"There, there, good girl, don’t cry. Aunt will soothe it for you. Later we’ll let your second uncle deal with that jerk Jianwen. As a brother, not knowing how to protect his sister, and even bullying her in return? How can he not be disciplined for that?" The little girl’s eyes were red from crying, and her little voice had become somewhat hoarse, which really broke Su Hongying’s heart! Seeing the cold look directed at her own unlucky son, it was as if at the little girl’s tender and soft "Aunt, it hurts," she was ready to uphold justice and mercilessly punish the boy with a cold, water-drenched whip. Jianwen, seriously doubting if he was picked up from the roadside, had no choice but to look towards little Xinqing for help, hoping she would be kind for once. For kids, usually, the more you coax, the more spoiled they get; the more you’re accommodating, the more they cry. Wasn’t it true that Xinqing was feeling more and more wronged? "Wah, big brother’s a bad guy, a big liar! He said the New Year would come in the blink of an eye, and he’d be back by then..." But there’s still autumn, winter, and lots and lots of days to come. The New Year seems really far away! Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood: it turned out the little one missed her brother, which was why she was crying so miserably. Jianwen, suspected of bullying his sister, exhaled deeply, feeling as if he had been exonerated and escaped a calamity, even though he was just in kindergarten and far from understanding those idioms. Now that the root of the problem was known, comforting her became extremely simple. For instance, Lian En, as per his routine, would make two phone calls every Wednesday and Saturday. Since the phone charges were high, once the kids started talking, they wouldn’t stop. So every time, they used the speakerphone, allowing only listening, not much talking. Shuzhen promised that next time Lian En called, little Xinqing could have a long talk with him all by herself, and she could even ask for a small gift from him. Sure enough, the little one was all smiles, eagerly looking forward to Saturday. "Since she’s no longer crying or fussing, dear second sister-in-law, you better put her down now! It’s already six months along, you need to be extra careful. Every time I see you carrying this little troublemaker, I get really nervous." Shuzhen patted her chest, pretending to be frightened. "Look at you, such a coward! We sisters were just lucky to marry men who are understanding and considerate, and the family conditions are okay. Otherwise, forget six months, you’d see women going to the fields with a nine-month belly to earn work points; that’s not just one or two cases! My little girl is so small and soft, how heavy can she be?" Su Hongying laughed, full of dismissal. Well, thinking of those well-known names like Road Born, Road Picked, Road Come, Forest Born, and Field Born, Shuzhen also fell silent. With low income and many kids, it seemed people were busy every day just to make ends meet. When there’s no money, they worked desperately to earn it, eager to turn themselves into spinning tops just to eat and be clothed. Now that life is better, everyone is racing to save even more, striving to lay a good foundation for their kids so their future lives could be more relaxed and comfortable. Being busy day after day, sometimes it’s inevitable to face difficulties on all fronts, having to leave one thing unattended while attending to another. But Shuzhen believes that with the continued development of the Number One Scholar Village series, not only the Liu family village but the surrounding areas’ economy also could improve significantly. With an improved standard of living, family planning implemented. Everyone naturally had the conditions and mood to care for children and pregnant women. Finally, the storm passed, and Liu Shouren couldn’t help excitedly taking out his treasured special supply Maotai. "Oh wow, with such good food and drink, today we must drink to our fill! Let me tell you little sister, brother-in-law, I’ve been craving these two bottles of special supply Maotai from big brother for a long time, yet he’s always dodging and making excuses. Him being so willing to bring it out now, I bet it’s thanks to the favor of little sister!" Looking at the porcelain white bottle, Liu Shouyi couldn’t help but have a glint in his eyes. Special supply Maotai, huh! It’s said that you can’t buy it even with money, specifically for officials, and it’s good enough for state banquets! Once you open the lid, you could smell the rich and mellow fragrance, which immediately stirred up the rebellious desire in his belly. It constantly conveyed the strong wish to drink it up, enjoy it, and have a good time. The silly younger brother, with no alcohol tolerance but an enormous craving, was a sight too sad to behold. With just one glass of wine, he’d show his true colors, no wonder the sister-in-law wouldn’t let him drink outside no matter what she said. Look at this, after just two three-coin-sized small glasses, his tongue already started to get a bit thick. Liu Shouren frowned, seeing his foolish younger brother drunkenly slap brother-in-law on the shoulder: "Let me tell you brother-in-law, back when my sister was organizing to marry you, I really disapproved and was not at ease! Once bitten by a snake, ten years fear the rope. You said you’d be good to my sister, but didn’t Mr. Dai also swear he would treat Shuzhen well for life or be struck by lightning? It shows, vows are crap! If you truly keep someone in your heart, there’s nothing more to say, just consider everything for her in every aspect. If someone is heartless, what good is it if they swear every day?" "Brother, you can’t be unhappy when I say this! Back then, you were indeed a decent young guy, but your family was really poor. You were like an elder brother, dedicated to helping your younger siblings. I was just afraid, afraid that if my little sister followed you, she’d be filling in holes along the way, how could that be good? Little Lian Jie’s one illness took close to two hundred, and even if Shuzhen had some money, she couldn’t withstand this a few times! Poor couples grieve in everything, without some economic foundation a marriage can’t withstand earthquakes." "Also, no matter how bad it is, you were still a golden young man back then. No matter how good my little sister was, she was once married before. We as her brothers didn’t think our little sister was bad, didn’t consider her unworthy of anyone in this world. But, rumors are terrifying, not everyone sees it that way! I was just afraid, afraid you’d make do in hard times and brood over hardships, blaming it all on my sister, making her and the kids suffer or even leave them behind once you crossed the river." "But it seems now, all that was needless worry. My little sister made a good choice, she’s much better at judging people than I am. You, young man, didn’t let her down. Indeed kind, honest, principled, caring wife, loving children, full of responsibility. For Lian En, surpassing that of many biological fathers, a top-notch stepfather! Just for this, brother-in-law, your second brother must toast you a glass!" "Heh heh, brother-in-law, don’t mind second brother’s chatter. This time, that bastard Dai Weiguo and that shameless Bai Jing got their comeuppance, and second brother’s in a good mood too. To be honest, I almost wanted to go to the village committee to broadcast their outcome over the loudspeakers for the whole village, so everyone knows that doing evil will indeed have its retribution..."