Luo Xiaoxue said she was bored and only took on some private cooking jobs every few days. Besides, Lu Mingfeng could help her out, so she wasn't busy.
He politely declined the offer to ask for help.
Mingqiao Sauce Factory moved to the back of this building, and was usually looked after by Third Master Lu. He simply moved in there as well, and received a monthly salary of two hundred yuan. Third Master Lu would send eighty yuan back to Old Lady Ruan every month, which was considered fair treatment.
But Old Mrs. Ruan and her two sons were not satisfied with this; they wanted even greater benefits.
They were particularly impressed by how comfortable the place was, with vegetables growing without needing watering, as there were dedicated water pipes for spraying. The toilets weren't the smelly, maggot-infested latrines typical of rural areas, but rather ceramic squat toilets that were cleaner than mirrors, requiring only a quick flush.
They didn't want to leave for another second.
Liu Yan looked disappointed and quickly said, "Really? If you need to hire someone next time, please remember me. We have another child in our family, so our expenses have increased. Mingfeng and I need to go out and work to make ends meet."
Lu Mingfeng sat in a rocking chair, cracking sunflower seeds and spitting them all over the floor. He said lazily, "Ayan, don't worry, we're family. Whenever my brother and sister-in-law get something good, they'll definitely remember their own family first."
Luo Xiaoxue smiled apologetically and hurried into the kitchen to cook. Lu Siqiao followed her in and told her about the shop.
"You're becoming more and more opinionated, but I'm just worried that those people are unreliable. You're still young, so remember to keep your eyes open and don't get fooled." Luo Xiaoxue didn't mean to scold her, but reminded her to focus on her studies, etc.
Lu Siqiao smiled and helped pick vegetables, wash rice and cook. When she saw that she was about to kill a chicken, she quickly said, "Mom, they just arrived, so you're treating them to good food and meat. If you can't have meat and fish for every meal later, they might talk about you."
Luo Xiaoxue thought about it and agreed, then quickly said, "Then there are only these chickens, ducks and fish in the garden. If we don't kill the chickens, what will we eat?"
"How about steaming a fish, stir-frying a chili pepper with shredded pork, and the rest can be vegetables like eggplant? Just make the portions bigger," Lu Siqiao suggested.
At dinner time, Lu Mingfeng called Third Master Lu back for dinner.
Grandma Shao and the others were starving and eagerly awaiting a feast, but to their surprise, the dishes served were nothing more than ordinary steamed fish and stir-fried pork. They couldn't even bear to kill a chicken, which left them quite dissatisfied.
"Hey, I see the chickens in the orchard are growing really well, why don't we kill one and have a taste?" Grandma Ruan asked.
Those are all roosters, with beautiful feathers, and they can even fly up to fruit trees. They're obviously free-range, so they must taste great.
Lu Siqiao whispered, "Grandma, those chickens are all on a fixed number, exclusively supplied to Boss Cai's restaurant. Their head chef has to catch dozens every day. Unless Boss Cai asks us to, we only catch fish to enjoy on ordinary days."
Grandma Ruan picked up a piece of fish and ate it. It was so delicious that she almost choked on it. Luckily, she swallowed it after eating two mouthfuls of rice. She complained, "You don't have to be so honest. Just say that the chickens you raised ran away, or that the living died. Who will care?"
"I think this meat is incredibly fragrant, and this chili sauce is much better than what you buy outside." Lu Mingyuan dipped a spoonful of chili sauce into his rice and ate it, only to be urged by Grandma Ruan, "Second son, why are you eating sauce? Eat more meat!"
Even Liu Yan couldn't maintain her composure and silently buried herself in her rice.
The mother and her two children did not consider themselves outsiders at all.
Lu Siqiao ate a few bites of rice and went back to her room to do her homework.
After finishing their meal, Master Lu and his son still had to check on the chickens and patrol the surrounding area.
After Grandma Ruan and her two sons had eaten and drunk their fill, Lu Mingyuan went to the orchard and picked a few guavas. He took a bite and found them to be surprisingly crisp, sweet, and delicious.
He picked more than a dozen, and seeing that the mangoes were also huge, he climbed the tree and picked a few back.
Seeing that Luo Xiaoxue and Lu Siqiao had gone back to their rooms, he slipped into Grandma Ruan's room and, without bothering to wash up, urged the two of them to eat fruit quickly.
"These fruits are so delicious. I'll ask your older brother for one of each kind to plant back home, so we can have fruit every day," Grandma Ruan said, munching on some fruit as she calculated.
They were actually quite full from dinner, but they couldn't resist the temptation of fruit. Each of them ate a guava and a mango, and were still thinking about picking a whole sack full to take back home.
Soon after, their faces turned pained.
"My stomach hurts—" Liu Yan said, touching her belly and sweating profusely, "Am I going into labor?"
"What are we waiting for? Hurry up and find your older brother to take you to the hospital! Ouch, my stomach hurts too..." Lu Mingyuan was about to say something when he suddenly felt a pain in his stomach and clutched it, saying, "What's wrong? Could the food we ate tonight be poisoned?"
"Ouch, my stomach hurts too!" Grandma Ruan cried out.
Lu Mingyuan rushed out to find Luo Xiaoxue and questioned her about whether she had poisoned the food.
"Xiaoxue, what are you up to? You actually poisoned the food!" Old Mrs. Ruan, abandoning her motherly heart, revealed her true colors and scolded us harshly, "We're just here to stay for a few days, how can you be so petty and intolerant!"
Seeing their pale faces, Luo Xiaoxue cried out that she was innocent, "Mother, I didn't! We ate those dishes too, and nothing happened!" Ignoring the argument, she hurriedly ran to find Master Lu and his son.
Lu Siqiao realized there was more to the story, ran to Grandma Ruan's room, and, furious, laughed, "So, you stole fruit from the orchard that was sprayed with pesticides. How were you going to tell us?"
Upon hearing that pesticides had been sprayed on the fruit trees, Old Lady Ruan and the others were filled with deep regret.
Lu Siqiao picked up a guava, smelled it, and said coldly, "You ate it without even washing it, no wonder you have stomach aches!"
"How was I supposed to know you sprayed pesticides? You didn't even tell me! Are you trying to kill people?" Unexpectedly, Lu Mingyuan turned the tables and accused him.
Just then, Lu Sanye and his son, who had rushed back, overheard this. They said coldly, "There are bugs on this fruit. Which family doesn't spray pesticides? You're the only ones who stole it and then turned around and accused others. Get out of here right now, go to the hospital, and don't come back again!"
Lu Mingfeng drove the car over and took them to the People's Hospital.
He didn't return until dawn: "I had an acute attack of gastroenteritis and ate too much."
Master Lu said to Luo Xiaoxue in a low voice, "Pack their things out, I'll send them over later."
Luo Xiaoxue hurriedly asked, "Father, what if Mother disagrees?"
She was also terrified by what Grandma Ruan and her son did.
If anything happens to Liu Yan, her family will not have peace.
"Let them rent a place outside, so that they won't complain and blame others if something happens, harming themselves and others," Master Lu cursed.
Lu Siqiao pulled Luo Xiaoxue into the house to tidy up, winked at her and said, "Mom, I told you, it's easy to get along, but hard to live together. I'd rather stay far away from these kinds of relatives."
Want to stay and work? Screw you!
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