Er Niu drove the ox cart himself, with everyone else in the family sitting in the back; Old Man Qin stayed home with Xiao Jun to look after the house.

Originally, Madam Huang had planned to take Xiao Jun to visit her own maternal family, thinking it would be dull for the child to stay home during the New Year, but Old Man Qin said it wasn't appropriate, and Xiao Jun himself said he didn't want to go, preferring to stay home with Grandpa. Madam Huang let them have their way.

Lin Er Niu hadn't been driving carriages for very long and still wasn't as skilled as Old Man Qin. As the family sat on the ox cart, it bounced violently. After about an hour, the cart finally stopped in front of a courtyard. They heard Er Niu announce, "We're here."

The whole family alighted from the ox cart. Lin He's maternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, and aunt were already waiting outside. The grandmother's face bloomed with joy as she saw Madam Huang's family arrive. Several children swarmed around her, calling out "Grandma, Grandpa!" The elders were truly delighted watching their several young grandchildren.

Er Niu unloaded everything from the ox cart. Lin He's maternal grandmother looked on and admonished him with a playful sternness, "Er Niu, you just brought so much over for the Laba Festival, and we haven't even finished that yet! How could you bring so much more? Really."

Er Niu gave a simple, honest smile and replied, "Mother-in-law, these were gifts from a large merchant in town. They are hard to come by usually. I just brought a little bit for you all to sample; it's not much."

Lin He felt that her maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother were somewhat different. Though both were close relatives, it was always Grandma's side that sent things to their home during their most difficult times—they sent everything. Grandma never showed any sign of support. Yet now that their family's circumstances had improved, whenever Father brought gifts to Grandma, she would always protest, afraid they were spending too much.

She would insist on having Father take some things back, claiming it was for the younger ones to eat. But her paternal grandmother, every time Father brought gifts, would accept them wholesale without even offering polite words of refusal. Lin He wondered if it was because people of this era were different, or if her two grandmothers were fundamentally different people.

Lin He recalled many such contrasting parents from her previous life. Some parents thought only of their children, working hard and striving even in old age, yet they would begrudge spending a single penny, breaking it in half for their children. After paying for their children's schooling, they would still help their sons buy houses, get married, and raise grandchildren, always fearing that their children might not fare well and trying to do as much as possible themselves.

Then there were other parents, clearly still young, who refused to work, staying idle at home every day—some even played mahjong outside constantly, enjoying good food and fine clothes, making exorbitant material demands, and asking their children for money whenever they needed it. They never considered the heavy burden their children carried, always prioritizing their own comfort first.

Lin He mused that the difference between her maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother must be the difference between these two types of parents.

Lin He walked into her maternal grandmother’s courtyard. The house at Grandma's was considered average for this era. The family houses were made of rammed earth but had tiled roofs. There were several rooms, enough for the family to live in comfortably. The courtyard and the rooms inside were kept spotlessly clean, suggesting the women of the house were capable homemakers.

Lin He was very fond of everyone at her maternal grandmother’s home. Her uncle went without saying, but her aunt was also warm and hospitable, and seemed to get along very well with her mother. Madam Huang was particularly cheerful upon returning to her maiden home, seeming to speak more than usual.

The eldest aunt noticed Lin He sitting quietly to the side and was quite taken with her, saying to Madam Huang, "Look how pretty your Xiao He is getting, and she’s much more sensible than before. Not like our little one; that girl spends all day running wild with the boys. It drives me crazy, I don't know what she'll be like when she grows up."

Madam Huang laughed and said, "Xiao Zhu, she's still little, why worry? A girl naturally becomes demure as she grows. Look at our Chen'er; isn't she always trailing after her older brothers? I don't manage her; I let her play."

Lin He looked at the cluster of children—her eldest uncle's three children, her younger uncle, and her own siblings—all surrounding Da Bao, demanding stories. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but they were clearly having a wonderful time.

Grandma and Grandpa pulled Er Niu and the eldest uncle inside to talk. Later, the eldest aunt would prepare lunch. Er Niu said they wouldn't eat there and needed to hurry back, but Grandma insisted they stay for a meal since they had made the trip. Because the Er Niu family was in a rush to return, Madam Huang and the eldest aunt started preparing the meal in the kitchen early. Lin He walked in to help stoke the fire. The eldest aunt smiled and said, "He'er, why don't you go out and play with them? Don't stay here; the kitchen is smoky."

Madam Huang smiled and said, "Let her stay here. This girl loves being in the kitchen; many of the good things we eat are her creations. Look, the sausages I brought today were made by her. We'll steam them later; you can taste them; they're quite good."

The lunch at Grandma's house that day was lavish. The eldest aunt had prepared many dishes: chicken, duck, and cured meat. The chicken was steamed whole, the duck was made into soup, the cured meat was stir-fried, and there were several vegetable dishes too. The eldest aunt’s cooking was excellent; everything smelled fragrant.

The whole large family gathered for the meal, and everyone was very happy while eating. Lin He felt it was quite different from eating at Grandma's house. At paternal Grandma's, people hardly spoke while eating. But at maternal Grandma's, the family members chatted while eating, even if the conversation was just about how good a dish tasted or how best to prepare it. The overall feeling was much more harmonious.

Lin He knew that in this era there was the saying, "No speaking while eating, no speaking while resting." But since their family wasn't from a wealthy household, the atmosphere of eating and conversing made the meal happier, feeling more like a true family gathering.

Soon, after finishing the meal, Er Niu and Madam Huang prepared to leave. They needed to return early to pick up their younger sister. Lin He's maternal grandmother, though reluctant to see her daughter and grandchildren leave, understood that once a daughter married out, her husband's family took precedence. She quickly gathered some items for them to take back.

The family hurried back again. Upon returning home, Er Niu drove the ox cart to Madam Zhao's place. Madam Zhao was waiting for them; they would be eating a late lunch, waiting for her two daughters to arrive first. Da Jiang hadn't returned yet, so Madam Zhao told Er Niu to go first, as their routes were different; he should go to the eldest daughter Hongyun's house first.

Er Niu had two younger sisters: the eldest, Hongyun, and the youngest, Hongxia. Hongxia had visited Lin He's house during the house construction last time. The eldest sister, Hongyun, had only sent some things via messenger last time, saying she had family matters and couldn't come. Er Niu found it a bit strange that his sister hadn't shown up for the house building, fearing something might be wrong, but he didn't feel it was right to visit unannounced when he was fine.

Eldest sister Hongyun's personality was somewhat like Er Niu's—honest and a little slow-witted. After marrying and having two daughters consecutively, her mother-in-law’s expression had already turned sour after the first one was a girl; when the second was also a girl, Hongyun received even less kindness from her mother-in-law.

Hongyun’s husband was also an honest and filial man who never dared to disobey his mother. Consequently, Hongyun's life had always been difficult, and Er Niu didn't know how she was faring now.

As Er Niu drove the ox, he thought about his sister's situation. After about half an hour, he arrived in front of Hongyun's courtyard gate.