Lu Wanzheng smiled sheepishly, but when she heard that Xiao Qifeng's face had gotten fuller, she immediately turned her head to look at him and carefully examined his handsome face. He was still as handsome as when she first met him, and she didn't feel that he had gotten any fatter. On the contrary, she shook her hands, which were still cold from being wet. She pinched her own face and it seemed that she had gotten a little fatter.
The two people beside her saw Lu Wanzheng's actions. The little girl was starting to doubt her own weight. Mu Qinshu immediately smiled, while Xiao Qifeng affectionately tapped Lu Wanzheng's nose and said, "You haven't gained weight, you've just gotten a little chubby lately."
Lu Wanzheng: "..."
Are you sure you're trying to comfort me?
Also, where is there any baby fat that's acquired? Everyone's baby fat is congenital. Can a chubby face acquired later be called baby fat?
Lu Wanzheng was too embarrassed to say these things to Xiao Qifeng, and angrily lowered her head to wash the vegetables in the sink.
Hearing her son's words, Mu Qinshu almost burst out laughing. Her son had finally come to his senses, finding her such a wonderful daughter-in-law. But if she said he hadn't, his words just now proved it. She didn't know what to say.
She laughed out loud in front of her daughter-in-law and son, which suddenly gave Lu Wanzheng a suspicious blush, and she lowered her head even further.
Xiao Qifeng looked slightly bewildered, wondering what his elderly mother was laughing about. Then he noticed that his little wife had shrunk back like a turtle, and he realized that he might have said something wrong.
However, he showed no sign of embarrassment and didn't say anything. As long as he wasn't embarrassed, it was others who were embarrassed.
But if you have something on your mind, it will inevitably show. So, Lu Wanzheng glanced sideways and noticed that Xiao Qifeng's knife seemed to be cutting faster. The "thump thump thump" sound of the knife hitting the cutting board became noticeably more frequent.
Because of the increased speed, Xiao Qifeng finished cutting everything he had. He immediately helped Lu Wanzheng wash the vegetables. The two stood close together. Lu Wanzheng was short, and her shoulder could only touch the elbow of the man next to her. This allowed Xiao Qifeng to see Lu Wanzheng's entire face with just a slight tilt of his head.
Seeing that Lu Wanzheng was washing very carefully, he suddenly lowered his head, leaned over, kissed her on the cheek, and then quickly left.
Sensing the movement of the person beside her, Lu Wanzheng's first action was to look up in Mu Qinshu's direction. Seeing that Mu Qinshu's attention was completely focused on the pot in front of her and that she hadn't noticed their little commotion at all, Lu Wanzheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then, she clenched her little fist and punched Xiao Qifeng's arm.
She said in a low voice, "What are you doing? This is a public place. Be careful, Mom is still here!" After saying that, she glared at the person next to her, warning him not to do anything reckless.
When the two of them lived alone before, Xiao Qifeng would take every opportunity to grope her and kiss her from time to time. But since it was just the two of them at home, she indulged herself. Now that there are elders around, how can she face them if they see this?
Xiao Qifeng, however, seemed completely unconcerned about being discovered. But to avoid upsetting his wife, he lowered his voice as well, "It's alright, Mom can't see."
"If we didn't see it this time, what about next time? What if we are seen?"
Xiao Qifeng disagreed, "It's not illegal for me to kiss my own wife. If she sees it, she sees it. My mother is an experienced person and understands. Besides, she'd love for us to get closer."
Lu Wanzheng blushed upon hearing this. How could Mr. Xiao say such shameless words without batting an eye? She angrily pinched his arm, but she didn't use any force at all. To Xiao Qifeng, it was like tickling an itch.
"We'll be intimate in our room tonight, and you can't make up any more excuses then."
Speaking of this man, Lu Wanzheng really didn't understand him. Every time, he would make her feel burning with desire and unbearable pain, but he would always restrain himself at the last moment. They were already engaged. In fact, she was willing to do many things, but this man always insisted on waiting until their wedding night. Perhaps it was a sense of ritual. Sometimes, when she saw the man next to her come out of the bathroom and hug her with a chill in his eyes, she would think, "Why don't we just get our marriage certificate sooner?"
Thinking about this issue again, Lu Wanzheng thought she should bring it up with Mr. Xiao tonight.
It doesn't seem right to keep people bottled up like this all the time.
Seeing Lu Wanzheng remain silent, Xiao Qifeng didn't press her. Many things require the young girl to figure out and make decisions on her own, and he would be the one to help her make those decisions.
Mu Qinshu noticed the young couple together early on. She knew her son; now that he had a wife, he was shameless in front of her. But her daughter-in-law was more reserved in the presence of elders. To avoid putting psychological pressure on Lu Wanzheng, Mu Qinshu remained silent the whole time, not even raising her head, as if she hadn't noticed them at all.
Washing vegetables together was much faster, and in no time all the necessary ingredients were washed. Lu Wanzheng shoved Xiao Qifeng back to his original position so he could focus on chopping the vegetables, while she went to another empty stove, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to cook a big meal.
With two chefs cooking together, this year's New Year's Eve dinner was truly spectacular.
