Chapter 120 Heart-to-Heart Talk: "So, do you like your current life?"...
Li Hongmei had mixed feelings. She did need someone to help her take care of the child, but Wu Cong himself was just a child too.
"Forget it, you can talk to him yourself when your dad gets back," Li Hongmei said awkwardly. "I can't afford to offend your grandma, lest she think I'm trying to harm you again."
Wu Cong awkwardly replied, "Thank you, Auntie."
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Come and get ready to eat."
Lin Huijun had already cleaned the chives beforehand; all she had to do was wash and chop them, then fry some scrambled eggs before making the pancakes.
The newly built stove has a strong firepower, and the chive and egg pancakes are cooked thinly, so they can be eaten in three to five minutes.
"Can Minmin eat the seasoning now?" Chen Mian asked before adding the seasoning.
Li Hongmei, carrying her daughter, also went into the kitchen: "Don't worry about her, we can eat by ourselves."
"That won't do. I'll wrap one without any seasoning first, so our little one can try it, okay?"
Chen Mian reached out and gently pinched Wu Min's little nose, and the little girl started giggling again.
"Wu Cong specifically requested the chive and egg pancake. Hongmei, what would you like to eat? I'll make a few more dishes."
“I’m fine with anything, no need to go to too much trouble.” Li Hongmei put her daughter on the dining table and rolled up her sleeves to help Chen Mianmian.
The little girl grabbed a flower from the side and tried to put it in her mouth.
"Hey, you can't eat this." Li Hongmei pried her little hand open and took the flower away.
"Wu Cong, come and watch your sister. Make sure she doesn't fall and don't let her eat anything indiscriminately."
Seeing Wu Cong looking helpless in the living room, Li Hongmei couldn't bear it and called him over.
"You're here, Auntie!" Wu Cong ran happily from the living room, her slippers falling to the floor.
"Then I'll steam some soft egg custard for Minmin first," Chen Mian said, opening the refrigerator and glancing inside.
When she was a child, her favorite dish was steamed buns soaked in egg custard. The soft steamed buns were broken into pieces and soaked in the smooth egg custard. It was delicious with just a little seasoning.
It's perfect for kids too.
The method is also very simple: beat the eggs, add warm water, stir well, add salt and ginger powder, and steam for about ten minutes until cooked.
While the eggs were steaming, Chen Mian took out a square piece of tofu, cut it in half, and then made a diagonal cut from the opposite side to cut the tofu into even triangles.
I chopped another scallion, pan-fried the tofu until golden brown on both sides, added the scallion segments, poured in the pre-mixed sauce, and simmered it for a few minutes until the sauce thickened.
A simple and delicious braised tofu with scallions is ready.
"Want some soup? I recently learned a new soup recipe, it's really delicious, want to try some?" Chen Mian smiled at her friend.
Li Hongmei: "If Chef Chen says it's delicious, then I'll definitely drink a few more bowls."
"Is there anything I can help with? Otherwise I'll feel embarrassed."
"Hmm...then could you help me tear this bok choy into pieces?" Seeing that Li Hongmei was determined to help, Chen Mian had no choice but to hand over the half-torn bok choy in her hand.
She took out another plate, sliced a sausage, added the soup's secret recipe, and chopped up the preserved egg.
Stir-fry the preserved eggs and ham sausages in a pot for a while, then add enough boiling water. Once the soup turns milky white, add the torn bok choy and cook until tender.
A rich aroma had already filled the air. Chen Mian put the lid on the pot. "Alright, let the soup simmer for a while. We can eat it once the pancakes are done."
After they finished eating, it was already dark outside. Li Hongmei prepared to take Wu Cong and her daughter home. "Mumian, remember to try on the clothes I brought you. I'll be going now."
Chen Mian then noticed the paper bags on the ground: "I didn't even know you brought me things if you hadn't told me. Why are we being so polite?"
“Ji Yu has been working overtime at work lately, and I’m getting really bored at home all by myself. Why don’t you stay here tonight? We can talk for a while longer.”
Seeing Li Hongmei hesitate, she stepped forward and picked up Wu Min, saying, "Let's go, we'll sleep together tonight."
Wu Cong was assigned to sleep in a guest room on the first floor, while Li Hongmei, her daughter, and Chen Mian slept in the master bedroom on the second floor.
Wu Min is young and needs to sleep a lot. She sat on the bed and played with the cat for a while before falling asleep.
Her cheeks were rosy, her chest rose and fell slightly, and one little hand was resting on the calico cat.
The cat also fell asleep.
Chen Mian then continued to whisper to Li Hongmei.
“Hongmei, to be honest, you should ask Aunt Liu to come back. It’s too hard for you to take care of the child alone.”
Unlike her, Hongmei has her parents around, and they can lend a hand when she has children.
“You have to take care of Minmin and manage so many shops all by yourself, how can you possibly manage?” Chen Mian reached out and hugged her friend. “You’ve lost weight recently.”
Li Hongmei lay flat on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling: "Do you think I haven't thought about it? But you know my mother-in-law. If I invite Aunt Liu back, she'll come to the house and cause a ruckus the next day."
