Chapter 9
At noon, the men who had been working in the fields returned.
After hearing that Lu Shang had made today's lunch, the whole family felt that something was wrong. Even Lu Lao Er frowned tightly: "This is simply nonsense."
Wang Cuilian said with a frown, "This is not nonsense! Even if the old lady spent her own money to spoil her grandson, doesn't the money she saved have any credit for the family's efforts? I'm not saying that buying chicken for Lu Shang to nourish his body is not good, but asking him to cook it himself is just a waste of things."
Seeing that Lu Lao Er's face was getting darker and darker, Wang Cuilian changed the subject again: "If you ask me, Lu Shang was wrong in doing this, and his wife was even more wrong!"
Lu Lao Er looked over and asked, "What happened to his wife?"
Wang Cuilian slapped her thigh and said, "Boss, you don't know! That little slut is getting more and more presumptuous now that she saved Lu Shang once. Today, she even stayed in bed until noon!"
If Wang Cuilian were asked to find fault with Jiang Wanning, she would be talking for a whole day and night.
Although Lu Laoer knew that Wang Cuilian would exaggerate, as the old saying goes, mosquitoes don't bite eggs without cracks. No matter how much Wang Cuilian exaggerated, it would not be an empty talk.
Lu Lao Er said, "Then why don't you say more about her? As a mother-in-law, isn't it natural for you to teach your daughter-in-law a lesson?"
"What you said, I want to teach her a lesson, but didn't you see that Lu Shang protected her like his own eyes? I don't know if he-"
"What are you talking about?"
At some point, Grandma Lu appeared beside the two of them and interrupted Wang Cuilian's nagging.
"Mom." Lu Lao Er called out, his attention instantly shifting away from Wang Cui Lian. He asked casually, "I heard Cui Lian say that Jiang didn't get up until noon?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Grandma Lu pretended to be confused, "I heard Shang'er say..."
She repeated the whole story that Lu Shang had repeated several times, and finally said, "Shang'er is right. Thanks to Wan Ning. If she hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened if she had had a fever all night."
Grandma Lu's explanation did make Lu Laoer look much better.
Wang Cuilian would gossip, so of course Grandma Lu would say something too. She side-glanced at her and stretched out her tone, "Thinking back to when Cuilian came into the family, she said so many times that she would treat Shang'er well. It's true that she's not a biological child, so there are always times when she's careless."
Wang Cuilian's face changed: "Mom, what are you talking about!"
Grandma Lu curled her lips, turned her head and said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this nonsense anymore. Shang'er and Wan Ning are cooking in there, let's help them."
"It's hot today, let's move the table outside to eat."
"Okay, I'll wash my hands. I'll be right there."
After saying that, Lu Lao Er called out again, called Lu Xian, and went directly to the well to wash his hands.
According to the family's thinking, it was a blessing that the chicken given to Lu Shang to take care of could be eaten, and it didn't matter whether it tasted good or not.
However, when they went to move the table, they could already smell the rich aroma of sauce before they even entered the kitchen.
Grandma Lu twitched her nose and said, "This smell... seems to be the same as the one Shang'er cooked."
Several people looked at each other, still not believing that this was the taste that Lu Shang could make.
Just as a few people were hesitating, Lu Shangxian walked out of the kitchen with a large porcelain jar in his arms. The jar was already filled with braised meat and vegetables that had just come out of the pot.
Seeing the people guarding the door, he didn't hesitate and immediately shouted, "Dad, help me move it, it's too hot!"
"Ah? Oh, I'll be right there!" Lu Laoer came to his senses and was about to step forward to help, but Lu Xian had already taken action.
Lu Shang didn't care who came to help him. After handing over the hot porcelain pot in his hand, he turned around and was about to go back.
Lu Lao Er quickly asked, "Is there anyone else who needs help?"
Lu Shang stopped immediately and thought for a moment: "Nothing more, only the food and dishes are left to serve."
"A Ning and I have been busy for a long time. It's really hot. Second Mother came just in time. As for the rest..."
"Call your second mother!" Lu Lao Er immediately made the decision.
Lu Shang smiled. He shook off the water droplets on his hands. He was polite but deft with his hands. "That's great. I'll have to trouble Second Mother with the rest."
As he spoke, he walked back to the kitchen, tugged at the corner of Jiang Wanning's clothes, and tilted his head: "Let's go, don't do the rest, let's go out and cool off for a while."
Jiang Wanning raised her head, and beads of sweat immediately flowed down her temples. Her clothes were also soaked with sweat and stuck to her body.
She knew how she relied on him in this family, and rarely objected to Lu Shang's words. She glanced around the stove and saw that nothing was left out, and quickly nodded in agreement.
When Wang Cuilian came in, the two of them didn't stay for a moment, just said hello and hurried out.
When passing by Wang Cuilian, Lu Shang clearly saw the ashen look on her face. Thinking of how harsh she had been to Jiang Wanning, he tried his best to hold back from laughing out loud.
After going out, Lu Shang had no intention of staying any longer, but took Jiang Wanning back to the room to drink some water and change clothes.
They waited until everything was ready in the kitchen and Ma came over to call people to eat, and then the two of them came out one after another.
Thanks to Lu Shang, Jiang Wanning had a rare opportunity where she didn't have to serve rice or dishes, but just sat at the table and waited to eat.
Lu Shang braised the chicken and vegetables. Although the braising time was short, he added enough ingredients, so both the meat and the vegetables were well-seasoned. Just now, when Wang Cuilian was cleaning up, she saw the empty spice jar and almost died of heartache.
If the braised meat wasn't so delicious, she would have probably started a scene right there.
