Hua Jin once again had to endure the baptism of love from her grandmother.
Sigh! Being too loved is also a burden!
"Grandma, are you thinking about burning a charcoal brazier in this room?" Seeing that her grandma’s emotions were not so high, Hua Jin considered the room’s temperature and suggested.
"We should add a charcoal brazier." Having farmed the land for so many years, Granny Hua quickly understood the meaning behind her granddaughter’s words.
Nowadays, the vegetables outside aren’t growing because the temperature is too low, and the ground is as hard as stone. Any seeds sown would be frozen, so how could they sprout?
Similarly, the vegetables inside the house sprouted because of the higher temperature indoors, so Granny Hua immediately realized that temperature is the main factor for whether vegetables can sprout.
Then the grandmother and granddaughter got busy, and soon they lit another charcoal brazier and put it in the inner room.
During breakfast, Granny Hua couldn’t help but brag about her granddaughter’s vegetables.
"Grandma, they really sprouted?" Hua Yunao and his brothers, along with Xiaosi, widened their eyes.
"Of course, they did," Granny Hua glared at her eldest grandson.
Thinking that her eldest grandson needed some discipline, as he dared not to believe her words.
"No, no, I just couldn’t quite believe it." Hua Yunao quickly waved his hand, his survival instincts kicked in.
"Very soon, the family will have fresh vegetables to eat. This is all thanks to our Jin’er. If it wasn’t for Jin’er’s cleverness in thinking of growing vegetables indoors, with your brains, you’d probably never think of it in a lifetime. It’s just that Jin’er is so filial and worried about our health. You all should be grateful to your sister. If I find out anyone treats Jin’er poorly, watch out for me to turn on you and not recognize you." Granny Hua started lecturing again, especially targeting Hua Yunao and his brothers.
"Grandma, you’re right. Our sister is really good to us. We’ll definitely learn more from her and treat her well in the future." Hearing this, Hua Yunao and his brothers straightened up their expressions and responded quickly.
They were especially afraid that their slow response would earn them another glare from their grandma, or their grandpa’s big fan-like hand.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed their sister truly came up with this idea because of their difficulty in relieving themselves.
There were so few vegetables to eat in winter that going to the bathroom during this time was always a difficult task, and Xiaosi had even cried because of being unable to go.
"It’s good that you understand. Your sister is really nice to you; otherwise, who would care about you?"
As soon as Granny Hua finished, Hua Yunao and his brothers, along with Xiaosi, all looked at Hua Jin with gratitude.
What to do about this overly rosy view?
Although she indeed felt she’s quite good, such praise still made her feel a bit embarrassed, Hua Jin thought with a touch of arrogance.
"Your grandma is right; your sister is so good to you all. You should love and protect her more in the future, understand?" Hua Chengtian also joined in scolding his sons.
Whose daughter could be as good as his own, so capable, earning such a large amount of silver for the family in a short period, and worrying so much for the family? It’s necessary to give these boys some needed lessons to prevent them from taking their sister’s efforts for granted.
Hua Chengtian spoke so earnestly, as if he would immediately let them know why flowers are so red if his sons made even a little mistake.
Hua Yunao and his brothers, along with Xiaosi, naturally nodded repeatedly, expressing their understanding. They also felt that they were too much of a failure as elder brothers, always making their sister worry. Resolving to be more hardworking and better to their sister in the future, otherwise how would they repay her concern for them?
"Alright, just remember how good your sister is and let’s eat," Old Mr. Hua spoke up.
The main thing was if they didn’t eat soon, the food would get cold even with the charcoal brazier in the room, and his dear granddaughter shouldn’t eat cold food.
After the meal, the whole family gathered in the grandparents’ room, surrounding several wooden frames, unable to get enough and then showered Hua Jin with another round of praise.
The praise left Hua Jin feeling numb.
In the early afternoon, when it was too cold to go out much, the grandmothers and daughters-in-law who rarely went out intentionally visited the houses of other grandmothers they were on good terms with in the village.
After a few words, the conversation turned to their granddaughter.
"Your kid really works hard. Speaking of which, you don’t know how good my granddaughter is! To prevent her brothers from struggling, she racked her brains and finally came up with the idea of growing vegetables indoors. Can you guess what happened?" Grandma Hua teased, her eyes shining with pride.
"What’s the matter? Stop teasing, sister-in-law," Granny Lin truly wanted to know. After all, struggling to use the bathroom was really uncomfortable.
"They sprouted!" Grandma Hua proudly shared, her eyes squinting with delight.
"Why is my granddaughter so smart? And she’s so filial too. Our family must have done great deeds in a past life to have such a pretty, sensible, clever, and filial child."
The crazy granddaughter bragger appeared again.
People usually brag about their grandsons, but Granny Hua didn’t even think her grandsons were as good as a single strand of her granddaughter’s hair.
Too much envy was brewed.
Made it seem as if she didn’t have a granddaughter.
But thinking of her own granddaughter’s dark and thin appearance, who rarely uttered a sound, Granny Sun pursed her lips.
She had to admit, Jin’er indeed had the capital for such boasting.
"Jin’er is indeed a rare good girl, smart and filial. Sister-in-law, you’re blessed, and I’m envious to death." Granny Sun complimented generously, because, well, Jin’er truly was good.
"Oh, just alright. Your granddaughter isn’t bad either—a big help both at home and outside at such a young age, especially with needlework, which has inherited your skill. I’m envious." Grandma Hua was overjoyed by the praise but remembered to be modest.
Sure enough, when Granny Sun heard compliments about her granddaughter, her smile became even more genuine.
The two elders, with a combined age of nearly ninety, began praising each other’s grandchildren back and forth.
Though Mrs. Qi also thought her daughter was good in every way, the straightforward boasting from her mother-in-law made Mrs. Qi blush a bit.
"Sister-in-law Xiu, have you really been growing vegetables indoors these days?" Glancing at the two elderly women still complimenting each other, Granny Sun’s eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, became curious and quietly asked Mrs. Qi from the side.
"Yes, we didn’t want to disappoint the child’s filial piety, but surprisingly they really sprouted."
Hearing Zhang’s question, Mrs. Qi couldn’t help but brighten up.
Thinking of her daughter’s goodness, her smile couldn’t be hidden, and her tone with unspoken pride resembled her mother-in-law’s.
"Really! That’s wonderful. Sister-in-law Xiushu, how did Jin’er grow her mind to be so clever?"
Mrs. Zhang was genuinely envious, since the lack of vegetables in winter and the related issues were annual concerns, and after so many years, everyone had grown accustomed to it without considering a solution. Yet, this child’s filial piety led to the idea of growing vegetables indoors. Truly incomparable, such brilliance!
"It’s just a whim, this child cares too much. I’ve told her not to worry about family matters, but she can’t stand seeing her family suffer. Sigh, she wouldn’t listen."
This... was unintentionally boasting in every word!