Shen Fenghua was in a very good mood during the meal!

Li Yanran is the factory director's secretary, and her husband He Jun is a squad leader in the transportation brigade. Both of them have formal jobs. In addition, He Jun works in the transportation brigade and has many connections, so he can often get some good things and doesn't care about food, drink, or clothing.

The family is wealthy, so they are generous with the ingredients when cooking.

With plenty of oil and salt, any dish can taste bad if it's loaded with seasonings.

To borrow a phrase from her grandmother, as long as you use enough material, even boiled shoe soles will taste delicious.

Shen Fenghua ate happily. Xiao Dong watched her eat, picked up a piece of seaweed with his chopsticks and put it in Shen Fenghua's bowl, "Godmother, eat this. My dad brought it back from out of town. It's delicious!"

The kelp tastes amazing, absolutely delicious, especially after being sautéed with garlic cloves before cooking.

"Thank you, Xiaodong, godmother loves it the most!"

Shen Fenghua's smiling face seemed to have turned on some inexplicable switch.

Five minutes later, Shen Fenghua looked at the full bowl in front of her and fell into deep thought.

Yes, the three children, for some unknown reason, remained silent and began frantically piling food onto Shen Fenghua's plate.

Shen Fenghua was initially beaming with joy, but when all three pairs of chopsticks started putting food into her bowl at the same time, Shen Fenghua was speechless.

I can't laugh anymore.

Who can finish this?

Moreover, she silently turned her gaze to Qi Nian'an, the youngest of the group, who was quite skilled at using chopsticks.

Her skinny, claw-like hands were so thin they left afterimages as she waved them.

"Qi Ye".

Qi Ye took a deep breath, expressionlessly took the bowl in front of Shen Fenghua, and poured all the food inside into his own bowl, saying succinctly, "Eat your own."

Children: "!"

They dared to be angry but dared not speak out.

After finishing their meal, the group sat on the sofa in the room chatting. With children present, the atmosphere wasn't stifling at all, filled with laughter and joy.

He Jun glanced at Li Yanran, coughed lightly, and said to Qi Ye, "What do you plan to do with these two children?"

"I've changed his surname, and from now on I'll raise him as my own son," Qi Ye knew what He Jun meant; he simply wanted to reveal his current situation to Shen Fenghua through conversation.

After answering, Qi Ye said softly to Shen Fenghua, "Both children are of school age. Once the household registration is transferred, I will send them to after-school care. They can have a quick breakfast, and I can ask the neighbor to help look after them for lunch. In the evening, I can cook dinner when I get back."

Faced with Qi Ye's overly frankness, Shen Fenghua was at a loss for words, and could only manage a dry reply, "I see."

"Um."

Li Yanran was overjoyed. She looked at Shen Fenghua and then at Qi Ye. From the bottom of her heart, she felt that the two of them were a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

If it works out, both families know each other well, which would be ideal.

Afraid of embarrassing Shen Fenghua, she quietly changed the subject. After sitting for another ten minutes or so, when it was completely dark outside, Shen Fenghua stood up and said, "It's getting late, I should go back."

“Okay,” Qi Ye said without He Jun saying another word, standing up straight and picking up his coat from the sofa. “Then I’ll take you home.”

Shen Fenghua nodded. "Okay."

After greeting the children, and carrying the apricot preserves that Xiao Dong had specially saved for her, Shen Fenghua and Qi Ye left almost side by side.

The two walked ahead, their hearts beating slightly faster. Li Yanran, behind them, put her hand on He Jun's arm and lowered her voice, eager to say, "It's going to work! It's definitely going to work!"

He Jun was also happy, grinning and haphazardly running his fingers through his hair, "If it works out, oh my, if it works out..."

Why aren't you saying anything?

On a sweltering summer night, the evening breeze carried a lingering, oppressive heat. Shen Fenghua slowly raised her head. "What did you say?"

"Say whatever you want."

"Nothing to say."

“Then I have a couple of things to say,” Qi Ye stopped in his tracks. Shen Fenghua forced herself to take two steps forward, then stopped. She sighed. It was undeniable that, putting everything else aside, Qi Ye was exactly what she was looking for.

In terms of blind dates over the past month, Qi Ye is second to none in any aspect.

Getting married is truly the best choice for Qi Ye right now.

"Go ahead and tell me."

"I want to marry you."

Shen Fenghua: "..."

I'm sorry, she really did run away in a panic.

Watching Shen Fenghua flee, Qi Ye wasn't surprised at all. Well, he always knows how to make a shocking statement.

She ran ahead, and Qi Ye followed silently behind, maintaining a safe distance.

Only when he saw Shen Fenghua frantically rush into the No. 5 Wutong Lane residential compound did he quietly turn around and take the child home.

"Bang!"

Shen Fenghua slammed the door shut, the loud noise immediately drawing the attention of the whole family. Shen's mother instinctively opened her mouth, "You brat, why did you make such a commotion? You scared me to death!"

Seeing Shen Fenghua's face flushed and her forehead covered in sweat, Shen's mother was taken aback and looked at her with suspicion, "Where did you go? You look so flustered."

“No,” Shen Fenghua said, catching her breath. “I saw the sky was getting gloomy, so I rushed back and ran for a while.”

Is it gloomy?

When Chen's mother opened the window, sure enough, the usually bright starlight was gone, and a dark cloud was rushing in from the horizon, dense and moving constantly with the wind.

At this rate, it will definitely rain within ten minutes.

"You're right." She closed the window and sighed, "I reckon it'll rain tomorrow too. Those of you going to work, remember to bring your umbrellas!"

"Mom~" Shen Huixiu glanced at Shen Fenghua, then went over to her in a coquettish tone, "Mom, I've graduated now, shouldn't you find me a job?"

Looking for a job?

Shen Fenghua didn't even lift her eyelids. These days, it's so hard to find a job. If she brought this up, it would probably just fizzle out.

"Oh my, my little darling, you make it sound so easy. These days, every job is a specific position, not something as simple as you think. You can't just get it by talking. This kind of job is very rare."

Shen Huixiu pouted, "I don't care, since my older brother and second sister both have jobs, I have to have one too!"

“This child…” Mother Shen chuckled awkwardly, but subconsciously looked at Shen Fenghua. Whether she admitted it or not, the most outstanding of the three children in the family had always been the second child.

Whether it's appearance or ability.

She used to have a job, but in order to help her eldest son get married, she gritted her teeth and gave up her job to him, and since then, she has completely returned to her family.

She spends her days circling around the stove; going to work feels like a distant memory.

Shen Huixiu saw her mother's predicament, but she turned a blind eye. There was nothing she could do; the resources her family could provide were limited. If she didn't fight for what she wanted, she could only watch others have everything.