Qin Xiaoyu barely slept last night. The masseuse's technique was gentle, and she quickly couldn't take it anymore. When she woke up, she found that both beds next to her were empty, and she was covered with a white towel blanket.
She quickly sat up, and the masseur who was supposed to be massaging her was waiting nearby. Seeing this, he hurried over.
"Miss Qin, please don't rush, get up slowly."
She rinsed herself again, dried her hair until it was half dry, and then came out wearing a towel bathrobe. It turned out there were other things to do.
Mrs. Fang and her third sister had already finished preparing and were having afternoon tea with Mrs. Luo.
"Come and eat something first, it takes a lot of energy," Madam Fang said with a tender gesture.
"I'm so sorry, I fell asleep. Why didn't you wake me?" Qin Xiaoyu was really hungry, so she didn't stand on ceremony, sat down, and picked up a macaron.
“If you’re tired, you should rest. Anyway, we don’t have anything else to do, so why should we call you?” Madam Fang’s gaze lingered on Chun Xiaoyu, refusing to look away, making Chun Xiaoyu feel increasingly uncomfortable.
Qin Xiaoyu still remembered the afternoon tea etiquette she had seen online. She was told to take small bites of macarons and not wolf them down. Although she was starving, she remained very reserved.
I must say, the cloyingly sweet macarons actually taste quite good when paired with black tea.
"Qin Xiaoyu is from the North. Does 'North' refer to Beijing?" Mrs. Luo asked, somewhat curious about her background.
"Not Beijing, somewhere further north," Qin Xiaoyu replied frankly.
"Madam Fang, you're so lucky! Where else could you find such a wonderful granddaughter-in-law?" Madam Luo was clever; seeing that her guest wouldn't say more, she didn't press the matter. Seeing Madam Fang's doting gaze towards Qin Xiaoyu, she naturally chose to say the nicest things.
"I'm so lucky to have married into such a good family." Qin Xiaoyu immediately pushed Madam Fang forward.
"Little Fish, I'm going to make some noodles. Would you like to try?" Third Sister stood up.
"I'm afraid of pain, no." Qin Xiaoyu waved her hands repeatedly.
The third sister had already gone over to sit with her master. Her face was first covered with a thick layer of powder. The master held a thread in one hand and bit the other end of the thread in his mouth, quickly flicking it across her face until it was as smooth as a peeled egg.
My third sister used to have a problem with excessive body hair, but after this makeover, she looks much more radiant.
"Little Fish, why don't you give it a try?" Third Sister persisted.
"I'd better not." Qin Xiaoyu refused decisively. She knew something about noodle-making; it could easily cause skin irritation, and she couldn't take the risk.
After resting enough, the three of them took a car home. When they entered, Mrs. Fang looked tired and leaned on Qin Xiaoyu's hand. The two sat close together, and Mrs. Fang suddenly asked in a low voice, "Are those two children your own?"
“Yes.” Qin Xiaoyu was surprised for a moment, then immediately replied.
"Your figure doesn't look like it at all. You still look like a young girl. You must know how to take good care of yourself," Mrs. Fang muttered. Qin Xiaoyu blushed.
"What are you saying? Huh? They're all so beautiful, they went to Mrs. Luo's place?" Upon hearing the voice, A Lei rushed over and snatched Qin Xiaoyu away from Mrs. Fang.
"I didn't say anything. I'm tired, I'm going upstairs to rest. You all go and have fun," Mrs. Fang said magnanimously, waving her hand. Qin Xiaoyu wanted to help her upstairs, but A Lei was already impatient and dragged her out.
Mrs. Fang stood on the stairs, watching Qin Xiaoyu's back, shaking her head repeatedly. "With such a small waist and hips, how did she give birth? I originally thought she might have had a C-section, but after looking at her body today, there's no scar anywhere. It's really strange."
A Lei led Qin Xiaoyu to his house, where a table of food had already been set out.
"You're smart!" Qin Xiaoyu cheered and pounced on him. She had been setting rules all afternoon and was starving.
"Eat slowly, don't choke." A Lei handed her a glass of water.
"Mrs. Fang is truly cunning..."
"You still call her Mrs. Fang now? Aren't you afraid of getting scolded?"
"Oh, I was wrong, it was Grandma..."
"She's cunning by nature, but what did she do that makes you want to tell me?"
"She..." Qin Xiaoyu then realized that these words were inappropriate to say. Her face immediately turned red again.
"Why are you blushing? What's wrong? Anyway, I know that no matter what challenges Grandma set for you, you passed them all smoothly." A Lei suddenly leaned down and kissed her red cheek.
Qin Xiaoyu pouted, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed, and wiped her mouth with her hand.
"What kind of attitude is this? Are you trying to make me take this seriously?" A Lei pretended to be annoyed and squeezed down next to her.
"No, no." Qin Xiaoyu saw the fire burning in his eyes and was afraid that he would not be able to resist and would cross the line again.
"What did I do that you don't want to talk about? Tell me then." It was as if A Lei had dozens of hands; no matter how she tried to defend herself, there was always one place she couldn't reach.
Fortunately, the sound of a car came from outside, indicating that Commander Zhou and his men had returned. Qin Xiaoyu then got up, straightened her clothes, and hurriedly ran out.
“Little Fish, you look radiant!” Zhou Xing’s mother noticed the difference at a glance.
"Grandma took me to get a beauty treatment." Qin Xiaoyu took the lollipop from her little sister and kissed her hair.
A Lei had already arrived. He naturally took the little sister's hand and led them into the house.
"Boss, are you hungry?" Qin Xiaoyu checked the time; there was still a while before dinner. Commander Zhou hadn't been eating much these past few days, and she was a little worried.
"Whether I'm hungry or not, I can't say for sure," Commander Zhou sighed.
“You’re a soldier, after all. You endured eating compressed biscuits and cornbread on the front lines, so why can’t you endure this now?” Zhou Xing’s mother said.
"What's wrong?" Qin Xiaoyu sensed something was amiss in his words.
"Little Fish, it's not that I'm a picky eater, but I really can't eat this Shanghai cuisine. It's all sweet! Even the fish is sweet, how can I eat this!" Commander Zhou complained.
"Big sister, I don't like the food either," Qin Xiaoyu sighed.
"How about we find a Northeastern restaurant tonight?" A Lei had an idea.
"It's no use. Restaurants in Northeast China just make modified dishes, like adding sugar to Northeast cuisine. Don't resist anymore, I've already accepted my fate." Third Sister came out from behind and made everyone laugh with her words.
"What should we do then? Tell the chef not to add sugar?"
"He can make things without sugar, but they'll taste terrible!" Third Sister must have experimented with it.
"That's easy. If you want to eat Northeastern food, let's make dumplings." Auntie led Chen Ma and Xiao Zichen in.
"How could I have forgotten Aunt Chen's cooking skills?" Qin Xiaoyu's eyes lit up.
Hearing that they were going to make dumplings, Mrs. Fang, who was lying upstairs, came down to watch. It was agreed that they would be made in her aunt's kitchen, but Mrs. Fang thought the space was too small and insisted on moving them to the main building's dining room.
The chefs behind, hearing that someone wanted to use the space to cook, were curious and joined in the fun. It got quite lively; a dozen people gathered around the long table to make dumplings.
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