70: Raising a wife, the whole village is inhaling the aroma of stewed meat.

Even without your grandmother's guidance, we could make it ourselves.

"Oh, that's wonderful! You must never lose this skill. You must do it every year, and do it well every year, making the best of everything."

Don't skimp on ingredients; I'll send plenty over later. I'm currently working as an unofficial police officer at the town's police station.

On the fifteenth of August, I'm going to send them some mooncakes to promote the Liu family's mooncakes.

Grandma laughed and said, "Forget about reputation, everyone we know from all around here wants us to make mooncakes. We'll probably have to start processing them next month."

Zhou Qingwen nodded: "Okay, then I'll bring the ingredients over a little earlier."

Liu Yue'e received a coded message from Zhou Qingwen.

She pulled her grandmother into the room and took out thirty yuan: "Mom, take this thirty yuan and use it to buy eggs to nourish your body."

Liu Yue'e's caring expression made He Huizhen sigh inwardly, "It's been so long since I remembered you getting married. In the blink of an eye, Qingwen is already married."

"Hey Mom, this is good news, don't cry."

He Huizhen sobbed, "Silly child, you're giving me thirty yuan at a time, isn't that emptying your savings?"

"No, this is from Qingwen. Qingwen has a fixed salary, and he also hunts. These sheep bones and wild boar meat are from hunting."

He Huizhen then said, "If that's how you put it, I'll keep the thirty yuan. I'm making mooncakes next month, and I'm worried about not having enough money."

"Mom, you're so funny."

He Huizhen smiled and said, "You know what, it's been so long since you've been here, and you look much better than before."

"Mom, our lives are much better now, all because Qingwen has a job and can hunt too."

He Huizhen then said, "Next time, have Qingwen and Xiaoya bring them so I can take a look."

"Okay, all done."

Zhou Qingwen then took Liu Yue'e home on his bicycle.

Both his aunts-in-law packed him some dried radishes and dried green beans, which Zhou Qingwen found quite appealing.

If you take these dried vegetables home and stew them with some wild boar meat, they'll be incredibly delicious!

I got home around four o'clock in the afternoon.

Liu Yue'e was overjoyed. She put all the dried vegetables she had brought from her parents' home into the kitchen, her face beaming with smiles.

It was almost afternoon when Liu Yue'e got busy steaming buns at home. In Henan, steaming buns is something that happens every few days, to say the least.

Especially Zhou Qingwen's family, which has quite a few members.

The steamed buns went down very quickly.

So, although they've made some money from selling ginseng, they don't dare to spend it recklessly.

So, I bought mixed flour to steam the buns.

In those days, steamed buns made from two kinds of flour were a staple in every household.

Zhou Qingwen had once again gotten to know his maternal grandmother's family.

My maternal grandmother's family has always had the skill of making mooncakes, but they never shared it with outsiders.

Moreover, it is passed down to one's own family members' daughters-in-law, but not to one's own daughters.

This is the old rule. Even though Liu Yue'e is He Huizhen's most beloved daughter, it is no exception. The skill of making mooncakes is only passed down to her son and daughter-in-law. The cousin can only do some peripheral work. The real person who makes the filling is her most trusted son.

The wife's role is supportive.

He Huizhen learned this from her mother-in-law in the previous generation.

It is passed down from generation to generation.

As long as this skill remains, the Liu family can earn a considerable income by working from the month leading up to the Mid-Autumn Festival until the festival itself.

So Zhou Qingwen said he had to make his maternal grandmother's family famous and let more people in the town know about it.

Liu Yue'e agreed; she was happier when her own family was doing better than when she herself was doing better.

Of course, when I'm doing well, I feel at ease.

Now that Zhou Qingwen is hunting and also works as an unofficial police officer at the town's police station, the family's income has become much more stable.

Even if Zhou Qingwen stopped hunting, he could still work as an unofficial police officer in the town, and girls from all around would be eager to marry him.

But now that he's married, many people secretly regret not proposing to the Zhou family when Luo Xiuqin broke off the engagement.

Now I regret it!

Yu Yalan was washing vegetables by the stream when a woman approached her and said, "Xiaoya, right? I advise you not to drag Zhou Qingwen into your filthy 'black five categories' ditch. You should divorce Zhou Qingwen as soon as possible, don't ruin him!"

Yu Yalan looked at her; she recognized the girl: "Are you Uncle Tian's second daughter?"

"Yes, it's me, my name is Tian Xiaona! Don't ruin Qingwen's life. You should divorce him as soon as possible. You're both from the 'Five Black Categories,' why are you blocking Qingwen's path to promotion as an unofficial police officer?"

Yu Yalan's hand holding the vegetables tightened slightly: "Why are you saying that? Qingwen loves Xiaoya the most!"

The second sister-in-law, unable to bear it any longer, immediately retorted, "Second sister-in-law, you know how troublesome the 'Five Black Categories' are. Their whole family are stinking intellectuals!"

Tian Xiaona looked angry; she was so unwilling to accept it. Uncle Tian had told Zhou Qingwen that Erniu was a good girl.

As a result, Zhou Qingwen turned around and married Yu Yalan.

Tian Xiaona was heartbroken for a long time at that time.

Now I hear that Zhou Qingwen is an externally-appointed police officer, a good public servant of the people, someone who eats the government's rice.

Tian Xiaona couldn't stand Yu Yalan's constant demands for a divorce any longer and had to speak out.

The second sister-in-law saw that Yu Yalan had been rendered speechless by Tian Xiaona.

She retorted angrily, "Qingwen chose his own wife, he doesn't need outsiders to point fingers! You're a perfectly healthy young woman, and you're advising others to divorce? I think you're just envious of Xiaoya's good fortune!"

The second sister-in-law was quite formidable. After hearing her sister-in-law's words, Yu Yalan straightened up and said, "I will not initiate a divorce. My husband trusts me completely, which is good. My family isn't some lowly intellectual; we will be vindicated one day!"

His series of words finally managed to salvage the situation somewhat.

"Tian Xiaona! Go back now! What are you doing here, a grown woman, spouting nonsense?"

Uncle Tian suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hurriedly sent Tian Xiaona back.

"Xiaoya, Uncle Tian apologizes to you. Xiaona was just being immature, please don't take it to heart!"

"Why aren't you going back? What are you standing there for?"

"It's fortunate that Uncle Tian came, otherwise Tian Xiaona would probably have said even harsher things."

The women nearby were whispering among themselves. The second sister-in-law looked at Yu Yalan with concern and asked, "Third sister-in-law, are you alright?"

This was the first time Yu Yalan had ever allowed Tian Xiaona to directly curse the "Five Black Categories" and "Stinking Old Nines" like this.

What if her family drags her to a public denunciation meeting because of this?

Yu Yalan lowered her head to wash the vegetables, but several drops of her tears soaked the vegetables: "Third sister-in-law, you should go back first. You've washed these vegetables with your tears."

Yu Yalan looked at her second sister-in-law and said, "Second sister-in-law, thank you for your trouble. I'll head back now."

Yu Yalan picked up all the heavy things and hurriedly went up to the riverbank.

He went home with a heartbroken look on his face.

On the way back, I wiped away my tears several times.

When Zhou Qingwen returned the bicycle to the brigade leader, he saw his wife walking along, tears streaming down her face.

"Honey, what's wrong? Who bullied you?"