In the book, the female supporting role dreams of being an idle fish

Go downstairs and make breakfast.

Cook the last bit of yam porridge.

Grab a bowl of kimchi.

I heated up the leftovers, including chicken, duck and fish.

Called Jiang Wen.

The two of them were having dinner together, and Jiang Wen wanted to ask Gu Lixia for her opinion on the decision he made yesterday. "Lixia, I want to keep Xiu'er, and I think we have to start now. I'll go out soon. After I finish carrying water, while we eat, tell her that I had a dream last night about my mother."

"My mother told me to keep Xiu'er until she's 22 before she can get married. Then she told me to go back on Sunday to burn paper money for her reincarnation. We'll go borrow a bicycle on Sunday, buy some cakes, and take the children and Xiu'er back. What do you think?"

It is a common phenomenon that women are not allowed to visit graves, and there are differences in different regions. As the saying goes, there are different customs in every ten miles.

In Jiangcheng, any woman, whether she is married into the man's family system or is still unmarried, is not allowed to visit the graves.

On the day of tomb sweeping, women would help out at home, taking care of some tedious preparations, such as preparing paper money, incense, candles, wine, fruits, etc. After the preparations were completed, the men in the family would bring the offerings to worship their ancestors.

There is also a requirement that married women cannot return to their parents' home to visit their parents' graves.

Even if she goes back to her parents' home during the Qingming Festival, she only sits at home, eats, and visits relatives, instead of following her father, brothers, uncles, and nephews to the graves of her ancestors to pay homage and sweep the tombs.

In the traditional feudal cultural concept, a married woman who returns to her parents' home is considered a guest and should not be accompanied to visit the graves and offer sacrifices.

People often say "If a woman visits a grave, her maternal family will be extinct" and this is the reason.

However, what is interesting is that whether women are allowed to visit graves depends on the circumstances.

For example, a woman cannot return to her parents’ home to visit the graves, but if a woman goes to her boyfriend’s home, she is believed to go to the man’s family grave as soon as possible to announce the good news to the ancestors, indicating that a new person is coming to the family.

The same applies when it comes to giving birth to a child. People are required to go to the ancestral tomb as soon as possible to inform the ancestors that a new baby has been added to the family. This is called "good news."

Gu Lixia naturally agreed. She had always wanted to interfere in Jiang Xiu's life, so it was better for her brother to have his own ideas. "Okay, we should have kept her at home. Only by staying at home can she go to college and experience a more exciting life, instead of just living around the stove with children, a man, parents-in-law, and grandparents."

"Since you've made up your mind, talk to Xiu'er properly. Don't let her complain. My brother and sister-in-law want to keep her as a laborer at home. Other girls get married at 16, 17, or 18, but she has to wait until 22. She won't have any complaints about Mom, only about us."

"We have to strike a balance here. If we make a mistake, we'll become enemies. Be nicer to her in the future. Make her new clothes every year. As for food, she'll cook and won't be harsh on her stomach."

"Your brother's watch is with Jiang Xiu now. It will eventually belong to Huainan. When Lixia goes to high school, we will buy her a new watch. We should treat her well. There are many young wives who marry into the family compound. After seeing so many of them, they naturally don't have expectations about married life."

"Eat quickly, and clean up after you're done. I'll go upstairs to change. I told you last night we were going to plant some crops. Go see if you need any seeds. I've put a basket in the cabinet at the far end. Ask the housekeeper to go buy some."

Gu Lixia pointed to the cabinet door next to the refrigerator on the side of the kitchen, then turned and went upstairs to change clothes.

Jiang Wenye was the last one to finish and clean up.

By the time Gu Lixia finished dressing and came down, Jiang Wen had also packed up. "I've checked. The only thing missing is peanut seeds. Everything else is sufficient."

Gu Lixia suddenly remembered that she had a sudden craving for peanuts last time. After buying some, she forgot about it after the excitement wore off. "I bought five pounds of garlic-flavored peanuts, but I haven't eaten them yet. If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten. If you want to plant some, ask the housekeeper to buy them. Let's go out."

After leaving the space, Jiang Wen continued to go out to fetch water, while Gu Lixia went to the top of the gate to help cheat.

After filling the hot water bag, Jiang Wen continued to carry water to irrigate the fields, while Gu Lixia carried a basin of water and went into the house. Whether the house was lived in or not, it had to be cleaned up.

I wiped the kang, the cabinets, the tables, the chairs, and the plaster statues.

Came out and poured some water.

I washed the mop again, controlled the water, and mopped the floor.

Then I cleaned the kitchen and the main room.

Jiang Xiu also got up.

Seeing Gu Lixia mopping the floor, I waited outside for a while.

I swept the yard as well.

Breakfast: porridge, shredded potatoes with vinegar, and stir-fried baby cabbage.

After eating, Gu Lixia took Jiang Huaibei and Jiang Huaixi outside and made an excuse to see if there were still a few cucumbers to pick.

Jiang Wenzhe said directly to Huainan, "Because of the request made by my mother yesterday at the beginning of summer, I thought of my grandmother. She appeared in my dream at night. Mother said that she had waited for my father and was ready to reincarnate with her son and daughter-in-law. She asked me to keep you, Xiu'er, until you are 22, to prevent you from dying young like your elder brother. Go back on Sunday and say goodbye." This is what he said to Jiang Xiu later.

Even though it was a lie, it was still sad.

When his mother died, Jiang Wen already had memories and was the same age as Jiang Huaibei is now.

Jiang's mother didn't even get to keep a single photo.

When talking about her mother, Jiang Xiu always remained silent. In the past, Jiang Xiu didn't even miss her mother because the people she saw most were her father and second brother.

Later, the eldest brother came back and watched his sister-in-law take in Hainan and Huaibei.

Jiang Xiu would think about it.

It would be nice if my mother was here too.

Jiang Xiu thought that this was probably a mother's greatest concern for her last child.

Ensure that you don't go to the countryside.

Jiang Huainan is actually not that strong.

At the beginning, I cried every day.

Later, whenever Jiang Huainan cried, Jiang Huaibei and Jiang Huaixi would also cry.

Jiang Huainan didn't dare cry loudly.

Jiang Huainan's tears suddenly flowed. "Uncle, did you dream about my dad? I miss him and my mom. I knew before that when the uncles in the family compound passed away, the aunts would take the brothers and sisters back to their hometown. When we came back, I was actually quite happy..."

Jiang Wen hugged his eldest nephew. Even though he was only 19 years old, he still couldn't believe that his father had really passed away.

Not to mention kids like Huainan.

Jiang Wen was a little tongue-tied, not knowing how to comfort the two sensible children. "Think about Mom, Dad, and Grandma. They are about to end this life and go to the next life. We still have photos. As long as we don't forget them, they will live well in our hearts. I hope Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, and Mom will live a long life in the next life. Let's stack a few more gold ingots at home today. This is the only thing we can do for them now."