I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 113: The Helping Relative

After washing their hands, the sisters-in-law came to help get the bowls and chopsticks and set out the chairs. There were too many people in the house and not enough tables and chairs, so they went out to borrow a few more chairs from the neighbors before everyone could sit down.

Before the meal, Yuan Xiu packed a meal in a lunchbox, intending to have Jiang Zhou deliver it to Dr. Liu, who couldn't come due to mobility issues. However, the children volunteered and set off with the lunchbox.

When they return, the feast will begin.

The children didn't sit at the table; instead, they sat on the coffee table, each with a bowl overflowing with food, eating while watching TV.

There was no Moutai today, so we drank Wuliangye. As soon as the liquor was taken out, Sister Chunmei said to Li Shan, "Don't try to get Xiao Jiang drunk today. If you get him drunk again, Xiao Yuan might not let you into her house again."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "No, that won't happen."

Li Shan chuckled, "Last time I got drunk, I mixed up the drinks—it was Moutai, Wuliangye, and Erguotou. This time it's different. We'll only drink Wuliangye, so we definitely won't get drunk!"

The man chimed in, "That's right, we know our own drinking capacity, you women don't understand."

The woman rolled her eyes at the sound.

They don't understand?

If you're drunk, then don't let them clean up your mess!

Jiang Zhou raised his glass. "Let's call it a day. We only have these two bottles of wine at home. Once we finish them, then..."

Li Shan: "My family has..."

Sister Chunmei glared at him, and he sat down on his bottom, which had been hanging in mid-air.

Xiulan's husband, Battalion Commander Sun, jokingly asked him, "What's wrong? Did the cat bite your tongue?"

Xiulan's sister-in-law rolled her eyes at her husband. "You think you're so great? Do you want your tongue to get bitten by a cat too?"

Battalion Commander Sun: "..."

There were still some unmarried young men at the table. Sister Chunmei was very mindful of her image as a sister-in-law, and said to everyone with a smile, "It's not that I'm reluctant to share this with you. Drinking a little wine is good for your health, but drinking too much is harmful. I'm doing this for everyone's health. If you don't believe me, ask your sister-in-law Yuanxiu. She studied medicine, and she knows more than any of us."

Yuan Xiu nodded with a smile.

Li Shan chuckled twice: "Come on, let's have a drink first!"

Seeing his behavior, Sister Chunmei whispered to Yuan Xiu and the others, "He's a drunkard. He can't drink much normally, but he's afraid of not drinking enough when he gets the chance."

Sister-in-law Guiying said, "Men all like to have a drink. If he wants to drink, let him drink. Your husband, Lao Li, has a good alcohol tolerance. I've never seen him drunk."

"That's because you haven't seen it. It happens when I'm drunk too, once..."

As Chunmei spoke, she laughed, "Hehe, once when I went to my parents' house, I got drunk and went up the mountain to sing. I didn't sing very well, and I was wailing like a ghost, which almost scared people. They thought some crazy person had come from somewhere."

"I didn't know your husband, Lao Li, had this hobby!"

The women started talking, recounting the drunken antics of their husbands.

"Xiao Yuan, is your Chief of Staff Jiang drunk and acting crazy?"

Yuan Xiu shook her head.

"So what's different about him compared to usual?"

Yuan Xiu blushed slightly as she recalled how he had been drunk the last time. "Nothing's different. He's quite quiet when he's drunk."

"That's good. There's quite a difference between a scholar when he's drunk and the rough men in our family when they're drunk."

Yuan Xiu glanced at Jiang Zhou; she actually quite wanted to see Jiang Zhou drunk again.

The women had almost finished eating, but the men were still eating. The children had long since left, and the TV station also had to take a break in the afternoon, as there were no programs for most of the 24 hours in a day.

Yuan Xiu went into the kitchen and used a kerosene stove to cook a small pot of hangover soup, which she then took out.

"This dish is enough, why bother making a bowl of soup?"

Yuan Xiu: "These are for you to sober up."

Li Shan leaned closer for a second look. "Isn't this just a bowl of cabbage soup?"

"Yes, cabbage hangover soup. This is called the vegetable hangover remedy. Not only cabbage can help with hangovers, but radishes, celery, lotus root, and water chestnuts can also help with hangovers."

Yuan Xiu ladled a bowl for each of them, and handed the last bowl to Jiang Zhou: "Drink up, this one isn't bad."

Jiang Zhou smiled and hummed in agreement.

Li Shan: "Tsk!"

Sister Chunmei walked up behind him, reached out and pinched the soft flesh on his waist!

The next moment, Li Shan almost let out a scream!

The young man asked, "What's wrong, Battalion Commander?"

Li Shan immediately stopped grinning and said, "It's nothing, just have some soup."

Chunmei and her family helped out at home for most of the day, and didn't leave until 3 p.m.

Yuan Xiu had to go to Teacher Shen's class in the afternoon, so she left the house tidying up to Jiang Zhou.

Holding her textbooks, Yuan Xiu left her house, crossed the road, and walked through the alley between the small buildings on both sides to reach Teacher Shen's house.

Political Commissar Wang is away on a business trip. Besides Teacher Shen, there is also a relative from her family who came to help out.

While it's called helping out, she's really just a nanny in private, but she can't say it openly. The salary she gets isn't really a salary; it's a thank-you fee.

Teacher Shen's due date is in May, which is less than a month away. Political Commissar Wang, a grown man, is often away from home when he's busy, so for safety reasons, he asked a relative to help out.

"Xiao Yuan is here. Xiao Shen was just saying that you were moving today and might not have time to come to class."

Yuan Xiu followed her inside: "The house is almost all tidied up."

The relative who helped was surnamed Zhu, in her early forties, and Yuan Xiu called her Sister Zhu.

"I knew you were moving today, and I was thinking of going over to see if I could lend a hand. This morning, Xiao Shen got a leg cramp, and I massaged her for a long time..."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "No need to trouble yourself. Just take good care of Teacher Shen."

When she entered, Teacher Shen was coming downstairs. She was already very pregnant, so Yuan Xiu quickly went over to help her. "Take it easy."

Teacher Shen laughed and said, "It's alright. Why are you like Old Wang? I'm a grown man, how could I possibly fall down?"

"Don't be careless. Be careful when going up and down the stairs. Otherwise, you might as well live downstairs; it'll be more convenient."

Sister Zhu immediately chimed in, "How about Xiao Shen stays downstairs and I stay upstairs?"

Yuan Xiu glanced at her; something about those words didn't quite ring true.

Teacher Shen shook her head. "There are only two bedrooms upstairs. The study is uninhabitable, and the other room is Wang Ting's room, which cannot be touched."

It wouldn't be appropriate to let Sister Zhu stay in their bedroom.

There is only one bedroom downstairs. In addition, there is a storage room right at the top of the stairs. It is much smaller than the bedroom and is used as a bedroom in some families with many members who do not have enough rooms.

Teacher Shen felt awkward asking her relatives to stay in the storage room, so she never considered moving in temporarily.

"That's fine. I still prefer my room. I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep if I change rooms."

Upon hearing her say this, a fleeting look of disappointment crossed Sister Zhu's face.