Chapter 68 This damned fox actually feels a sense of accomplishment from living off a woman?
Even after leaving the main hall, Sheng An was unable to find out exactly how many beatings Xu Jinnian had received.
After working in the kitchen for more than an hour, Sheng An finally breathed a sigh of relief as the last dish of vegetables was cooked.
Rubbing his sore arms, Sheng An felt a great sense of accomplishment looking at the dozens of dishes laid out on the cutting board, each one a feast for the eyes and the palate.
The other three were already drooling with envy, especially Xu Cuilian and Zhang Zhaodi, whose eyes were practically sparkling as they looked at Sheng An.
"An'an, you're so capable! How did you come up with those complicated dishes?"
Xu Cuilian pointed to several dishes, but even though she had watched Sheng An make them, she couldn't remember the cooking process at all.
"Cooking is not difficult. Once you master the basics and try more, you can create new dishes on your own."
Unable to explain clearly, Sheng An mumbled a few words before picking up his teacup and gulping it down.
After working all day, I didn't even have time to drink a few sips of water. Now I'm exhausted, thirsty, and hungry.
Xu Cuilian noticed Sheng An's exhaustion and quickly said, "Sit down and rest for a while. I'll go to the small building and call them over."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
Sheng An greatly admired that kind of spirit.
My aunt has been busy all morning, how come she is still so energetic and doesn't seem tired at all?
Zhang Zhaodi stepped forward and massaged her best friend's sore arms: "You made all these dishes by yourself. You'd better get some rest for the next few days."
Sheng An smiled and said, "It's alright, not too tiring."
Grandma Sheng said with concern, "How can you not be tired with a dozen or twenty dishes?"
The thought that her granddaughter might be so tired every day after Shengyuan opened made her feel terrible.
Sheng An comforted her, "Grandma, I'm so young. If I suffer a little now, things will get better later."
Grandma Sheng thought it made a lot of sense: "That makes sense. Your grandfather and I had a hard life before, but now we're enjoying life with you. When you get to my age, you'll be able to enjoy the blessings of your grandchildren."
Sheng An: "..."
Her son and daughter are nowhere to be seen, and the grandmother suddenly jumps to her grandchildren. Isn't that a huge leap?
Zhang Zhaodi laughed heartily, "An'an is so amazing, she'll probably still be giving money to her grandchildren when she's old."
Sheng An looked at her speechlessly: "Don't just tease me, you haven't settled your life's most important matter yet."
Let's first sound out Zhao Di's opinion and see what her attitude is towards Da Kui.
Grandma Sheng also looked over: "Yes, tell me what kind of young man you like. An'an's aunt knows a lot of people, maybe she can find someone suitable."
Zhang Zhaodi was somewhat tempted.
During their conversation, she learned that the Zhang family was in the pork business, and almost all the customers who came to their stall to sell meat were acquaintances of the Zhang family.
Zhang Zhaodi didn't mince words and openly expressed her thoughts: "I just need to find someone who is a good match for me, someone who knows how to manage a household, and preferably someone whose elders are easy to talk to and won't make my wife miserable."
Sheng An and Grandma Sheng exchanged a glance, and Grandma Sheng quickly asked, "What about their appearance and temperament?"
Zhang Zhaodi was momentarily bewildered, then thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "Just don't be like Liu Yong, that womanizer. What good can someone who attracts women be?"
Seemingly feeling that wasn't enough, she added, "I don't want someone gentle and honest; I don't want to start a fight over something so trivial."
Many couples in the village fight, and the women are no match for the men; in the end, it is always the women who get beaten and injured.
She definitely can't marry a man who beats his wife.
Upon hearing this, Sheng An felt that her best friend and her cousin Da Kui had a chance.
Da Kui looks fierce, but he is actually very stable. To put it bluntly, he is simple-minded and not sensitive to many things.
This kind of personality has its pros and cons. The downside is that it makes your wife angry, but you have no idea why she's angry, which makes you even angrier.
Da Kui's strengths are also obvious: he is hardworking and has inexhaustible energy; he has strong execution skills and will do whatever he is asked to do without procrastination or simply passing the buck to others.
He was willing to do the housework that most men would avoid, such as the clothes that the four men wore when they slaughtered pigs. Even the aunt was unwilling to wash them, so the three brothers took turns doing it.
They also take care of cleaning up after the pig is slaughtered. On weekdays, the aunt only needs to take care of the three meals a day for the father and his four sons and lend a hand when they are busy.
Zhao Di is easygoing and doesn't like to nitpick or get stuck on details, so she should be able to get along with Da Kui.
However, nothing is certain yet, and whether it will work out depends on whether the two people are compatible.
Judging from their first meeting this morning, Zhao Di probably doesn't have a good impression of Da Kui.
Fortunately, my aunt is a good person and we don't need her to get involved for now.
Otherwise, if things don't work out in the end, she'll be caught in the middle and feel very awkward.
On the other side, Xu Jinnian and his son led Master Jiang and his party to the front yard.
There was a lakeside house in the front yard with a beautiful view, which was converted into a private room. The decorations and furnishings were all original and it was perfectly suitable for entertaining guests.
Standing by the window, looking at the scenery outside, Tan Zhenlin couldn't help but exclaim, "This house is really nice!"
He came from a good family. After he came to Qingzhou to study under the Master, his family built him a house, but it lacked the spiritual charm of this place.
Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua, who were standing nearby, shared the same feeling and were very curious about how this house came to be.
Their family's power was not as great as the Tan family's, but they were still quite influential in Qingzhou City. There were other families with larger and more exquisite courtyards, but those belonged to the entire family and were not their private property.
