When Qin Siyu heard An Jianjun’s voice, she instinctively straightened her clothes and fixed her hair.
It had been more than ten years since she’d last seen him, so she couldn’t help feeling emotional.
In her previous life, An Jianjun had passed away before her, leaving her to live alone for more than a decade. She had never imagined that after dying, she would be given another chance to live and meet him again.
“There are guests here. You two chat. I’ll go put these things away first.”
When An Jianjun saw that it was Qin Siyu, he immediately picked up his things and turned to leave.
“An Jianjun!”
Her voice carried a hint of excitement and disbelief.
Hearing Qin Siyu call his name made An Jianjun frown.
“Jiaojiao, entertain our guest. I’m going to figure out where to put the stove and get it installed for you.”
An Jianjun didn’t like the way Qin Siyu was looking at him. It made him feel as though he had somehow wronged her.
Besides, he was already married to Feng Jiaojiao. Even if he weren’t married, Qin Siyu shouldn’t be calling out to him like that.
Didn’t she know she needed to keep her distance?
Feng Jiaojiao had originally been enjoying the show, but when she heard An Jianjun mention a stove, her attention immediately shifted.
“A stove? Is it one of those iron stoves with a chimney? Where did you get one?”
She remembered her parents telling her that when they were young, they loved sitting around a stove, warming themselves while roasting sweet potatoes and even bird eggs.
That sounded like so much fun!
“My buddy in the army helped me get it.”
An Jianjun had specifically asked one of his fellow soldiers to help him find it. Otherwise, a stove like this wasn’t easy to obtain.
Then he remembered that Qin Siyu was still there.
“Qin Siyu, why don’t you head back first? I’ll find that necklace for you when I have time.”
Qin Siyu hadn’t expected Feng Jiaojiao’s husband to ask her to leave so directly, and her expression immediately changed.
“Third Uncle, what’s that?”
The An family’s children had returned from work and were curious when they saw their third uncle fiddling with a round object in the courtyard.
“Third Brother, what are you doing?”
One after another, the An family members returned home.
“Oh, Qin Zhihua is here too. Did you come to see Third Brother’s wife?”
“Yeah… I’m leaving now. You all carry on.”
Qin Siyu knew this wasn’t a good time, so she could only leave unwillingly.
As she watched Feng Jiaojiao and the children surrounding An Jianjun, chattering and asking questions while everyone enjoyed such a harmonious scene, Qin Siyu’s face darkened.
“Dad, Mom, you’re back.”
“I wanted to set up a small stove for Jiaojiao. That way, it’ll be more convenient for her to heat water whenever she wants to drink something or wash her hair.”
Of course, An Jianjun couldn’t possibly say that the real purpose was to make it easier for his wife to cook whatever she wanted.
An’s mother and father exchanged a glance.
An’s mother pursed her lips.
Did he really think she was that easy to fool after all these years?
“What? Are you afraid we’re going to mistreat your wife?”
Feng Jiaojiao stuck out her tongue when she heard that.
She didn’t care about any of this.
Since An Jianjun could buy her a stove, he would definitely be able to handle his parents.
She just had to enjoy the benefits.
An Jianjun noticed Feng Jiaojiao pretending not to hear them and quietly slipped away.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly.
He could only patiently explain to his mother,
“Mom, how could you say that? I’m grateful to you. With you here, what could I possibly be worried about?”
“You know Jiaojiao has quite a few habits that are different from ours. She washes her hair every day and soaks her feet at night.”
“We can’t keep the big stove burning all the time just for that. It would waste too much firewood.”
“So I thought I’d get her a small stove. She can use it whenever she wants without interfering with the kitchen. And you and Dad can use it whenever you want some hot water too.”
Sure enough, An’s mother felt much better after hearing that.
She and her husband could benefit from it too.
An’s eldest sister-in-law admitted that she was jealous.
They were all brothers, so why was there such a huge difference?
“Third Brother, what are you trying to say? If you want to set up a separate stove just for your wife, then just say so. Why go through all this trouble making up excuses?”
The third and fourth sons were both hopeless romantics when it came to their wives.
They practically treated their wives like queens.
Meanwhile, the eldest and second sons were as dense as wooden logs.
It was enough to make her furious.
“Sister-in-law, if you like it, ask Big Brother to install one for you.”
An Jianjun replied casually.
His sister-in-law immediately fell silent.
What could she say?
Could she afford one?
She barely had enough money in her hands to do anything with.
Besides, she wasn’t stupid. She definitely didn’t want to split the family up.
“All right, do whatever you want. But the weather is still hot. Where are you planning to put it?”
An’s mother thought a stove would be useful in winter. It could heat the room and make things more convenient.
