To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

The older sister looked at her with even more sympathy, thinking to herself: What a kind-hearted person. Even in this situation, she still gives her brother face and keeps protecting him...

She stopped arguing with Lin Qingping about the matter. Since her sister-in-law wanted to protect her, then so be it. But the soup still had to be given to her brother.

"Anyway, just remember to make it for Chengzi to drink. It will only benefit you and not harm you."

"Oh, okay." Lin Qingping was puzzled as to why the mother and daughter were so insistent on supplementing Gu Juncheng in this way, but surely his own mother and sister wouldn't harm him...

Thinking that she had also misunderstood Gu Juncheng because he had been injured in that area and was not very capable, she wondered if the mother and daughter also had some kind of misunderstanding.

She tentatively asked, "Big sister, how did you know Chengzi... um..." She hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing her words, "...that he needs to drink this soup?"

Without even thinking, Gu Youlian blurted out, "He said it himself!"

Alright...

What else did Lin Qingping want to ask?

He said it himself! How could it be false?

But judging from his behavior, it really doesn't seem like it...

With a painstaking expression, Liu Fen, the mother-in-law, said, "This recipe is a traditional old one, a dietary supplement, a method passed down from the elders in the village. Dietary supplements are better than medicinal supplements."

Lin Qingping: ? ? Medicinal supplements, huh?

Does Gu Juncheng rely on medication for supplements?!

She put the prescription away and left without saying a word.

That evening, after returning to the next room, Lin Qingping searched the house thoroughly, from the bedroom to the dining room, and then to the study, including the bag that Gu Juncheng had brought back.

We searched everywhere we could think of, but we couldn't find any suspicious pills.

"What are you looking for?" Gu Juncheng asked, noticing she had been up all night. "Do you need my help?"

"No need, no need!" Lin Qingping quickly said. He was already maintaining a normal appearance in front of her by taking medicine, how could she expose him? "I'm looking for a book, but I can't find it. I must have taken it to school."

When Lin Qingping went to sleep that night, she didn't snuggle in Gu Juncheng's arms as usual, but kept a distance from him.

Yes, keep your distance. Don't let him overexert himself; he needs to rest and recuperate.

However, he reached out his arm to pull her into his arms.

"No..." she quickly refused, "I...I'm a little tired, I don't really want to." She couldn't say it was for his sake, she could only say she didn't want to, trying to be considerate of his feelings...

Gu Juncheng, in the prime of his life, had been forced to drink a large bowl of some kind of soup that evening, and his breath was scalding hot. He pulled her close and pressed his fiery lips against hers.

Lin Qingping also felt very hot, and her whole body was throbbing, but she couldn't!

She tried to push him away, "Gu Juncheng, no, let's do it another day, okay? I'm not feeling well."

Gu Juncheng felt a sense of urgency, but hearing her say that, he didn't press her further. He simply kissed her forehead and asked, "Where do you feel unwell?"

"Maybe I'm just too tired," she mumbled.

"Okay, then you should get some rest." Gu Juncheng let go of her and moved away from her.

The two of them slept through the night without any skin contact.

On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together for a reunion dinner.

Following the customs of Gujia Village, Liu Fen, the mother-in-law, and Gu Youlian, the eldest sister, started their busy day early in the morning.

After Lin Qingping arrived, she helped with the preparations, and Gu Juncheng followed her into the kitchen.

Liu Fen and her eldest sister have always spoiled this only son of the Gu family and don't want him to do anything. Lin Qingping didn't really want him to come and help at this time either. It would be enough for him to help her when he came home. If he acted like this in front of his mother and eldest sister, they would blame her for mistreating their precious only son.

Therefore, people are afraid of reason.

In her past life, she was only focused on going crazy and didn't care how the Gu family viewed her. But this life is different. She wants to live a good life with Gu Juncheng and treat his family well, but she has more concerns now.

But he argued vehemently, "What era are we living in? Men shouldn't go into the kitchen? We don't have that rule in our army. The cookhouse is all men."

If the military is brought up, the mother and daughter won't have anything to say, and they won't blame Lin Qingping. Even if they do, they probably won't dare to say it.

After working for most of the day, we prepared a large table of dishes.

For this New Year's Eve dinner, Liu Fen was finally generous, and it was very lavish, with chicken, duck, fish and meat all served. Lin Qingping also cooked "Golden Jade Abundance," a dish that was often served at banquets later. It was a whole large pork knuckle, with the skin fried until crispy and then steamed until soft, melting in your mouth and full of oil. It became the most popular dish at the New Year's Eve dinner and was eaten as soon as it was served.

After finishing dinner early, the whole family sat together, chatting, watching TV, and playing cards.

The adults stayed up all night to welcome the New Year, and the two children refused to go to sleep, wanting to wait for the firecrackers to be set off and the dumplings to be made.

During their conversation, Lin Qingping answered many of Gu Youlian's questions, including the school Zhiyuan attended and her dessert shop plans. Gu Youlian listened intently.

Lin Qingping counted the time, and when it was almost time, she called everyone to make dumplings together. This time, apart from her most conservative father-in-law insisting that men should not touch the kitchen, even Du Gen joined in.

