"Who helped us organize the house?"
As Cai Wei and Cai Fei walked around the room, puzzled, the door creaked open, and Third Aunt Mu came in with Cai Lian, a basket hanging off her arm.
"Third Aunt, you’re here!"
Both Cai Wei and Cai Fei warmly went to greet her and helped her and Third Aunt Mu to the edge of the Kang in the inner room.
As soon as Third Aunt Mu settled down, she started talking animatedly, "See, I knew it! I figured that once you two got back, you wouldn’t want to spend too much time in the main room, so I took the liberty of tidying up for you. I even lit the fire kang to make it cozier for you."
Cai Fei laughed and said, "Thank you, auntie. You really care about us!"
Third Aunt Mu teased back: "Well, I can’t do much about it. Who can resist spoiling you two?"
Armresting basket, she produced a pack of sunflower seeds, and a pack of peanuts, placing them on the kang table, "I don’t have much to offer you, so I brought these peanuts and sunflower seeds that I grew in my own garden. Do have some, and please don’t be picky!"
Cai Wei laughed, "I was just thinking about having a snack. Your timing is impeccable, auntie. I haven’t even had time to thank you properly, let alone be picky." After finishing her sentence, she opened the paper bag and began to crack open some sunflower seeds.
Cai Lian was sitting on the edge of the kang, smiling as she observed them. She was wearing the autumn-coloured auspicious cloud pattern brocade beizi gifted by Lady Du, a matching six-frame skirt, and her hair was arranged in an auspicious bun adorned with a wooden peony hairpin, making her look more dazzling than usual.
Upon seeing her, Cai Wei joked, "Cai Lian, you’re becoming more and more beautiful! I hardly recognized you."
Blushing, Cai Lian said, "Beautiful? It’s all thanks to Second Aunt spoiling me and giving me these good clothes."
Cai Wei responded, "As the saying goes, a good horse deserves a good saddle. No matter how good the clothes are, they’d be useless if you weren’t beautiful."
Her compliment made Cai Lian smile quietly. Which young woman in her prime wouldn’t enjoy hearing compliments about her beauty? Cai Lian was internally pleased but was modest in her response.
"Cai Wei, stop talking about me! You’re a rare beauty yourself. Compared to you, I’m like a willow!"
"No, no, you’re the beautiful one," replied Cai Wei, laughing.
Third Aunt Mu intervened, "Stop being polite to each other, you two. I’d say you’re both beauties. I’m sure you’ll both find good families and good husbands in the future!"
At these words, Cai Lian’s face flushed furiously. Pretending she hadn’t heard her mother’s words, she kept her head down, fiddling with her clothes, and didn’t utter a word.
Cai Wei also tried to mimic the coy behavior of the young ladies of this world, who’d become embarrassed the moment anyone mentioned their future mother-in-law’s family or marriage. However, the essential prerequisite for shyness—blushing—was something she simply could not do. After forcing out a few supposedly shy expressions, she suddenly realized her attempts were rather silly and quickly abandoned the idea, reaching for the sunflower seeds on the kang table and continued snacking.
Sunflower seeds and peanuts – these were the most common snacks among the people. Cai Wei often ate these two snacks in her past life, but what she had then were five-flavored peanuts and sunflower seeds. These seasoned versions were far more delicious than the raw ones that she was eating now.
After devouring a few, she yearned more and more for the five-spice peanuts and sunflower seeds from her past life. So, she made an excuse, got up, and went to the kitchen, planning to make some herself.