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It turned out to be Zhao Hao coming home from school. The two smiled and nodded.
"I'm here to freeload a meal today. My dad's cooking skills have remained consistent for years."
"You brat, I'm already being generous by feeding you enough to help you grow up."
"Hehe, of course I'm grateful to you, but today I want to try some authentic food."
Zhao Yuetong came into the living room and said, "Dinner is ready."
Wang Xinyi decided to make dumplings because there were too many people and it was difficult to prepare the ingredients. So when she saw that there was beef and onions in the kitchen and many people who could help with the cooking, she decided to make dumplings.
"Aunt Wang, would you welcome me to come and freeload a meal?" Zhao Hao sidled up to Wang Xinyi and asked her in a slightly coquettish tone.
"Of course you're welcome. Please sit down. We're just in a rush today, so we don't have any other dishes. We'll have dumplings for now."
"Aunt Wang, what kind of filling are the dumplings? Why do they smell like meat?" Cheng Guangxu entered the dining room after washing his hands and smelled the aroma of meat.
“Beef and onion, that’s sure to be delicious,” Dong Yuping gave Cheng Guangxu.
"Everyone, please squeeze in and sit down. If there aren't enough chairs, use stools," Wang Xinyi called out again.
Twenty large plates of steaming dumplings were placed on the table. Zhang Hongmei estimated that there were at least thirty dumplings on each plate, but looking at the men here, she felt that it was definitely not enough. There was no way around it; people with big appetites would definitely not be full.
Wang Xinyi also thought of this, "You guys eat first, I'll go make a few more pancakes."
Everyone advised Wang Xinyi not to use it, but in the end Zhang Hongmei pulled her to sit down.
Zhang Hongmei only ate ten before putting down her chopsticks. "Everyone, please help yourselves. I'm full."
Nobody has time to pay attention to her anymore; everyone's busy eating dumplings.
The girls ate much smaller portions, but definitely more than Zhang Hongmei. Each of them ate about fifteen or sixteen pieces. The rest were shared among the men with larger appetites.
After finishing the dumplings on his plate, Zhao Hao picked up two more and ate them.
"Aunt Wang, these dumplings are so delicious! My dad only makes them for me once a year on New Year's Eve, and the first time he made them, they all turned into soup."
Once Zhao Hao had finished eating, he began to reveal his father's secrets.
Zhao Tiancheng ignored him and ate his dumplings slowly and deliberately. His focused and appreciative manner made it clear to everyone that he was savoring the food.
"Hehe, I'm glad you like it. Is that enough? There's more here."
"I'm full, I really can't eat anymore. Aunt Wang, can I come over for dinner every week from now on? Any kind of food is fine."
"Sure, you can do the same. Come back for dinner every week whenever you have time."
Everyone happily agreed. They had only eaten two meals, and they were already imagining what the meals would be like in the future. Of course, it would be best to improve their lives every week.
The men volunteered to wash the dishes, and Zhang Hongmei was very pleased with their actions. She found Zhao Haozheng quite amusing; he kept clinging to Wang Xinyi, following her around like a child following his mother.
Upon having this thought, Zhang Hongmei paused for a moment. From what the father and son had just said, she could roughly guess that it was a family of two men, one old and one young. The more she looked at Zhao Haozheng, the more she felt that he seemed to be severely lacking in maternal love.
Could this guy be trying to make Wang Xinyi his mother? This thought startled Zhang Hongmei. But if that were true, it wouldn't be bad. Zhao Tiancheng and Wang Xinyi were about the same age, and Zhao Tiancheng seemed polite and well-maintained, without the potbelly common in the US these days. He was quite pleasing to the eye.
Wang Xinyi is only fifty years old, but she's very well-maintained and looks only around forty. Imagining the two standing together, they seem quite well-matched. It would be good if Wang Xinyi could find a companion in her later years so she wouldn't be lonely.
Everything was tidied up, and everyone sat in the living room chatting.
Zhao Hao was subtly trying to find out information about Wang Xinyi.
"Aunt Wang, are your family at ease knowing you've come to the US? Also, your foreign language is so good, it's like you've lived here before."
"Hehe, I used to be all alone, but from now on, my family will be Hongmei."
"I'm sorry, Aunt Wang, I brought up something that saddened you."
"It's alright, it's alright. It's been decades. I even lived here for a few years before, so language is no problem for me, and I'm very familiar with this place."
"So you've been here before? We came here when I was five years old, and I've lived here for sixteen years now, until I'm twenty-one."
"Hehe, it's great here, you can receive a good education."
“But I miss home. My mother passed away before we came here, and I don’t even know what she looks like anymore,” Zhao Hao said, sounding particularly aggrieved.
Wang Xinyi affectionately stroked his head, without saying anything.
Zhao Tiancheng sat on the sofa to the side, looking helplessly at his son, wondering what was wrong with him today.
Zhang Hongmei had guessed Zhao Haozheng's thoughts. Very good, finding a mother for himself, this kid has potential.
Wang Mingxia nudged Zhang Hongmei with her elbow. "Hongmei, are you going to the dormitory tomorrow?"
"Yes, I will go. The school has arranged for me to stay in a double room by myself. Although my home is not far from the school, it is still better to have a dormitory if I come back late due to special circumstances or want to rest at noon."
But if someone else moves in, I'll give up the dorm. I really don't feel comfortable sleeping in the same room with other people; I don't feel safe.
"Hehe, our school arranged it quite well for us. The three of us who started working shared one room, and Zhao Yuetong and Miao Xinyue shared another.
"Hehe, this is a great arrangement. This way, everyone can look out for each other."
"Yes, even though we didn't apply to the same major, we can live together."
Jiang Mingyan joined in, "Hongmei, do you go home every day?"
"Yes, my elders at home were worried about me living outside, so they specially arranged for me to stay here. I'm an obedient child, and besides, Aunt Wang is lonely by herself."
Zhao Haozheng immediately chimed in, "Aunt Wang, if you're lonely all by yourself, could my dad and I move in? That way, we can all look after each other, is that alright?"
"Hehe, I have no objection. My job is to take care of Hongmei's daily life. That's up to her to decide."
Zhao Haozheng then looked at Zhang Hongmei properly, and was immediately amazed by her beauty. This girl was so beautiful! In the three meetings he had made that day, he had maintained his gentlemanly conduct and had not paid close attention to the girls here. He never expected that there would be one who was so beautiful and elegant.
"Hehe, as long as Mr. Zhao doesn't find it troublesome, there's no problem. There are plenty of rooms here, so you can stay here."
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