Chapter 370: You Keep Them Company Talking, I'll Handle It

Qiu Mu stepped into the yard and took off her straw hat.

The Fu family members all stood up when they heard the noise outside.

Xia Qiu said with a smile: "It's my mother-in-law. Someone must have gone to the fields to call for her."

Finishing her words, she smiled and pushed open the bamboo curtain as she walked out: "Ma, it's my younger sister's partner and his whole family. They went to our house today to propose, and since Yan Cheng's little sister is doing her sent-down youth stint at our farm, they stopped by on the way."

One look at how the Qiu family was dressed, and Qiu Mu understood this family was no simple matter—after all, every one of them had four pockets.

She walked over with a smile: "Have you poured them water yet?"

Xia Qiu said with a smile: "Haven't had the chance yet."

Qiu Mu set down her straw hat, washing her hands in the water sitting out to warm in the sun as she said: "You keep them company talking, I'll handle it."

While drying her hands, she added: "Your sister-in-law's room has a thermos, just filled with hot water at noon."

Finishing, she turned to the Qiu family with a smile: "Go sit inside the room, I'll go pour you some water."

Fu Mu quickly spoke up: "We're not thirsty, don't bother."

Qiu Mu flung the towel she'd been drying her hands with over the clothesline: "That won't do. Anyone who enters the door is a guest, let alone honored guests like yourselves—you must at least have a bowl of water."

Turning to look at her daughter-in-law: "Eldest daughter-in-law, you all go back to the room and sit and talk, I'll be right there."

After that, she hurried into the kitchen and carried out the sugar jar, then went into her younger son's room to fetch the thermos and teacups, and only then arrived at Xia Qiu's room.

She put a generous spoonful of sugar into a cup: "Chuxue girl is a good one, she's very good to my Xia Qiu, that older sister of hers."

Fu Mu replied with a smile: "Sisters ought to look after each other."

Once Qiu Mu had poured a cup of water, Xia Qiu took it and handed it to the Fu family member: "Uncle, have some water / Auntie, have some water."

Fu Mu was now even more satisfied with Liu Chuxue—if the girl weren't good, her older sister's mother-in-law couldn't possibly praise her like this, nor receive them with such high standards.

After all, brown sugar required sugar coupons; in these times, never mind the countryside, even in the city it was a precious thing.

Seeing Qiu Mu about to keep pouring water into the next cup, Fu Mu quickly stopped her: "We really aren't thirsty, please don't fuss."

Upon learning that the Fu family's daughter was doing her sent-down youth stint at the farm: "Wan girl, we count as proper relatives now, if anything comes up in the future, feel free to come over."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Fu family didn't linger here long.

After seeing the Fu family off, Qiu Mu saw the things placed in her eldest daughter-in-law's room and clicked her tongue: "Goodness gracious, this is truly a lavish gesture. Looks like the Fu family is very pleased with your younger sister—otherwise they wouldn't have brought you all these precious things."

Xia Qiu said with a faint smile: "They value her for sure, but most of it is probably for Yanwan's sake. We can't get a big head about it."

Qiu Mu laughed at her daughter-in-law's words: "True enough."

Finishing, she couldn't help but glance up at her eldest daughter-in-law, feeling quite satisfied inside. She swept a look out the window: "Hurry and put the things away, everyone should be coming back from work soon."

What her mother-in-law meant by that, Xia Qiu understood perfectly well.

Although the two branches of the family had split households, with Great-grandmother still here, they couldn't avoid working together.

The eldest branch was already anxious and worked up about nourishing their second sister-in-law's body—if they let the eldest branch know she'd gotten so many good things today, what would happen didn't need to be imagined.

So the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bustled about together. The malted milk and peach pastries the Fu family gave were all put away; only the two cans of preserves were left out. As for the Liu family's melons and fruits, only a small portion was put away, with most left outside—after all, when the Fu family visited, plenty of people outside had been watching.

(End of chapter)