Are they coming today?
"They'll probably come, right?" Zhang Hongmei was too embarrassed to say it. They don't have to pay for meals here now, and the food is pretty good, so how could they not come?
"Okay, I'll cook the rice in the rice cooker. I really don't need the two of you. The smell of cooking oil will be too strong here, and Sister Wang will feel uncomfortable if she smells it."
The two left the kitchen and sat in the living room, where Zhang Hongmei turned on the television.
"Aunt Wang, you should watch more cartoons, it will make you feel better. And Uncle Zhao, have you read books to the children?"
Zhao Tiancheng put down the newspaper and looked at Zhang Hongmei with a puzzled expression.
"Is it for prenatal education? And Uncle Zhao's recitations will make the baby familiar with them, so when the baby is born, he will be able to recognize his father's voice."
"Is that really true?"
Zhang Hongmei nodded vigorously.
"Wife, let's go back to the room. You lie down, and I'll read to you. I didn't prepare anything today, so I'll just recite the Three Character Classic for the child." After saying that, Zhao Tiancheng helped Wang Xinyi back to the room.
Zhang Hongmei picked up the newspaper on the coffee table, flipped through it, but there was nothing of interest to her, so she decided to watch cartoons instead.
When Cheng Guangxu came out, he saw Zhang Hongmei sitting on the sofa watching TV and chuckling.
He sat down next to her. "Hongmei, is it really that interesting?"
"Hehe. It's alright. This is a cartoon that kids like to watch, so even we old folks can laugh along and relieve stress and fatigue. You can watch it when you're feeling down."
"I'm eating and drinking well now, and I have things I enjoy doing, so why would I be in a bad mood?"
Zhang Hongmei smiled after hearing Cheng Guangxu's words. She liked him for one thing: his pure and innocent nature.
"Okay, if you're not in a bad mood, then you can watch something to make yourself feel better."
Cheng Guangxu decided to end the conversation. "Hongmei, I've added a lot of things, can you take a look?"
"Cheng Guangxu, why are you so insecure?"
"I just lack confidence in front of you," he said with particular self-righteousness.
"I don't want to watch it now, I'll talk about it after dinner."
"Don't you have nothing to do right now?" Cheng Guangxu was displeased. Why was she being so perfunctory? He had worked so hard to create this, hoping to gain Zhang Hongmei's approval, but this woman just said she didn't want to see it.
"I just designed a little game, but my mind is a mess right now, and I can't focus on it. I'll look at it after I finish eating, when I've had enough energy and rested enough!"
"Okay, what game?"
"Go copy it to your computer from drive A on my desk and play with it."
Cheng Guangxu ran upstairs. Zhang Hongmei sighed; finally, she could watch TV in peace.
When Zhao Tiancheng and Wang Xinyi came out, they saw Zhang Hongmei sitting in front of the TV, giggling foolishly. It was really rare to see Zhang Hongmei like this.
Wang Xinyi sat down and watched with the girl. And it was really quite interesting.
Seeing that the two were enjoying themselves, Zhao Tiancheng stopped paying attention and sat down to continue reading his newspaper. But after a while, the two burst into laughter, which made him put down his newspaper and read it with them.
Meanwhile, Kong Yushun and his group were dividing the money in their rented house. They had only bought three times and each of them had already received twenty yuan; it really was a good way to make money.
Now that everyone has received such a large share, they are even more motivated.
Han Guangtai wanted to do more, but Kong Yushun refused.
"That's one way to do it. Besides, isn't it better for us to keep a low profile and quietly make money? If we sell too much, it will attract attention and that won't be good. It's better to maintain the status quo."
"Would that really happen? I don't think it's possible," Cao Binggang said nonchalantly.
Kong Yushun laughed sarcastically, "You guys really forget the pain as soon as the wound heals. What? You've forgotten? Why do you always have this侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality)?"
The others in the room fell silent. Yes, the terrible thing had only happened a few days ago; it was best to keep a low profile.
"Let's go knead the dough and then go to the market to buy vegetables. It'll be easier to get everything ready in the morning," Dong Yuping said, standing up first and heading to the kitchen.
The others also sprang into action; they were running low onions at home and needed to buy meat.
So the group split up. Kong Yushun stayed at home. "Kong Yushun, I don't want to go to Zhang Hongmei's house for dinner anymore. I'll be freezing on the way there and back. It's better to cook something at home. Every time I go there, I feel like I'm begging for food. Although they are still as hospitable as ever, I just don't feel comfortable."
"That's what I think too, but I don't know what they think."
"Don't worry about them, just tell them they're not going."
Also, go buy some lettuce. We'll make pancakes tonight. Even though we don't have soybean paste, pancakes are already salted, so it'll be a bit simple, but it'll be more filling than eating at someone else's."
"Okay, I got it, I'll go buy it now."
Jiang Mingyan and Wang Minxia, who were standing nearby, didn't say anything either. Neither of them wanted to be embarrassed to eat at someone else's house, but the food at Zhang Hongmei's house was just too good. Maybe they could just go once a month to satisfy their cravings.
"Kong Yushun, you should go to Zhang Hongmei's house first and tell her. That would be better. We're not going. We're just worried they might be cooking for us." Dong Yuping remembered this and immediately chased after him to tell him.
"Okay, I'll go to her house first."
By the time Kong Yushun arrived, Shen Yunfang had already started steaming the rice.
"Zhang Hongmei, we won't be coming over for meals during our few days of vacation, so there's no need to prepare our share at home."
"Hehe, don't be shy, the food is ready."
“Really, it’s not necessary. They went to buy groceries and meat, and Dong Yuping and the other two are at home kneading dough. We just felt that if we came out to eat in this temperature, we would be frozen solid by the time we got home, so it’s better to just make do at home.”
Zhang Hongmei nodded. They were right; if another person caught a cold, it would really be a case of more harm than good.
"Senior Kong, wait a minute. The food for today is ready. Take some steamed buns back with you. Aunt Shen also stewed some meat today, so take a pot of that too. The sauerkraut is ready to eat now. You can take a few pieces back with you."
"Okay. That means we don't need to make pancakes tonight. We can just make some porridge when we get back."
Zhang Hongmei nodded and went to the kitchen to prepare. She left only five steamed buns, packed the rest of the food, along with a pot of braised pork and a pot of sauerkraut. That was all she could manage.
"Senior Kong, you should ride your bicycle back. You can take a bag of potatoes with you. You can bring the bicycle over tomorrow when you have time."
"Okay, otherwise I really won't be able to carry it back. I'll come back to deliver the car tomorrow afternoon."
After seeing Kong Yushun off, Zhang Hongmei realized for the first time that she had been too arbitrary. These were not ordinary people.
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