Chapter 174 Chapter 174 Meeting the Parents

Qi Weiguo always keeps his word. After all these years of marriage, Qi Weiguo always cooks for important guests at home.

No one could imagine that Qi Weiguo was the boss outside, but a good-tempered gentleman at home. He was also very good at cooking and doing other housework.

Moreover, Qi Weiguo does not have the male chauvinism of other men. He believes that making his wife happy and maintaining family harmony, even by cooking and doing housework, is a way to cultivate himself and manage his family.

Qi Weiguo just doesn't like these pretentious men who quarrel with their families every other day, causing chaos in the family. A woman has married you, and you treat her like a nanny. How shameless of you to do that?

Qi Weiguo is a man who understands men's little tricks best, but he disdains to associate with those people. To a certain extent, Qi Yu'an has fully inherited this kind of thinking from Qi Weiguo.

Soothed by the delicious food, Yang Qiaoli's impatience gradually dissipated. She ate another fried meatball and sighed, "Your meatballs are still the best. Every time I eat one, all my worries disappear. Your cooking skills are unparalleled. No one can replicate the taste of yours."

Yang Qiaoli is not always impatient. She is not good at cooking, but she is very good at praising people. Every time no matter what dish Qi Weiguo cooks, Yang Qiaoli can praise it from various angles, which makes Qi Weiguo very happy and he can't wait to have another full banquet.

This couple can be said to be a perfect match. At critical moments, they can understand each other instead of just asking for things. They can also give some emotional value and care in life when the other party needs it, so it is normal for them to have a good relationship.

Yang Qiaoli's few words made Qi Weiguo very happy. He fell for her tricks and his smile deepened. "If you like, I will fry meatballs and vegetarian meatballs for you every day. I will fry a basket full of them for you."

Yang Qiaoli glanced at the frying pan and said, "Alright, you're incredibly busy all day, and you still fry meatballs for me every day. Besides, it's such a waste to use so much oil to fry meatballs. You can just fry them when there are important guests."

Although the Qi family is well-off, they are not the kind of family that is extravagant. Under the guidance of Grandpa Qi, everyone in the family is relatively frugal. Yang Qiaoli is also the same. Although her family is well-off, her ancestors have suffered hardships, and they always teach their children to be frugal and not to waste food.

Ms. Yang Qiaoli has so many excellent qualities that Qi Weiguo could not finish describing them even if he talked for three days and three nights. He stared at his wife and handed her another meatball.

Yang Qiaoli chewed and swallowed the meatball and sighed, "Weiguo, time flies. Eating this meatball reminds me of the first time we met."

"We were both very young back then, and I married you without thinking twice. After all these years, Yu'an has grown up. He's dating someone now, and he's getting married soon. Our son and daughter are grown up, have their own families, and have their own things to do. From now on, it's just you and me at home."

Qi Weiguo picked up the meatballs and put them on the plate, then turned to look at his wife: "You and I, that's pretty good. Didn't you always say that having too many children at home was giving you a headache?"

"Now that our mission is complete and they each have their own families, we have to take good care of ours and enjoy some time together as a couple. Let them handle the children's affairs on their own."

Yang Qiaoli smiled and said, "You are the only one who can talk. Just focus on cooking. I'll go take a look."

Yang Qiaoli washed her hands and left the kitchen. When she reached the window, she saw Qi Yu'an and Jiang Xi beside him.

Yang Qiaoli said excitedly: "Oh, oh, they are back!"

Although Qi Weiguo was just trying to persuade his wife, he was actually nervous. Upon hearing this, Qi Weiguo hurried out of the kitchen and went to the window with Yang Qiaoli to look outside.

From a distance, Qi Weiguo saw his son Qi Yu'an and Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi wore a blue dress today, which made her skin look very fair. She tied her hair into a high ponytail, making her look tall and youthful. His son was carrying something and kept talking to Jiang Xi with his head tilted. The look in his eyes seemed to be embedded in Jiang Xi's face. Qi Weiguo looked at him with some contempt. How could he be so useless? He always stared at female comrades. It was too abrupt.

Yang Qiaoli was overjoyed: "Oh, Yu An's girlfriend is so beautiful. I've only seen her in the newspaper, but I didn't expect her to be so beautiful in person."

Yang Qiaoli stood up and said to Qi Weiguo, "Take a look at my outfit. Is there anything inappropriate about it?"

Qi Weiguo looked at Yang Qiaoli seriously: "No, you are very beautiful and dignified, like a kind mother."

Yang Qiaoli was finally satisfied, but she felt something was wrong. What did it mean to be like a kind mother? She was a kind mother, but now was not the time to talk about this: "Do you think it would be too hasty for us to open the door now? Should we sit on the sofa first, pretend to know nothing, and be calm?"

Qi Weiguo shook his head: "We are all family, there is no need for this."

