The mother and daughter prepared a set of writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for the "zhuazhou" ceremony for Little Tiedan, along with toys suitable for children aged one to three. They also prepared new hats, clothes, and shoes for him from head to toe.
In addition, they prepared various meats for the guests, as well as braised dishes for pairing with wine and various meatballs for hot pot.
After Chen Lan finished preparing, she asked Mingxuan and his two younger brothers to help load three sleds full of items. They planned to deliver them to Qian Yingzi's family in advance to give them ample time to prepare the banquet.
Chen Lan dressed the twins in warm coats, hats, gloves, and scarves, and pushed the stroller, ready to go out. She planned to take advantage of the good weather to take the twins out for some fresh air and visit friends, and also to attend Little Tiedan's first birthday banquet.
The mother and her two children, bundled up like pandas, went out. A cold wind blew, and Jia Hui couldn't help but sneeze, followed by Jia Yao.
Chen Lan quickly stopped to check if Jia Hui and Jia Yao had runny noses. Fortunately, neither of them did. Perhaps it was too warm inside, and their noses were just not accustomed to the cold wind when they suddenly went outside.
She pulled the blankets covering the twins in the stroller up a bit higher, leaving only their little heads exposed.
Chen Lan asked the twins, "Jia Yao, Jia Hui, are you cold?"
Jia Hui nodded, while Jia Yao shook his head.
This response confused Chen Lan. Were they cold or not? Even though it was a sunny day and the sun was out, it was still very cold outside. There was no time to dwell on the question of cold or not, so she quickly pushed the stroller and continued on her way to Qian Yingzi's house.
Many days passed quickly after attending Little Tiedan's lively first birthday banquet.
One day, after the whole family had finished breakfast, Uncle Fu and Uncle De, as usual, went out to the greenhouse together.
Unprecedentedly, Ming Wei and her mother-in-law were sitting on the sofa chatting, seemingly with no plans to go out today.
Chen Lan was a bit surprised and asked, "Xiao Lan, aren't you and Ming Wei going to the sewing workshop to work today?"
Her mother-in-law immediately replied, "Xiao Lan, we've prepared most of the things. We've made fifty quilts and fifty mattresses each, and fifty sets of cotton jackets and cotton pants each. We can't prepare any more, as we're already running out of space.
So, after discussing with your Aunt Xiao Shan, we've decided to give the women at the sewing workshop a holiday for now. Those who make shoes can take the materials home and make them slowly, and we'll collect them together after the new year when work resumes.
The clothes for spring and summer for the people in the valley will also be prepared after the new year. Xiao Lan, do you think this arrangement is okay?"
Chen Lan smiled and replied, "Mother-in-law, you can arrange these things as you see fit. You don't need to ask for my opinion, and besides, I don't understand the intricacies of making clothes."
Chen Lan turned to Ming Wei, who was lounging lazily on the sofa, and asked, "Ming Wei, the sewing workshop is on holiday. What are you planning to do during these few months?"
Ming Wei was taken aback by Chen Lan's question and couldn't immediately respond. She stared blankly at Chen Lan.
Seeing Ming Wei not answering and just staring blankly, her mother-in-law reached out and lightly patted her, scolding softly, "Ming Wei, what are you spacing out about! Your sister-in-law is asking you a question! This child!"
Ming Wei finally snapped back to reality and asked, "Sister-in-law, what did you just say? The sewing workshop is on holiday, and there's still something to do?
Isn't the rest just eating and sleeping, and sleeping and eating, and everyone is starting to hibernate? That's what the sisters-in-law and young ladies from Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces say! Ru Yi and the others say the same! Is there something wrong?"
Chen Lan decided not to beat around the bush with her and said, "Ming Wei, what you're saying is correct. Everyone can start hibernating! But for a few months, if you just eat and sleep, and then eat after sleeping, don't you think life will be difficult to endure? Won't life feel rather boring?"
Ming Wei didn't know what to say for a moment. After a while, she finally managed to say, "What can we do? It's too cold. People living here in the Changbai Mountain region live like this."
Chen Lan heard the helpless tone in Ming Wei's voice and decided to tell her the truth. She said, "Ming Wei, your sister-in-law has something she'd like to ask for your help with. I don't know if you're willing?"
Ming Wei immediately became interested and sat up straight, saying, "Sister-in-law, tell me, what is it that you need me to do? Just ask, and as long as it's something I can do, I'll do my best to help you!"
When Chen Lan heard Ming Wei agree, she thought, this is what I've been waiting for. She immediately smiled happily and said, "Ming Wei, it's not a difficult task. For you, it's a piece of cake."
Ming Wei became even more interested and impatiently asked, "Sister-in-law, hurry up and tell me, what is it!"
Chen Lan smiled and said, "I plan to open a reading and literacy club in the large study at home. You will manage the club, and the teachers will be you, Ming Zhe, Wen Kai, and Wen Qi.
Your task during these months when everyone is hibernating is to organize the young ladies and young wives in the valley, as well as children over five years old, to come to the club to study and learn to read and write."
When Ming Wei heard Chen Lan finish, she immediately said, "Sister-in-law, I have no problem with this. I need to ask Ming Zhe and Wen Kai if they agree?"
With that, she quickly got up and ran towards the small study.
A short while later, Ming Wei returned with three people. Ming Zhe exclaimed excitedly, "Sister-in-law, is it true that my sister said we can be teachers? Are you really letting us be teachers?"
Chen Lan smiled and said, "Of course, it's true! When has your sister-in-law ever lied to you? But there's one thing you three must do, and that is to persevere from the beginning to the end. You must prepare lessons every day and grade students' assignments, just like when you were in school. The only difference is that you were students then, and now you are teachers. Can you do it?"
The three children glanced at each other, then went to a corner to discuss for a while! Then they called Ming Wei over to discuss for a while longer.
Afterward, the four of them walked up to Chen Lan and solemnly appointed a representative.
Ming Wei, on behalf of the four of them, said, "Sister-in-law, after discussion, we four have agreed to your invitation to be teachers at the reading club, but we have one condition!"
Chen Lan asked curiously, "What condition? Tell me, as long as it's reasonable! You can ask for anything!"
Ming Wei cleared her throat and continued, "Sister-in-law, regarding what to teach and how to teach, we want to have the final say."
Chen Lan readily replied, "It's no problem for you to have the final say, but I also have a condition. You must teach according to the content of the books I give you, and finally, you must give all the students in the reading club an exam to assess the results of your teaching. Do you have any problems with this?"
The four looked at each other, nodded happily, and loudly replied, "No problem!"