But the weather was still warm now.
Wasn’t this just unnecessary trouble?
They could simply leave some water out in the sun to heat up. Why waste firewood heating water?
“Mom, I’ve already thought about it.”
“For now, I’ll put the stove outside our room, in the corner beside the window. When the weather gets cold, I’ll move it inside.”
An Jianjun had already considered the location carefully when he bought the stove.
This was the most convenient spot.
Feng Jiaojiao could use it immediately after stepping out of their room. It was also close to the window and protected from the wind and rain.
His parents could benefit from it too.
An’s father puffed on his pipe, thought for a moment, and nodded.
“All right. There’s about two square meters of empty space in that corner. That should be enough.”
The men of the An family immediately got to work.
Before long, the stove was installed.
The hardest part was figuring out how to position the chimney so the smoke could escape properly. They spent quite a while working on it and testing whether everything functioned correctly.
“Mom, do we have sweet potatoes?”
Feng Jiaojiao looked at An’s mother expectantly.
“Dinner is almost ready… You…”
An’s mother looked at her pleading expression and finally surrendered.
“Forget it. Fine, fine. Here!”
She had really been defeated by this girl.
Feng Jiaojiao’s pitiful expression made it seem as though refusing her would be some terrible crime.
An’s mother brought her three sweet potatoes.
Feng Jiaojiao happily washed them and placed them on top of the stove to roast.
She had already figured out that her mother-in-law was the type who was tough on the outside but soft-hearted underneath.
She wasn’t the kind of old woman who favored sons over daughters either.
As long as you softened your attitude, acted cute, and gave her a little affection, almost anything could be negotiated.
But if you deliberately went against her…
Hmph.
She would show you who was really in charge of the household.
“Third Aunt, I want some too!”
“Me too! Me too!”
The An family’s children knew that their third aunt was actually very easygoing.
She even gave them candy sometimes.
So when they saw her roasting sweet potatoes, they all started clamoring for some.
“If I give them to you, I won’t have enough!”
Feng Jiaojiao was reluctant.
There were only three sweet potatoes.
But when she looked at the adorable children, she eventually gave in.
“All right. But that’s it. There’s not much, so all of you have to share one.”
“Thank you, Third Aunt!”
“All right, go play. Don’t stand around here waiting. If they’re done by dinner, that’s already pretty good!”
Feng Jiaojiao shooed the children away.
Sure enough, for dinner, An’s mother made braised pork with potatoes.
Her son had bought the meat specifically to satisfy his wife’s craving. How could she not cook it?
Of course, she added plenty of potatoes too.
There were simply too many people in the family. There wasn’t enough meat for everyone to eat a lot of it.
This time, the dish tasted especially good because An’s mother didn’t skimp on the seasonings.
If the food didn’t taste good, wouldn’t that just be wasting the precious meat?
Normally, An’s mother didn’t dare to make food this delicious.
The family’s grain supplies couldn’t withstand such extravagance.
The better the food tasted, the more everyone would eat.
But now that Feng Jiaojiao, this pampered little princess, had joined the family, things had changed.
If the food wasn’t good, she wouldn’t eat it.
And her son gave her fifteen yuan every month for household expenses.
An’s mother naturally had to make some adjustments.
Fifteen yuan was no small amount.
An ordinary worker only earned around twenty to thirty yuan a month.
That was already more than half a month’s wages.
With that much extra money coming into the household, they could at least try their best to satisfy the wife’s cravings.
And now that her son had even set up a separate stove for his wife, how could An’s mother not understand what he meant?
“Wow! Grandma’s braised pork is so delicious today!”
The third granddaughter had a sweet mouth.
Her lips were covered in grease, but she didn’t hesitate to praise her grandmother.
“Meat can’t possibly taste bad. Give me meat and even boiled corn husks would taste delicious!”
“Ever since Third Sister-in-law came into our family, our food has gotten better and better.”
Fourth Brother couldn’t help sighing.
After dinner, the children gathered around Feng Jiaojiao’s doorway, afraid they would miss out on the roasted sweet potatoes.
“Here.”
Feng Jiaojiao split one sweet potato in half.
“You three siblings share this half, and the four of you sisters share the other half.”
After handing them the sweet potatoes, she left them to it.
The children happily took turns biting into their portions.
Feng Jiaojiao took the remaining two sweet potatoes back into the room.
They were so sweet and soft.
Her taste buds were completely satisfied.
After spending the entire day busying himself with things, An Jianjun took a shower outside.
He entered the room wearing a sleeveless undershirt and long pants.
The fitted undershirt showed off his physique clearly.
“Cough, cough!”
Feng Jiaojiao choked when she saw him.
An Jianjun immediately poured her a glass of water.