Gu Lanyan brought in two more pairs of chopsticks, breaking the awkward silence, and said, "Father, Mother, this pineapple is quite sweet, you should try it."
Not wanting to continue the conversation, Zheng Shuzhen ate a piece of pineapple and said, "This new thing is delicious."
Hua Zhongzhi also ate a piece: "It tastes better than the one Fengxiang brought back last time. The one Fengxiang brought back stung my mouth."
Hua Kai only remembered her when she heard the name Feng Xiang. Hua Feng Xiang was her aunt, but she had married into the city many years ago. With her arrogant personality, she would only come back once or twice a year, and even then, she wouldn't visit her own home. Therefore, Hua Kai didn't have much of an impression of her.
She didn't care about people she had no grudges against, but she still told Zheng Shuzhen, who liked to stir up trouble, why the pineapple didn't sting her mouth, so that Zheng Shuzhen wouldn't accuse her of picking bad food for her.
"Soaking this pineapple in lightly salted water before eating it will prevent it from stinging your mouth," she said to Zheng Shuzhen, without using any further address.
Zheng Shuzhen pouted: "You're being so particular about eating? Your family is getting more and more meticulous as you live."
At this moment, Second Uncle Hua Wanhe came in: "Father, Mother, have you told Eldest Brother about that matter?"
He came out with the two elders. They had been wanting to make some requests of Hua Wanjiang, but it wouldn't be appropriate to ask directly. They heard that Captain Ye had brought Hua Kai and Hua Qingyi back with a lot of things, so they found an opportunity and came.
However, Hua Wanhe ran into an acquaintance on the way, so he stopped and said a few words, and arrived a little later.
Zheng Shuzhen sighed and said, "I haven't even said anything yet, but your older brother's child is becoming more and more respectful of elders. I get angry as soon as I arrive."
Hua Kai looked at Zheng Shuzhen and said, "Grandma, respecting elders comes before loving the young. Everything is reciprocal, don't you agree?"
Before Zheng Shuzhen could speak, Hua Wanhe quickly said to her, "Mother, look at you, you always nag. The children are all grown up and have their own ideas. Stop worrying about them. Let's talk about serious matters."
Zheng Shuzhen shook her head with a wronged look on her face, as if she had gone through a lot. Then she said to Hua Wanjiang, "Eldest brother, I may not be the kind of person who speaks kindly, but I did raise you, didn't I? Your father and I are here today to discuss something with you."
Hua Kai also admires Zheng Shuzhen. Every time after an argument, she can act as if nothing happened. She can say this right after the argument. It seems that she is shameless and truly invincible.
Of course, her sons also inherited her shameless personality; the genes are quite strong. She wanted to hear what other shameless ideas they had.
Hua Wanjiang, who had been anxiously waiting, wondering what they were doing there, quickly said, "Let's talk about what's going on and discuss it together. I'll do my best to help you if I can."
This is also the way Huakai taught her father to deal with things: if something happens over there, say this first, and never agree to anything directly.
Zheng Shuzhen looked at Hua Zhongzhi and said, "Old man, this is a matter between the brothers. You are the head of the family, so you should speak."
Hua Kai found it amusing. After all this commotion, Hua Zhongzhi hadn't acted like an elder or head of the family at all. Now he'd been pushed out. It's no joke that having a stepmother means having a stepfather.
At this moment, Hua Chongzhi was like Zheng Shuzhen's tool. He said to Hua Wanjiang, "Hey, eldest brother, you guys make a lot of money at the market. You don't need to hide it from me. We've calculated it, and you do make quite a bit. Anyway, we're all family. I was thinking that making smoked meat pancakes and rolled pancakes must be hard work for you. So, you give the recipe for smoked meat pancakes to second brother, and you two can go to the market together from now on. Your income might not be as much as before, but it will be much easier, right? And you can help each other out when you go to the market together, right?"
Hua Kai knew they weren't up to anything, so she said to Hua Zhongzhi, "Master, this really won't do. This recipe was actually passed down from my maternal grandmother to my mother. It's a family heirloom, and we can't teach it to outsiders."
She didn't need to consider whether what she said to these people was true or false, because there was no need to treat them seriously as human beings since they were so incompetent.
Gu Lanyan was a smart woman, and quickly echoed her daughter's words, "Yes, Mother, this is something that you really can't teach outsiders."
Zheng Shuzhen's expression changed at this moment: "What do you mean? Outsiders? You married into the Hua family, so you're a member of the Hua family now. How dare you call us outsiders?"
Hua Kai also admired Zheng Shuzhen's sharp and nitpicky way of finding fault. She said to Zheng Shuzhen, "Grandma, you're not young anymore. What you're saying makes no sense. Most cooking skills are passed down from mothers to daughters. It's a normal thing. How can you twist it like that? You're stealing someone's job. How can you say it so righteously? Aren't you ashamed?"
Zheng Shuzhen knew she was nitpicking, but she was unwilling to accept that she wouldn't get any benefit from it.
Seeing Zheng Shuzhen's expression, Hua Wanhe quickly spoke up: "Mother, we're discussing this with our eldest brother. We're all family, so let's talk things over slowly."
He was the one who benefited this time, so he was now extremely afraid of any unexpected events and was trying his best to maintain the relationship.
Zheng Shuzhen suppressed her anger and said, "Yes, yes, I'm not good with words, but I'm doing this for the good of the Hua family." After saying that, she suddenly wiped away non-existent tears: "I'm just anxious. Your father and I are not in good health, so we want to see you brothers have some skills to make a living as soon as possible."
At this point, she looked at Hua Wanjiang again: "Eldest brother, for your father's sake, why don't you help your brother out? There are two prescriptions, right? Give one to your brother, not both, is that not okay?"
Seeing Zheng Shuzhen cry, Hua Zhongzhi felt sorry for her and took her hand, saying, "Look at you, why are you crying? Don't worry, the eldest brother isn't an unreasonable person. He can't abandon his younger brother."
After saying that, he looked at Hua Wanhe: "Eldest brother, no matter how many faults your father has, I still raised you, right? For your father's sake, can you help your brother this once? Just this once, don't let your mother worry and get upset because of you, okay?"
Hua Kai is increasingly impressed by Zheng Shuzhen's abilities. This old lady isn't even good-looking, but she's really good at whispering sweet nothings in her husband's ear and has him completely under her thumb.
However, Hua Kai had a plan: to end the matter once and for all, so that they wouldn't use filial piety to threaten her parents again after she returned to the city.
She spoke to Hua Zhongzhi before her father could, saying, "Grandpa, since you've put it that way, we can't refuse to give you face. However, we really can't give you the prescription, but I do have a way to help Second Uncle make money."
Upon hearing this, Hua Wanhe's face lit up with excitement, and he quickly took two steps forward: "Kaikai, quickly tell your second uncle what the solution is?"
Hua Chongzhi and Zheng Shuzhen also looked at Hua Kai with expectant eyes, because Hua Kai was one of the few high school students in the village, and was a farsighted person, so they were waiting for Hua Kai to speak.
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