Sometimes she thinks that this is probably her fate. At home, she can't escape her mother's scolding, and after getting married, she has to face her mother-in-law's sharp tongue.
Fortunately, the child is well-behaved, and her husband always sides with her and the child when he is home, so they manage to get by.
Chen Mian: "So, do you like your current life?"
"I like it, right? Wu Wei treats me and the kids very well. We have no worries about food or clothing. No matter where I go, people call me 'boss lady'..."
"But I prefer people to call me Boss Chen."
“Hongmei, a book I recently read said that women can only have a voice when they have power and wealth of their own.”
Chen Mian persuaded, "I know you prefer running freely in the fields to opening a clothing store."
Wu Wei's farm was originally contracted to Li Hongmei, but who knew that it would be inexplicably taken away by her mother-in-law in the end.
“When Wu Wei comes back, you should have a good talk with him. It’s not just about Wu Cong’s education, but also about your own career.”
“If you still want to run your own farm, I can lend you money, and you don’t need to rush to pay it back,” Chen Mian said.
Li Hongmei turned over and hugged Chen Mian, tears soaking her collar, and choked out, "Mianmian, you've been so good to me. No one else has ever been so good to me."
The luckiest thing in her life was meeting Chen Mian, her good friend, who brought her to Xinjiang, where she saw a wider world and started her own family.
Chen Mian reached out and wiped away her tears. "Okay, don't cry. Things will definitely get better from now on."
"Um."
At five o'clock in the morning, Chen Mian heard the sound of an engine coming from the yard, put on her coat, and prepared to go out to see what was going on.
Ji Yu came in from outside, bringing with him a chill. When he saw Chen Mian, he asked in surprise, "Mianmian, why aren't you asleep yet? It's so late!"
"I heard a noise, so I got up to check it out."
"Why are you back at this hour? Do you want something to eat? I'll go to the kitchen and make you something." Chen Mian yawned and walked towards the kitchen.
Ji Yu shook her head with lingering fear, stepped forward and hugged Chen Mian tightly, rubbing her head against Chen's shoulder. "I just ate instant noodles with my colleagues before I came back, so I'm not hungry. I just wanted to come back and see you."
Chen Zhelan is stubborn. He and his colleagues have been working in shifts recently, all in an effort to extract information about the entire criminal group from Chen Zhelan.
Last night was his shift. After asking Chen Zhelan a bunch of questions as a matter of routine, he sat in his chair and stared at her.
Chen Zhelan's eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, and she stared intently at him. The two of them stayed up like that until the wee hours of the morning.
Ji Yu stood up, yawned, and stretched her limbs. "What's the point of you and us staying up all this time? Just tell us what happened, and we can all get a good night's sleep."
"I haven't seen my wife for several days, and I'm waiting to go home to see her."
Chen Zhelan suddenly burst into laughter, looking at him with disdain, "Speaking of your wife, you should thank me."
"If I hadn't thought she was pretty and it would be a waste to sell her to those old men, your wife would probably be crying somewhere right now."
Ji Yu couldn't stand Chen Zhelan bringing up his wife, so he immediately stepped forward, grabbed Chen Zhelan's collar, and questioned, "What did you just say? What did you do to my wife?"
"Officer Ji, are all police officers this naive? Do you really think I brought so many young girls to Xinjiang just to help them make money and do good deeds?"
Chen Zhelan wore a strange smile. "Young women can sell for just as much money as men."
She didn't even need to traffic them; as long as she showed these country girls the bright lights and dazzling world, they would willingly sell themselves to those older men.
Among all these girls, only Chen Mian and Li Cuiping are fools. They gave up an easy life and insisted on going to the farm to suffer.
Ji Yu hugged Chen Mian with lingering fear, "Luckily you're alright, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to explain it to your brother."
"I'm not as stupid as you think. I'm very smart, okay?"
"So Chen Zhelan finally confessed?" Chen Mian pressed.
Ji Yu: I guess so. She only provided two clues, and we still need to continue to arrest other suspects.
"But there is also good news," Ji Yu said, keeping everyone in suspense.
"What good news?" Chen Mian's curiosity was piqued.
"Give me a kiss and I'll tell you."
"You're so annoying." Chen Mian wrapped her arms around Ji Yu's neck and tiptoed to give her a light kiss.
Ji Yu took the initiative, slightly squatting down and lifting her up with one hand, letting her sit on his arm.
They kissed as they walked upstairs.
Chen Mian came to her senses, placed her hand on his chest, and whispered, "Don't go to the master bedroom, Hongmei is still sleeping in our bed."
Ji Yu sighed helplessly, "Why is she here again?"
"It's your fault for refusing to come home."
"It was my fault."
Chen Mian pushed him off, saying, "What good news is it? If you don't tell me, I'm not playing with you anymore."
Ji Yu's large hand supported her legs, and he held her firmly with one hand. "I'm getting promoted to section chief, and my boss has approved a month's leave. We can go on a road trip now."
"Really? That's great!"
"How about another kiss?"
"Pop—"
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