In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 25 Making a Sled

Xiao Fang, sitting in the corner of the kang (heated brick bed), moved her little hands back and forth rapidly, desperately giving her sister-in-law a thumbs-up.

That's so well said! Looking at my two brothers cowering in the shadows, ugh! What a bunch of idiots!

She made up her mind: from now on, she would follow her sister-in-law's lead! She wanted to be like her sister-in-law, loving to read and learn!
Zhang Yunqin, the mother-in-law with whom she had previously been at odds, rarely showed a smile at this moment. Her words, demeanor, and actions were all perfectly controlled.

The book was definitely worth reading for her.

Yu Dawei simply glanced at his wife without saying a word; only he knew the shock he felt inside.

If anyone is most satisfied with this house, it has to be Old Man Yu. None of his five children are actually good at studying.

No one but himself was willing to look at the books in the box.

Nowadays, someone who loves reading has actually opened his book box and started reading, even applying what he has learned.

It was as if he could see half of his students slowly growing up, which was very good, very good!

He intended to give his eldest and second sons a difficult problem with a stern face, but unexpectedly, his own daughter-in-law provided a perfect answer.

In life, you will most likely encounter people who make you feel embarrassed. It is never wrong for a strong person to show weakness.

“All three of you, including the younger ones, remember what your father said today. No matter how old you are, in your parents’ eyes, you are all just children.” Old Yu smiled at the three of them with a kind father’s smile and took out three more red paper packets from his pocket. “What are you standing there for? Come and wish us a Happy New Year.”

"okay!"

"Xiao Fan, you don't need to go up to the kang to kowtow. It's inconvenient with a child," Zhang Yunqin said at the right time.

“Yes.” Old Yu agreed wholeheartedly.

"Then I'll bow to my parents and wish them long life, happiness, wealth, and good health."

"Okay! I'll give you a hundred!"

"That works too!" Xiaofang exclaimed, her eyes widening on the kang (heated brick bed). "Dad, then I wish you both well, I wish you..."

"What do you mean by wishing? Well said, I'll change it to a hundred for you too."

"Wishing Mom and Dad boundless happiness and longevity?"

Yu Laonian nodded in satisfaction, and under the expectant gaze of the youngest girl, he approved, "Old girl, you got a good deal on these fifty yuan."

"Hahaha!" The whole family burst into laughter, making Xiaofang's face turn red. In the end, she couldn't help but laugh out loud herself.

That evening, Yu Dawei brought his wife home. Under the bright moonlight, he occasionally glanced at his wife's beautiful profile, and couldn't help but think of the past.

I remember that after we separated from our family in my past life, my wife's relationship with my mother became increasingly strained, let alone the incredibly rare thing of eating dumplings together during the Lunar New Year.

It's as if she's been given a second chance at life, and some things have changed for her. Or perhaps, if she just put a little more effort into managing her relationship with her mother-in-law, Han Jingfan's future would be even better?
The past is gone and cannot be recalled. Yu Dawei feels that everything is perfect now, as perfect as it could be.

It would be better if our family were a little wealthier.

On the second and third days of the Lunar New Year, Yu Dawei still took his wife to his grandfather's house. The younger generation of the Yu family in the village all came to Yu Laonian's house to kowtow and offer incense to their ancestors. Then, as they were offering incense, they all gathered together to play mahjong.

There was one table on the kang (a heated brick bed) and another on the floor. This was a rare event for people from the same clan. It was considered taboo for people from different surnames or those who had married into the Yu family to go to the ancestral worship ceremony. So, apart from the women who had married into the Yu family, everyone else in the house had the surname Yu.

The children gathered around the table, offering advice to their elders. In the end, they lost money and were almost beaten to a pulp. The older children took their cousins ​​out to play kicking sandbags.

The courtyard in the countryside was originally quite large, but it still wasn't enough for a dozen or so children to play around in, so they went outside the courtyard and found a spacious area in front of the house, where they had a great time.

After the third and fourth days of the Lunar New Year, the sons-in-law of every household would take their wives to visit their mothers-in-law.

Yu Dawei did the same. He hadn't been idle these past two days either. Instead, he rummaged through the old man's warehouse and found two iron rods and some wooden planks, and then focused on making a sled.

The elders in the Yu family, who were playing mahjong at home, couldn't help but murmur among themselves when they saw how diligent Yu Dawei was. They all said that Dawei had changed since having children and was now able to work.

Some say it must be the spirit of the Yu family's ancestors that made this lazybones in the Yu family realize he needed to work.

Some people even said it was a good thing the farm machinery was stolen; the person who lost it has learned a lesson and is much better than before when they were carefree. They no longer rush to play mahjong.

These people talking about Yu Dawei are all his cousins; after all, they're family, so there's nothing they can't talk about.

Old Yu just kept nodding and smiling, neither saying how capable Dawei was now nor saying anything bad about his own son.

The villagers are all cunning and scheming. If they flatter you to a certain extent, you might not be able to keep your true feelings hidden, and they might even try to take advantage of you. In the end, the more arrogant you are, the more miserable your fate will be.

Yu Dawei used a hammer and nails to fix the wooden board in place, and placed two thicker pieces of wood underneath. He also cut a small groove under the wood to insert a thin iron rod, thus reducing friction.

Then nail a few boards horizontally on top, and string a rope together the rings on the left and right wooden legs. This completes the simple Northeast sled.

Yu Dawei was mainly worried that Han Jingfan would get tired from walking for too long. It was a total of six li from Yujiatun to Gouwazi. Although it wasn't too far, it would be good to have a means of transportation.

Besides, you can't go empty-handed; it's very inconvenient to carry fruit or something like that around.

So Yu Dawei spent the last two days making a large sled. Looking at the sled, which was more than a meter long and half a meter wide, Yu Dawei found a broken chair in the warehouse and, with his skillful hands, modified it into a small chair.

After securing the small chair to the sled, it felt absolutely perfect!
Then he turned around, grabbed the sled, ran to the window, and grinned at Han Jingfan inside, showing off happily, just like a child who felt a great sense of accomplishment after rolling a few mud balls.

He didn't care how many people were watching, or whether they looked down on him for being a grown man making a sled for a woman; he didn't care what others thought.

Yu Dawei happily held up the sled in his hand, showing it off to Han Jingfan.

"I didn't expect my brother and sister-in-law to have such a good relationship." Yu Feng, who was eating melon seeds with Er Yan, turned her head and stared blankly at her brother, lost in thought.

Han Jingfan lowered her head shyly and gestured to Yu Dawei to stop holding it up.

It gets dark early, and as soon as it got a little dark, Yu Dawei had his wife sit on the small chair on the sled, and then he pulled the sled home.

When the village children saw it, they all gathered around, touching and looking at the sled.

Xiao Fang was already standing on the sled, holding onto the back of the small chair with both hands, excitedly shouting to her older brother, "Giddy up, giddy up!"

Yu Dawei wasn't angry; he was simply greedily inhaling everything in the air.

There was the smell of cooking smoke, the aroma of food, the gunpowder of firecrackers, and the crispness of winter air...

(End of this chapter)