The next second, she froze on the spot.
That ultimate freshness exploded on the taste buds.
Compared to this, the minced meat she was so proud of, which she had carefully stir-fried with the finest pork belly and various seasonings, tasted like muddy water mixed with sand—fishy, greasy, and unpalatable.
She admitted that she had indeed lost, and was completely convinced of her defeat.
The result of the competition was no surprise; Su Tang and Li Xiumei won an overwhelming victory with perfect scores.
Wang Cuicui can no longer escape this bet of cleaning the toilet.
The next day, Li Xiumei hummed a little tune and carried a plate of freshly cooked peanuts into Su Tang's courtyard.
"Tangtang! I have some really exciting news to tell you!" she exclaimed as soon as she entered the room, her face beaming with undisguised joy. "Guess who I saw when I passed by the public toilet at the east end? Wang Cuicui! My goodness, she was holding her nose, scrubbing the latrine with a huge brush, her face as green as a vegetable leaf! Several women nearby pretended to pass by, pointing and whispering, saying, 'Oh, isn't that Director Wang's daughter? What's she doing doing this kind of work?' She wanted to get angry but didn't dare, and her frustrated look made me laugh so hard!"
Su Tang was sitting in the courtyard reading a book when she heard this and couldn't help but smile.
Qin Ye was standing nearby, carefully sanding a cabinet that was almost finished. Hearing this, he didn't even look up, but simply said, "She's still a person of her word."
"That's right! If she dared to break her promise, she'd be considered a deadbeat in the family compound." Li Xiumei put the peanuts on the stone table, took out an envelope and three brand-new tickets from her pocket, and shoved them into Su Tang's hands. "Tangtang, this is the prize money for this competition, twenty yuan, and these three Forever brand bicycle tickets! It's all yours! If it weren't for you, I would never have gotten this far! From today onwards, you are my sister, Li Xiumei's sister!"
Su Tang looked at the things in her hand and felt a warmth in her heart. She accepted the twenty yuan, but pushed the more precious bicycle ticket back.
"Sister-in-law, I'll take the money, but you can take the ticket back."
"Oh, this won't do!" Li Xiumei exclaimed anxiously, "We agreed that it would all be yours!"
“Sister-in-law, listen to me,” Su Tang said earnestly, holding her hand. “Qin Ye has a bicycle, which makes it convenient for me to go out, so we don’t need to buy another one. Your family is different. You and your brother go to work, and the children go to school, so you really need a bicycle. Take this coupon and save it up. When you have enough coupons, you can buy a bicycle. Then your family can easily go around, which is great.”
Looking into Su Tang's sincere eyes, and then at her own calloused feet from years of walking, Li Xiumei's eyes welled up with tears. She no longer refused and nodded firmly.
"Alright! Little sister, then I won't stand on ceremony with you! From now on, if you need anything, just say the word!"
Their friendship was effectively severed after this incident.
After seeing Li Xiumei off, Qin Ye put down his work, walked to Su Tang's side, took her fair hand, and looked at her with doting and pride.
“My wife is amazing,” he said in a deep, magnetic voice. “Not only is she a great doctor, but her cooking skills are unparalleled in the entire hospital. If anyone dares to say a bad word about you again, I’ll be the first to object.”
Su Tang felt a sweet warmth in her heart: "You're so sweet-talking."
Just then, a guard came running over: "Commander, sister-in-law, Chief Qin and Dean He want you to come home for dinner tonight. They said... they have something important to discuss."
That night, the Qin family's house was brightly lit.
The round dining table was laden with a sumptuous feast. He Shumin and Qin Zhenbang sat at the head of the table, with Grandma Qin sitting beside them. The atmosphere was warmer and more lively than ever before.
At the dinner table, the elders kept piling food onto Su Tang's plate, as if they wanted to make up for all the suffering she had endured in Langcuo Village with delicious food.
"Tangtang, eat more of this fish, it's good for your health." He Shumin put a large piece of fish belly meat into her bowl.
"And this too, didn't you say last time that the ribs were stewed until they were very tender? Dad specially asked your mom to stew them for three hours today," Qin Zhenbang said with a smile.
Su Tang's bowl quickly filled with a small mountain of food.
She felt a warm glow in her heart, as if she had not just married into the family, but had returned to a real home.
After dinner, the family moved to the living room to have tea.
Qin Zhenbang cleared his throat, put down the newspaper in his hand, and looked at the two children opposite him with gentle eyes, officially starting the topic of the evening.
"Qin Ye, Tangtang, you two have had your marriage certificate for a while now. Your mother and I have discussed it, and it's time to officially start planning the wedding. Our Qin family has to hold a wedding ceremony. Although the organization doesn't encourage extravagance and waste, we still have to do it properly and in a proper manner. We can't let our daughter-in-law feel wronged."
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