Ke Meiyu smiled and pushed him out of the kitchen: "Fifth Brother, don't be in a hurry. You'll have plenty of opportunities to show your virtuousness in the future."
With no one to bother her, she unceremoniously ordered from her older brother: "Brother, I want to eat stir-fried loofah with eggs, stir-fried cucumber with meat, spicy rabbit, stewed pork ribs with potatoes, and tofu boxes. I had someone bring me a pound of pork belly today, and I'd also like some braised pork!"
"Steam some rice in a wooden bucket, and make some sweet corn soup!"
Ke Yuanda was a little confused. "Girl, can't we eat the same thing every day? There are so many fancy dishes."
"Big brother, I've been looking after the kids all day, and I wanted to treat myself to something nice tonight..." Ke Meiyu pouted, her index fingers circling in a gesture of grievance and disappointment.
“It’s just a few dishes,” Ke Yuanda immediately surrendered.
The old lady had already prepared the ingredients during her free time in the afternoon, so he could just put them in the pot to cook.
After being trained by the girl for half a month, Ke Yuanda's cooking skills improved considerably.
Seeing that her brother could handle it all by himself, Ke Meiyu smiled and offered everyone some of the yam cakes and pumpkin cakes she had made.
She also took a piece and ate next to Qin Yuanjiu, saying, "Brother Jiu, it's not that I'm too lazy to cook for you, but we'll be having some important guests coming over later. I need to give you a chance to shine, and I'll make it up to you later."
Qin Yuanjiu ate the sweet and soft pastry with gusto, "Hmm, it's good that you remember."
"That's all," he said. "The pastries are good today. I'm really hungry after a long day. This is perfect for filling my stomach."
Ke Meiyu smiled, pursing her lips, "Then I'll make some every day from now on, so you can have hot and fragrant pastries when you come back in the afternoon."
As she was speaking, she saw Li Juanmei hesitating at the door.
Ke Meiyu quickly stood up and ran over, "Sister Mei, what brings you here? Welcome, welcome! Come in quickly, you haven't eaten yet, have you? My older brother just said he wanted to show off his cooking skills."
"You'll have a taste later!"
Li Juanmei asked in surprise, "Your older brother can cook?"
“Of course,” Ke Meiyu said proudly, puffing out her chest. “The men in our Ke family are very loving towards women. My five older brothers are good at cooking and housework, but they are a bit proud and don’t easily let others know.”
“Come on, let me show you,” she said, pulling Li Juanmei to the kitchen doorway.
Li Juanmei saw Ke Yuanda, tall and strong, slightly bent over in front of the stove, wearing a blue apron, stirring with an iron spatula.
It's said that women who are serious are beautiful, and men who are willing to cook for their families are no less so.
Smelling the enticing aroma of food filling the room, Li Juanmei, who also has a foodie nature, felt her cheeks burning and her eyes kept glancing at people.
Ke Yuanda's cooking wasn't just for show.
He simultaneously controlled two pots and tended to the firewood, chopped the vegetables into uniform sizes and thicknesses, and added seasonings in an orderly manner, as if this were his territory, where everything was done as he pleased.
He turned his head and saw two little girls staring at him expectantly. His cold, hard face instantly melted into a smile. He then said apologetically to Li Juanmei, "Oh no, Comrade Li, I was so busy today that I forgot to get my lunchbox."
She hurriedly looked away, then smiled and said, "We get off work early, so the round trip is good exercise. It's not that far."
"Okay, you go inside with my sister first. It's too smoky here. I'll take you there after we finish eating."
Ke Meiyu's eyes kept darting between the two of them.
Girls mature earlier and are more sensitive, and they rarely come into contact with men other than their fathers and brothers.
Li Juanmei is a sales clerk, and she still has this opportunity, but she is serious and responsible in her work, has a positive attitude, and rarely makes any mistakes.
It's probably difficult to encounter someone in the countryside who makes you think differently.
Having seen so many simple and honest people, Ke Yuanda stood out from the crowd with his handsome appearance, imposing figure, and domineering masculinity, which were no less than those in the city.
Not to mention he's a prospective college student from the provincial capital and he's good at housework!
As for his older brother, Ke Meiyu had a bit of a headache. His silly appearance clearly showed that he hadn't figured things out yet, and he really treated Li Juanmei like a younger sister.
She pulled Li Juanmei inside to play, giving the old lady a knowing look.
The latter immediately understood and went into the kitchen to sigh.
"What's wrong with Grandma? Who upset you?" Ke Yuanda asked curiously while cooking.
"Who else could it be but you good-for-nothing sons!" She glared at him. "Look at the people you hang out with, how many of them are still single?"
“How many times has your mother gotten sick because of this? Our rural areas are different from the city. Men here believe in establishing a career before starting a family. In the village, if a man this old is not married, people will say that you have something wrong with him and that we are too picky.”
Ke Yuanda chuckled and shook his head: "Grandma, that's ancient history."
“My siblings and I are going to study in the provincial capital, how can we be in the mood to find partners? After I graduate and get a job, I'll find you a granddaughter-in-law from the city, how about that?”
The old lady looked at him with surprise: "Oh my, you actually know how to find a wife? I thought you were planning to settle down with your brothers."
Ke Yuanda's face darkened. "Grandma, although women are troublesome and delicate creatures, it's okay to keep one at home and spoil her. I'm not that unconventional as to stay single for life!"
Ke Meiyu and Li Juanmei, who had come back to get the pastries, overheard these words.
Li Juanmei's long, curved eyelashes trembled slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
Back inside, Ke Meiyu rested her chin on her hand and leaned closer to Meizi, "Sister Meizi, are you hot? Why is your face so red?"
Hearing this, Li Juanmei blushed even more and stammered, "Yes, yes, I'm quite tired after walking all this way."
After she finished speaking, she nodded seriously in agreement with her reason.
Ke Meiyu continued, resting her chin on her hand, "Sigh, I'm so envious of Sister Mei for having such a compatible sister-in-law."
"Since ancient times, the problems between sisters-in-law and mothers-in-law have gone hand in hand. I have five older brothers. Who will save my child?"
Li Juanmei lowered her head even further and whispered, "Yu Bao'er, your brothers will all be successful when they go to university in the provincial capital. They'll definitely find good partners."
"What does finding a wife have to do with education? It's not that people who are more educated are necessarily virtuous, nor that people who are less educated don't know how to be filial to their mothers-in-law."
"Our family has very simple requirements for our future sisters-in-law: they just need to not look down on me and be good to my brother."
Li Juanmei couldn't help but chuckle: "Yu Bao'er is so good, why would anyone dislike you?"
Ke Meiyu scratched her head. "I eat a lot, even more than my brother. I don't want my sister-in-law to be so angry when I visit her house because of my big appetite."
Li Juanmei was amused and laughed heartily.
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