"Mother, where has your mind gone!"

Chen Wanqing’s face was so red it felt like it was about to give off steam!

She shot to her feet, wanting to escape.

Her mother would truly say anything. And she was still a young lady!

Chen Wanqing shot her mother a glare. "You’re a mother, you should have some filter. What about Zhao Jing and me? Nothing’s happened between us."

Xu Suying’s expression changed as fast as flipping through a book.

Just a moment ago, she was all smiles, wearing a knowing, teasing grin, but now her brows were furrowed as she scrutinized Chen Wanqing.

"You two have already shared a bed, and you still haven’t done the deed? I’m telling you, Qing’er, is it that Jing doesn’t know how, or do you really have an aversion to that sort of thing? Let me tell you..."

"It’s neither! Mother, don’t overthink it, really! We just... we just..."

Chen Wanqing’s thoughts were a jumbled mess, like a sack of hemp rope that a cat had clawed into a hopeless tangle, with no beginning or end in sight. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Chen Wanqing was terribly frustrated. "Mother, please stop meddling. Your daughter is grown now; I know what I should and shouldn’t do. Mother, please stop worrying about me. Weren’t you about to go out and buy breakfast? You should go. Just give me the comb, I’ll do my hair myself."

Xu Suying pursed her lips, finding this no fun at all. ’Fine. If my daughter doesn’t want me to worry, then I won’t.’

’Besides, when it comes to consummating the marriage, if she isn’t in a hurry, someone else certainly is.’

’As long as someone is concerned about it, that’s enough. I’ll just wash my hands of the whole thing.’

Xu Suying quickly returned with breakfast.

It was a few bowls of mutton soup and several hot sesame seed cakes.

The cakes were seasoned with salt and pepper on the inside and coated with white sesame seeds on the outside. Soaked in the mutton soup, they were just as delicious.

This was an alternative version of mutton soup with torn flatbread. However, compared to the bread specifically made for soaking, these cakes were much softer. If you didn’t fish them out quickly, they would turn into a soggy lump and lose their appeal.

Xu Suying spoke frankly, "These sesame seed cakes aren’t as good as the ones your grandpa makes."

The old man’s craft of making sesame seed cakes in a hanging oven was a family inheritance. The cakes he made were golden and crispy on the outside, yet tender on the inside. Whether soaked in soup or eaten on their own, they were exceptionally delicious.

That was why, when it came to making sesame seed cakes, Chen Dachang was the best.

The old man’s skill, combined with Chen Lin’s audacious attitude, meant that the sesame seed cake shop run by the father and son duo had cornered almost the entire market in the county.

When people in the county thought of sesame seed cakes, their shop was the first that came to mind. The competition was squeezed out so badly they had almost no room to survive.

But with Chen Lin’s leg injury, the old man was left to run the sesame seed cake shop all by himself.

He had to both make the cakes and handle the money. The old man wasn’t good at arithmetic and often made mistakes. Plus, he was getting on in years and had slowed down considerably. Many customers grew impatient and went to other shops instead, causing a significant loss of business.

As they talked about the old man, they finished their meal.

After the meal, the family went out to the market together.

Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing needed to buy New Year’s supplies like spring couplets, paper window decorations, firecrackers, candy, and roasted peanuts and sunflower seeds. They didn’t need to buy any more meat or vegetables. They had bought so much for their wedding that a lot was left over. It had all been sitting unused, so it had probably been prepped into semi-finished ingredients over the past couple of days.

Xu Suying, on the other hand, needed to buy everything.

From meat and vegetables to peanuts, sunflower seeds, and candy.

They had been so busy moving the past few days that they hadn’t prepared anything for the New Year. Today was already the twenty-ninth of the lunar month; they had to get everything, or there would be nothing left to buy tomorrow.

After buying the spring couplets, candy, and peanuts, the group split up.

De’an and Yao’an followed behind Xu Suying, pulling a small cart piled high with her purchases.

Meanwhile, Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing walked together, planning to buy some dried persimmons.

Dried persimmons were considered a "cold" food in traditional medicine, and eating too many was bad for digestion. But Mrs. Zhao happened to love them.

In the past, Zhao Jing had been strict about her diet because she was on medication. But since it was the New Year, he wanted to let his mother indulge a little. So, he decided to buy some for her to snack on.

Some families in the village also made dried persimmons, but they were usually for their own consumption or for gifting to friends and relatives. To show up at their door and ask for some would mean owing a favor, so it was more practical just to buy them.

After buying the persimmons, they went to get a shaving razor.

Because Zhao Jing had said, "I’ve been using the one Dad left behind, but for some reason, the handle broke."

Chen Wanqing hadn’t noticed, but a shaving razor was a necessity in any household with a man, so they might as well buy a new one.

The two of them arrived at a shop specializing in ironware, where they saw an elderly, stooped-backed barber giving someone a shave.

The barbers here in Qingshui County also specialized in giving shaves.