"Dad, come and try the sauerkraut fish that Qiao Wa made."

A minute later, four dishes were placed on the table.

Pickled fish, fried fish bones, steamed fish head with chopped chili peppers, and a tofu and fish fillet soup.

After everyone tasted it, they exclaimed that it was delicious.

"Mom, your chili sauce with the pickled fish is amazing! It's even better than what you get at a five-star hotel!" Lu Siqiao ate the fish with gusto, not even leaving a drop of the pickled cabbage soup behind. Suddenly, she had a bright idea and suggested, "Why don't you make some chili sauce? We can take it to town and sell it. We're sure to make money!"

Luo Xiaoxue's face flushed slightly, as if she had been drinking: "Silly child, every household makes that kind of chili sauce, how much money can you make from it?"

Lu Mingfeng said, "Ah Xue, no one else's cooking is as good as yours, I swear. Speaking of which, I went to the Jiangbin Hotel in the city with Boss Cai today and we also ordered pickled fish, but the taste was far inferior."

Lu Siqiao thought to herself, "This fish is from my space, and I even poured spring water from my space into the pot. How can it be the same?"

but-

"Dad, take the chili sauce Mom made to Boss Cai and let him try it. He's eaten all sorts of delicacies, so if he says it's good, then it must be good." Lu Siqiao never missed an opportunity to get rich.

Luo Xiaoxue poked her forehead with her finger and said reproachfully, "You're so quirky. He's a big boss, he doesn't care about these things. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

"It's just that we've been eating too many delicacies, so it's nice to have something simple and natural once in a while to change things up," Lu Siqiao said matter-of-factly. "Mom, when you make chili sauce, I'll learn how to make it too. It's always good to have a skill."

"Listen to this, he's so young, and he's already thinking about making money." Master Lu laughed heartily, his eyebrows and eyes relaxed.

Life is becoming more and more promising.

After dinner, Lu Siqiao insisted on washing the dishes by the well and overheard Luo Xiaoxue and Lu Mingfeng's conversation.

It turned out that Luo Xiaoxue's mother was celebrating her 60th birthday and planned to hold a banquet in the city. Naturally, they would go to offer their congratulations, and Luo Xiaoxue planned to bring Lu Siqiao along.

Lu Mingfeng was worried that the Luo family might have some ideas, and he was hesitating about whether or not to agree.

“Mingfeng, this is what I think: Qiaowa was adopted by us, so she is our child. She has the right to know some things.” Luo Xiaoxue smiled gently. “I don’t feel ashamed. I don’t regret my life now at all.”

Lu Siqiao was stunned.

Judging from Luo Xiaoxue's words, there was a hidden reason behind her marriage to Lu Mingfeng.

Soon, she realized what was going on.

It is said that Luo Xiaoxue was a city girl who accidentally fell into the water. Lu Mingfeng rescued her, and the two secretly fell in love. However, Luo's family did not approve of their relationship and even severed ties with her.

Over the years, only their eldest brother, Luo Chengtian, has secretly helped them.

Now that the old lady of the Luo family is getting old, she misses her youngest daughter again, and the two families have started to get in touch again.

Luo Xiaoxue's life was not going well. She had been married for ten years but could not have a child. Her mother-in-law was also a snobbish woman. She could only swallow her pride and suffer in silence. Any normal person would regret marrying down.

But she didn't. Lu Mingfeng treated her very well. Since the family separated, apart from not having children, she lived a simple life with a husband who was ambitious and a father-in-law who was reasonable. Luo Xiaoxue felt quite content with her life.

Thinking about all this, Lu Siqiao felt even more sorry for her adoptive mother and secretly thought that she must help her get better so that she could fulfill her dream of becoming a mother.

"Mom, have some water before you go to sleep. I added some sugar." Before going to bed, Lu Siqiao brought Luo Xiaoxue a cup of herbal medicine to help her recover.

