Fatty and the others were all startled by Xu Damao, especially Sha Zhu, who was the first to laugh at him: "Hey, Xu Damao, you've finally figured it out after drinking this wine, haven't you? Now you're going to slap yourself hard."
Qin Jingru angrily cursed, "Idiot Zhu! You bastard, you're the worst kind of person!"
The two were sworn enemies, or as the fat man would say, "true love," and everyone was used to it by now.
Yan Jiecheng wiped his mouth: "Even food can't shut you up! This is Fatty's cooking! Look at this braised mixed vegetables. Not only are the shrimp and squid delicious, but even the lettuce and the soup are amazing. Hurry up and eat a few more bites, it's so fresh!"
Yan Jiecheng isn't a bad person. He may be scheming, but that's just the way Yan Bugui's family is, which instilled in him a quiet, unassuming way of making a fortune early on.
He has inherited Yan Bugui's "literary integrity" which only existed in words, and he is very measured in his speech and actions.
Like today at Fatty's house, he praised me, but each time he picked up a piece of food, he only took a little and savored it carefully. Unlike Yan Bugui, who wanted to take everything home as soon as it arrived.
If he hadn't been Yan Bugui's son, he might have been even more successful.
Sha Zhu stopped arguing with Xu Damao, took a spoonful of soup, and savored it carefully: "Chicken, duck, this is pigeon, what else is there?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dang also took a spoonful. After tasting it, he first praised the fat man, "This dish is really delicious!" Only then did he say, "Why does it taste like pork belly?"
The fat man lightly patted her head in annoyance: "You two have almost revealed all my secrets, you little traitor! If you like to eat belly, then eat more of that garlic braised belly strips."
As the saying goes, in opera, you listen to the melody; in cooking, you eat the broth. The broth tastes different from everyone's, and that's where the skill lies.
Take the broth that Fatty made, for example. It was as clear as spring water, and when you shone a light on it, there wasn't a trace of turbidity.
Xiao Dang is familiar with these steps. His silly father folded the finest gauze into three layers and filtered it carefully four times to get such a good pot of soup.
Sha Zhu is really good to this girl! Not long ago, he made her a special dish of "Clear Broth Bird's Nest"!
The delicate little bowl is filled with soup as clear as spring water, with bird's nest floating on top like clouds or snowdrifts. On the very top of the bowl is a bean sprout with five leaves, not one more and not one less.
Back then, Xiao Dang even criticized him: "Silly Dad, this isn't food, it's petty bourgeois!"
"..."
The meal was a pleasant one for both the host and guests.
What's most remarkable is that today Xu Damao wasn't carried back by Qin Jingru, but walked back on his own.
On the contrary, Li Xianying was helped back by Yan Jiecheng.
After the women helped Yu Li clean up the pots and pans, she insisted on keeping them there.
Chen Yan brought out a bottle of "Friendship Snow Cream" with a green cap and a white body, and applied it to each of their hands.
Zhang Hongying brought her hand to her nose and smelled it: "The fragrance is delicate and pleasant, and it makes people feel happy."
After speaking, she glanced at Yu Li with envy. Only a fat man would buy her something so nice; expecting Yan Jiecheng to spend money to buy her something so expensive to rub on her hands was like the sun rising in the west!
Qin Jingru also liked the scent of the face cream and thought she would sweet-talk Xu Damao when she got back and ask him to buy her one too.
She hummed a song and walked home with light steps, only to find that Xu Damao wasn't lying in bed, but sitting at the table with a serious expression.
Qin Jingru quickly composed herself and asked him in a flattering tone, "Da Mao, why are you sitting here?"
When Xu Damao saw her arrive, he poured her a glass of water and asked her to sit down before saying, "I have a distant relative who's dirt poor..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Jingru interrupted him: "If you want to help them out, then help them out a little, as long as their family isn't as ungrateful as my sister."
Xu Damao interrupted her, annoyed, then gestured for her to lean closer and whispered, "He has five or six children, the youngest just turned one year old, and she's a girl. The most important thing is that her surname is Xu..."
Qin Jingru understood; Xu Damao was now considering taking the baby.
After being husband and wife for so many years, how could she not know that the child was Xu Damao's biggest worry? Besides, she really didn't want to drink those bitter medicines from so-called folk remedies anymore.
So he quickly agreed to Xu Damao: "If his family is willing, we'll take the child and raise him well. He can take care of us in our old age. And if we have a child too, our lives will be much better than Fatty's and Sha Zhu's!"
These words truly resonated with Xu Damao.
Of the three of them, only the fat man has a daughter, who is his biological child;
Sha Zhu doesn't count. He treats Qin Huairu's child as his own, doting on him like he's something special. He's such a fool.
But this is still better than him! Xu Damao often watched Sha Zhu and Xiao Dang being affectionate, and he was incredibly envious. Countless times he put himself in Sha Zhu's shoes, fantasizing that the girl was being affectionate with him, calling him "Dad"...
He acted immediately. This time, Xu Damao was determined to have a child of his own.
He instructed Qin Jingru, "You better keep your mouth shut, especially don't let Qin Huairu know, otherwise that old woman will definitely ruin my plans."
Qin Jingru quickly agreed: "Da Mao, don't worry, I'll find a reason to argue with her tomorrow and draw all the attention to myself, so it will be easier for you to do your thing."
Xu Damao gave Qin Jingru a satisfied kiss: "I've noticed that you're understanding me better and better now, which is commendable. Keep up the good work and go for it."
That night, Xu Damao let Qin Jingru sleep in his bed again.
The next day, the blissfully happy Silly Girl smashed Qin Huairu's bowls at the public water tap in the courtyard: "You're hogging the water tap so early in the morning! It's just a few broken bowls, do you really need to wash them for an hour? I'm not going to put up with your bad habits!"
Qin Huairu was furious with her. Not only was she being laughed at by many people, but Yu Li also added insult to injury: "I heard that the water taps will soon be installed in every household."
His auntie overheard this and hurriedly asked, "Is this true? How will the water bill be calculated from now on?"
"One water meter per household, so from now on, no one should take advantage of anyone else!"
Everyone present could tell that these words were directed at Qin Huairu.
Qin Huairu was so angry that she squinted and splashed a basin of water into the yard. She then took her family's heirloom of broken plates and bowls back into the house. Surprisingly, she didn't fight with Qin Jingru!
She also knew that her current popularity was limited. If things really came to a head, Qin Jingru would have Yu Li and Chen Yan backing her up, but what about her? She couldn't fight against so many people!
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