1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

His sister-in-law came to their house three years ago. When he first saw her, she was wearing a red jacket with a bulging chest, and she was riding a sled into their house.

He was completely stunned. She was really captivating. Although her skin wasn't very fair, she was the kind of woman whose beauty grew on you, especially her two small breasts and her two thick, black braids.

In those days, no one had much money to spare. His sister-in-law was also a member of a trade association. She had the straightforward and outspoken nature typical of Northeastern women. She was very honest and said what she meant. She was also very good at housework. Especially after she married into the family, the cooking duties fell to her.

He no longer has to eat his mother's terrible cooking.

There's nothing we can do; my older brother died young. We just finished burning incense for him on the anniversary of his death yesterday.

I don't know if it's because of my older brother or my sister-in-law, but the two of them have never had a child.

More than a year ago, my eldest brother went into the mountains with my father. When they returned four days later, my eldest brother, Chen Gaolin, had his legs licked by a bear. He lost both legs. Heavy snow blocked the mountain pass. The hospital in the county town was more than 200 miles away. They could only find a doctor in the village to take a look. The wound was stitched up and the bleeding stopped, but his condition was not good. He was hanging on by a thread.

He died in less than a month.

Their family lived a much better life than other families in the village. They had no shortage of food and drink, and their house at the foot of the mountain was one of the few brick and tile houses in the village.

On the day of Chen Gaolin's funeral, many men and women from the village came to see him off. His sister-in-law cried her heart out, and his mother was sick for half a month.

···

Cock-a-doodle-doo, the rooster in the house crows before dawn.

Chen Gaoshan was half asleep when he heard rustling sounds next to him. He was about to sit up.

Then someone pushed her back into bed.

"Take a nap, it's not dawn yet. You worked so hard last night, I'll make you some noodles to help you replenish your energy."

He hadn't had anyone care about him like this for many years. He hummed in agreement, thinking, "It's good to have a wife."

They know how to care for others.

Before long, I could feel the kang (heated brick bed) getting warm again, and I knew that Lianhua had added more firewood to the stove.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he vaguely fell asleep again, and then he felt someone pushing him.

"Gaoshan, get up! The noodles are ready. Hurry up and eat them while they're still hot."

He sat up and pulled the blanket over himself. "Have Mom and Dad eaten?"

"I've eaten. It's what Mom told me to bring to your room."

Chen Gaoshan took the chopsticks without ceremony. He was indeed tired after a long night. He blew on them and put them in his mouth. Goodness, he almost burned his upper teeth.

Then he took small sips.

He had barely taken a couple of bites when he saw Lianhua bring in another bowl of noodles and start eating with him.

On such a cold day, a bowl of noodles is so comforting. In this day and age, to still have wheat flour to eat, this family is indeed quite well-off.

While eating his noodles, he felt someone staring at him, so he touched his face.

"Lotus, why are you staring at me like that?"

"It's nothing, it's just that after you finish eating the noodles, your parents want you to go to their room, they have something to tell you."

"What's up?"

"You'll see when you get there, it's a good thing." After saying that, she picked up the two empty bowls, lifted the curtain, and went out.

Good news? What good news could it be? He wiped his mouth, shivered, and quickly put on his leather pants, leather jacket, and a lousy hat. He pushed open the door and a gust of cold wind went straight into his collar, so he quickly tightened his clothes.

He lived in the west wing, his sister-in-law lived alone in the east wing, and his parents lived in the main house. It was a traditional courtyard house. Putting everything else aside, their brick and tile house alone made them one of the wealthiest families in the village.

I need to pee, so I quickly ran to the outhouse in the backyard.

The snow outside was quite heavy. As for hunting in the mountains, he had read many novels before. In spring, you shouldn't hunt males; in autumn, you shouldn't hunt females; you shouldn't hunt cubs; you shouldn't hunt pregnant animals; and you shouldn't hunt animals that are about to become extinct. Winter is the best time for hunting.

I don't know if his father asked him to go hunting.

With a jolt, his body shuddered, and he managed to get rid of all the waste from the night before.

As he unbuckled his belt and walked forward, he heard someone calling his name.

"Shanzi, come to your mother's room."