Apart from Lin Qingping and her husband, and Zhiyuan, it was everyone's first time making dumplings, and they made all sorts of funny mistakes, which was quite amusing. Zhiyuan patiently taught Xiaomai how to make dumplings step by step, and Gu Youlian watched with increasing enthusiasm.

At midnight, Gu Juncheng and his father-in-law went outside to light firecrackers to welcome the new year. At this time, fireworks and firecrackers were not yet banned, and the sound of firecrackers rose and fell throughout the city for more than half an hour before stopping.

Lin Qingping bought some beautiful fireworks, and Gu Juncheng took Zhiyuan and Xiaomai outside to set them off. Amidst the dazzling fireworks, the new year officially arrived.

After eating dumplings and setting off fireworks, you also have to give out lucky money.

Lin Qingping wrapped red envelopes in red paper, intending to give one to everyone, including her parents-in-law, eldest sister, and brother-in-law.

To her surprise, her parents-in-law and eldest sister-in-law prepared lucky money for her.

“You’re the youngest, so of course we’ll give you some. It’s not much money, it’s just a token, so please don’t mind.” The mother-in-law and the eldest sister-in-law both said the same thing.

Lin Qingping accepted the call.

No matter what, things will always get better.

The Gu family stayed in the capital until the Lantern Festival before returning home. Lin Qingping took them to temple fairs, to visit the former residence of the emperor, and so on, filling every day with sightseeing.

When they returned, Lin Qingping prepared many local specialties for them, so that they could go back in style and have a lot of face in front of their hometown.

However, on the night before she was to return home, Gu Youlian came to see her, looking preoccupied.

“Big sister, just say what you want to say. We sisters don’t need to hide anything from each other,” Lin Qingping said.

"Then I'll say it! Anyway, I'm just saying it casually. If you don't think it's right, just reject me. I won't mind," Gu Youlian said resolutely.

"Okay, go ahead and tell me." Lin Qingping was mentally prepared that her older sister would ask to borrow a large sum of money.

The reason she made this preparation was that she saw that Gu Youlian and Du Gen had a good relationship and there were no problems, so it couldn't be anything else.

Gu Youlian then said, "Pingzi, to be honest, after seeing your lives and Zhiyuan's school over the past two weeks, and with Xiaomai also hearing a lot about the school from Zhiyuan, I'm not at peace with myself, or rather, I'm not satisfied."

"Big sister, what do you mean..." Lin Qingping never expected her to say this.

“Pingzi, didn’t you say you were going to open a dessert shop? From what you’re saying, you mean making pastries?” Gu Youlian said. “I think making pastries is just about what’s done in the kitchen, right? I think I’m better at making pastries than making clothes. Du Gen is doing very well at Factory Director Mei’s place now, but I don’t know anything else besides making clothes. I can’t design new styles like you, nor can I sell clothes like Du Gen, but I’m fine with things in the kitchen…”

After listening to her ramble on and on, and seeing her hesitate to say something, Lin Qingping finally said, "Big sister, do you want to come and help out at my dessert shop?"

"That's exactly what I mean!" Having been exposed, Gu Youlian stopped beating around the bush. "Pingzi, to be honest, I only have one daughter, Xiaomai. I probably won't be able to have any more children. You know, Xiaomai has always been looked down upon in the Du family, and I'm not happy about it. What's wrong with having only one daughter? I think Xiaomai is better than those good-for-nothing kids in the Du family! Pingzi, I just want to prove them wrong! Zhiyuan is in such a good school and such a good place now; he's bound to have a bright future. I also want to fight for Xiaomai, send her to a good school, let her have a great future, and make those people pay!"

"Have you discussed this with your brother-in-law?" Lin Qingping asked.

Gu Youlian nodded. "He said he would decide. I will."

This is the only thing that still brings Gu Youlian comfort in this marriage: that is, Du Gen always listens to her and stands by her side.

"Then you'll be living apart?" Lin Qingping reminded her. She knew that Gu Youlian had deep feelings for Du Gen, and living apart would be detrimental to their relationship.

“We’re pretty much in the same boat now. He’s busy, always traveling for work, and we only see each other once every ten days or so. He said that if I stay in the capital, he’ll come to see me a few times a month. We don’t need the money for train tickets right now.” Gu Youlian was surprisingly firm. Afraid that Lin Qingping would think she was taking advantage of her, she immediately said, “Pingzi, I do know that you have two houses. I know you’re renting one of them. Regardless of which one you live in, I’ll pay the rent for the other one. I’m clear about that. We each have our own homes. We’re siblings, and we keep clear accounts. As for your shop, just consider it as hiring me to work for you. You can pay me according to the market rate.”

Lin Qingping nodded. These words should indeed be said in advance. In her previous life, she had raised her younger brother's family for decades. In this life, having a sensible aunt would save her a lot of trouble.

As for Gu Youlian and Du Gen's relationship, if Du Gen is really a person of questionable character, then even if they are together, there will still be relationship crises. She does not intend to discuss this issue any further, but there is one point she wants to remind Gu Youlian of.

"Big sister, I'm really happy to hear that you're striving for progress and have high hopes for Xiaomai. However, there's one thing I have to say first: you can't force Xiaomai just because you want to prove yourself. Children are all different. If, and I mean if, Xiaomai doesn't grow up to be the way you hope, you can't force her because you're disappointed or feel unbalanced."