As he spoke, Qi Weiguo opened the door directly. Qi Yu'an and Jiang Xi just walked to the door. Qi Yu'an saw Qi Weiguo and called out "Dad".

Jiang Xi also looked up and saw a middle-aged man with a square face, thick black eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and a heroic look in his eyes. It was obvious that he was also a handsome man when he was young.

Jiang Xi said politely: "Hello, uncle."

Yang Qiaoli also walked out from behind Qi Weiguo: "It's Jiang Xi, right? Come on, come in quickly. You must be tired from the journey. Come in and take a rest."

Jiang Xi looked at Yang Qiaoli. Yang Qiaoli's eyes were very similar to Qi Yu'an's. Both were very deep and beautiful. When she smiled, her eyes were full of stars, giving people an inexplicable sense of intimacy.

Jiang Xi smiled: "Hello, Auntie."

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm fine. I'm fine. Seeing you makes me even better."

The two sides greeted each other briefly. Yang Qiaoli didn't bother to look at her son, but pulled Jiang Xi to sit on the sofa.

"I don't know what you like to eat, so I prepared some things that girls like to eat. Please feel free to grab anything you want."

There were seven or eight plates of snacks on the coffee table, including candies, donkey rolls, fried glutinous rice balls, twisted dough sticks, melon seeds, etc., as well as a kind of colorful gummy candy, just like in a convenience store.

Jiang Xi didn't know where to start for a moment, so he just took a candy and put it in his mouth. As soon as he took a bite, a sweet taste rushed to his head. It was a very overbearing sweetness, and the sweetness seemed to penetrate into the gaps between his teeth, making his teeth hurt.

Jiang Xi didn't like sweets very much. After taking a bite, he felt his mouth was filled with a depressing sweetness. The impact of this sweetness was really too great.

Qi Yu'an quickly handed Jiang Xi a cup of tea: "I loved eating this kind of candy when I was a child, but I can't eat it when I grow up. It's too sweet. Eating one occasionally is like being beaten by candy. Have some tea to calm down."

Qi Yu'an handed over the tea and grabbed a handful of melon seeds for Jiang Xi: "Crack some melon seeds to neutralize the taste. These melon seeds are delicious. They are spiced and from a time-honored brand. They are hard to find."

Qi Yu'an was talking to Jiang Xi, but he didn't forget Yang Qiaoli. He said to her with a smile on his face, "Mom, thank you for preparing so many delicious dishes. You've worked hard. It's better to be at home. It's just that Jiang Xi doesn't like sweets and rarely eats these. Look, she's been overwhelmed by the sweetness."

Yang Qiaoli was not angry at all. She was not a tactless person. Jiang Xi did not dislike the snacks she prepared. He just didn't like sweets. This could not be acted out.

But her son hurriedly came to Jiang Xi's rescue. It turned out that this boy had a girlfriend and had become more attentive.

However, Yang Qiaoli still felt a little proud in her heart, knowing that she had grown up and knew how to love her wife.

Yang Qiaoli smiled and said, "The candies are indeed very sweet. I prepared a plate of them because I thought it would have a good meaning. If you don't like them, don't eat them. Try something else."

"This is the first time I've met you, and I've never met you before, so I don't know what you like to eat. But it doesn't matter. We'll be together more often in the future. Tell me what you like to eat, and I'll prepare it for you."

Yang Qiaoli's soft voice was very appropriate and thoughtful. Jiang Xi felt warm in her heart: "Thank you, Auntie. Actually, I rarely eat snacks, so I don't really know what I like to eat. But I'm very happy to see so many snacks today. Thank you for preparing them for me."

Jiang Xi was telling the truth. She and Wu Yaqin used to depend on each other for survival. They couldn't even have enough food, let alone snacks. Later, they started a business, gradually became rich, and were no longer at the age of having snacks.

Yang Qiaoli had already learned about Jiang Xi's family situation from Qi Yu'an. She didn't expose Jiang Xi's scars. Instead, she said, "If you don't like snacks, try something else. Your uncle has prepared a large table of dishes today. His cooking skills are pretty good. You can try them when the time comes."

Qi Weiguo also chimed in: "I also made fried meatballs today. I fried both meat and vegetable ones. Come and have a taste of my cooking when we have dinner."

"Although I'm a chef, I can bravely accept criticism. In the past, when I was cooking, the children at home would tell me directly if they didn't like the food."

"So when we eat later, you don't have to give face to me, the chef. Eat more of what you like, and don't touch your chopsticks if you don't like it."

"That's the atmosphere in our family. We'll never compromise ourselves just to save face. We don't need to be reserved. We just say what we like and dislike."

Qi Weiguo's words were sincere. The way he and his wife educate their children has never been to suppress them. They always require their children to listen to them.

