「The next morning.」

Two stunningly beautiful, mature women were leaning lazily against the doorframe. They wore loose, silk slip dresses and slippers.

Today was the day Lu Yuan was taking Su Liyan back to Changliu Village to pay New Year’s visits.

This didn’t involve Aunt Zhao or Aunt Song, so naturally, the two of them didn’t have to go.

"Be careful on the road. Come back early tonight~"

Zhao Qiao’Er leaned lazily against the doorframe and yawned.

She hadn’t gotten enough sleep. They had played mahjong until almost dawn last night, and now it was already four or five in the morning.

She had only slept for four or five hours.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Lu Yuan was adjusting his wife’s hat.

He had to admit, his wife looked surprisingly cute wearing his dog-fur hat.

Song Meiqin, leaning against the other side of the doorframe, smiled as she watched the incredibly loving couple.

"We’ll wait for you to come back for dinner tonight~"

But Lu Yuan waved his hand.

"No need to wait. After lunch, we’ll have to hang out there for a while. I reckon we won’t be back until eight or nine tonight."

Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, Song Meiqin just smiled and nodded without saying much else.

Then, Lu Yuan took his wife’s hand, and they left.

As for Zhao Qiao’Er and Song Meiqin, they yawned and went back to bed to catch a few more winks.

...

Around eight or nine in the morning, Lu Yuan and Su Liyan arrived at the entrance of Changliu Village by horse-drawn carriage.

Just as they got out of the carriage at the village entrance, Lu Yuan saw Changliang squatting there, talking to a young man about his age.

The young man saw Lu Yuan first and stared for a second, but when he saw Su Liyan, he immediately stood up and said:

"Sis, Happy New Year."

’Hm?’

Lu Yuan blinked. ’This is...’

’Oh.’

’Right.’

’He’s Second Uncle’s kid. Su Changyu, that’s his name.’

The last time Lu Yuan hosted a banquet in the village, Su Changyu hadn’t come back. He was working as a kitchen helper in a restaurant in town.

This was their first time meeting.

Su Changyu was half a head shorter than Su Changliang, and his complexion was a bit fairer. His face was also a little rounder.

’He’s a cook, after all.’

’Cooks are like that in any world.’

He looked quite simple and honest. He followed Su Changliang to the carriage to help carry their things.

"Why were you waiting out here? Aren’t you cold?"

Lu Yuan looked at his two young brothers-in-law, lit a cigarette, and said with a smile.

’I should smoke more while I’m still outside. It won’t be as easy to smoke once I go inside the house.’

Su Changliang grinned and said:

"My mom told us to wait for you out here."

"We had nothing better to do anyway. There are too many people at home, it’s chaotic, so Chang Yu and I came out to hang around."

Hearing Su Changliang’s words, Lu Yuan nodded. ’That makes sense.’

It seemed it wasn’t just Su Changyu who had come back today.

Second Uncle’s daughter and Third Uncle’s two daughters had also returned.

’Isn’t today the day married daughters visit their parents’ home?’

The daughters of Second Uncle and Third Uncle had all come back with their husbands.

He figured the whole extended family would be eating at his father-in-law’s place for lunch. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

When Lu Yuan and his group arrived at his father-in-law’s house, it was, as expected, bustling with activity.

The house was nearly bursting at the seams.

’What a crowd.’

Third Uncle had two daughters, and Second Uncle had one.

And then there were the three sons-in-law, plus their children.

Especially the children.

Three kids, who looked to be about four or five years old, were running around on the floor.

In their mothers’ arms were two more, who looked like they had just turned one.

This big family was certainly lively.

As soon as Lu Yuan’s group returned, Su Changliang immediately yelled at the top of his lungs:

"Mom, my brother-in-law is back!"

The moment she heard him, Lu Yuan’s mother-in-law squeezed out of the inner room, smiling as she looked at her son-in-law and daughter.

Lu Yuan and Su Liyan immediately offered their New Year’s greetings.

This made their mother-in-law absolutely delighted.

Some of the men in the house who heard the commotion also came out right away.

Not to mention the men of the Su Family, the other three sons-in-law came out as well.

Everyone introduced themselves to each other.

After all the New Year’s greetings were exchanged, Lu Yuan and Su Liyan took out red envelopes to give to the children of the family.

Su Changliang and Su Changyu got them too.

Lu Yuan had grabbed these red envelopes from home; they were the ones he had given to the servants and outsiders yesterday.

There were some left over, sitting unwanted in the main house.

Lu Yuan had grabbed a handful on his way out, figuring a lot of people would be at his father-in-law’s place today.

Of course, the envelopes had originally contained a lot of money.

However, his money-loving wife had taken out a good portion of the cash on their way over.

Now, each red envelope only had one mace of silver inside.

But even one mace was still a lot of money.

"What did you do to yourself? You’re bundled up in so many layers, you look like a little bear cub."

Lu Yuan’s mother-in-law couldn’t help but laugh amusedly at the clothes her daughter was wearing.

Su Liyan couldn’t help but smile shyly and say:

"He was afraid I’d get cold and insisted I wear this much. He wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t~"

Lu Yuan, who was standing to the side, grinned and said:

"Liyan’s pregnant, isn’t she? There’s no harm in wearing a few extra layers."

Su Changliang had found out about Su Liyan’s pregnancy when he visited on New Year’s Eve.

He must have told the family after he got back.

So everyone in the family knew.

Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, the mother-in-law also smiled, nodded, and looked at her daughter.

"Listen to your man~"

After that, the men went to sit on the heated brick bed to hang out, while the women were in the courtyard killing chickens, chopping vegetables, and cutting meat.

The children were outside the courtyard, setting off small firecrackers.

It was quite a lively scene.

Lu Yuan sat on the heated brick bed in the inner room for a little while before coming back out.