Li Mai exchanged a few words with Zhou Tao and Zhou Heng, then went upstairs to see what clothes the embroiderers were making.
At this moment, Lu Qian arrived.
He came from home. His family had made rice jelly today, and he had the cook fill a small bowl with it, which he then carried over in a food box to give to Zhou Tao to try.
At this moment, he was unaware that Li Mai and Zhou Quan had returned. As soon as he entered the door and saw that there were no customers, he placed the food box on the counter and called out to Zhou Tao, "Xiao Tao, come here quickly and see what delicious food your brother brought you?"
Li Mai, who was upstairs inspecting the clothes made by the embroiderers, heard Lu Qian's voice, raised an eyebrow, and continued inspecting.
Zhou Tao looked at him questioningly and walked towards the counter. "What is it, Brother Lu?"
"Take a look, I guarantee you'll like it." Lu Qian quickly moved a chair to the counter, then pulled Zhou Tao's arm and led her to the counter, making her open it herself to see what it was.
A few days ago, when he was chatting with Zhou Tao and Zhou Heng, he heard Zhou Tao say that she really liked to eat rice noodles. Unfortunately, in the past two years, the village suffered a disaster, and her mother didn't have time to make them. This year, she has been busy with her sister-in-law's business and hasn't had time to make them either. So, she hasn't been able to eat rice noodles for more than two years.
Lu Qian happened to be making rice jelly at home today, and he thought of Zhou Tao, so he naturally brought some for her.
When Zhou Tao opened it, she smelled the familiar aroma and saw the familiar color. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she exclaimed happily, "Oh my, it's rice jelly! Brother Lu, how did you know that rice jelly is my favorite food?"
Lu Qian chuckled and looked at her with doting eyes, "You mentioned it a few days ago, have you forgotten? We made some at our residence today, so I brought some for you. Try it, it's not too cold yet, it was still a little warm when I came out."
"Hehe, thank you, Brother Lu." Zhou Tao said happily, expressing her gratitude.
"You don't need to thank me, brother. If you want to eat anything in the future, just tell me, and I'll definitely get it for you," Lu Qian said in a doting tone.
Zhou Tao chuckled twice, "Okay, thank you so much, Brother Lu."
After saying that, she didn't sit down to eat. Instead, she went to the top of the stairs and called out, "Sister-in-law, come down quickly, there's something delicious to eat."
Li Mai chuckled softly, responded immediately, and exchanged a smile with the other embroiderers. After pointing out some areas that needed improvement, she went downstairs.
Lu Qian and Zhou Tao were talking downstairs, which the embroiderers couldn't hear. However, Li Mai was a cultivator, so she could hear them. Therefore, when Li Mai laughed, the embroiderers didn't know what she was laughing about. They only thought that their mistake was very serious, which was why their boss was laughing in anger. The embroiderers quickly and efficiently studied the mistakes and tried to correct them in the next piece.
The moment Zhou Tao called out to Li Mai, Lu Qian's blood ran cold. Li Mai and Zhou Quan were back?
Oh no! Those two shrewd people must have figured out that I was trying to trick their little girl with delicious food. Oh no, I'm doomed!
"Xiao Tao, your brother and sister-in-law are back? Hehe, you guys eat first, I'll go back and get busy." After saying that, he turned around and tried to slip away, but when he turned around, he saw Li Mai leaning on the stair railing, looking at him with a half-smile.
That's it, that's the look on her face. Whenever Li Mai looks at him like that, he knows that she has seen right through his little schemes.
"Hehe, sister-in-law is back. Was your journey tiring? Are you hungry? Do you want to go next door for a good meal?" Lu Qian smiled obsequiously at Li Mai, hoping she wouldn't expose him in front of Zhou Tao.
Zhou Tao didn't notice Lu Qian's expression. When she saw Li Mai coming down, she happily went to the stairs to help her. "Sister-in-law, be careful. Come and try some rice jelly that Brother Lu brought from his house. I just smelled it, and it smells just as good as the rice jelly my mother makes."
Li Mai smiled and nodded, "Okay, Young Master Lu, thank you!"
"Hehe, sister-in-law, don't be so polite. I'll go back and get another pair of chopsticks!" After saying that, he turned around and ran back to his own restaurant to get chopsticks.
Zhou Tao took out a pair of chopsticks from the food box and handed them to Li Mai, saying expectantly, "Sister-in-law, try this and see if you like it. If you do, ask Mom to make it for you a couple more times when you get home."
Li Mai smiled and picked up a piece of food, first feeding it to Zhou Tao, who was looking at her with bright, sparkling eyes, before taking a bite herself.
Mmm, it really is delicious!
However, this food is considered cooling in nature, and since she is currently pregnant, she doesn't dare to eat too much cold food, fearing it might be bad for the baby.
When Lu Qian returned with a few pairs of chopsticks and bowls, he saw Zhou Tao staring at the rice noodles, while Li Mai was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, where's my sister-in-law? Isn't she eating?" Lu Qian asked, walking towards the stairwell, wanting to call Li Mai down to eat.
"Your sister-in-law took a few bites, worried that the cold food would be bad for the baby. Have you eaten yet? Would you like to eat with us?" Zhou Tao asked him.
"Okay, let's eat together."
Lu Qian happily served a few half bowls to the waiters and Zhou Heng so they could also try some. Then he lowered his head and sat down next to Zhou Tao to eat from the bowl together.
After they finished eating, Lu Qian cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, told them to get back to their work, and then quickly took the food box and left.
After he left, Zhou Heng and the waiters wiped their mouths and washed their hands before continuing with their work.
Zhou Heng had just gone out to deliver goods for a customer. When he returned, Zhou Quan had already left and was not in the shop. Only Li Mai and Zhou Tao were busy working.
Li Mai asked him a few questions about whether he was settling in well here. Zhou Heng said he was doing very well, adding that he now not only recognized the fabrics but also knew the names of different styles of dresses.
He was also learning to use an abacus from Zhou Tao.
Li Mai smiled and said that this was good, and told him to study hard, because their shop would be busier and there would be more things to do in the future, and he would need to know a lot of things. Zhou Heng solemnly agreed.
He still practices calligraphy and learns to read every night.
During this time, he felt very fulfilled, and his mind was no longer only thinking about what kind of wife he would marry, or whether the harvest in the fields would be good next year.
His main concern now is that he knows too few characters, his handwriting is too ugly, and he is not familiar with the abacus and often makes mistakes. He should continue to study hard and strive to do everything perfectly so as not to embarrass his good friend Zhou Quan.
He had promised his sister-in-law that he would do good deeds, and he also knew that Li Mai was in charge of Zhou Quan's family, so he tried his best not to hold Zhou Quan back.
Li Mai didn't know what he was thinking, but she knew he was studying so hard. She felt that as long as someone was willing to work hard and wasn't afraid of hardship, she was willing to lend a hand so that they could live a better life through what they learned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
