Chapter 255 Good Brother
Sheng An was four months pregnant, and Tan Qingrou didn't dare to tell the truth in front of her.
The youngest daughter-in-law of the Du family did not die from a serious illness; she died in childbirth, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child.
Sheng An frowned immediately and said bluntly, "If the news is true, the Du family is not suitable for you."
Xiao Rou is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside; she is not a dough to be manipulated at will.
If she were to become involved with the Du family, her life there would be very difficult.
Tan Qingrou sighed and rubbed her throbbing temples: "I also think it's inappropriate, but since the person who made the match is a distant relative, we have to meet them first."
Sheng An understood and held her hand, saying, "You're the one who's going to get married, don't wrong yourself."
Tan Qingrou was touched and nodded vigorously: "I definitely won't shortchange myself."
Her father also didn't think highly of the Du family. It wasn't that he thought Madam Du was harsh, but rather that the Du family had many connections with the Princess Pingyuan's residence.
Although her father didn't say it explicitly, she learned quite a bit after coming to the capital.
This world ultimately belongs to the Emperor. Any family that gets involved with the Princess of Pingyuan's household might one day offend the Emperor's eyes and be kicked out by him.
In short, the Du family is not a good place to go.
After resting for three consecutive days, Xu Jinnian and the other three finally recovered completely.
Tan Zhenlin grinned and moved closer to Sheng An: "Sister-in-law, during those nine days in the examination hall, the person I missed the most was you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a deathly gaze from the side, and goosebumps immediately rose on his skin. He quickly continued:
"I miss your spicy fish, spicy chicken, spicy rabbit...slurp, I can't sleep at night thinking about it, I wish I could dig a hole and crawl back to satisfy my cravings."
This is not an exaggeration.
The examination hall provided meals, well, plain water with steamed buns, plain water with flatbread, without any filling.
He ate it for nine days in a row, and his eyes turned green with rage. He was so hungry he wanted to crawl on the wall and eat the plaster off the wall.
At least the paint on the wall still has some flavor.
Sheng An was amused by Tan Zhenlin's complaining. Just as he was about to speak, a long, slender hand grabbed the man by the back of his collar and threw him aside.
"This kid is having a fit of hysteria, just ignore him."
As Xu Jinnian spoke, he glanced at Tan Zhenlin and said, "Your sister-in-law is pregnant, and I can't bear to let her work so hard."
Tan Zhenlin shrank his neck and gently patted his greedy mouth: "I was just joking with my sister-in-law."
Fang Qingzhou tapped him on the forehead: "There are so many restaurants in the capital, you could eat at them for a month without repeating a single one."
Sheng An smiled and said, "Zhenlin grew up in Jiangnan and is not used to the food in the capital. Even I prefer to cook with my own hands."
After saying that, she asked Xu Jinnian in a consultative tone, "I haven't cooked in a long time and I've been craving hometown dishes for a long time. How about I cook a few dishes for lunch and you guys can have a drink and relax?"
Xu Jinnian could easily see through his wife's intentions. He glanced at Tan Zhenlin, who was full of anticipation, before reluctantly saying, "Just make two simple Qingzhou dishes so this foodie can have a taste."
Sheng An smiled and agreed.
"Wuhu~"
Tan Zhenlin excitedly jumped up and down, landing directly on Xu Jinnian's back. He then hugged Xu Jinnian's neck and gave him a brotherly nuzzle: "You truly are my good brother. It wasn't for nothing that I called you my good older brother for three years when we were kids!"
Xu Jinnian felt a chill run down her spine, ripped him off, and kicked him mercilessly in the buttocks: "Get out!"
Tan Zhenlin jumped back, clutching his backside, his face full of obsequiousness: "Yes, sir!"
As she spoke, she bowed deeply to Sheng An, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law!"
Watching the boy clowning around, Sheng An was overjoyed and asked Xu Jinnian curiously, "Zhenlin called you 'good brother' for three years when he was little?"
Xu Jinnian gave a blank "hmm," looking like he didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Ye Yunhua suppressed a laugh and explained, "Zhenlin was studying alone in Qingzhou. A group of kids saw that he was generous and would squat at his door every day asking him for money and food. When Zhenlin refused, they started bullying him, and Mingyu happened to see it..."
At that time, Xu Jinnian was still in his rebellious phase and had just become a disciple of Master Jiang, which was a time of tension between him, Tan Zhenlin, and the other two.
The moment he charged at him, Tan Zhenlin snuggled up to him to laugh at him. Unexpectedly, while he was criticizing Tan Zhenlin for being useless, he beat those bastards so badly that they cried for their parents and ran away in a panic.
From then on, those brats never dared to block Tan Zhenlin again.
Tan Zhenlin felt that material possessions were insufficient to express his gratitude to Xu Jinnian, and he greatly admired Xu Jinnian's bravery and extraordinary abilities. So he shamelessly followed behind Xu Jinnian, calling him "good brother" repeatedly.
This call lasted for three years.
Xu Jinnian grew up and found the term too cheesy, so he beat up Tan Zhenlin before finally getting him to change his way of addressing him.
"Pfft~"
After hearing the whole story, Sheng An laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight, and two physiological tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
Tan Zhenlin felt embarrassed by her laughter, scratched the back of his head and said somewhat awkwardly, "Hey, it's all from when I was a kid, I would have forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."
Fang Qingzhou exposed his lie: "Who was that who called Mingyu 'good brother' just now?"
Tan Zhenlin: "..."
At noon, Sheng An personally cooked a hearty eight-dish meal with the help of Aunt Niu.
Six of the dishes were local specialties, and two were dishes she "learned" from Aunt Niu, her first "try" at local cuisine.
During the meal, Tan Zhenlin and the others showed no interest in the two dishes, but instead devoured the other hometown dishes.
They only realized what was happening when they saw Xu Jinnian constantly reaching for the two local dishes with his chopsticks, and they quickly shoveled the food into their own bowls.
This dish was absolutely divine, and I ended up eating it all, soup and all.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Tan Zhenlin showered Sheng An with compliments: "Sister-in-law, you are simply a culinary genius! This is the first time I've ever seen local dishes so delicious!"
Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua nodded in agreement, expressing their utmost admiration for Sheng An's culinary skills.
Sheng An humbly replied, "I've only learned these two dishes in so many days; there's still a lot to improve."
Tan Zhenlin said excitedly, "Sister-in-law, with this skill, why don't you open a Shengyuan restaurant in Beijing? Don't worry about the location, I'll help you find one!"
Sheng An quickly interrupted, "I don't have any plans to open a shop for now. I'll talk about it when I have the idea."
Tan Zhenlin was disappointed; he genuinely loved his sister-in-law's cooking.
The thought of rarely having the chance to taste Sheng An's cooking again filled him with unbearable heartache, and even the delicious food he had just eaten lost its flavor.
As the two were talking, Li Tian hurriedly walked in, holding a card in his hand: "Four gentlemen, here are your invitations."
The room fell silent, all eyes turning to the invitation, wondering who had sent it and how they knew they were staying at the Jiang residence.
Xu Jinnian reached out and took it, opened it and glanced at it. His gaze fell on the signature, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Tan Zhenlin leaned closer, and upon seeing the name on the signature, he was stunned: "Song Zhihang? It was him."
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