Granny Liu was packing clothes for tomorrow when she looked up and saw the old man swaying back and forth in front of her several times. She couldn't help but ask, "What are you trying to do? You're making me dizzy. Just say what you want to say."
Xu Hongshan plopped down on the bed, his voice muffled, "You know, Lao San and the others are really something. Why do they have to call you over for everything? They could have just brought the kids back. It's so lonely leaving me all alone at home."
Granny Liu glanced at him. "What? You're afraid you can't sleep alone?"
"I'm not afraid, but I'm not used to you not being around. We've never been apart before, so this sudden separation is really hard for me to adjust to!"
Granny Liu felt the same way. The two had never been apart since they got married. When she went to Tianshui City to take care of her third son's child, she was worried that her husband wouldn't eat well or take good care of himself.
However, she still reassured him, "It's okay, it'll only be a week or so. If it really doesn't work out, I'll bring the child back. I've already talked to Nianmei, you can eat at her house for the next few days, and I'll call you when we get to Tianshui City."
"No, phone calls are expensive, don't call."
As Xu Hongshan was speaking, he suddenly remembered something and whispered, "When you get to Lao San's place, you must have a good talk with him. He absolutely cannot be like that kid Xu Weiming. If he keeps a mistress outside, I'll break his legs."
Granny Liu rolled her eyes at him and said with dissatisfaction, "Is he still your own son? Don't you know what kind of person the third son is? Why do you compare him to Xu Weiming? It's really bad luck."
"Hmph, I'm warning him in advance not to get cocky after making a little money. The original wife is always the best." Xu Hongshan isn't afraid of anything else, but he's afraid that his third son will want another son after he gets rich, and then start causing trouble. He absolutely won't allow that to happen.
"Alright, alright, I've delivered the message. He won't do it." Granny Liu knew that the old man was thinking of his unruly father again. When he was young, he relied on his good looks to attract all sorts of women. Even after marrying her mother-in-law, he was still restless. He often flirted with the widows in the village, causing the old woman to be heartbroken and cry, and he would throw tantrums and act like a rogue.
The old man had seen it all since he was a child and knew that all the blame lay with his deadbeat father, which was why he so despised men for attracting women.
...
It rained today, and the night market was closed for the day, so Xu Minghan and his friends were able to rest at home for a rare day.
Taking advantage of the free time, Zhang Xuemei took the two Xu brothers with her to buy goods, leaving only Xu Mingwan and her niece Xu Linlin at home.
Zhao Juan, holding a few bunches of green vegetables, knocked on the Xu family's door. "Xuemei, are you home?"
Xu Mingwan was holding and comforting the child inside when she heard the voice outside the door. She didn't recognize who it was at first, but she quickly went to open the door.
"Oh, it's Sister Zhao! What's up? Is something the matter?" As soon as Xu Mingwan opened the door, she saw Zhao Juan standing at the door with a bunch of green vegetables in her hand, smiling.
When Zhao Juan saw that it was Xu Mingwan who opened the door, she peeked into the house while saying, "Xiaowan, are you home alone? I need to talk to your sister-in-law about something, can I come in and check on her?"
As she spoke, she tried to squeeze in, and Xu Mingwan, who was holding the child, was caught off guard and was pushed in.
As soon as Zhao Juan entered, she went straight to the kitchen, wanting to quickly peek at their braised food recipe.
"Hey, Sister Zhao, what are you doing? I haven't even washed the dishes from this morning. They're a mess. What's there to see?"
Xu Mingwan followed them in with the child in her arms. She had heard from her sister-in-law about Zhao Juan and her husband's plan, and knew that they definitely wanted to steal their recipe. But Zhao Juan was going to be disappointed this time. After all, the ingredients they usually used were kept in the top cabinet. She couldn't very well just rummage through them, could she?
"Oh, right? Where did your sister-in-law and the others go? I just wanted to put the vegetables in the kitchen for you." Zhao Juan quickly glanced at the kitchen. Apart from a few bowls and some oil, salt, and vinegar on the stove, there was nothing else. Only the aroma of braised food could be smelled in the air.
Xu Mingwan watched her come out of the kitchen, then lock the kitchen door before carrying the sleeping child to the room. She put the child on the bed before returning to the living room.
When Zhao Juan saw that Xu Mingwan had locked the kitchen door, her expression turned somewhat unpleasant. Could it be that they were deliberately keeping an eye on her? Surely they didn't know that she wanted to secretly learn the techniques?
Xu Mingwan closed the door to the room before she had a chance to answer Zhao Juan's question, "Sister Zhao, you've come at a bad time. My sister-in-law and the others have gone out on business. Tell me what's wrong, and I'll tell her later."
Zhao Juan just made up an excuse; she didn't have anything to ask Zhang Xuemei, but since she had already been asked, she could only make up a story.
"I had nothing to do today, so I came to drop by and ask if your sister-in-law wanted to rent a plot of land to grow vegetables. The vegetables I just brought are ones I grew myself, they're very fresh."
"Oh, is that so? Okay, I'll tell my sister-in-law when she gets back." Xu Mingwan casually agreed. His sister-in-law was earning money by setting up her own stall, so she didn't have time to grow vegetables.
Zhao Juan was unwilling to have found out nothing today. Her eyes darted around, and looking at the young Xu Mingwan in front of her, she had an idea. So she smiled and asked, "Xiaowan, how old are you this year? Do you want your older sister to introduce you to a good man? The most important thing for us women is to marry into a good family, don't you think?"
Xu Mingwan smiled slightly and declined, saying, "No need to trouble you, Sister Zhao. I'm not in a hurry. My parents told me to listen to my third sister-in-law. She will oversee things for me."
"Oh dear, you're wrong about that. You can't rely on just one person! I'm not saying your third sister-in-law is bad, but look at her, she's just taking care of the kids all day and doesn't know much about this area. Where would she find someone to help you?"
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