Chapter 401: Something Seems Off
Chapter 401: Something Seems Off
He Shunyu, Li Xiuxian's sister-in-law, approached Jiang Xia and placed her hand affectionately on Jiang Xia's shoulder. Smiling, she said to Zhou Chenglei, "Ah Lei, this must be your wife, right? I couldn't make it to your wedding because we had a joyous occasion in my family too."
Zhou Chenglei discreetly glanced at the hand on Jiang Xia's shoulder, noticing its weight and the oily residue, likely from handling bones without cleaning her hands. He stood up and said to Jiang Xia, "I didn't have the chance to offer a toast to my sister-in-law at our wedding, so let's make up for it now. I'll offer a toast to my sister-in-law, and you can offer her tea."
Jiang Xia stood up and moved next to Zhou Chenglei, facing He Shunyu with a smile. "I'll offer tea in place of wine to honor you, sister-in-law."
Both of them raised their cups in a toast to He Shunyu.
He Shunyu clinked her cup with theirs and, looking at Jiang Xia, said, "Ah Lei, your wife is so beautiful! Not only is she gorgeous, but she's also talented. I heard she's proficient in many foreign languages, right? You two must have earned a lot of money from interpreting at the Suigou Fair, right? That's impressive! I don't even know what the Suigou Fair is! Xia, how many languages do you actually master?"
Jiang Xia replied, "Actually, I'm like everyone else; I'm only proficient in one language, which is our mother tongue. I wouldn't say I'm proficient in any others."
"Education makes all the difference; you're so eloquent! You and Ah Lei are truly a match made in heaven! You're both talented. Ah Lei has achieved so much, and so have you. He's only just returned from his military service, and he's already become a ten-thousand-yuan household, the third-richest in the city! He's been on TV and in the newspapers! You're the most talented person in our area!"
Zhou Chenglei, growing impatient with the small talk and not wanting Jiang Xia to stand for too long, pulled her close and guided her back to her chair.
Zhou Fu spoke up, "Ah Lei is ranked third because the truly wealthy didn't bother with this. What talents does Ah Lei have? Xia is the talented one; her abilities surpass his."
"Our in-law father is just being modest!"
Just then, a waiter brought soup, and Zhou Chenglei took Jiang Xia's bowl to serve her some. "Sister-in-law, the fish soup here is quite good. Please have some while it's hot!"
To prevent He Shunyu's hand from landing on Jiang Xia's shoulder again, Zhou Chenglei sat down, his arm resting on the back of Jiang Xia's chair.
He Shunyu smiled, "No rush. It's just been served, and the soup is still hot. I'll have some later."
"Xia, Xiaoxian mentioned that our in-law father brought back a lot of dried fish from his recent deep-sea fishing trip and wants to make multi-flavored baby fish. Can you manage it? I'm free and can help. As you know, I usually prepare communal meals and host banquets for the villagers. My cooking skills may not be the best, but they're still quite decent."
Tian Caihua immediately responded, "You don't need to ask! We've already found someone! Even if we hadn't, my aunt from my mother's side is eager to help!"
The implication was clear: you wouldn't get a turn even if you waited!
Jiang Xia spoke up, "The decision on whom to hire is made by my partner because she's the one handling everything. I only help occasionally, so I don't have a say in this matter."
Even when hiring Fenyi, Jiang Xia consulted He Xinghuan, who approved, saying Fenyi was good.
After all, they had worked together for a long time, and hiring someone she disliked would only cause trouble.
He Xinghuan wouldn't have agreed if she wasn't pleased with the choice.
He Shunyu didn't like Tian Caihua, as they were from the same village and had never gotten along as children.
Ignoring Tian Caihua, He Shunyu addressed Jiang Xia, "You must be moving into your new house soon, right? When will you hold the wedding banquet? I..."
Tian Caihua interrupted, "Don't get your hopes up! We have an uncle in the village who's a chef, and we've already asked him for help! He offered to assist Ah Lei without any payment!"
He Shunyu shot a glare at Tian Caihua.
Zhou Mu laughed, "Sister-in-law, if you're free on New Year's Day, come over with our in-laws for a meal. The whole family will be there!"
Zhou Mu went to consult the fortune teller and selected two dates for the housewarming: New Year's Day and the day before the Chinese New Year.
On the day of the Little New Year, it was too late.