In addition to chicken and braised dishes, Jiang Wanning also fried three vegetarian dishes, all of which were common dishes at home. Adding a little lard to the dishes made them taste no worse than meat dishes.
Considering that Lu Laoer and the others had to go to the fields in the afternoon, she cooked a few more bowls of summer-cooling soup, put the soup in a jar, and then sent it to the well to be chilled for an hour. It was an excellent drink for quenching thirst and cooling off.
The braised meat and vegetables were served on plates, and together with the vegetarian dishes, they filled the table.
When Lu Shang and the others came over, the younger ones had already gathered around the table, wiping their saliva several times in a row.
There are six brothers and sisters in the Lu family, and Lu Shangxing is the first one. He was left by Lu Laoer’s ex-wife. She died of illness not long after Lu Shang was born.
When Lu Shang was four years old, Lu Lao Er married Wang Cui Lian as his second wife, and then gave birth to Lu Xian, and then to two sisters Lu Xiaoxiao and Lu Qiu. A few years ago, Lu Guangzong and Lu Yaozu were added.
Lu Xiaoxiao and Lu Qiu are only one year apart in age, one is thirteen and the other fourteen, and they have been preparing for their in-laws in the past two years.
Lu Guangzong and Lu Yaozu are two years apart in age. Lu Guangzong is just nine years old, and Lu Yaozu is even younger. He runs around the village all day long and is at an age that even cats and dogs dislike.
The little girl from Lu Xian's family had just been weaned and was held in Ma's arms, babbling non-stop.
Lu Guangzong and Lu Yaozu huddled together, their eyes glued to the chicken, drooling. Lu Shang slapped them in the face in disgust, "Wipe your saliva."
Lu Guangzong was startled. After seeing who was coming, he quickly called out "Big Brother". When he saw Jiang Wanning next to him, he hesitated for a moment and then whispered, "Sister-in-law."
This drew Lu Shang's sidelong glance. Facing Lu Guangzong's timid gaze, he praised him generously, "Not bad, you've learned some manners."
As he spoke, he took the lead in picking up the chopsticks and picked up a chicken foot for him.
This action made the eyes of the others light up. Lu Yaozu was not willing to be left behind and shouted loudly: "Brother and sister-in-law!" The voice was so loud that Wang Cuilian almost dropped the plate.
"What are you arguing about?"
The younger ones ignored him and called out "Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law" several times, which made Lu Shang smile and each of them picked up a piece of meat.
After the group of little girls ran away with their flesh in their hands, he remembered to look at Jiang Wanning's face. When he turned around, he saw that the little girl's cheeks were red. He didn't know if it was because of shyness or something, but even the corners of her eyes were red.
"..." Lu Shang's words were about to come out, but he suddenly stopped. He stammered for a long time before only uttering one sentence: "Sit."
The dining table at home cannot accommodate more than a dozen people at once. Fortunately, there are many children, and each of them can hold a bowl and stand between the adults.
Normally, Jiang Wanning was not qualified to sit at the table, but after Lu Shang's protection over the past two days, no one would be so foolish as to ask her to leave. At this moment, she sat next to Lu Shang, holding her bowl, and just ate the food in front of her.
Grandma Lu made the decision and put both chicken legs into Lu Shang's bowl. No matter how jealous the others were, they were used to it and didn't fight for them.
In full view of everyone, Lu Shang took the chicken legs away, giving one to Jiang Wanning and one to Grandma Lu.
Grandma Lu was stunned.
Lu Shang held down her hand that was about to take it back: "Grandma, you eat it. I don't like chicken legs."
"What do you mean you don't like chicken legs? Who doesn't like chicken legs? You obviously like chicken legs the most!" Grandma Lu didn't believe it.
Lu Shangren laughed: "Grandma, please don't give in. There is still so much meat. I don't mind eating these two bites."
"Besides, you bought this chicken, so the best one should be given to you. If you give in again, I won't eat a single bite." After the threat was made, Grandma Lu was no longer willing to give in, and it was difficult for her to continue refusing.
She took a careful bite, and the carefully prepared marinade left a lingering fragrance in her mouth. The chicken thigh meat was more fragrant and tender than other parts, which made her linger on the taste.
Grandma Lu couldn't bear to eat it all by herself, so she waved her hand and called all the children to come over. She gave each of them a bite, and she just divided the whole chicken leg cleanly.
Lu Shang saw it, but did not stop it.
He turned his head and looked at the stunned Jiang Wanning, and laughed mischievously: "You don't need my advice anymore, do you?"
Jiang Wanning's fingertips trembled and she quickly buried her head in the bowl.
With his blatant preference, the others couldn't stand it, but they didn't dare to ask Jiang Wanning to take the chicken leg out of her bowl. They just watched her take one bite after another, and their eyes were red with envy.
After lunch, the family felt more satisfied than during Chinese New Year, especially the braised dishes made by Lu Shang. In the end, there was not even any soup left.
The only thing they still disagreed with was Lu Shang cooking. When asked why, they said, "What man would stay at the stove?"
In response, Lu Shang just smiled, not refuting but also not agreeing.
After eating and drinking, Wang Cuilian and Ma were busy cleaning up the dishes. Jiang Wanning was about to help but was stopped by Lu Shang.
She struggled a little but couldn't get free, so she had to sit where she was.
After Lu Laoer and the others finished their summer-cooling soup, they smacked their lips and couldn't help but ask, "Shang'er, you've almost recovered. While you're feeling better, don't you think it's time to go to school?"
Lu Shangwang looked over, was silent for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "What if I say... I don't want to take the imperial examination anymore?"
Snap——
In shock, Lu Laoer accidentally knocked over the bowl on the table, and the bowl crumbs splashed on his feet but he didn't react.
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