Fang Lu was still rambling on about 'what kind of wife to look for,' but Fang Qiao was already annoyed and didn't want to pay attention to him anymore, so she said, "Alright, stop nagging. I'm just telling you this: I'll only let you stay for one meal today. After you finish eating, you better get the hell out of here."
"No, sis." Upon hearing this, Fang Lu immediately became anxious: "Our mom is furious at home. If I go back now, she'll definitely beat me to death. You at least have to let me stay here for one night."
Fang Qiao stopped, turned around, and asked him expressionlessly, "Why did she hit you?"
Fang Lu's eyes darted around, and his tone became impatient: "Didn't I just tell you? She's angry because the wedding fell through. Why are you still asking?"
"That can't be right?" Fang Qiao looked him up and down with a suspicious gaze and said, "According to you, the main reason the marriage didn't go through was that the bride's dowry was too high, and the main responsibility for not reaching an agreement wasn't you. Even if Mom is angry, she shouldn't be this angry, right? Tell me, what other key information are you hiding?"
"No, no." Fang Lu felt guilty and didn't dare to look Fang Qiao in the eye. Just then, she smelled a meaty aroma mixed with herbs in the air, so she changed the subject and said, "Hey, second sister, can you smell that? Who's stewing big pieces of meat? And they even put Chinese medicine in it?"
Fang Qiao couldn't help but roll her eyes: "I learned to cook with Grandpa for a few years when I was a kid, and you couldn't even smell what this smells like?"
"That's all from when I was a kid. So many years have passed, I don't even touch a kitchen knife anymore, who would remember what this smells like?" Fang Lu waved her hand and asked Fang Qiao, "Second Sister, you could smell it?"
Fang Qiao hummed in agreement.
Stewed ox penis, you know.
It also contains goji berries, codonopsis, and red dates, which are said to nourish the kidneys and enhance male virility; it's very nourishing.
She has been smelling it on and off for almost a month now.
Li Dan is ruthless. In order to have a child, she stews this bull penis soup every few days, not afraid of over-nourishing her husband Liu Dongliang.
If the money runs out, the child isn't conceived, and the man becomes less and less useful despite all the supplements, that would be a real tragedy.
"What does this taste like?"
Fang Qiao didn't say anything, telling him, "Smell it yourself."
Fang Lu sniffed hard, and as he sniffed, he could smell a familiar scent.
"Bullwhip?" Fang Lu finally remembered what this smell was. When he was a child, his deceased grandfather took on a big private job for a period of time, and for more than half a year, the kitchen at home was filled with this smell.
It's just that so much time has passed that he couldn't remember it right away.
Fang Lu chuckled immediately, his flirtatious gaze constantly drifting towards Li Dan's yard. He lowered his voice and teased, "Second Sister, your neighbor certainly knows how to enjoy life!"
Fang Qiao didn't say anything, pushed open the door and entered the courtyard, and Fang Lu hurriedly followed.
As soon as he entered, his face showed the same surprised expression as Yang Fengxia's when she first came. "Second sister, your house is so spacious."
His attitude immediately became enthusiastic, looking around carefully: "Oh my, there's even a flush toilet in the bathroom. These things are expensive. I have a junior high school classmate whose dad got a promotion and was allocated a new house. It cost several hundred yuan to install this toilet in the bathroom."
"Really? I didn't know, it was already here when we moved in."
Fang Qiao said it casually.
At this moment, Cheng Baidong came out of the main room. Fang Qiao asked him to greet Fang Lu, while she went into the kitchen and said to Xiao Jing, who was cooking inside, "Xiao Jing, add an extra spoonful of water to the pot. My younger brother is here; he'll be eating here tonight."
"Okay, sister-in-law." Xiaojing nodded, then asked, "If you cook an extra bowl of rice, do you need to add another dish?"
"No need. He came empty-handed, so he's not a proper guest. There's no need to treat him specially."
In their past life, the siblings almost became enemies. In this life, Fang Qiao was already being kind enough to treat him to a meal out of consideration for their blood relation. Adding more dishes? He didn't deserve it.
In the main room, Fang Lu and Cheng Baidong exchanged a few simple pleasantries before falling silent in unison.
Fang Qiao's attitude towards her family was clear, so Cheng Baidong had no need to please his brother-in-law. He simply focused on holding An'an and playing with the child.
Fang Lu felt a little awkward and didn't dare to speak to Cheng Baidong first.
I used to hear my sister-in-law complaining about my second sister and brother-in-law all the time, and I almost thought they were poor relatives from the countryside who came to freeload. But when we actually visited, I realized they weren't poor relatives at all.
Look at where they live and the new bicycle in the yard; they might be living a better life than his family.
The two looked at each other in silence, and before long, dinner was served at home.
As soon as the food was placed on the table, Fang Lu's expression turned sour.
There were only two simple dishes on the table: one was sweet and sour poached eggs, and the other was smashed cucumber. They ate cornbread and drank millet porridge.
The dishes were exactly the same as what they usually ate at home.
Fang Lu originally thought that since he was a guest from his wife's family, his second sister would at least prepare a meat dish to treat him, but to his surprise, a plate of sweet and sour poached eggs was enough to satisfy him.
So, while Cheng Baidong was taking Tian Tian out to wash her hands, Fang Qiao said with some dissatisfaction, "Sister, I'm a guest of your family, after all. Good wine and good meat are one thing, but there should at least be some meat, right? A plate of poached eggs and a plate of smashed cucumbers, isn't that too vegetarian?"
Fang Qiao pursed her lips and glanced at Fang Lu sideways: "When visiting someone's home, you should bring a gift. Did you bring one?"
Fang Lu chuckled twice and said in a sticky tone, trying to build rapport, "Second Sister, we're siblings. With a relationship like ours, why would a younger brother need to bring gifts when he comes to visit his older sister?"
"What's our relationship? We haven't seen each other for five or six years, so don't try to get close to me. Who do you think you are, showing up uninvited?"
Fang Qiao didn't tolerate his bad habit. "Eat if you want, or get out now."
"I'll eat, I'll eat. Fine, I'll eat, okay? Why are you being so fierce?" Fang Lu pouted and couldn't help but lecture her again, "Second sister, you're being too fierce now. You get angry before you've even said two words. That won't do. After all, men prefer wives who speak softly and gently. If you're always so fierce, who wouldn't get annoyed after a while? What if another gentle and considerate woman appears outside? Be careful that your husband doesn't change his mind again."
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