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

The spring water tinkles and gurgles, the spring water tinkles and gurgles, it leaps down the hill, crosses the meadow, and comes to my side.

Spring water, oh spring water, wherever you go, you go, singing and playing your zither as you flow into the distance.

…………

During the Spring Festival, the streets and alleys are filled with joy.

The Zhou family got busy early in the morning. Hu Xiaomei, Qiaoqiao, and Luo Meiyun were busy in the kitchen.

Zhou Wenjing, Annie, and Zhou Wenhui put up the couplets.

Zhou Zhonghai and Zhou Xiaowei are leading the little yellow dog in a charge to kill the enemy.

"Sister Hu, the charcoal fire in the yard is lit, I'm going to roast some lamb."

Qiaoqiao took a leg of lamb to the yard.

Uncle Li helped marinate the lamb leg; all that's needed is to roast it over a low flame.

"It's crooked, come down a little bit more on the right."

"Brother, is this okay?"

"Alright, wait a minute, hang the lanterns up."

Zhou Wenhui directed Zhou Wenjing to paste up the couplets.

Annie was shivering from the cold as she held a bowl of porridge.

"It's so cold, I'm going inside."

"Go help your sister-in-law roast lamb," Annie pouted as she went to Qiaoqiao's side.

Zhou Zhonghai held a wooden gun, and Zhou Xiaowei held a plastic gun that his uncle had bought for him. The two of them fired at the little yellow dog and its mother.

"Kill! Annihilate the enemy..."

Zhou Xiaowei shouted, and the little yellow dog was so frightened that it didn't move.

"Run! Even if you're the enemy, you have to run!"

Zhou Xiaowei nudged the little yellow dog, who looked at the old man and the little dog with confusion, wondering whether it should run away or not.

Zhou Zhonghai shouted at the puppy, "Run, run!"

The little yellow dog received a mysterious command and took off running, with Zhou Xiaowei chasing after it desperately with a gun in hand.

"Hahaha, my grandson, amazing! You have the style of a grandfather!" Zhou Zhonghai laughed heartily.

"Xiao Hu, even though it's the New Year, there's no need to cook so many dishes. We'll go back to Dashui Village on the second day of the New Year."

Luo Meiyun is a doctor, and when it comes to food, she prepares only the amount needed for the patient.

"Dean Luo, there are certain customs associated with New Year's dishes. They should either have auspicious numbers like 'sixes bring good fortune,' 'eights bring great wealth,' or 'ten is perfect.' Wenjing is back, and it's rare to have such a lively occasion, so we should at least make something that's perfect."

"Your mouth is as sweet as Yu Fu's."

"Why hasn't Yu Fu returned yet?"

"It's alright, we'll have time for the New Year's Eve dinner tonight. What are we having for lunch?"

"In the North, we usually eat dumplings at night, but you're from the South, so you'll eat rice for New Year's Eve dinner. We'll have dumplings for lunch, beef dumplings, they're so delicious. I'll also make two cold dishes."

"Okay, Xiao Hu, you're a great cook. You can make noodles and stir-fries too."

Luo Meiyun was very satisfied with the nanny.

"I learned from Qiaoqiao. My family was poor, and there were many delicious dishes that I had never even seen before, so how could I know how to cook them? It was Qiaoqiao who was capable."

"Yes, my eldest daughter-in-law is truly impeccable."

"The second daughter-in-law is also wonderful, playful and warm-hearted. Dean Luo and Vice Governor Zhou are truly blessed."

Hu Xiaomei's praise of Annie was somewhat insincere.

Luo Meiyun sighed, "I don't know why, but Annie just won't have children. But she needs at least one, right?"

"They're still young, let them play for another two years."

"Zhou Wenjing is already 28 years old. If he lived in the countryside, he would have several children by now."

"I think they really like Xiaowei. Once everyone around them has children, they'll naturally have one too."

"Let nature take its course," Luo Meiyun said helplessly.

The eldest son is stable and I'm relieved, but the younger son has a quirky personality and all sorts of strange things can happen. Who gets married and doesn't want children? Could it be that they have some kind of health problem?

Luo Meiyun's heart tightened; she would have to go to the hospital for a check-up after the New Year.

Annie squatted in front of her homemade oven, warming her hands and watching the lamb sizzle on the iron rack.

"Sister-in-law, when I was in the Soviet Union, the thing I ate most was kebab. They had huge electric ovens that could roast several sheep at once."

Annie wasn't going to help; it was all greasy, and she didn't want to get her hands dirty.

"Was the Soviet Union that developed? We could only have big meals of meat and fish during the New Year. When I was in Dashui Village, it was difficult to even get a pot of white flour buns for the New Year."