When it comes to major issues, they will of course strictly require their children, but when it comes to daily trivial matters, whether the children like or dislike something, they can just tell them directly, and they will not get angry because of these trivial matters.

Jiang Xi nodded quickly: "Thank you, uncle." What Qi Yu'an said was true. It turned out that it was Qi Weiguo who cooked in the Qi family. This was completely different from Liangshui Village and Changfeng County. The men in the village and Changfeng County rarely entered the kitchen and rarely did housework. They just thought that as long as they brought back the money, they would be the emperor of the family.

But Qi Weiguo is such a high-ranking official, but he still does housework when he gets home. The gap between people is really huge.

This was Jiang Xi's first time at Qi Yu'an's house, and also her first time meeting Qi Weiguo and Yang Qiaoli. However, they gave her such a warm and considerate feeling, and they respected her very much, putting her feelings first. Jiang Xi couldn't help but relax.

Jiang Xi slowly drank the tea in the cup and felt a hint of sweetness.

Yang Qiaoli looked at Jiang Xi with a smile on her face and couldn't help but say, "You are so beautiful, what a good girl."

Jiang Xi felt a little uncomfortable with such straightforward praise. He finally understood where Qi Yu'an inherited his straightforward praise from.

Qi Yu'an sat down and acted coquettishly towards Yang Qiaoli: "Mom, although I know my girlfriend is very beautiful, you don't have to stare at her all the time. It makes people feel uncomfortable."

Yang Qiaoli rolled her eyes at Qi Yu'an. This kid acted like this because he was afraid that she would bully his girlfriend. He really couldn't keep his son when he grew up.

"You're the only one who can talk. Go into the kitchen and help your dad. Don't stand here. I want to talk to Jiang Xi. You've been giving me a lot of worry. I don't want to see you. I just like chatting with pretty girls."

Qi Yu'an was not angry after being scolded by his mother. He glanced at Jiang Xi, confirmed that she was not uncomfortable, and went into the kitchen with a smile.

Jiang Xi watched Qi Yu'an go to the kitchen to help. Yang Qiaoli smiled and said, "It's okay. Boys need to exercise well. Let him learn to cook."

"In our family, it's usually the men who cook. Qi Yu'an's brother is the same. We trained him to cook before he got married."

"Your uncle is an excellent cook. Yu'an hasn't learned much yet and can only do it by force. I wouldn't have specifically asked him to learn before, but now he has a partner. He will be the one to cook when he starts a family. Women always have many inconveniences. Husband and wife are one, and at this time, men need to step up and take care of them."

Yang Qiaoli's idea was completely different from what Jiang Xi was familiar with. Even in Changfeng County, people generally believed that cooking and housework were women's work and men would not enter the kitchen. However, unexpectedly, Yang Qiaoli took the initiative to ask Qi Yuan to go into the kitchen to cook.

Jiang Xi didn't know how to answer for a moment, as this was somewhat contrary to his usual ideas.

Although she is not very good at cooking and will focus on her career even after getting married, she did not expect Yang Qiaoli to say it so bluntly. She is so open-minded and considerate.

Jiang Xi was instantly shocked. She was shocked to find out what a beautiful family was like. She felt the love that belonged to her family as soon as she came into contact with them.

Yang Qiaoli continued as if nothing had happened, "Let me show you some photos. Yu'an was so cute when he was little. Everyone was vying to hold him."

As she spoke, Yang Qiaoli took out a photo album from the drawer. Jiang Xi was also very curious about Qi Yu'an's childhood, so he followed Yang Qiaoli's gaze and looked over.

Yang Qiaoli flipped through the photo album, pointed to a picture and said to Jiang Xi, "Look, this was taken when Yu'an went to the amusement park. He insisted on eating candied haws. We coaxed him into taking the picture before eating the candied haws. So he was a little reluctant."

Jiang Xi saw Qi Yu'an in the photo. The little Qi Yu'an was fair and clean, with big eyes and a slightly pouty mouth. But because he was good-looking, even with such an expression, he was very cute.

Jiang Xi couldn't help laughing. Yang Qiaoli showed Jiang Xi a few more photos, including many photos of Qi Yu'an from when he was very young, to when he was in elementary school, middle school, and even before he went to the countryside as an educated youth.

Yang Qiaoli can explain the meaning of these photos, which shows her love for Qi Yu'an.

After looking through the old photos, Yang Qiaoli was also very emotional. She said to Jiang Xi seriously, "Jiang Xi, my son Yu'an had everything since he was a child, but because he got it so easily, he developed such a casual personality. I have never seen him work so hard for anything."

"Until he met you, you might not know that Yu An once wrote us a few letters saying that he liked a girl, but he was afraid that she would look down on him, so he was very conflicted and uneasy, not knowing what to do."

"That was the first time he asked us for help, and it was because he loved others asking us for help. His father and I were shocked."