The dishes prepared by Mu Qinshu and Lu Wanzheng were all served to Xiao Qifeng on the table. When Mu Qinshu saw that all the dishes were served, she asked Xiao Qifeng to call everyone to eat.
There weren't many servants staying at the old house for the New Year, so Lu Wanzheng made some simple dishes for them to take. Since everyone was celebrating the New Year together, everyone should naturally have something delicious to eat.
Xiao Qifeng first went to the study to greet his elderly father and Xu Jingxing, then quickly went to the old lady's room, helped her out of the room, his muscles tense, afraid that the old lady would fall. He carefully supported her all the way until he helped her to sit down in the main seat, only then did he relax.
The old lady chuckled and said, "I'm not so old that I can't walk. You don't need to worry so much. Put the same care you have for me onto your wife. It's been so long, and she hasn't shown any interest yet."
The old lady wasn't some stubborn, old-fashioned person. Nowadays, it's common for young people to sleep together before they're married, let alone when both of her children are getting married. It's perfectly reasonable. The old lady is getting on in years and has long wanted to hold her great-grandchild. How lively the family would be if there were more children!
Xu Jingxing had just stepped into the restaurant when he heard the old lady's words. He didn't know what to say for a moment. In his eyes, Lu Wanzheng was not old and didn't need to have children so early. But the old lady was so old, he couldn't very well argue with her. He could just let nature take its course.
“Grandma, you can’t rush these things. Some things you keep talking about and they just won’t come. Maybe they will come if you stop talking about them.” He comforted the old lady. Although he also wanted a child, he hadn’t had enough of their life as a couple yet. Even though his mother said she was willing to help take care of the child, what mother would completely trust her child to be taken care of by an elder in the family? Just thinking about how Lu Wanzheng would focus half of her attention on the child after they had a child made Xiao Qifeng feel a tightness in his chest and he was very unhappy.
The old lady nodded, probably thinking that what he said made sense.
Mr. Xiao walked into the restaurant and, not seeing his wife, asked, "Are there any dishes that haven't been prepared yet?"
Xiao Qifeng: "Mom and Wanzheng are cooking dumplings."
These dumplings were made by Lu Wanzheng and Mu Qinshu after a busy afternoon. From kneading the dough to wrapping the dumplings, they did it all by hand.
“We really should eat dumplings during the New Year.” As soon as Xiao Junnan finished speaking, Mu Qinshu and Lu Wanzheng came out, each carrying a plate. Mu Qinshu called out, “Dumplings, come on, make way, don’t block the way.”
Xiao Qifeng quickly rearranged the plates that were casually placed on the dining table, making room for two empty seats. Mu Qinshu and Lu Wanzheng quickly placed their plates in the seats that Xiao Qifeng had specially made, and then, without saying a word, they turned around and went back to the kitchen.
When they came out again, each of them was carrying a small tray with three small dishes on it. The vinegar in the dishes was sloshing around. The dishes in Lu Wanzheng's hand were slightly different from those in Mu Qinshu's hand. In addition to vinegar, Lu Wanzheng's dish contained other condiments. In the middle bowl, there were scallions floating on the surface of the vinegar, minced garlic sinking to the bottom, and bright red chili oil floating on the surface. The other two were only slightly different. She had specially prepared these after asking around.
Once everyone was present, the old lady immediately urged them to sit down.
The old lady was the first to pick up her chopsticks, taking a dumpling. Only then did everyone else start eating. "The filling of these dumplings seems a little different from the ones we make at home before," the old lady said. Although she was getting on in years, her sense of taste was still as good as ever, and she could tell the difference in the dumplings with just one bite.
In the past, Mu Qinshu would prepare dumplings every year for the New Year, but she always prepared them by herself. The old lady had eaten them so many times that she naturally remembered the taste. Now that the taste has changed, she can immediately tell the difference.
Mu Qinshu said with a smile, "Of course it's different. I made it in previous years, but this year the filling was made by Wan Zheng. She said she wanted everyone to try her skills."
"Does Grandma think it's delicious? If it is, I'll tell the people in the kitchen how to make it, so they can make it whenever Grandma wants to eat it." Lu Wanzheng was quite confident in her cooking skills.
The old lady chewed the dumplings in her mouth carefully; they were indeed tastier than the ones she used to eat. "Okay, Grandma really likes the food you make."
"I'm glad Grandma likes it." Lu Wanzheng was genuinely happy to have won the favor of her elders. Seeing that Lu Wanzheng was only talking to the old lady and not eating, Xiao Qifeng quickly put a few dumplings on her plate and whispered in her ear, "Don't just focus on making Grandma happy, you should eat too, or there won't be any left."
As they spoke, several dumplings disappeared from the plate. Xiao Junnan and Xu Jingxing were quite the eaters; they had already eaten seven or eight dumplings in the short time it took to talk.
The old lady saw her grandson and granddaughter-in-law whispering to each other and thought that the two had been engaged for quite a while and had such a good relationship, so she asked directly, "You two have been together for quite a while now, when do you plan to get your marriage certificate?"
Xiao Qifeng had mentioned to his family before that he had known about Lu Wanzheng for a long time, so his family always thought that he had been secretly in love with Lu Wanzheng for a long time. Now that his wife was by his side, he naturally had to make the most of the time.
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