"Meat was cheap in the Soviet Union, but vegetables were expensive. If you ate meat every day, you would crave vegetables."

"Now that we have reform and opening up, our country will be able to eat meat every day."

"I think it's unlikely we'll be able to eat meat every day for at least ten years."

Annie sighed. Although things were much better in China than before, it was still very poor. Even in Beijing, people lived frugally, let alone in a small city like Huailin.

"Anne, do you miss the Soviet Union?"

"Each has its own advantages. The Soviet Union had better living conditions, but I had no relatives there. No matter how poor our country is, it's still our home, and I have to come back," Anne said calmly.

Qiaoqiao was filled with respect; even though Annie was pampered, she had a deep sense of patriotism.

"Annie, you've been home for several days now, are you getting used to it?"

"I'm not used to it. Mom and Dad are too biased. They only treat you and your older brother well," Annie said without any attempt to hide her feelings.

Qiaoqiao chuckled, "Dad wears the new shoes you bought him every day and he's very happy."

"Really? But he's always so cold to Wenjing."

"You've just come back, so you might be a little out of touch. Plus, Wenjing cheated you out of money, so Dad's angry. Dad's cold on the outside but warm on the inside; even if I love you, I won't say it out loud. As for Wenhui, Dad probably feels guilty about it," Qiaoqiao said thoughtfully.

"Sister-in-law, even though Wenjing cheated us out of money, he just wanted to buy appliances to improve our family's living conditions. Do you think those appliances are easy to get? He had to pull so many strings and use so many coupons to get them. They're not something you can just buy with money. In the end, he got beaten up when he got home," Annie said indignantly.

"You're so thoughtful. The refrigerator and washing machine are really useful. The vegetables we ate for the New Year stay just as fresh as when we bought them, even after being stored in the refrigerator. The washing machine is even better; we don't have to wash the blankets by hand anymore, which saves time and effort."

There was also a television set, but Qiaoqiao didn't comment on it.

Perhaps there are too few TVs in Huailin. They can only receive two channels in total. There are no programs during the day, and at 7 pm they show the news, followed by two foreign films that are played back and forth until 10 pm.

Wenjing said that they would play "There Was a Young Man" during the Chinese New Year, but Qiaoqiao still hasn't seen it.

There's really no good thing about televisions.

"Sister-in-law, since it works so well, you have to tell Mom and Dad. We need to let them see what we've put in the effort," Annie said earnestly.

"Okay, I'll tell Mom and Dad."

"Sister-in-law, is your family really from the countryside?"

"Yes, Dashui Village, you'll come back with us on the second day of the Lunar New Year."

"Your brother is so amazing, how come he's from the countryside?"

Annie was puzzled. In her mind, rural children rarely had access to knowledge, so how could her sister-in-law's brother get into Jiaotong University?

"My grandfather used to be a private tutor. If the imperial examination system hadn't been abolished, he might have passed the exam and become a scholar. We didn't have much formal education, but we heard a lot of stories. When we were little, there was a bamboo bed in the yard. My brother and I would lie on the bamboo bed, and my grandfather would tell us stories."

Wang Baochuan endured eighteen years of hardship in a cold cave, waiting for Xue Pinggui to return after achieving fame and success. There's also the story of Yue Fei's mother tattooing words of loyalty and patriotism on her back.

Grandpa had endless stories to tell, and my brother and I listened to them every day. However, I would fall asleep while listening, but my brother would keep pestering Grandpa to tell more.

Later, my family was classified as one of the "Five Black Categories," and my brother, despite his talents, had nowhere to use them and could only stay in Dashui Village, digging in the fields.

Qiaoqiao felt a pang of sadness when she talked about the past.

"Um."

"A marriage of convenience, yet you two have become a happy couple?" Annie asked incredulously.

"Wenhui is good, and so are my in-laws." Qiaoqiao blushed.

"I finally understand the saying, 'Fate is predetermined.' It's truly rare to meet and grow old together without any emotional foundation. Sister-in-law, you are also excellent; getting into university makes you stand out."

"Wenhui forced me to study for the college entrance exam. I started studying while I was in postpartum confinement."

Although it was clearly a complaint, Qiaoqiao smiled sweetly.

"My brother has raised a young wife. Impressive, truly impressive."

"What does it mean to have cultivated a young wife?"

"It's like I raised you all over again. No wonder you two have such a good relationship. Your older brother is both your husband and your teacher."

"You're right, Wenhui is very capable; he knows everything. Annie, you and Wenjing have a good relationship too."

"Zhou Wenjing and I, he's more like a child."