Chapter 415: Sitting by the Fire, Coaxing Daughter

Mother Qin didn't argue with him and went out to check again. Seeing that the two had already reached the door, she hurriedly smiled and greeted them, "Come here, come in quickly. It's cold, let's eat first."

When Qin Wenjun entered the house, she saw a plate of lobster on the table. The crabs were made into seafood porridge by Qin's mother, and there was a pot of stewed duck soup. Braised pork was something their family had every Chinese New Year, and there was also a pot of stewed pork bones with pickled vegetables and dried bamboo shoots, which was a specialty of their hometown. Apart from that, there were some stir-fried vegetables. The food was simple and not very rich, but it was already the best New Year's Eve dinner the Qin family had had in recent years.

Qin Wenjun whispered to Zhang Baiyan: "The food is simple, please don't be disgusted."

Zhang Baiyan shook his head and said soothingly, "We used to eat whatever we wanted, but we've gotten better over the past two years and have started to pay more attention to it. It's said that An County's pickled vegetables and dried bamboo shoots are very famous. Today I can finally try some authentic pickled vegetables and dried bamboo shoots."

When the Qin family heard this, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Mother Qin became even more enthusiastic towards Zhang Baiyan. She took the initiative to serve him a bowl of porridge and kept saying, "Eat more. We made a lot of food today, and we can't finish it all. If you like this pickled vegetables and dried bamboo shoots, take some back. There are plenty at home."

They don't have anything else at home, but they have plenty of this kind of thing.

Zhang Baiyan didn't bother to be polite with Qin's mother and agreed immediately.

During the meal, Qin's mother looked at Zhang Baiyan with the eyes of a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, and asked, "Baiyan, I didn't pay attention to it before. You said this is your hometown, but I haven't heard your parents say that you have any relatives. Is your father an only child?"

When it comes to this, Zhang Baiyan's smile faded, and he thought for a moment before he smiled and said, "No, I have an uncle, but he married a rich man. He lost contact with our family when my grandfather was alive. Later, my grandfather was unable to forgive him before he died, and all the land that belonged to him was given to my father. He has never returned to the village since I can remember, so it is almost the same as having no relatives in our family.

In addition, my parents moved to the city early for my sister and me to go to school, and they rarely come back. They are not familiar with some of the relatives in the village. Now only my father still hangs out with them, and even my mother rarely contacts them, let alone my sister and me. So it seems to you that we don’t have many relatives. ”

The Qin family didn't expect that the Zhang family had such a relative. They were all a little stunned. Qin Wenjun reacted and said apologetically: "I'm sorry for asking such a thing."

Zhang Baiyan shook his head and took a deep breath. "It's nothing, actually. I haven't felt anything for so many years. Even my mom doesn't care. It's just that my dad still cares about them. In fact, I don't think there's anything to worry about. Their family is an official, and my uncle is the director of the Land Bureau. Why should he worry about them? We almost couldn't make it in the past few years, but they didn't ask us a question. I don't know what my dad is thinking."

This is the only thing Zhang Baiyan can't let go of. He only hates Zhang Jianguo's family, but can't say he hates them. After all, the two families haven't had any contact for many years, and no one owes anyone anything. It's good to be strangers like this. It's just that Zhang's father occasionally talks about that family and makes him very unhappy. They don't take us seriously. Why do we keep thinking about them when we have nothing to do? Are we trying to curry favor with them?

When the Qin family heard the name of the Director of the Land and Resources Bureau, their eyes widened.

Father Qin, on the other hand, stood up for the Zhang family and angrily scolded, "So what if he's the director of the Land and Resources Bureau? He doesn't even care about his own father and brothers. It's useless for such a person to be a high-ranking official. He has no conscience! He will definitely not go far in his career!"

Seeing that Qin's father was so angry, Zhang Baiyan advised: "Uncle, I don't consider them as my relatives anyway, it doesn't matter. Besides, our family is well off now, and we don't rely on them. Let's not talk about it. It's the New Year, let's talk about something happy."

"Yes, yes, yes, let's talk about something happy!" Mother Qin smiled and looked at Qin Wenjun and Zhang Baiyan. She excitedly brought up their affairs and said, "I think it's about time we talk about your marriage."

When Qin Wenjun heard this, her pretty face turned red and she wished she could hide away immediately.

Zhang Baiyan was quite shameless and replied cheerfully: "Auntie is right, we should discuss it. You all know the situation of my family. We are quite busy. It is best to choose a good day when we are not busy so that my parents can have the energy to prepare."

"That's what I thought, too." Mother Qin agreed, "You know our family's financial situation well. It's not an exaggeration to say that we are penniless, but we want to marry our daughter off in a dignified way. We also want to make more money. So, tell your mother and you decide the time, and we'll cooperate."

It is relatively simple for their family to marry off their daughter, but it is more troublesome for the Zhang family to find a daughter-in-law. Moreover, they are not clear about the etiquette here, so they still have to listen to the Zhang family in everything.

Zhang Baiyan nodded and agreed immediately after hearing this. "Okay, I'll tell my mom when I get home. I think I'll need to find a master for this kind of occasion. I don't really understand it."

After everyone had agreed, they gathered together and had a happy meal.

It was almost seven o'clock when Zhang Baiyan brought Qin Wenjun back to the old house. At that time, Zhang's mother had just finished cooking. Zhang Wanwan was squatting in the yard playing with small fireworks, the kind that came in a box of twenty, which could be lit for a while. They were all children's toys.

Zhang Baiyan came in and saw her playing like this, and teased her, "You are so old, why are you still playing this?"

Zhang Wanwan turned her head and said, "You guys are back? It was so boring waiting for you guys to eat, so dad bought me a bag of fireworks to coax me. We'll continue to set off fireworks after dinner."

Qin Wenjun quickly said, "Okay, let's go wash our hands. I'll go to the kitchen to help."

Zhang Baiyan shook his head and walked into the living room and said to Zhang's father, "Dad, my sister is getting married soon, why are you still buying that for her?"

Father Zhang glanced at him arrogantly and said calmly: "I am happy with it. She is still my daughter even if she is in her thirties or forties!"

In fact, Zhang's father's family was poor in his early years. When Zhang Wanwan was little, she asked her for that kind of fireworks, but he was reluctant to spend money and bought her a box. At that time, Zhang Wanwan was happy for most of the day. Today, when he was walking around the village and saw the children playing, he suddenly remembered this incident. He couldn't help but went into the convenience store and bought a bunch of them in one go.

Zhang Baiyan was speechless and sat down.

But Zhang's father ordered, "Go set up the big round table. Your mother is going to serve the food."

Zhang Baiyan's eyes widened instantly, "Dad, am I still your biological child? Why is the treatment so different?"

"I wouldn't care about you if you were not my biological child!" Father Zhang took a sip of tea and said leisurely.

(End of this chapter)