Chen Gaoshan looked at the round-faced woman who looked to be in her forties standing at the entrance of the main house, and subconsciously nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Mother."

When he went inside, he found that the whole family was already there.

His parents sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and his wife sat at the end of the kang.

The remaining woman, who looked to be in her early twenties and resembled her wife by about seven-tenths, was none other than her sister-in-law, whose husband had died.

Putting everything else aside, the Wang sisters are both quite well-endowed; you can tell their size even when they're wearing padded jackets.

She looked more mature than Lianhua, and her skin was a bit darker, but her features were more delicate.

The younger sister looks more feisty, while the older sister has the refined air of a virtuous woman.

The Chen family has always relied on the mountains for their livelihood. They were hunters by birth, hunting in the winter and farming in the spring, managing to do both without any conflict.

The two brothers never lacked for anything growing up, and naturally, they grew up to be just as tall and strong as their father, Chen Laonian. Even though their father was already forty, he was still very muscular and muscular, and he must have been at least 1.8 meters tall.

When Wang Xinghua saw him coming, she lowered her head. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Normally, his sister-in-law is usually very outgoing and carefree. When did she become so shy?

"Father, Mother, what do you want? Are we going up the mountain?"

Old Chen rolled his eyes at his second son. He'd grown up like this, but hadn't he thought about what was going on? The Chen family hadn't even produced a descendant to climb this mountain.

"Listen to your mother, don't interrupt."

When Chen Liu saw her second son arrive, she stopped hiding her intentions and got straight to the point.

"Second son, your father and I have been thinking about this for many days. It's about your brother and your sister-in-law."

"Your brother was unlucky. He left early without leaving any children. Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no descendants. You wouldn't want to see yourself without any descendants, would you? So your father and I thought we'd let you take on the responsibility of both families."

"When your brother was dying, he entrusted you with taking care of Xinghua, and you agreed. In addition, she herself did not want to remarry, saying that she wanted to stay with your brother for the rest of her life. This is not a good thing. Being a widow is not easy. So, you have to take on the responsibility of the first wife. If there is a child, it should be registered under the first wife's name. Then Xinghua will have someone to rely on."

"Second brother, don't be in a hurry, let your mother finish speaking."

Chen Gaoshan glanced at his sister-in-law, who was bowing her head, and then at his mother. How could such a good thing have fallen on his head? He had never won a lottery ticket before, and now he was expected to take on the responsibilities of two families?

"No, no, Mother... what's going on? This isn't right, is it?"

"Great, that's wonderful!" he exclaimed, raising both hands and feet in agreement.

"What's going on? You brat, can't you understand? We're telling you to have one family in the east wing and one in the west wing. Hurry up and relay the message to Old Chen's family. Now you understand?"

He wasn't averse to the idea; in fact, he was quite excited. However, he also felt a little guilty towards his older brother, as he remembered his brother treating him well. Doing this felt a bit unfair.

He wanted to agree immediately, but he was afraid that his wife would pinch his thigh when he got back to the room.

You still have to put on a show for everything.

"No, Lianhua, sister-in-law, you agreed too? If the villagers find out about this, they'll laugh at our family."

Chen Liu wiped away her tears. Even though it had been a year since her eldest son had passed away, she still couldn't help but shed tears when she thought of him.

"What are you laughing at? There are plenty of wealthy families in the village who take second wives. Now the Chen family is going to die out, which is a big deal. Your brother's situation is a big deal, you little brat. Your brother has always been good to you since you were little. What, do you want people to talk about him behind his back in the afterlife, making the ghosts laugh at him for not having a son and no descendants?"

"You little rascal, you should be secretly happy. You even pretended to be happy, and your wife has already agreed."

Wang Lianhua had a close relationship with her older sister since childhood, and it could be said that her sister raised her single-handedly. One of the reasons she agreed to marry Chen Gaoshan was that his family was one of the wealthiest in the village.

My poor eldest sister. She became a widow after only three years of marriage into the Chen family. If she goes back, she won't have a good life. She might even cause my parents to marry a widower in the next village and become a stepmother. How could she possibly let her sister suffer like that?

They're sisters, what else can happen? It's better than her sister going back and suffering.

"I agree. I agreed when my parents told me about it."