Initially, I was concerned that it wouldn't be ready by New Year's Day, but now everything is prepared.
Moreover, with the New Year's holiday, the second eldest's family and Jiang Xia's parents are all available, so we might as well set it for that day," she said.
The eldest's new ship will also be delivered that day, a double celebration!
He Shunyu couldn't hold back her laughter and said, "This time, I'll definitely make it! Then I'll go back and have some soup."
"Okay," Zhou Mu replied with a smile.
After lunch, the family returned to the village.
Jiang Xia got off the tractor at the production team's entrance and called Jiang Dong.
The Winter Solstice is Jiang Dong's birthday.
The call went directly to Zhang Fuyan's home.
A few days ago, on Sunday, Jiang Xia called Jiang Dong. She called the research institute, but he wasn't there. Then she called his school dormitory, but he wasn't there either. Finally, she called Zhang Fuyan, and that's where she found him.
Today, she decided to call Zhang Fuyan, first.
As expected, Jiang Dong was there.
Jiang Dong happily said, "Thank you, Sister. I've received the birthday gift from you and Brother-in-law! Thank you, Sister! This gift is too valuable; you don't have to spend so much in the future. I'm not going to open a shop with that store, so you don't have to buy me such expensive things in the future."
"It's not a waste if it's useful. You can keep it for rent; that store will definitely be worth money in the future," Jiang Xia said, having sent Jiang Dong a computer as a gift, which she had asked Zhang Rong to buy and mail directly to Jiang Dong.
The last time Jiang Xia spoke to Jiang Dong on the phone, she learned that the shop Zhou Chenglei bought last time was also a birthday gift for Jiang Dong, not something Jiang Dong wanted to buy.
Jiang Xia always felt that the two of them were hiding something from her. When she asked, she couldn't get any information. She asked Zhang Fuyan,, but Zhang Fuyan, also pretended not to know anything.
Jiang Xia decided not to bother them anymore; what needs to be known will be known eventually.
"Sister, are you moving into the new house on New Year's Day? I'll go back then."
"How many days off?"
"One day, I'll take one day off."
"Alright!" Jiang Xia also reminded Jiang Dong to remember to eat tangyuan and changshou mian, and then she handed the phone to Zhang Fuyan,.
Jiang Xia and Zhang Fuyan, had a lot to talk about, mainly Zhang Fuyan, doing most of the talking.
She asked Jiang Xia how to make jiaozi wrappers.
The two of them talked for over ten minutes before hanging up.
Jing City
Jiang Dong couldn't help but say, "Every time my sister talks to you, it seems like there's an endless stream of topics! With me, she only says a few words and then hangs up!"
His sister spoke to him for two minutes, but with Xiao Yan, she spoke for almost twenty minutes.
This is too much favoritism!
Zhang Fuyan,: "That's because you don't have much to say. Xia Xia is naturally not a talkative person. When I call Xia Xia, I do most of the talking. Moreover, I'm asking her how to wrap jiaozi, so of course, we have a lot to talk about."
Jiang Dong felt a little wronged, "I have a lot to say to my sister, but every time I speak to her, she says she'll write it in a letter, and recently she's been telling me to pass the phone to you."
Zhang Fuyan,: "You're the one who usually talks too much, and phone calls are expensive."
Jiang Dong: "..."
Does he talk too much? Is that true?
Zhang Fuyan, couldn't figure out that lump of flour!
She wanted to make jiaozi and changshou mian for Jiang Dong, but after kneading the dough all morning, it still wasn't right.
"Did Xia Xia just tell you to eat tangyuan? Let's eat tangyuan today. We have peanuts at home, so I'll make some peanut-filled tangyuan. We won't make jiaozi."
"Okay."
An hour later, Jiang Dong finally got to eat tangyuan and changshou mian.
Looking at the egg-sized tangyuan, he couldn't help but ask, "Is it really cooked?"
"It's cooked! Look, this changshou mian has been cooked so long it's become mush. Try it quickly."
Jiang Dong glanced at the bowl of changshou mian and felt that there was some truth to it.
So he scooped up the large tangyuan and took a bite, but the texture seemed a bit off: "It seems like..." The texture wasn't right!
Before he could finish his sentence, a mouthful of smoke sprayed out!
Zhang Fuyan, got sprayed in the face with flour!
"..."
Friends, Happy Winter Solstice~
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
