachcombing together some other day."
Yan Yuan subconsciously looked at Aunt Lin.
Lin Zhilan smiled, "When the weather gets a bit warmer, we'll all go together."
Yan Yuan couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile and nodded slightly. He accepted the boots and said earnestly, "Auntie, I'll go to the traditional Chinese medicine department to help you grind medicine then."
"Sure, Brother Xiao Lin is looking forward to your help."
Lin Zhilan set her daughter down on the ground and patted Yan Yuan's head. "Go play with Chengzhou and your little sister for a while. I need to have a few words with your grandfather."
Yan Yuan turned to look at his grandfather, then held Linlin's hand with Jiang Chengzhou as they went for a walk nearby.
"Uncle Yan," Lin Zhilan asked after the children had walked away, "The military district school is opening next year. Will you send Yan Yuan to school?"
"Yes!" Yan Yuan's grandfather answered without hesitation. "I will definitely send him. I've already prepared the tuition."
The Yan family had lived on the island for generations, making a living by fishing.
In the past, there was no opportunity for an education. Now that his grandson could go to school, Grandpa Yan would sell everything he owned to send him.
Hearing this, Lin Zhilan breathed a sigh of relief.
She bought quite a bit of fish and shrimp from Grandpa Yan, and just as she finished paying, the three children returned.
Just as she was about to head home, Grandpa Yan grabbed a few yellow croakers from the backyard and placed them into Lin Zhilan's bucket.
"These fish are delicious and don't have many bones. Dr. Lin, cook them for the kids."
Lin Zhilan knew this was their way of expressing gratitude, so she didn't decline further. "Chengzhou, Linlin, Grandpa Yan gave you fish to eat. What do you say?"
"Thank you, Grandpa Yan."
"No need for thanks, no need at all." Yan Yuan's grandfather was not a man of many words, so he could only wave his hands repeatedly.
"Alright, we should head home now," Lin Zhilan said to Yan Yuan with a smile. "Remember to come visit Auntie during the New Year. Auntie has made a lot of delicious food."
"Mhm." Yan Yuan nodded.
Carrying the water bucket, Lin Zhilan led the two children home.
The setting sun stretched their silhouettes out long against the ground, and Yan Yuan stood at the door watching them for a very long time.
Only when they were completely out of sight did he casually pick up a branch nearby and begin writing characters in the sand.
Notebooks and pencils were very expensive, so writing in the sand could save a lot of money.
On New Year's Eve, the military base would slaughter pigs, and the various companies would organize small self-directed and self-performed programs. In the afternoon, there would be tug-of-war and basketball games, and in the evening, the regimental headquarters organized an open-air movie.
No one would be a killjoy on a day like this. Inside and outside the family courtyard, the faces of both adults and children were filled with smiles.
Bright and early in the morning, Chen Hehua and Liu Chunhua came over.
They had agreed long ago to cook the New Year's Eve dinner together with Lin Zhilan.
With them helping out, Lin Zhilan suddenly found herself with a lot of free time.
Wang Rou sat by the stove, and Lin Zhilan would occasionally feed her a bite of food, earning a sweet smile in return.
Chen Hehua was picking vegetables to the side with Liu Chunhua, and seeing this, she sighed inwardly.
Her daughter-in-law acted as if she had been given a magic potion by Doctor Lin. She looked much livelier now, but she only ever directed that energy toward Doctor Lin alone.
Liu Chunhua did not notice any of this. Sitting by the door, she kept looking out into the yard.
"Zhilan, is it always Regiment Commander Su who washes the clothes in your family?"
Su Lang was sitting in the yard, his long legs spread apart and his sleeves rolled up to his biceps, hunched over washing clothes.
He was a soldier, and his movements carried that distinct, crisp efficiency unique to military men.
Scrubbing, rinsing, wringing out the washed clothes, shaking them open, and hanging them on the clothesline at the side of the yard.
The entire sequence of movements flowed like water, making it obvious at a glance that he was used to doing this.
"He does it whenever he isn't busy." Lin Zhilan glanced outside, her eyes carrying a smile.
Liu Chunhua clicked her tongue in admiration. "Regiment Commander Su really dotes on you. If an oil bottle fell over in my house, my man wouldn't even know to pick it up. Still, these are supposed to be women's chores anyway, so if he's a bit lazy, I just let him be."
After she finished speaking, she nudged Chen Hehua's arm with her elbow, seeking agreement. "Aunt Hehua, wouldn't you say so?"
"Hehe." Chen Hehua squeezed out a smile.
The clothes in their family were also washed by her son.
When she had first arrived to live with the army, she discovered that her daughter-in-law's clothes were all washed by her son.
She couldn't stand the sight of it back then and even scolded her son for being hen-pecked, asking why she never saw him treating his own mother so well.
Later, Li Jiang simply washed her clothes along with the rest to shut her mouth.
At first, Chen Hehua had been at odds with her son and daughter-in-law over it, but eventually, she somehow just got used to it.
If he wanted to dote on his wife himself, what could a mother do about it?
Now, whenever Li Jiang was home, aside from their personal undergarments which they washed themselves, all the other laundry was Li Jiang's responsibility.
When he wasn't home, Wang Rou washed her own clothes, while Chen Hehua washed hers and her grandson's.
Lin Zhilan smiled and said, "Washing clothes isn't necessarily just women's work. Men have more strength, so they wash them much cleaner. Besides, don't all those soldiers wash their own clothes? It's not like they get married and suddenly forget how to wash."
"You have a point," Liu Chunhua sighed, "but you have a job, so you have the confidence to say things like that. No matter how fierce I am normally, I know the money is earned by Ma Daniu, so I wouldn't dare make him do the housework."
Just as Lin Zhilan was at a loss for how to respond, little Linlin ran over and asked her mother for a hug.
