Yang Xiu was dressed in a well-fitting dark blue suit and trousers, his leather shoes were polished, and he was carrying a black briefcase, looking every bit the businessman.
When he saw Yang Lu, his eyes reddened slightly. After putting down his bag, he took the chicken soup from Wang Xiufen's hand.
"Auntie, let me feed them."
Yang Lu looked at him and smiled.
"Big brother, you haven't answered me yet, why are you back?"
He hasn't been back to China for many years because of work.
Yang Xiu scooped a spoonful of chicken soup and brought it to her lips.
"Your health is like this, how could I not come back to see you? Where is Gao Baoliang? Why didn't he stay to take care of you?"
His tone was clearly reproachful.
Yang Lu took a sip of chicken soup and defended Gao Baoliang.
"There's a lot going on at the company, so I didn't let him stay home. Brother, what's wrong with your eyes? Isn't this a bit exaggerated?"
She noticed that Yang Xiu's eyes were misty with tears, filled with heartache.
Yang Xiu turned his head away, composed himself, and gave her a slight smile.
"I'm going back to China for business, so I'll stay and take care of you."
Yang Lu smiled sweetly, as if she had returned to her childhood, when she and her older brother were childhood sweethearts.
At that time, Yang Xiu was still immature and would sometimes make her cry and deliberately bully her. But whenever he saw Yang Lu being bullied by boys from other classes, he would stand up for her and even fight back.
However, since Yang Xiu graduated from university, he has chosen to work abroad, and he has had much less contact with her.
Unexpectedly, he has suddenly reappeared and is now showing her great care.
Yang Lu stopped drinking the soup, got up and got out of bed.
"Brother, you can go do whatever you want. I don't need you to take care of me. Aunt Wang can take care of me. See how well I am? But you must stay for dinner tonight. I'll introduce you to everyone."
Yang Xiu didn't mention taking care of her anymore. Instead, he chatted with her casually, talking about his experiences abroad over the years, the company he had founded, and asking about her situation over the years.
Although I learned some things from Yang Ziqiang, it was never as real as hearing it from her own mouth.
"Lulu, you really shouldn't have quit your job. Women in other countries still go back to work even after having children. Women need to earn their own money to have confidence."
"If you keep having one child after another, won't you just spend your whole life cooped up in the house, relying on men for a living?"
He strongly opposed Yang Lu becoming a housewife.
Yang Lu disagreed, "I think it's fine not to work. I've been helping my sister-in-law manage her business these past few years and I've earned quite a bit of money. Plus, I can take care of the children myself, and we have a very good relationship."
When I have time, I can go shopping and take photos. I quite like this free and easy lifestyle.
Some women may enjoy their work and be willing to spend a lot of time on their business, but they may prefer to spend more time on their family. Both are personal choices, and neither is inherently better or worse.
Yang Xiu felt that by doing this, she was handing over her happiness to someone else. If one day Gao Baoliang stopped loving her, she would be in a passive position.
"Brother, let's not discuss this anymore. I know you're worried about me, but I'm an adult now. I can tell right from wrong and who's good to me and who's bad. I'm happy with my life now, and that's enough."
Yang Lu ended the conversation about going out to work.
At this moment, Gao Baoliang also returned ahead of time, carrying a box of exquisite pastries.
"Honey, I'm home. How were you today?"
She paused for a moment when she saw a refined-looking, well-dressed man inside the house.
Yang Lu quickly introduced,
“Baoliang, this is my older brother. He came back to China on business and came to see me.”
Gao Baoliang immediately reached out and grasped Yang Xiu's hand, "Oh, it's my brother-in-law! I've heard Lulu mention you so many years ago!"
This is the first time we've met. Why don't you stay for dinner tonight and have some drinks?
"
The excessive enthusiasm made Yang Xiu's lips twitch involuntarily, and he subtly moved his hand away.
"I'll stay for dinner, but let's skip the drinking. You should drink less too."
"Yes, yes, brother-in-law, please have a seat first, I'll go make the arrangements."
Gao Baoliang frowned slightly. He didn't like being lectured by him on their first meeting, but he didn't show any displeasure.
After handing the pastries to his wife, he went to the courtyard house at No. 88 to discuss dinner with Wang Xiufen.
When guests come to our house, we naturally have to cook more dishes.
Wang Xiufen took out the chicken and beef from the refrigerator.
"Go buy some more shrimp or something, I don't know what Lulu's brother likes to eat," Wang Xiufen instructed.
Gao Baoliang agreed, went outside to get his motorcycle, and headed towards the vegetable market.
When he returned, Wang Xiufen had already prepared chicken stew with mushrooms, stir-fried beef with yellow peppers, and a few other home-style dishes.
Seeing that Gao Baoliang had bought shrimp and fish, they quickly boiled water and made a boiled shrimp dish.
The fish is then steamed after being prepared.
Around six or seven o'clock, everyone gradually came home from get off work.
Smelling the aroma of the dishes, everyone asked what was going on tonight, why so many fancy dishes were suddenly made.
Wang Xiufen gestured towards Gao Baoliang with her lip.
"His brother-in-law is back, so we're having a welcome-back party for him."
Everyone understood, and after washing their hands, they all came to the kitchen to help.
The family sat around the dining table in a lively atmosphere, waiting for Yang Xiu to arrive.
Yang Xiu helped Yang Lu over and greeted everyone.
"Come and sit down, dinner is ready," Wang Xiufen said with a smile, waving her hand.
After helping Yang Lu sit down, Yang Xiu sat down beside her.
"I'm so sorry to have troubled you to spend so much money. I'd heard before that you always eat together as a large family, and seeing you today, it's certainly a lively and bustling place."
He stood up and bowed to everyone with his hands clasped together.
Wang Xiufen thought he was exaggerating a bit, and smiled as she asked him to sit down.
“I’ve always treated Lulu like my own daughter, so please don’t be shy.”
After she started eating, everyone else began to eat as well.
This was the first time Jiang Ning had met Yang Xiu. Judging from his demeanor, he seemed to possess a mixture of simplicity and shrewdness.
Having spent so much time abroad, it's hard not to be shrewd.
It's often said that foreigners are straightforward and don't have many hidden agendas, but actually, it's quite difficult to integrate into their circles.
Yang Xiu was able to build a business over there, so he must not be a fool.
During the meal, Yang Xiu didn't eat much himself, but frequently put food on Yang Lu's plate.
Not to be outdone, Gao Baoliang peeled shrimp for Yang Lu.
The peeled shrimp meat was placed into her bowl.
Upon seeing this, Yang Xiu's expression suddenly darkened.
"You've been married for so long, didn't you know Lulu is allergic to shrimp?"
Gao Baoliang was getting annoyed at this point, and said, holding his breath:
"Lulu can always eat shrimp!"
To cooperate with him, Yang Lu put the shrimp meat in her mouth and ate it with great enjoyment.
"Brother, I used to be allergic to shrimp, probably to the shrimp shells. I'm fine as long as I don't eat shrimp shells."
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