Old Xu's family was of modest means; they had lived in that simple little courtyard for over a decade and it was impossible for them to suddenly be able to afford this house.
Despite their curiosity, no one dared to ask.
Xu Jinnian made no attempt to hide anything and proudly explained the origin of the house: "As you all know, the Ding family did my wife a great favor. This house is a thank-you gift from Master Ding to my wife."
What? A thank-you gift from Master Ding?
Tan Zhenlin and the other two were shocked and suspected that this cunning guy was trying to fool them again.
But apart from this explanation, there seems to be no other reason why the dead fox became rich overnight and owned such a large mansion.
Tan Zhenlin couldn't contain himself and asked, "What exactly did my sister-in-law do for the Ding family?"
It's true that the Ding family is extremely wealthy in Qingzhou City, but people with a lot of money aren't stupid; they wouldn't just casually spend money on a mansion worth thousands of taels of silver.
Tan Zhenlin was extremely curious.
Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua couldn't hide their gossip and looked at Xu Jinnian, waiting for him to reveal the answer.
Xu Jinnian, however, kept everyone in suspense, and slowly said, "You'll find out in a while."
Ding Tianci is still recovering, and before he is fully recovered, Master Ding will not make a fuss about it. Naturally, he will not reveal other people's private affairs.
"Old Xu, you're really not a good friend!"
Tan Zhenlin rolled his eyes at Xu Jinnian, wishing he could crack open Xu's head to find the answer.
Hanging in there like this, will he be able to sleep tonight?
In retaliation, Tan Zhenlin didn't hold back and started mocking: "Since it was given to your sister-in-law by the Ding family, what are you so smug about?"
This damn fox actually feels a sense of accomplishment from living off a woman?
Xu Jinnian's brows furrowed with increasing arrogance: "An'an is my wife, and we share both riches and poverty. As for you... ha, a bachelor, nobody cares."
This "ha" was extremely insulting, and Tan Zhenlin's face instantly turned red with anger:
"You cunning fox, you're lucky to have married your sister-in-law. If she had met me first, you'd be that bachelor no one wanted!"
Oh my god, Lao Xu went too far! We were classmates, how could he say such a thing about him?
Xu Jinnian looked Tan Zhenlin up and down, until Tan Zhenlin felt a chill run down his spine.
After a long pause, he said, with a mixture of smugness and mockery, "You're just a kid who hasn't even grown his first hair yet. My wife won't give you a second glance."
Tan Zhenlin: "..."
Grass!
Xu Jinnian was too lazy to continue chatting with his childish junior brother, so he called to Fang Qingzhou and Ye Yunhua, who were watching the show, "Please sit down first, I'll go serve you the dishes."
Tan Zhenlin suppressed his resentment, glared at him, and pointed at his retreating figure: "That damned fox serving us food? Oh my, the sun must have risen in the west!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he had said something pointless, slapped his forehead and said, "My sister-in-law's family is short of servants. I should have brought a few servants with me to give to her."
Fang Qingzhou laughed and said, "They're going to open a business, so they'll definitely hire people to do things for them. Don't worry about it."
Tan Zhenlin chuckled: "That's true. I'll definitely come and show my support once this place officially opens to the public!"
After saying that, he didn't forget to urge his two senior brothers: "You two are local bigwigs in Qingzhou City, with more connections than me, an outsider. Remember to spread the word about your sister-in-law."
Fang Qingzhou glanced at him: "Do you really need to tell me that?"
The most famous restaurant in Qingzhou City is Zuixianlou, which claims that its head chef is a descendant of the imperial chefs of the previous dynasty.
He used to go there often, and the food was indeed much better than that of other restaurants.
But it's only slightly better; compared to my younger siblings' skills, it's barely passable.
To put it simply, you get tired of the food at Zuixianlou after eating it too much, and you won't come back for a while.
I was so full from the food my sister-in-law made, but I still couldn't help but want to have a couple more bites.
During his half-month stay in Jinling, he had been thinking about it several times, and could only satisfy his craving with the braised peanuts left by the dead fox.
Fang Qingzhou could foresee that once Shengyuan gained fame, people would have to wait in line to taste Sheng'an's cooking.
Ye Yunhua remained silent until Tan Zhenlin couldn't help but elbow him, asking, "What are you thinking about?"
Ye Yunhua shook his head, a slight smile on his lips: "Having known Jin Nian for so long, this is the first time he's shown such a childish side to us."
Just now, I was arguing with Zhenlin, and I was just like a three-year-old.
Tan Zhenlin and Fang Qingzhou exchanged a glance, both showing expressions of disbelief.
People with wives are terrifying!
There were two tables set up, in two adjacent private rooms.
Master Jiang and his four disciples naturally sat together, accompanied by Xu Jinnian and his son.
Xu Cuilian's family of five, Zhang Zhaodi, and the two elders of the Sheng family sat at one table, accompanied by Sheng An, the owner of Sheng Garden.
Each table served twenty dishes, both hot and cold. The moment they were all brought to the table, the various aromas blended together, which would normally be overwhelming, but instead completely whetted everyone's appetite.
Before Xu Jinnian could even extend an invitation, Tan Zhenlin and his two companions, one on each side and one behind, dragged Master Jiang to the table.
“Master, last time the three of us came to mooch a meal from your wife, we forgot to bring you a portion, and you punished us by making us copy the scriptures ten times. This time, please take your seat first, and you can’t make excuses to punish us again.”
Master Jiang, whose shortcomings had been exposed: "..."
Three traitors!
The punishment must be severe!
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