Chapter 237: The Future Sister-in-law

Chapter 237: The Would-Be Second Sister-in-Law

As soon as Shen Qiuyu entered the yard, the family spotted her.

"Mom, Second Brother's brought his girlfriend home," Ye Xiaoxiao called out.

Upon hearing this, Miao Cuifang rushed out from the kitchen, flour still on her hands.

Ye Xiaoxiao and the others also went to the yard to greet them.

Since the Yes had already bought plenty of supplies, Ye Changqing came back light—only twenty pounds of pork from the butcher's.

Shen Qiuyu was still a bit nervous meeting the Yes, but she could tell they were all easy on the eyes.

The young men resembled Ye Changan closely—clearly brothers.

Ye Changan made introductions.

"This is my mother, this is my elder sister-in-law, this is my younger sister… and this is Grandpa."

He started with the ladies, then moved on to the men.

Shen Qiuyu was a dancer, standing over 1.7 meters tall—even slightly taller than Ye Xiaoxiao.

Willowy and graceful, she had class and smiled warmly.

"Hello, Grandpa, Auntie, Sister-in-law, Younger Sister… I’m Shen Qiuyu. Just call me Qiuyu."

Miao Cuifang urged her inside, "Qiuyu, come sit inside. Don’t stand out here—it’s chilly out here."

The house was heated by a stove, one that Lu Hanchuan had arranged to be delivered, way warmer than a firepan.

Zhang Xue poured piping hot sweet tea for the second son and his wife. "Warm yourselves up with this."

"No need, Sis," Ye Changan said. "If we need anything, I’ll get it."

Miao Cuifang brought out nuts and treats for everyone.

"Just relax—no chores right now," she said.

Ye Changning reminded her, "Mom, weren’t you just kneading dough?"

"Oh, right… we’ll be making dumplings," Miao Cuifang replied.

It wasn’t even New Year’s yet, but this felt like a holiday feast.

Still, the Yes had been eating well every day this year, so dumplings were nothing special.

Ye Changan noticed the changes at home. "We have electricity now?"

"Yeah, we could get a TV now," Ye Changning replied. "Doubt we'll get much reception, though."

"We'll be lucky to get two channels," Ye Changan added. "Might as well stick with the radio."

Ye Xiaoxiao looked around and thought this place really needed a TV.

"Maybe after New Year's," she mused.

When Shen Qiuyu first entered the house, she was a bit stiff, but after sitting for a while, she noticed the Ye family had a friendly nature and gradually relaxed.

While making dumplings, Miao Cuifang kicked all the kids out.

With them horsing around, she couldn’t work properly.

Shen Qiuyu first went to take a look at Ye Changan’s room, which was spotless—it seemed no one else had stayed there.

“Does everyone in your family have their own room?”

Ye Changan: “These were all built later. When we were kids, we all piled onto one *kang* every day.” (*Kang*: a traditional heated bed)

It was a bit warmer in winter, but in summer, it didn’t get too hot here either.

After putting her things away, Shen Qiuyu whispered, “So where will I sleep tonight?”

Though she was engaged to Ye Changan, they hadn’t registered yet.

It was more proper to sleep separately.

Ye Changan laughed: “You can ask if my little sister is willing to let you crash with her.”

Shen Qiuyu perked up. “Speaking of your sister, you never told me before how pretty she is.”

Ye Changan hadn’t mentioned his sister and just went along with her words. “Well, what, you thought she’d look exactly like me?”

Though Ye Changan wasn’t ugly, the thought of a girl version of me was still a bit terrifying.

Shen Qiuyu: “I feel awful for not bringing any gifts this time.”

Especially since everyone had been so kind to her.

Ye Changan: “Next time. Next time, I’ll help you pick something out.”

Shen Qiuyu pulled Ye Changan outside. “Let’s go out. People might talk.”

Just after Shen Qiuyu stepped out, Ye Xiaoxiao asked, “Sister Qiuyu, are you tired? Do you want to nap in my room for a bit?”

Ye Changan: “Your sister Qiuyu will sleep with you tonight.”

Ye Xiaoxiao was quite happy. “Great! We can chat too.”

Although there were other rooms in the house, none were prepared, and the kangs weren’t heated.

Ye Xiaoxiao’s kang was quite spacious—it could easily fit three or four people.

Shen Qiuyu was indeed a bit tired, but before resting, she wanted to use the toilet.

“Where’s the toilet in your house?”

Ye Changan pointed it out to her. “Out back. Guys left, girls right.”

Since the Ye family also had Zhang Xue as a wife, sharing a toilet was inconvenient, so the outhouse got split the year Zhang Xue married in.

Though it was an outhouse, it was kept very clean, and in winter, there was barely any odor.

After using the toilet, Shen Qiuyu went to Ye Xiaoxiao’s room to lie down for a while and soon fell asleep.

Ye Xiaoxiao pulled a blanket over her.

When Shen Qiuyu woke up, she was startled—whoa—to find it was almost dark.

Had everyone already eaten?

Shen Qiuyu stepped out of the room, and the evening air was even colder.

She hurried from the yard into the dining room and found everybody waiting, but they hadn’t started eating yet.

Ye Jianguo had just returned home and had been waiting after hearing that his second son had brought his girlfriend back.

And because he wanted to see the woman his second brother had brought home, Ye Changsheng had camped out there all day without leaving.

Anyway, Miao Cuifang got both families together for a meal.

During the New Year period, they were supposed to gather like this every day anyway.

Only when Shen Qiuyu arrived did Miao Cuifang tell everyone to grab their bowls and chopsticks.

"Why didn’t you wake me?" Shen Qiuyu poked Ye Changan.

"You were probably wiped out today. It’s fine if you slept a little longer. Night falls early around here, so it’s not actually that late."

In the mountains, the sun sets quickly. It was just after four in the afternoon.

Shen Qiuyu had taken the train to the county town, then an ox-cart to the town, walked to the village, and finally trekked a stretch of road. She was truly exhausted and was still worn out.

They ate first, and after the meal, Shen Qiuyu had a chat with Grandpa and Grandma.

The old folks were very concerned about Ye Changan’s marriage. Now that the two young people were hitting it off, the parents needed to be proactive too.

Ye Jianguo felt that although the children agreed, they’d better talk with the other side’s parents.

"Xiao Yu is from Shen City, right? After the New Year, let’s arrange a time to visit your parents in Shen City."

Shen Qiuyu: "Sure! My parents really like Changan and can’t wait to have Uncle and Aunt over to our place."

After Ye Jianye and his wife, along with the grandparents, returned to the front courtyard, Miao Cuifang saw the crowd had thinned out.

She took out a red envelope and handed it to Shen Qiuyu. "Xiao Yu, since it’s your first visit, Auntie didn’t have much ready. This red envelope is a tradition—please accept it."

Shen Qiuyu hadn’t expected to receive a red envelope. "Thank you, Auntie."

Miao Cuifang was very pleased with Shen Qiuyu. She was a good girl, and as long as her temperament clicked with the family and her second son liked her, she would certainly support them.

Shen Qiuyu stashed the red envelope, itching to show it off to Ye Changan later.

Ye Xiaoxiao, who had just seen the grandparents off, was getting drowsy too.

But she didn’t want to sleep—it wasn’t even that late.

"Let’s go back and play something. You guys aren’t ready to sleep yet, right?"

Ye Changning: "Let’s go back and play cards. We’ve got enough people—one, two, three… Let’s break out two decks."