Lady Zhang placed a roasted chicken leg into Xiao Qi’s bowl. Lian Shouxin had purposely left one whole chicken leg uncut while slicing, seemingly reserved for the little birthday star.

"Mom," Xiao Qi, looking at the roasted chicken leg in his bowl, was both delighted and embarrassed. With just this one chicken leg, he was reluctant to eat it all by himself, yet with so many people around, he didn’t know whom to offer it to either.

"Eat it, today is your birthday," Lady Zhang said with a smile.

"Xiao Qi, give the chicken leg to our mom," Lian Manman said, "On your birthday, the person who worked hardest is our mom."

A child’s birthday is also the mother’s day of hardship.

"Right, give it to our mom," both Lian Zhizhi and Wu Lang said.

Xiao Qi then placed the chicken leg back into Lady Zhang’s bowl.

Lady Zhang was somewhat startled; she hadn’t anticipated the children acting like this.

"Mom, you eat it," the children all said, laughing.

Lady Zhang, a bit flustered, put down her bowl and turned her body away, her back facing the children. She coughed a couple of times then took out a handkerchief, not to wipe her mouth but to dab at her eyes, before turning back as if she had just been unable to suppress a cough.

Lian Shouxin had been silent all along, merely observing with a cheerful smile.

"As long as you have this sentiment, your mother’s heart feels more comforted than eating anything," Lady Zhang cleared her throat and said, "As for this chicken leg, I have not lacked them before. Let Xiao Qi have it."

Lady Zhang attempted to give the chicken leg back to Xiao Qi.

Xiao Qi picked up his bowl and dodged away.

"Mom, please eat it, or else Xiao Qi won’t even touch the noodles," Lian Manman said.

Xiao Qi nodded vigorously, indicating he would indeed do just that.

"Eat a bit of it to honor the children’s wishes," Lian Shouxin murmured.

Lady Zhang sighed and could only bite off a tiny morsel from the chicken leg, a very petite bite, merely going through the motions.

"See, mom has eaten it, that’s settled now, right?"

"Mom loves you, now you go on," Lian Manman gave Xiao Qi a meaningful glance. She knew that Lady Zhang, as a mother, would never actually eat that chicken leg under any circumstances.

...

After the Lian Family had finished their meal and cleared things up, Lian Yeye shouted from outside for Lian Manman.

"Sister Manman, there is someone at your house looking for you."

"Who is it?" Lian Manman responded as she walked out, asking.

Lian Yeye was on her way up, carrying a dunghill basket, followed by an old man who seemed older than Old Master Lian, dressed in coarse cotton-padded jacket and trousers.

"Is this Lian Shouxin’s home?" the old man began, "Does your family sell bean sprouts?"

Just before closing time at noon, Lady Zhang had told the workers in the workshop about starting to sell bean sprouts. In just a short while, someone had come to buy bean sprouts. But their bean sprouts were not ready yet. However, there were a few pounds in the earthenware jar meant for their own use; she wondered if that would be enough.

"Right, my family sells bean sprouts," Lian Manman hurriedly said.

At this moment, both Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang, hearing the voices outside, came out of the house.

"Oh, it’s Fifth Uncle Jiang," Lian Shouxin saw the old man and immediately invited him into the house, "What brings you here? Come in quickly."

Watching Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin invite the old man inside, Lian Manman didn’t immediately follow but stood in the yard talking to Lian Yeye. It turned out that Lian Yeye had just gone out to take out the trash when the old man happened to walk by.

"I asked him what he wanted, and he said he was looking for Uncle Four to buy bean sprouts, so I led him in," Lian Yeye said.

Since Lian Shouxin had just called the old man Fifth Uncle Jiang, the old man must be surnamed Jiang, but he was not a close relative of the Lian Family, so Lian Manman didn’t recognize him. In the countryside, such connections are important; people from the surrounding villages could all claim some kind of extended family relationship. Besides relatives, everyone else was considered a friend.

"Sister Manman, is your family selling bean sprouts again?" Lian Yeye asked curiously.

"Hmm, my mother said to give it a try, but we don’t know if it’ll make money," Lian Manman replied.

"It’s definitely going to make money," Lian Yeye said, but then his face darkened a bit, "If only we could branch out and do that too."

"That day will come," Lian Manman could only comfort Lian Yeye, and then, in a hushed voice, added, "Yeye, come to our house later, my mother has saved a bowl of noodles for you."

Lian Shouli, Lady Zhao, and Lian Yeye always found time to help them with work. Remembering the days they had spent together, Lady Zhang, feeling sorry that Lian Yeye wasn’t getting enough to eat, always thought of bringing something for her whenever they cooked something at home.

Lian Yeye felt a bit shy.

"Sister Manman, you’ve just started to get by yourselves, it’s not easy to earn money, and you’re still thinking of me," he said.

"Now you’re talking like an outsider," Lian Manman laughed, "Don’t forget, come over later."

After instructing Lian Yeye, Lian Manman finally went back inside. Lian Shouxin was talking with the old man, who turned out to be preparing for his eldest son’s wedding. They needed a dish of stir-fried bean sprouts for the banquet and, knowing that the Lian Family had started to grow them, came to order in advance.

"How much does Fifth Uncle Jiang need?" Lian Shouxin asked.

"I reckon about thirty pounds," the old man said. Even for a rural feast, bean sprouts were one of the more affordable dishes, so they were included not only in the official banquet but also in meals for those who helped with the busywork.

"Our pickled vegetables are not yet sour," the old man added, "Do you still have some of those pickled vegetables you sell to town? If so, I’ll take thirty pounds of those too."

"No problem at all," Lian Shouxin immediately agreed, "We’ll charge the same price as we do to Yue Lai Tavern. What do you think, Fifth Uncle Jiang?"

The old man naturally nodded. This was the wholesale price, and it would be more expensive if bought from peddlers.

"Fifth Uncle Jiang, when is the actual day of the event?"

The old man mentioned a date.

Lian Manman calculated that there was still almost half a month’s time. There was ample time to grow the bean sprouts. The old man seemed to be in a hurry, ordering this early. But what she didn’t realize was that she had never handled a big event. Usually, those who organized feasts would set everything up a month in advance. That way, if anything unpredictable happened, there would still be time to rectify it.

"Oh, Fifth Uncle Jiang, have you checked the calendar for that day? There’s nothing wrong with the date, is there?" Lian Shouxin asked, pointing to the ceiling with his finger.

*******

Second part, begging for pink hearts

...********......

Recommended completed book by Ruoyan: "The Brocade Screen Chronicles", a light house fight farmland tale, about family squabbles and tangled grievances within a big household.

Book ID: 1771214

Below is a direct link, click to go straight there. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)