As they were talking, they heard footsteps outside, followed by Zhou Qingyue's voice. "Dad, Mom, Xiaoxue is here."

Upon hearing this, everyone inside rushed out. When they reached the door, they saw Zhou Qingyue leading a girl wearing a red coat and a beige woolen hat into the room.

"Manxue, these are my parents, and that's my sister and brother-in-law." Zhou Qingyue didn't expect Sheng Xiping and the others to arrive so early, so she quickly introduced them.

"Happy Chinese New Year, Uncle and Aunt. Happy Chinese New Year, Senior Sister and Brother-in-law."

When Han Manxue saw Zhou Qinglan, her face immediately turned red. She didn't dare to look at Zhou Qinglan and just lowered her head to speak.

"Hey, hey, Happy New Year! Everything's fine, everything's fine." Zhou Mingyuan and his wife greeted them with beaming smiles.

Wang Chunxiu took the things from the girl's hands and handed them to Zhou Mingyuan, then grabbed Han Manxue's hand.

Over there, Zhou Qinglan also came forward, and together with Wang Chunxiu, they accompanied Han Manxue into the house.

Despite Zhou Qinglan's seemingly angry demeanor just now, she completely changed upon seeing her future sister-in-law.

"Xiaoxue, come inside quickly. Oh dear, it's been so long since we last met. Ever since I graduated, I've been so busy that I haven't had time to go back to school to see you."

That eagerness of hers was no less than that of Wang Chunxiu.

"Well done, you brought your girlfriend home without saying a word." Sheng Xiping chuckled and playfully punched his brother-in-law.

"I was always studying before, so I didn't dare to say anything because I was afraid my family would object."

Brother-in-law, didn't you say that if you can find a partner in college, you should hurry up and find someone you know well?

I'm an engineering student. Once I graduate and start working, there will be few women around me, and it will be even harder to find a partner.

"I followed your instructions and found it!" Zhou Qingyue said smugly, his smile wide and his eyes barely visible.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiping was overjoyed; this brother-in-law was truly a treasure.

"By the way, is that car at the alley entrance your brother-in-law's? I just saw it, wow, it's so beautiful."

Brother-in-law, how about we take it for a spin later? It's making me really itchy to drive it around.

Zhou Qingyue studied mechanical engineering and worked at FAW (First Automobile Works). He was more passionate about cars than anyone else. The moment he saw that car, he wanted to drive it around immediately.

"Aren't you going to take your girlfriend back to the county this afternoon? We'll drive there together then, so you can have some fun."

Sheng Xiping laughed when he heard this. Men get more excited when they see a nice car than when they see a pretty girl, so Zhou Qingyue's reaction was normal.

Amidst their laughter and conversation, the two entered the house.

At this moment, Han Manxue had already been pulled onto the kang (a heated brick bed) by Wang Chunxiu and her daughter, and the three of them were chatting enthusiastically.

Sheng Xiping thought to himself, "Alright, let's not bother them anymore. Let's hurry up and cook."

"Dad, let's cook lunch together today, so Mom and Qinglan can rest and I can chat with Qingyue's boyfriend for a while."

Let's eat lunch early, and in the afternoon Qingyue and I will drive them back to the county so they don't have to take the bus.

Han Manxue is a female guest and Zhou Qingyue's girlfriend. How could she let her future father-in-law and brother-in-law chat with her? That's why Sheng Xiping made this suggestion.

"Yes, yes, let's go cook. Your mom has already prepared most of the dishes in advance, so we just need to reheat them."

Zhou Mingyuan nodded quickly, and the three of them took off their coats, tied on aprons, and went to the kitchen to get busy.

Just as Zhou Mingyuan said, the food was prepared in advance. The chicken, ribs and other ingredients were already stewed. All that was needed was to put them back in the pot, add some side dishes and stew for a while.

All the other vegetables were washed and chopped; they just needed to be stir-fried in the pan.

Many men in Northeast China can cook, and some even cook better than their wives.

The three men busied themselves in the kitchen, frying, stir-frying, and cooking with great skill. Before long, they had prepared a table full of delicious dishes that were both visually appealing and fragrant.

With the kitchen bustling about, how could Han Manxue and the others not hear it from inside the house?

Han Manxue repeatedly asked to go to the kitchen to check, but Wang Chunxiu stopped her each time.

"No need, no need. Qingyue and your uncle can all cook, and they're pretty good at it. It's alright, let's sit here and chat while we wait for the food to be ready."

It's the first time my son's girlfriend has come to our house, so there's no reason for us to let her do any chores.

In some families, to demonstrate her authority, the mother-in-law makes the girl cook when her son brings her home for the first time.

They even went so far as to claim they wanted to try the girl's cooking, but in reality, they were just trying to intimidate her and set rules for her.

This kind of behavior can easily leave a bad impression on the woman, and if things go wrong, the relationship could fall apart.

Wang Chunxiu had been waiting for so long, and her youngest son finally had a girlfriend. She was so happy for her, how could she let the girl do chores?

So he stopped Han Manxue from going and stayed with her to chat.

At one o'clock, all the food was ready, so it was set up in the east room and placed to the side.

The two little girls, Sheng Xinyue and Sheng Xinqi, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), while the others sat on stools. The table was laden with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, and more than a dozen dishes.

Since it was Han Manxue's first time visiting the Zhou family, she definitely couldn't drink alcohol. Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qingyue also had to drive Han Manxue back to the county later, so they couldn't drink baijiu (Chinese liquor) either.

So the men drank beer, while the women drank hawthorn beer.

This stuff is a recent trend; it's a red soda with a sweet and sour taste and a hint of hawthorn. It's very bubbly, and both adults and children love it.

Originally, the children were given soft drinks, but when Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu saw the hawthorn beer, they were so tempted that they insisted on having some to try.

During the Lunar New Year, everyone just wants to have some fun, so Wang Chunxiu poured some for all the children.

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