Xie Tingyu did not miss the mother and daughter's disdainful looks towards the local specialties. He did not say anything, but took the local specialties he had specially brought to the kitchen and carefully stored them.
The act of sealing them with great care seemed to be treating them as treasures.
Xie Dongmei looked at his back as he worked hard and couldn't help but murmur to her mother: "My brother has suffered a lot in the countryside."
"He didn't like pork before."
She knew her brother didn't like pork. He could eat chicken, duck, beef or mutton, but not pork. Not only that, he wouldn't eat any fat pork at all. This habit was like a disease of the rich these days.
Xu Maofang thought that no matter who had to suffer, it would not be the eldest son of the Xie family who had to suffer. He was the only child left in the Xie family, and Xie Jun was old, and had not given birth to a son after so many years of hard work.
I don't even have time to pamper him, so how can I bear to let him suffer?
Perhaps the only hardship Xie Tingyu had to endure in his life was being sent to the countryside as an educated youth, but that was his own choice. He deserved to suffer after having enjoyed enough of the good life.
But what Xu Maofang found strange was that after seeing him again after a year, his face had not lost any weight, but had become visibly fuller. He seemed to have grown a little taller, and looked stronger than before, and he looked energetic and radiant.
How could there be such good conditions to support a person in the countryside where people were short of food and clothing? Wen Zhihua must have secretly sent him a lot of money.
Xu Maofang tapped his daughter's head vigorously, "You are useless."
He has no idea of being proactive in this regard, and even a country woman can seduce Xie Tingyu away.
Xu Maofang had had this idea before. Xie Tingyu was becoming more and more promising as he grew older. Rather than letting another girl marry him, it would be better to match him up with Dongmei. Then they wouldn't have to deal with the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the future.
However, seeing that the two of them had no future in getting along, Xu Maofang gave up the idea and transferred her daughter's household registration.
If she had known earlier that Xie Tingyu had such a bad taste, she would never have cared about Ye Qingshui.
Xie Dongmei covered her head, her round eyes full of accusations.
Xu Maofang then thought of something else and smiled, "Dongmei, Mom heard that you and Zhou Pinghuai have been getting closer recently, right?"
Zhou Pinghuai is another young and promising boy in the compound. He is on par with Xie Tingyu. He has a handsome appearance and a good family background. The only thing he lacks is that his family is not as large as Xie Tingyu's.
However, having many brothers and sisters can also be a help.
Xie Dongmei thought for a moment and said, "Yes, didn't I learn tailoring from my grandma? He has something to repair, and he has been asking me for advice these days..."
Xie Dongmei has been particularly fond of beauty since she was old. Her grandmother was a famous tailor in the local area, and Xie Dongmei learned tailoring skills from her. Thanks to this skill, the clothes she wears are always better looking than those of others. In the simple black, gray and blue colors, even if she wears a black skirt, she looks better than others.
Xu Maofang was even more satisfied. Isn't it the way boys and girls of the right age help each other in these few ways and eventually fall in love with each other?
"Neighbors, why bother asking whether to help or not? Since he is in trouble, Meimei, you should help him. We can invite him to our house some other day."
In the afternoon, Ye Qingshui, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by a knock on the door.
She looked up and saw that it was Xie Dongmei who pushed open the door.
"May I come inside?"
Xie Dongmei came in without waiting for permission.
Ye Qingshui yawned and ignored Xie Dongmei's behavior of coming without asking. After all, this was her brother's room, not her territory.
Xie Dongmei glanced at her new sister-in-law who had just woken up. Her hair was messy and in the dim light, she could vaguely see her glowing white face, with traces of pink left by pressure.
Xie Dongmei couldn't describe how it felt.
Her brother was a mysophobe, and even the nanny who cleaned the bed had never touched it, and neither had she. But now the new sister-in-law was sleeping soundly on it.
"Qingshui, are you awake? Mom is cooking, please go down and help."
Xie Dongmei and Ye Qingshui are of the same age. Facing this girl who is almost her age, Xie Dongmei finds it difficult to call her "sister-in-law".
There was a hint of condemnation in Xie Dongmei's tone.
The elders are all working, but the daughter-in-law can sleep without any burden.
Ye Qingshui seemed to be deaf to everything he said. She concentrated on taking out a loose grey coat and a black and white school uniform from her luggage.
The white shirt and black skirt were no longer the original ones. Ye Qingshui had torn the cloth and made them herself. After all, she was too embarrassed to give the clothes she had worn to others.
Ye Qingshui met Xie Dongmei's scrutinizing gaze, spread out the newly made skirt in front of her, and said generously: "This is the dress your brother gave you."
"Try it on and see if it fits?"