Luo Xiaoxue became the focus of her attention instead. She spat and said, "You little brat, you act like I'm your daughter. Go to sleep now, and don't read anymore. Your dad and I will go to the city to buy you a desk lamp for studying, so your eyes don't get ruined."

Lu Siqiao stuck out her tongue and ran away.

"Mingfeng, let's bring Qiaowa along." Luo Xiaoxue returned to the house, her brows relaxed, and smiled at Lu Mingfeng.

Lu Mingfeng was about to speak when she stopped him, saying, "Whether I have children or not, I will always consider Qiao Wa my own daughter. She should meet her maternal grandmother..."

"Ah Xue, I'm sorry you had to suffer by following me." Lu Mingfeng hugged her, his eyes full of guilt.

Lu Siqiao was unaware that her good deed had earned her the affection of Lu Mingfeng and his wife, who doted on her even more than their own children.

At this moment, she was looking at the radishes in the space with amazement, watching the harvest progress, estimating that they would be ripe in another two days.

The fish in the stream were plump and firm, but unfortunately they couldn't be taken out openly; they could only be taken out occasionally by Lu Hongwei and his brother for a treat.

Two days later, Lu Wenqing found Luo Xiaoxue and asked her if she had eaten any fish at home. If not, he suggested selling some to her for five yuan a pound.

"Five yuan a pound? You've eaten all the fish?" Luo Xiaoxue asked in surprise.

Lu Wenqing laughed and said, "A boss bought a fish from me. After eating it, everyone praised the fish for its deliciousness and the soup for its freshness. The big boss wanted to buy two more, but we've already eaten all the fish we have, and we've given away the rest. Where would we find any more?"

Upon hearing that the shop owner had given the fish to the philanthropist at Stone Elementary School, Luo Xiaoxue didn't hesitate. She brought out the fish and said with a smile, "It's free, you can take it."

“How can this be?” Lu Wenqing declined, pulling out a scale from his back and weighing the items on the spot. “Five jin and one liang, twenty-five yuan and fifty cents,” he said, taking out the money and stuffing it into Luo Xiaoxue’s hand.

Luo Xiaoxue stepped back and said with a smile, "Tell the shopkeeper that this is food that our family gave to Mr. He, and we can't accept money from him."

Seeing that she repeatedly declined, Lu Wenqing had no choice but to give up, said thank you a few times, and left with the fish.

When Lu Siqiao came home from school, she heard that He Zhangzhi wanted to eat fish. She was a little anxious and wanted to send him some fish. Unfortunately, she couldn't very well go down to the river to catch fish herself; it would be too conspicuous.

We'll figure out a way later, a reason to send them fish.

On Saturday afternoon, Luo Xiaoxue specially dressed Lu Siqiao up, putting her in a brand-new pink cotton dress, and braiding her jet-black hair into two braids, making her look adorable and lovely.

"Our Qiaowa is getting more and more beautiful," Luo Xiaoxue praised.

Lu Siqiao nestled in her arms, her mouth sweet as she said, "I've heard that if you stay in a room with a lot of people, you'll start to look more and more alike. I must have taken after you."

"You clever little thing," Luo Xiaoxue said, her eyes crinkling as she tapped her forehead.

They took a one-and-a-half-hour car ride to arrive at the Riverside Hotel in City A.

It was already dark when the hostess, dressed in a red cheongsam, led them to a private room. To their surprise, they saw the fat Cai Ming at the door. Cai Ming was overjoyed to see Lu Mingfeng and, without saying a word, called him over to help.

Left with no other choice, Luo Xiaoxue had to take Lu Siqiao inside first.

Just as he was about to knock, the door opened, and a woman who looked somewhat like Luo Xiaoxue came out, exclaiming in surprise, "Xiaoxue, you've finally arrived!"

Lu Siqiao felt a sudden blinding light, as if all eyes were fixed on her face.

A slightly rough hand grasped hers, and a soothing voice reached her ears.

"Don't be afraid, Jova, Mom is here for you."