After transmigrating into the body of the female supporting character's biological mother, she

Aunt Yu was outside the door.

She carried a basket of things and greeted Lin Zhilan with a smile as she entered. "Zhilan, when did you get back? Have you had lunch?"

"I've already eaten," Lin Zhilan said, taking the basket from her so she could take off her coat. "Aunt Yu, you don't need to come every day. You can just stay at the hospital and take care of Xiaofeng. Su Lang and I are here at home."

The hospital is quite a distance from home; it takes a long time to walk there.

Aunt Yu can't ride a bicycle, yet she always thinks about coming back to help with cooking and cleaning. Lin Zhilan feels tired for her.

Aunt Yu laughed and said, "I'm not tired. I'm used to doing chores. I feel uncomfortable if you don't let me do anything. I've been free at the hospital these past few days, so I made you a pair of shoes. Try them on and see if they fit."

Aunt Yu took out a pair of cloth shoes with multi-layered soles from the basket.

These shoes are very difficult to make; they're called "thousand-layer soles," but they don't actually have a thousand layers.

Instead, they used scraps of cloth, layering them with paste to form a backing, then stacking them layer by layer until thick, and finally sewing them shut with hemp rope stitch by stitch.

The pair of shoes made by Aunt Yu had a starched coarse cloth upper and fine, even stitches, showing that a lot of effort had been put into them.

As Aunt Yu took it out for Lin Zhilan to try on, she said, "I originally wanted to embroider two flowers on it, but I was afraid you'd think it was too rustic, so I didn't add them. Do you like it?"

Lin Zhilan has a good temperament, and her sense of style is different from others.

After studying it for a long time, Aunt Yu felt that she might prefer something simpler, so she didn't embroider any flowers on it.

"This is so well done!" Lin Zhilan exclaimed after looking through it. "Sister Yu, you've gone to so much trouble."

Seeing that she liked them, Aunt Yu was even happier. "I'm glad you like them. I heard that the temperature on the island is high, so I specially didn't stuff them with cotton. You can wear them normally. The older folks all say that these shoes are comfortable and don't tire your feet."

"Thank you, Aunt Yu."

"Don't thank me, it's not worth much."

Aunt Yu noticed the sound of chopping meat coming from the kitchen and quickly rolled up her sleeves. "Are you getting ready to cook? Let me do it, you guys take a break."

Lin Zhilan followed her to the kitchen. "Dinner isn't in a rush. I'm planning to make some rice sauce for an elder I know and bring it to him later."

Knowing that Lin Zhilan was a good cook, Aunt Yu said, "Then I'll help you out."

Lin Zhilan did not refuse. In fact, Su Lang could have just helped out in the kitchen, but she had something to say to Aunt Yu.

"Aunt Yu, has the hospital told you about Liu Feng being transferred to another hospital?"

"I did," Aunt Yu nodded. "I've already agreed. Factory Director Qian said he'll go with us, and he's already bought the tickets for us. It's just..."

"What's wrong?"

Aunt Yu sighed, "If I go to the island, there will be no one to take care of Comrade Xu. I went to talk to the neighborhood committee, but they said they can't find a replacement right now."

These nannies are required to undergo political vetting.

The screening process takes many days, and now with the Lunar New Year holiday, it's hard to find a new nanny.

This was what Aunt Yu was most worried about.

Lin Zhilan and Su Lang exchanged a glance and smiled, "Don't worry about this. Mom and Dad are coming back to the island with us this time and will be staying there for a while."

"Really?" Aunt Yu asked in surprise.

Although she was reluctant to give up this job, what she was most worried about was Xu Yueyun.

She's an outsider, so it might not be appropriate to say this, but Xu Yueyun has treated her well over the years, and Aunt Yu has always regarded her as an elder.

Knowing that Xu Yueyun was also going to the island, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Zhilan, can I go with you to take care of Comrade Xu? I don't want any salary."

"How can this be?" Xu Yueyun suddenly appeared behind them. "If you don't want a salary, then I don't want you to take care of me. You're even refusing government-provided care? Are you stupid?"

Aunt Yu said with a bitter face, "But I've already told the neighborhood committee that I don't want to do this job anymore."

"It's alright, I'll have Lao Su go and talk to them. Anyway, we're coming back eventually, won't you come and take care of me then?"

"Come on, if you want me, I'll definitely come!" Aunt Yu was grateful. She was so old, and it was very difficult for her to find a job outside.

Despite working as a nanny, her monthly salary is actually higher than that of many ordinary factory workers.

Aunt Yu supported herself and her son with this job and even saved a lot of money for her son's medical treatment.

While they were talking, Su Lang had already cut the meat.

He removed the bones from the entire leg of lamb to make soup.

Lin Zhilan asked him to cut the rest into small pieces.

The kitchen was smoky, so Lin Zhilan asked Aunt Yu to accompany Xu Yueyun outside to talk.

Aunt Yu refused, saying, "I'd rather help out here. Even if I can't help, I can learn something from watching. When I come back, I can cook for Comrade Xu and the others."

Aunt Yu is honest and a person who can't sit still.

Watching Lin Zhilan and Su Lang working in the kitchen, she went outside to sit on the sofa, feeling uneasy just thinking about it.

Lin Zhilan had no choice but to go along with her.

All the chicken at home was used for coconut chicken hot pot, so the only sauce I can make for rice is lamb.

Fortunately, lamb has a richer aroma and oiliness than pork, making it perfect for mixing with rice or noodles, or even for sandwiches.

Lin Zhilan used minced ginger, cooking wine, and a little peppercorn water to mix the mutton mince well and marinate it for 15 minutes to remove the muttony smell.

Heat oil in a wok until it reaches about 50% of its maximum temperature. Add chopped onions, minced ginger, and minced garlic, and fry over low heat until slightly golden. Then add the lamb.

The aroma had already begun to waft out by then.

Aunt Yu took the spatula and said, "I'll stir-fry it, you just add the ingredients."

With such a big pot of meat, even Aunt Yu felt sorry for Lin Zhilan's thin arms.

"I'll do it."

Su Lang walked over and took the shovel.

Lin Zhilan: "..."

It feels like being a master chef in a kitchen, where you only need to give instructions and your apprentices will scramble to cook for you.

Xu Yueyun also never left the kitchen.

The scene was somewhat amusing.

If she weren't so weak, she would have liked to try stir-frying it a couple of times.

Aunt Yu wanted to argue with Su Lang, but Su Lang raised her arm and laughed, "Aunt Yu, why don't you go sit in the living room with my mother? If you want to know how to make it, I'll write it down for you later."

He turned and glanced at his mother, "My wife and I..."

"Hurry up, hurry up," Xu Yueyun hurriedly waved to Aunt Yu, "Let's go out."

Aunt Yu looked bewildered and quickly went to help her, following her to the living room. "Comrade Xu, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm not feeling unwell," Xu Yueyun pointed to the kitchen. "From now on, if you're talking to Zhilan and that bastard Su Lang is around, you'd better leave immediately. That little rascal has no shame; he'll say anything that makes people ashamed."

Aunt Yu is not an ignorant person.

After a moment's reaction, her face suddenly turned red.

Why do these young people have to stick around even when I'm cooking?

Seeing her like this, Xu Yueyun quickly changed the subject by talking about going to the island.

Aunt Yu was overjoyed, and as they talked, the two of them went upstairs to pack their luggage.