I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Ten days in advance, Qiaoqiao's father instructed Gao Bing, the commune secretary, to call his in-laws. He said that they were going to slaughter two pigs weighing over 300 jin each, one of which was to be given to his in-laws, and that they must send a truck to pick it up.

In the city, you need pork coupons to buy pork. The Zhou family is considered a high-class family, but they only have about ten catties of pork coupons. Qiaoqiao's family is actually giving away a whole pig. They are rich, definitely rich.

Unfortunately, Qiaoqiao hasn't started her winter break yet, Zhou Wenhui's workplace is busy at the end of the year and he can't take leave, and Luo Meiyun needs to perform a second skin graft surgery on Chen Yan and doesn't have time.

In the end, only Zhou Zhonghai, Sister Hu, and Xiao Wei had time.

You're all so busy, busier than the vice governor.

Zhou Xiaowei brought the little yellow dog back to Dashui Village to show the big yellow dog its grandson.

When the jeep arrived at Dashui Village, the Yang family was already busily boiling water and slaughtering pigs.

Aside from the butcher, who was a legitimate craftsman, the people who came to help included Gao Bing, who carried water; Wang Jiakun, who pulled pig legs; Xu Zhengtai, the county party secretary who handed over the knife; and Jiang Deshan, the director of the Liuxian Public Security Bureau, who was moving a table. It was unclear whether they were actually helping or just making things more difficult.

The leaders worked together to slaughter the pig, and the pig died a worthy death!

The others could understand. They came to inquire about the development direction for next year after learning that the governor was going home to slaughter pigs for the New Year. How did you, Jiang Deshan from Liuxian, find out the address of your in-laws in Tonggang County?

There are traitors, there definitely are traitors.

"Ah, Commander Zhou is back..."

Jiang Deshan, who was the first to see Zhou Zhonghai, threw down his table and came running over excitedly.

"How can a dignified police chief walk with such a hopping gait?" Zhou Zhonghai said sternly.

"Commander Zhou, I was just too excited. I'm sorry, I've tarnished the image of the Public Security Bureau system."

After saying that, Jiang Deshan snapped to attention and gave a military salute.

"Alright, alright, I'm no longer a division commander. How did you end up in Tonggang County?"

Zhou Zhonghai waved his hand, his words cold but his heart filled with joy, after all, it had been a long time since anyone had called him "commander".

"Commander Zhou, you're being biased! You come to Tonggang County several times a year, but you've forgotten about Liuxian County."

Jiang Deshan's words became much more serious, but his body remained uncooperative, bowing and scraping.

"Is Liuxian facing difficulties?"

"No, under Secretary Mao's leadership, Liuxian County has turned things around this year. I'm not bragging, but just like Dashui Village is eating wheat flour, so is Liuxian County."

"Hmm, not bad. Since they seem reassuring, I shouldn't disturb the county committee comrades' normal work."

"You have to go too. Liuxian is thriving, all thanks to your excellent leadership. You need to go and inspect the fruits of the harvest."

"Come on, if I go there again, Zhang Dabiao will ask me for fertilizer again. Oh, I see, Zhang Dabiao found out my in-laws' address, right?"

"Commander Zhou, you guessed it, I didn't say that."

Zhou Zhonghai glared at Jiang Deshan, accusing him of not doing his job properly and instead engaging in shady dealings.

Xu Zhengtai, Gao Bing, and Wang Jiakun put down their work and greeted him with smiles.

Zhou Zhonghai's face darkened and he said, "Since you like doing it, keep going. I'll go help my in-laws with the fire."

Qiaoqiao's grandparents and parents, standing at the kitchen door, looked at the group of officials in the yard, at a loss.

"Welcome, in-laws, welcome!"

Qiaoqiao's father greeted Zhou Zhonghai, while Qiaoqiao's mother pulled Zhou Xiaowei and Sister Hu into the house.

"I'll start the fire." Zhou Zhonghai rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen.

"Oh dear, in-law, no, no, I'll start the fire."

Qiaoqiao's father hurriedly tried to stop him, but Zhou Zhonghai was already sitting by the stove.

"My dear in-laws, I'm sorry to bother you. These people are even trying to curry favor with us in Dashui Village. Aren't they just eyeing our 300-pound fat pig?" Zhou Zhonghai said fiercely.

"My dear in-laws, a few pounds of meat is nothing. They are all good officials who serve the people. We can't invite them even if we ask them to come on ordinary days."

