When the three of them entered her room, Li Shulan had already divided the things she bought into three portions.
“Here, each of you take one. Don’t hold back. When it’s all used up, I’ll go to town and buy more.”
Su Xiao and Meng Yue stared at the three big piles of food on the old cabinet, completely stunned.
“Mom, why did you buy so much food?”
Su Xiao went up and opened one of the rope bags.
When she saw a package of pink sanitary pads inside, her eyes widened even more.
“These are sanitary pads! Mom, how did you even manage to get these?!”
Meng Yue also found a pack of sanitary pads in her own portion.
Sanitary pads were only available in the larger department stores, required foreign exchange coupons, were expensive, and extremely limited in quantity. She had only ever used them a few times in her life.
Her mother‑in‑law really had incredible abilities!
Li Shulan didn’t look worried at all.
As long as she didn’t say anything, no one would ever guess that she had such a magical thing as a system!
“I found them at a black‑market stall. I thought they were cleaner than menstrual cloths, so I bought the only two packs they had. You each take one. Next month I’ll check again. If they have more, I’ll buy more. If not, I’ll prepare menstrual cloths for you.”
“Mom, you’re amazing, I really, really like you!”
Su Xiao looked at her mother‑in‑law with eyes full of emotion.
Meng Yue smiled gently. “We’ve troubled you again, Mom. Later, Xiao Xiao and I will bring you the money for these.”
“No need. It’s not much money anyway. Just keep the money the two brothers sent you. Buy what needs to be bought, don’t mistreat yourselves. I still need you both to take good care of your health and give me grandsons and granddaughters!”
As she spoke, she handed them envelopes, letter paper, and stamps.
“By the way, do you both have pens?”
Meng Yue nodded. “We do, Mom. Don’t worry.”
“Good. When you write, add a sentence asking if your parents can reply. We need to confirm that correspondence can go through. Once it’s confirmed, I’ll prepare some things to send them. Life in the northwest is even harder than ours. I’m afraid they didn’t bring thick quilts. I’ll send things little by little.”
“And you two need thick quilts too. The two brothers rarely came home before, so the house doesn’t have proper winter quilts.”
But making four quilts at once required a lot of cotton coupons.
She wondered if the system would reward her with some.
Just as Li Shulan was thinking about cotton, she looked up and saw her two daughters‑in‑law crying their eyes out.
“What’s this about? Why are you crying? It’s just writing letters—nothing to cry about. In the future, if you want to write, just write. Give them to the eldest and he’ll send them out. It’s no big—”
Before she could finish, Su Xiao suddenly rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
Meng Yue paused, then also stepped forward and wrapped one of Li Shulan’s arms.
Su Xiao sobbed, “Mom, you’re so good to us. I like you so, so much!”
Meng Yue didn’t speak, but her grip tightened.
After holding them for a while, Li Shulan patted their backs. “Alright, enough crying. As long as we prepare ahead, nothing bad will happen. The darkness… will pass sooner or later.”
Hearing this, Su Xiao and Meng Yue burst into even louder sobs.
“Okay enough! People will think I’m some evil mother‑in‑law beating her daughters‑in‑law!”
After a long while, the two finally stopped crying.
“Mom, you’re wonderful.”
Li Shulan took out two bars of soap and handed them over.
“These were bought together with the sanitary pads. One each. Use them for washing your face or bathing. And take care of yourselves—don’t work too hard. Our family doesn’t need those few work points. Those two brats earn good wages; they can afford to support you.”
After sending the two out, Li Shulan happily walked to the kang and waved her hand, taking out a pile of items.
Two bedsheets, four big bundles of yarn, and six jin of cotton.
She had just been worrying about cotton, and the system immediately rewarded her.
The two bedsheets were nice too—she could turn them into quilts for her daughters‑in‑law. The yarn came in two colors: dark red and lake blue. Each bundle weighed about thirteen to fourteen liang, enough to knit sweaters for both daughters‑in‑law and her two sons.
The elder daughter‑in‑law was quiet, so lake blue for her. The younger one was lively, so dark red suited her.
Having gained so many rewards at once, Li Shulan no longer felt sleepy.
She picked up the two pieces of fabric the system gave her yesterday and went to the west room to make dresses.
In the afternoon, when the two daughters‑in‑law went to work, Li Shulan made them each a bowl of sweet egg syrup.
She raised five chickens in her west courtyard, and they were all laying eggs now. Since she had been saving them, there were still plenty at home. Even if they ate eggs every day, it would last a while.
Not to mention the system had also rewarded her with sixty eggs today.
Meng Yue and Su Xiao each gave her another hundred yuan.
“Mom, cotton and fabric coupons are so hard to get. Xiao Xiao and I can pay more to buy them. You have more connections, so we’ll rely on you.”
Li Shulan didn’t refuse.
“Alright. If I get more, I’ll get you some extra things too—cured meat, rice, flour.”
..
Meanwhile—
Zhang Cuiping ran back to her grandparents’ home crying.
The old secretary’s wife saw her and quickly asked, “Cuiping, what’s wrong? Why are you crying so sadly?”
“Grandma, where’s Grandpa? Isn’t he home?”
“What’s wrong? Why are you here? Didn’t your mother say your grandmother‑in‑law was sick? Why aren’t you there? Did she die?”
Qin Dechang happened to come in from outside.
Seeing her grandfather, Zhang Cuiping cried even harder.
“No, no, Grandma‑in‑law didn’t die—it’s Brother Zihuai. Grandpa, Brother Zihuai got married! You clearly knew I liked him—how could you not tell me about something so important?!”
Old Lady Yang quickly said, “No, I told Wuni to deliver the message to you! I thought you didn’t come back because you didn’t want Qin Zihuai anymore.”
“How could that be? I never saw Wuni at all! Why would I not want to marry Brother Zihuai? It’s all your fault!”
Qin Dechang sat down in the main room, expression calm as he sipped tea.
“Cuiping, stop crying. It’s just Qin Zihuai. If you can’t have him, our Cuiping can still find someone better. Don’t worry—Grandma will keep an eye out.”
“Who could possibly be better than Brother Zihuai? He’s an engineer in a provincial factory! Out of our whole brigade, he’s the only one! Grandma, I don’t care, I want to marry Brother Zihuai! I want to marry him!”
“But he’s married now—how are you supposed to marry him?”
“I don’t care! Wuuuu…”
“Enough crying!”
Qin Dechang rubbed his temples.
“That Xiao Li’s wife hates the female educated youths the most. This marriage happened only because of an accident. She’s probably making those two educated girl‑workers miserable right now. The Qin brothers aren’t home. Maybe not long from now, those two educated girls will ask for a divorce themselves. Just don’t go over there. Don’t let people think you’re desperate to get married.”
Zhang Cuiping cried even harder.
“No! Aunt Lan didn’t dislike those two educated girls at all! She even told me not to go to her house again!”
“What! Did Li Shulan really say that?” Old Lady Yang shrieked. “Impossible! She likes you the most! Did you misunderstand?”
“Misunderstand? No! That’s exactly what she meant! Grandpa, Grandma, I don’t care—I must marry Brother Zihuai!
“I heard that the bitch who schemed against Brother Zihuai is in Cousin’s brigade. Grandpa, think of a way. Put that bitch in the hardest, most tiring job. Better yet—make her die!”
“As long as she dies, I can marry Brother Zihuai!”