The two chatted for a long time until Lu Jingchuan knocked on the door, holding the child. "Linglong, you and Comrade Xu can talk later. The food is ready. Let's eat first."
"Oh, we were so engrossed in our conversation that we almost forgot about the time."
Gong Linglong immediately pulled Xu Jiayu up and invited her with a smile: "Jiayu, let's go eat first and continue after dinner."
The two of them walked out together. Shui Meirong saw her daughter smiling and seemed to be getting along well with Gong Linglong. Her hands, which had been clenched into fists nervously, slowly relaxed.
Gong Wantang just came out with the dishes and greeted the guests with a smile, "Jiayu, please sit down. Dinner will be served soon."
Gong Linglong pulled her to sit down and said to the elders, "Mom, Aunt Shui, I get along well with Jiayu. Jiayu has been unemployed recently, so I just asked her to come over and accompany me and help me take care of the children."
"real?"
Gong Wantang's eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at Shui Meirong and said with a smile, "Jiayu, thank you so much. Jingchuan is going back to work soon, and my dad, brother and sister-in-law are also going back to Hong Kong City. My mother-in-law is also at work. I'm taking care of the four of them by myself, and it's really a bit too much for me."
"Aunt Gong, I've never taken care of a child before. I'm clumsy and may not do a good job." Xu Jiayu was still a little reserved when facing them.
"No, no."
"Sister Meirong has praised you to me a lot. She said you were very smart when you were little. You could learn anything quickly. When you were five or six, you could cook noodles for her. You also made beautiful dumplings. You were a smart, studious, and skillful girl. You will definitely be a great help to us."
Shui Meirong was very happy to see her daughter finally willing to come out and socialize with others. She also understood Gong Linglong's intention behind this arrangement.
Her eyes were moist, and she placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. Her voice was a little trembling: "Jiayu, your Aunt Gong and Linglong are both kind and good people. If we don't understand something, we can learn from them slowly."
Xu Jiayu nodded, "Okay."
"With Jiayu here to help, we can rest assured when we go to Hong Kong City."
Gong Kaizhou spoke to her gently and kindly, "Jiayu, your grandparents and I are old acquaintances. We've known each other for decades. Over the past twenty years, your grandparents have experienced all the hardships of life, and our Gong family has also experienced separation and death. Now we have finally returned to normal life. Your grandparents treat Linglong as their granddaughter, and you will also be our Gong family's granddaughter in the future. If you have the chance in the future, come to Gangcheng with Linglong and the others. Grandpa Gong welcomes you to visit."
"Thank you, Grandpa Gong." Xu Jiayu stood up and thanked him.
"He's a very polite and sensible child."
Gong Kaizhou praised her and also greeted her with a smile: "Sit down, just treat this place as your home, feel free and casual."
Seeing that their granddaughter finally opened up her heart and the sense of alienation between them had dissipated a little, the two elders of the Shui family were very excited. Old Madam Shui, who was sitting in a wheelchair, held Gong Linglong's hand tightly, and thousands of words of gratitude flowed in her eyes.
Gong Linglong smiled and winked at them. Seeing her mother helping her put the food on the small table, she said to Xu Jiayu, "Jiayu, I'm having the confinement meal, so I won't be eating with you."
"Okay, go and eat." Xu Jiayu smiled shyly.
Lu Jingchuan had put his son back in the crib, served some rice, picked up some vegetables in a bowl, and came to eat with his wife.
Looking at the bacon in Lu Jingchuan's bowl, Gong Linglong's mouth was watering, her eyes fixed on the bacon, and she wished she could use her scissors hand to snatch the piece of meat away.
Her gaze was so intense that Lu Jingchuan naturally noticed it. He immediately stuffed the bacon into his mouth and ate it while laughing: "Linglong, stop staring at what's in my bowl and eat what's in your own pot."
The pork rib soup in front of Gong Linglong was indeed served in a separate small pot, with half a pot of soup and meat.
"Hey, why does the day go by so slowly?"
After only ten days of eating light soup and vegetables, Gong Linglong could hardly bear it anymore. She grew up eating chili peppers in the south and used to be unhappy if she didn't eat chili peppers for a meal. After ten days of confinement, she was almost at her limit.
The others listened and laughed. Gong Wantang was afraid that her son-in-law would spoil her, so she secretly gave her salty and spicy food and called him, "Jingchuan, come over here and eat."
"Mom, you guys eat, I have enough food here."
Lu Jingchuan chuckled softly. Seeing his third son staring at him from the crib beside him, the corners of his mouth curled up. "You guys can't eat anymore. Just drink your milk first."
Since giving birth, Gong Linglong's appetite has returned to normal. One bowl of rice is enough for each meal, and she eats a little of each other dish. She forces herself to drink one or two bowls of these soups that have lactation-promoting effects at every meal.
"Brother Jing, the rest is yours."
Every time she couldn't finish the leftovers, Lu Jingchuan would come to clean up the dishes. He didn't mind her leftovers at all and always emptied the bowl clean.
"Brother Jing, is the bacon delicious this year?"
Gong Linglong had tasted it before she gave birth. This year, she smoked a whole pig in her space. Before she came back, she gave one to each family in the staff quarters with whom she had a good relationship, which made them very happy.
During the Spring Festival, we also gave cured meat and cured fish as gifts to the elders. Some people don’t like the smoked taste, so we gave them another kind of dried flavor.
"It's delicious. Smoke more ribs and pig's feet next year."
Lu Jingchuan loves to eat, and so does Han Ji. When Ji Wei came to pay New Year's greetings a few days ago, he made a cured pork trotter hotpot, and the three of them, master and apprentice, enjoyed it very much.
On the other side, Gong Wantang was also serving food to the guests. She stewed a pot of pork tripe soup at noon and gave Shui Meirong a wink.
Shui Meirong received the signal and carefully brought the warm soup to her daughter. "Jiayu, this is the soup Aunt Wen made. It's nourishing and nutritious. Drink a bowl to warm your body."
"Okay, you eat too."
The dishes in Xu Jiayu's bowl were piled high. They were all picked for her by the elders. They were all meat dishes. Looking at so many meat dishes, her eyes became sore and red.
She had lived with her aunt for years. Although she had a roof over her head, her father gave her very little living expenses, and her aunt's family wasn't well off. They wouldn't buy meat for ten days or half a month. Even if they cooked meat, it was always served to her aunt, uncle, and their children. She was lucky to have a sip of meat soup.
Only those who have experienced it know how depressing and suffocating it is to live under someone else's roof.
"Jiayu, eat quickly."
Shui Meirong saw that her eyes were red, and she must have been thinking of the unpleasant past. In order to prevent her from losing her composure in front of others, she gently patted her on the back to remind her.
Xu Jiayu quickly collected her thoughts, nodded slightly, and slowly ate with her bowl in hand.
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