Qiaoqiao's father found it amusing. Why would they crave a bite of meat? Nowadays, every household in Tonggang County has large pigs. If they wanted to eat, it would be as simple as just asking them.

"If they weren't good officials, I would have kicked them out long ago."

Zhou Zhonghai was stuffing firewood into the stove, but he probably put in too much, and the whole room was filled with smoke.

"My dear in-law, please go to the main room for tea. I'll stay here."

Qiaoqiao's father was very anxious; no matter how much firewood he burned, it wouldn't be enough.

Go have some tea, don't bother helping, you'll only make things worse.

"This fire won't listen to me. Fine, I'm going to have some tea."

"Hey, this year's new tea, I specially saved it."

Finally, the god was delivered to the east room.

The room was warm and cozy with a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed). Xiao Wei took off his cotton-padded clothes and trousers and happily jumped around on the kang.

"In-laws, the kang (heated brick bed) in the west room is heated too. It'll be warm for you to talk things over later," Qiaoqiao's mother said.

"What's there to talk about? There's nothing to talk about. I'm here today just to eat the pork stew. When Qiaoqiao's winter break starts, I'll have her come back to stay and we can celebrate the New Year together."

"My dear in-laws, that's wonderful! You and your mother-in-law are coming back for the New Year too. This year is different from previous years; there's meat, chicken, duck, and fish. Life is getting better."

Qiaoqiao's mother was overjoyed. In Dashui Village, married daughters are not allowed to return to their parents' home for the New Year.

Fortunately, the in-laws in the city didn't care about these rules.

"Okay, everyone come back. It's cold in the city, and you'll be wearing too many clothes. Xiaowei won't be free anymore." Zhou Zhonghai gladly accepted the invitation.

Hu Xiaomei smiled and looked down. It wasn't cold in the city; those were cadre dormitories, and the rooms had heating.

Zhou Xiaowei was happy and free, and the little yellow dog was happy and free too, chasing after Zhou Xiaowei on the kang (a heated brick bed) and having a great time.

After a while, the little yellow dog tried to jump off the kang (a heated brick bed), but Zhou Xiaowei grabbed its tail to stop it. After two or three attempts, the little yellow dog couldn't hold it in any longer and peed on the kang.

Zhou Zhonghai not only didn't blame him, but also laughed happily: "Xiao Wei, the little yellow dog has a personality. If you bully him, he'll pee on you."

Hu Xiaomei quickly went to fetch water to clean the leather surface of the kang (a heated brick bed). Everyone says that even dogs dislike children who are seven or eight years old, but Xiaowei is only two years old, and even dogs dislike him.

Xu Zhengtai, Gao Bing, Wang Jiakun, and Jiang Deshan, who were outside, finally finished dealing with the fat pig.

The four men washed their hands and entered the house cautiously: "Vice Governor Zhou, the pig is slaughtered. May I ask for a cup of tea?"

Zhou Zhonghai wanted to urge them to go back to eat, but Qiaoqiao's mother quickly interjected, "Go to the west room. The dog peed on the bed in the east room, and it smells awful."

Regardless of whether Zhou Zhonghai was happy or not, Qiaoqiao's mother had already taken the tea to the west room.

"Give my mother-in-law some face. These people never let anyone have a peaceful time," Zhou Zhonghai thought bitterly.

Qiaoqiao's mother warmly refilled the tea, and then brought out melon seeds, peanuts and candy, saying, "You two chat, I'll call you when the food is ready."

They even thoughtfully closed the door for them.

Qiaoqiao's mother understood; why would she need the leader's help to slaughter a pig?

They are important people; they have serious business to discuss with their in-laws.

Outside, the Yang family members were busy preparing dishes, while inside the west room, five men were drinking tea.

The old yellow dog of the Yang family hid in the woodshed, refusing to even look at its grandson. It was afraid of Zhou Xiaowei, a fear ingrained in its genes.

The big bluefish is cleaned; let's make a pot of fish soup.

Once the free-range chicken is slaughtered, stew it with pork belly, add some wild mushrooms and pepper powder. It's fragrant and delicious, and also warms the body and dispels cold.

I cut a big bowl of pork belly, stir-fried half with chili peppers, and made braised pork belly with the other half. It's so good with rice!

There was also a big pot of plump, white steamed buns, full of wheat aroma and chewy texture.

Even central leaders don't eat this much, do they?

The good life in Dashui Village is all thanks to our in-laws.