The new dress was elegant and generous, simple yet bright, outlined with black gauze, with gently raised lines, fresh and elegant, and unique patterns. The level of care put into it was incomparable to those clothes sold in shopping malls. As soon as this dress was taken out, it grabbed Xie Dongmei's attention.
The girl's natural love of beauty made her forget her hostility towards her new sister-in-law.
Xie Dongmei was originally feeling depressed because her brother had gotten married and had forgotten about his sister, but when she saw the brand new clothes, her brows couldn't help but curved.
Xie Dongmei concealed the excitement on her face, but she couldn't hold back the joy that burst out of her eyes.
Xie Dongmei took the clothes and tried them on.
The mirror clearly reflected the girl's simple and elegant figure, which surprised Xie Dongmei very much.
She touched the clothes on her body and said, "It fits well."
It's just that the bust size is too different. She's only seventeen years old, how can she fit into such... big clothes.
But Xie Dongmei didn't mind at all. If the size was wrong, she could alter it herself later. It was the first time her brother gave her clothes, and how could a grown man like him know so much?
When Ye Qingshui saw Xie Dongmei trying on clothes, he also found that her chest had become several inches wider.
But she didn't think much about it. After all, men's words can't be trusted. This was not made according to Xie Dongmei's actual size, so some errors were inevitable. It was better to make it wider than narrower.
Ye Qingshui went down the stairs and entered the kitchen.
She saw Xie Tingyu's stepmother chopping vegetables in an unskilled manner, cutting them thickly and thinly, but her knife skills were comparable to Xie Tingyu's.
Even with water on the spoon, I dared to put it into the boiling hot oil.
Ye Qingshui closed his eyes helplessly, quickly pushed the person to the other side and covered the pot.
Xu Maofang took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her face, and then she put down the kitchen knife. She smiled and said:
"I heard Shuiya can cook. Can you cook a meal tonight?"
In fact, this "heard" was made up by Xu Maofang. Xie Tingyu never wrote a letter to tell them about Ye Qingshui.
In his previous life, Xu Maofang also asked Ye Qingshui to cook in such a friendly way.
This is called "overpraising". First you praise the person highly, make him feel so proud that he would risk his life to prepare a meal for you.
But in reality, there was a shortage of food and clothing in the countryside, and the conditions in the mountain valleys were very poor. Many families could not afford to eat pork all year round, so it was strange that they knew how to cook. Ye Qingshui had made a fool of himself in this way in his previous life.
She thought Xu Maofang just wanted her to cook a simple meal, so she made some fried pork slices, mixed pickles, and steamed some buns. But she didn't expect that almost all of Xie Tingyu's relatives came that night, along with three or two of her father-in-law's good friends and Xie Tingyu's elders.
The whole family gathered around the dinner table, looking at these few side dishes. The men had to drink more and the women had to eat more. After the meal, Ye Qingshui left an impression of being stingy and shabby.
Although Xie Tingyu's grandparents were very kind and didn't say anything, the rumors that the country daughter-in-law was stingy, unpresentable, and didn't know how to respect her elders spread in the compound like needles hidden in cotton, which made Ye Qingshui feel empty inside and unable to sleep or eat for several days.
At this moment, Xu Maofang smiled enthusiastically and said, "Shuiya, come and cook for us. A new bride always has to show off her skills when she comes to the house."
Ye Qingshui took the kitchen knife and looked around the kitchen. He found fish, pork, and some vegetables, which was a rich variety.
Xu Maofang's eyes flickered with anticipation.
But the next second, she was quickly disappointed.
After the country girl took the knife, Xu Maofang could only hear the neat and crisp sound of the knife cutting the chopping board, and the crisp white radish fell off, one slice after another as thin as a cicada's wing. The extremely fast knife shadow was so blurred that it was hard to keep up, and the thin melon slices piled up into a small mountain.
After cutting the melon, the country girl picked up the radish head she had cut and carved a flower out of it.
Xu Maofang's mouth opened slightly.
She watched Ye Qingshui take the sausage, cut the red and white sausage into thin slices, and steamed it in the steamer with the radish slices. The sausage smoked with pine oil and pine branches had a hint of pine branch fragrance.
Ye Qingshui then made another soup, killed a fish skillfully, and fried it in a pan.
A strong aroma soon wafted from the kitchen, which was so fragrant that it could make people's stomachs swell with all kinds of spices. The aroma in the attic quickly went out and drifted into the neighbor's house.
The aroma of hot rice penetrated into people's homes. The neighbors in front, behind, and on both sides took a deep breath, their stomachs growling with hunger.
"Who's cooking?"
“What a delicious sausage smell!”