"Because we're not bragging, Yu'an has always been very popular since he was a child. He's always the one who rejects others. We've never seen him so flustered."

"But then I saw your article in the newspaper. Even though I didn't meet you in person, I knew why Yu An was so nervous."

"Because you are an excellent girl. Under such difficult conditions, you were able to do so well and achieve such a career. I admire you very much. Later, when we learned that you finally agreed to be with Yu An, we were all very happy."

"So, you don't have to be nervous when you come here, because we have already considered you as one of our family. We are also very grateful that you can accept Yu'an."

Yang Qiaoli still spoke softly, but her eyes were slightly red: "Yuan is a good child, he can endure hardships, and we don't have any requirements for Yuan."

"His brother has inherited the family business. We won't interfere too much with where he wants to live or what he wants to do in the future. It doesn't matter if you two don't live in Beijing in the future."

"Nowadays, transportation is becoming more and more developed. Even if we are not in the same place, I can take the train to visit you when I think of you. I just hope that you and Yu'an are doing well. Don't worry, if Yu'an dares to treat you badly, I will be the first to disagree."

Every word Yang Qiaoli said shocked Jiang Xi, and an inexplicable feeling welled up in him. Yang Qiaoli was really as Qi Yu'an said, an open-minded and warm person, a good mother, and a good elder.

Jiang Xi nodded seriously: "Thank you, Auntie."

Jiang Xi didn't know what else to say except thank you. She felt a little sad. She had never seen such a good home before.

She was like a traveler who occasionally glimpsed a treasure, and saw the harmony and warmth of other people's homes through the light. But now, Jiang Xi felt this light shining on herself. This must be home.

Jiang Xi suddenly missed Wu Yaqin, her mother, who treated her the same way.

In the kitchen, Qi Weiguo was also talking to Qi Yu'an. While directing Qi Yu'an to help pick vegetables, he said, "Yu'an, what are your plans for coming back this time?"

Qi Yuan was stunned for a moment: "What are you planning?"

Qi Weiguo was so disappointed: "You brought your girlfriend home, didn't you think about the future?"

Qi Yu'an really didn't think about the future. He was already very happy that Jiang Xi could come back with him, so how could he have the mood to think about the next step? However, what should he do next? Qi Yu'an has never had a girlfriend, and based on his understanding, apart from the big event of meeting the parents, he really didn't know what to do next.

Qi Weiguo: "Although you have already met Jiang Xi's parents, as the boy's parents, we also have to visit Jiang Xi's home. It is also our respect and courtesy. If possible, after both parents have agreed, we will get you engaged first."

Qi Yuan dropped the dish in his hand and asked, "Engagement?"

Qi Weiguo simply couldn't bear to look at this silly son, who didn't even have half the decisiveness he had in the past: "Of course, you don't want to marry Jiang Xi?"

"Jiang Xi is such an outstanding woman, there must be many people who like her. You have already brought Jiang Xi home to meet our parents, so why not get her engaged and finalize the matter? This will make you feel at ease, and so will we. Otherwise, don't blame us for not arranging something for you when your good wife flies away."

Qi Weiguo's words woke Qi Yu'an up from his dream, and his eyes lit up: "Dad, you're right, this matter must be settled early. We can talk about the engagement after meeting the parents! Your reminder is very timely!"

However, Qi Yu'an was only happy for a moment and then said, "But I still need to ask Jiang Xi's opinion first. Don't bring it up casually and don't make it difficult for her."

Qi Weiguo glared at his son. He had the same idea as Yang Qiaoli: "We're not the kind of people who don't know what's proper. I'm just telling you, you should be nice to a girl who has come all the way home. Learn to cook from me. Your brother learned several old-fashioned dishes from me to please his mother-in-law. You should learn from me, too."

Qi Weiguo also knew about Jiang Xi's family situation. As a father, he found it hard to imagine that there could be such a heartless father in the world. From this perspective, he also felt that Jiang Xi's life was not easy.

Since his son likes Jiang Xi, then Jiang Xi will be a family member in the future. Qi Weiguo, like Yang Mingli, is extremely protective, especially towards his family members. He will not tolerate his family members being bullied.

Qi Yu'an originally wanted to say that Wu Yaqin liked him very much, and it didn't matter even if he couldn't cook, but then he thought, if he learned a few specialties, he could cook them for Jiang Xi, which would be worth it, so he followed Qi Weiguo to learn very seriously.

Today's meal is comparable to a full banquet. The table is so full that there is almost no room left.

Yang Qiaoli said, "Come, sit down quickly. There's no need to help. They're two grown men, so it's just a matter of serving the dishes. It's not a big deal."

After Yang Qiaoli finished speaking, she whispered to Jiang Xi, "Wait a minute, when they come, just praise them a few more times. The more you praise a man, the more diligent he will be."