Ma Xiaolan scooped up the noodles. "Yeah, we've lived together for five or six years. At first, we lived in an old house near the garment factory, which only had two bedrooms."

"I'm not afraid to tell you this, but I've always slept in the living room with Xiuxiu. This year, after the tenement was renovated, this house was a welfare house allocated to me by my work unit. They felt bad about letting me sleep in the living room anymore, so they gave me a bedroom."

Jiang Xuan heard that she had breast hyperplasia and couldn't make decisions about her own house.

"You really are something, how could you be like this..."

Ma Xiaolan laughed and replied, "You mean to say I'm a coward, right?"

"I just think you earn your own money and have been allocated housing, so you have plenty of confidence. What are you afraid of?"

"To be honest, I'm just afraid of divorce. Xiuxiu is introverted and timid, and her personality is also very sensitive. I'm afraid the baby will get hurt. Oh, look at me, why am I saying such unpleasant things on your wedding day? Let's not talk about it anymore, let's go eat."

After rinsing the noodles, Ma Xiaolan added some spare ribs to the bowl. "The chili powder box is in the cupboard. Take it with you. You can add it yourself if you want to eat it later. Also, take the vinegar. I don't know if you like it sour, so I put it in a rather bland way. Add it yourself if you need it later."

"Okay, let's go, Sister Lan."

Lu Shengye was telling Xiuxiu and Diandian stories about the army in the living room, and the two children were listening intently.

"Dinner's ready."

Lu Shengye quickly got up and helped take the food.

“Shengye, you and Jiang Xuan eat these two bowls. I traded my hair for this bowl during the New Year, and I haven’t used it yet.”

"Thank you, Sister Lan."

"Don't be shy, quickly try it and see if you need anything. The vinegar is here, and I'll go get some salt if you need it."

Lu Diandian asked, "What about mine?"

"Don't worry, it's coming right away." Jiang Xuan walked in carrying a bowl of rice.

The bowl has a thin bottom, so she can only carry one bowl at a time.

Ma Xiaolan quickly brought in the remaining two bowls, giving the bowl with more ribs to Xiuxiu and keeping the other bowl with only scraps of meat for herself.

Lu Diandian frowned as she looked at her noodles. "I don't eat scallions or vegetables."

Ma Xiaolan quickly said, "Oh dear, I didn't know about this. Let me pick it out for you."

Jiang Xuan held Ma Xiaolan's hand and said to Diandian, "Diandian, the doctor said you can't be picky about food anymore. Picky eating will make you malnourished and weaken your immune system."

Lu Shengye also said, "Don't be picky, just eat."

Lu Diandian looked unhappy, but dared not say anything more, and could only lower her head and eat slowly.

Xiuxiu can only eat pork rib noodles a handful of times a year, but she enjoys them quite a bit.

Jiang Xuan put a piece of pork rib from her own bowl into Ma Xiaolan's bowl, saying, "Sister Lan, you should have a piece too."

"I'm not greedy, you guys eat."

When Ma Xiaolan tried to take the bowl back, Jiang Xuan moved the bowl away and picked it up.

Ma Xiaolan's cooking skills are really good. The noodles are cut thin and long, and cooked to a very chewy texture. The pork ribs are stewed until they are tender and fragrant.

Jiang Xuan took one bite and praised it highly.

Lu Shengye, who eats quickly by nature, had already started biting into the fried egg.

Sun Xiuxiu saw it, and she secretly checked her bowl, only to find that there was no fried egg inside.

Although she really wanted to eat it, she thought about how she only had a limited number of eggs at home, and how her uncle and aunt had given them malted milk powder, so she didn't feel so craving it anymore.

Ma Xiaolan watched her daughter rummaging through the eggs, and she felt a little sad.

My daughter hasn't eaten eggs in a long time.

After eating for a while, Jiang Xuan also found an egg in her noodles. She exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Lan, you put an egg in your noodles?"

Ma Xiaolan smiled and said, "Yes, noodles and poached eggs symbolize long-lasting family reunion."

"Thank you, Sister Lan." Jiang Xuan took a big bite of the fried egg.

Lu Diandian rummaged through her bowl, and Jiang Xuan said with a smile, "Don't bother looking, Aunt Lan prepared this especially for me and Dad."

Lu Shengye: "Just the two of us?"

Ma Xiaolan said, "Yes, you are newlyweds. I specially prepared this for you. I wish you a happy reunion and a harmonious and beautiful life together."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Ma Xiaolan lifted the curtain and her expression changed; her husband, Sun Jianjun, had returned.

"Who is it, Sister Lan?" Jiang Xuan asked.

Ma Xiaolan returned to her seat. "Xiuxiu's dad."

Just then, Sun Jianjun strode in.

He was wearing work clothes stained with oil, and he looked quite tall with a decent appearance.

Jiang Xuan was quite surprised.

She found it hard to connect the man in front of her with the person Ma Xiaolan had described.

Sun Jianjun's tone was also normal, "Do you have guests at home?"

"Yes, they are the new neighbors."

Lu Shengye stood up. "Hello, my name is Lu Shengye, this is my wife Jiang Xuan, and this is my son Lu Diandian."

Sun Jianjun extended his hand, nodded and smiled: "Hello, my name is Sun Jianjun."

Ma Xiaolan asked, "Have you eaten?"

"I've already eaten. You guys chat first, I'll go inside and find some documents."

Although Ma Xiaolan was eating noodles, she was uneasy. She didn't know why Sun Jianjun had suddenly returned.

Could it be that he knew the garment factory had given her pillowcases and came to ask about it on purpose?

Last week, my sister-in-law, Sun Jianfang, mentioned during dinner that her pillowcase was completely worn out and asked her brother to buy her a new one.

Seeing Sun Jianjun suddenly return, Jiang Xuan quickly finished her meal, then tugged at Diandian and whispered, "Eat quickly, Diandian, let's go back soon after we finish eating, we're going to Great-Grandpa's house later."

Upon hearing that they were going to the family compound, Dian Dian immediately sped up and began wolfing down his food. Several of his good friends lived in the compound, and he could play with them after school.

Ma Xiaolan was in a state of confusion, but she said, "Oh, don't rush the child, let him eat slowly."

Jiang Xuan whispered, "Sister Lan, I think he might have something to say to you. Go and check on him. I'll do the dishes later."

"That won't do. You all go ahead and get busy, just leave the bowls there."

"Don't argue with me about this." Jiang Xuan started quickly clearing away the dishes.

As soon as she finished cleaning up, Lu Shengye took the dishes and chopsticks from her hands, saying, "I'll wash them."

As soon as they left, Ma Xiaolan took off her apron and came into the bedroom.

Sun Jianjun didn't look for anything. He took off his coat, lay on the bed, and put his hands behind his head.

Seeing Ma Xiaolan enter, he raised his eyelids and asked, "Did they go back?"

Ma Xiaolan hummed in agreement, picked up the dirty work clothes draped over the chair, and said, "I'll soak these clothes first and wash them later. Do you want to change your pants too?"

Sun Jianjun flipped through the paper, getting agitated. "What are you pretending to be now, being all virtuous? I asked you to wash a couple of clothes for my parents, and you got dizzy and almost fainted. I just don't understand, just a few clothes? Is it that tiring?"

Ma Xiaolan wasn't angry. She calmly explained, "It's not that I'm tired. I worked the night shift that day and didn't sleep when I got back. I was indeed dizzy. I told my mom that I would take a shower on Saturday."

Sun Jianjun waved his hand, "Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. You should have less contact with the family next door!"