Ye Qingshui was so busy cooking that he had to stand for more than an hour without touching the ground. His injured foot could no longer support him.
Ye Qingshui didn't want to work for Xie Tingyu's stepmother for nothing, but looking at Xu Maofang's terrible cooking skills, if she were asked to cook, she would probably explode the pots in the house.
After cooking, Ye Qingshui felt her ankles swollen and painful. When she walked, she felt pain in her ankle bones. She slowly walked to the sofa and sat down, lowering her head to rub her feet.
Xu Maofang had never smelled such delicious sausages before. The whole house was filled with the aroma of steamed sausages, which was even more delicious than what he had eaten in a restaurant!
She hurriedly brought the food to the table.
Xu Maofang coughed lightly, and he underestimated this country girl, who actually had such good cooking skills. Xu Maofang began to teach her from other aspects.
"Shui Ya, being the daughter-in-law of the Xie family also requires rules. When the elders are working, you are not required to work, but you have to stand up even if you are tired, understand?
If you don't follow these basic principles, won't you be even more unscrupulous in front of men in private? You have to know that men are already very tired from working hard outside, and wives should be more considerate -"
Before Xu Maofang finished speaking, Xie Tingyu, who had just returned from outside, walked into the room. He smelled the aroma of rice in the air and quickly realized what the little girl had done.
Xie Tingyu didn't say anything, he just walked up to Ye Qingshui and squatted down.
He bent down to help her take off her shoes, pressing her feet with his thumbs. The man's handsome eyebrows slightly raised and wrinkled, with an imperceptible trace of heartache in his eyes.
He asked softly, "How's your foot?"
The words he said lightly were like a depth charge, and the three women present were stunned.
Xie Dongmei was eating an apple, her hand paused slightly, and she turned to look at Xie Tingyu.
She could never imagine such a scene in her life: her brother squatting on the ground, speaking to a woman in a humble manner and taking off her shoes.
The way she looked at him changed.
Under the incandescent light, his handsome face became more and more eye-catching, his deep features had a fatal attraction, his shoulders became broader, his figure became taller and slender, and he was sculpted by the years into a mature man.
Xie Dongmei realized that she was wrong. She thought her brother had gone to the countryside and was covered in dirt. But now he was covered in the smell of fireworks and bowed his head to take off his shoes for a woman. This made him even more eye-catching. Xie Dongmei looked at him with a deep gaze and gradually became stunned.
Xu Maofang's hand slammed, and the plate she was holding almost flew out. She looked at Xie Tingyu in surprise, who was half-crouching on the ground, gently speaking to the woman and taking off her shoes. Is this still the stepson who was arrogant and had no eyes for women?
Xu Maofang looked at this scene with inexplicably complicated feelings. The men in the Xie family were not husbands who loved their wives. Xu Maofang had been married to Xie Jun for more than ten years and had never heard him say a soft word. Xie Jun always had a stern face like a leader and was as serious as an old man.
Uncle Xie loves his career more than his family. Not to mention his wife, he still has no children after all these years. It doesn’t matter whether he has children or not. He is a grown-up man who has lived on the island for most of his life and only sees his wife a few times a year.
Xu Maofang was even stunned.
The Xie family has never produced any romantic person. Xie Tingyu used to be such a cold and lonely person, but Xu Maofang had no doubt that he was the second Xie Jun. This must be her stepson warning her.
Xie Tingyu doesn't look like a man who would be willing to humble himself and take off his wife's shoes.
Even Ye Qingshui was surprised. She felt the gazes from all around her burning her face. His warm and dry hands gently supported her aching feet and rubbed them slowly. This unhurried kneading alleviated some of her pain.
His focused look was really embarrassing, not to mention... Ye Qingshui raised his head and noticed the surprised looks of Xu Maofang and her daughter, and he felt very uncomfortable.
Ye Qingshui knew that Xie Tingyu was not such a pretentious person, so she silently moved her feet away and put on her socks and shoes.
Ye Qingshui whispered, "Don't be like this."
She pushed him.
Xie Tingyu watched her put on her shoes. Her slender ankles were wrapped in white socks, and the exposed parts were swollen and red. He couldn't help but sigh.
"You take on so much work when your feet hurt, you idiot."
The author has something to say:
Pingshengjun: Brother Yu is so showy!
Brother Yu: Thank you very much.
Brother Yu, who had just shown off his affection and was feeling very proud of himself.
The next day I saw my sister wearing that familiar dress
His face... turned dark.
Brother Yu: Shuiya, can you explain?
Shui Ya: Shui Ya won’t come to explain
Lifelong Junlai
Pingshengjun: Brother Yu, how does it feel to have a swollen face?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
