Chapter 119

The hot water bottle was really effective, and before long, Shi Tingyu fell asleep.

She didn’t know how long had passed when she was awakened by intermittent voices outside the door.

The houses on the side of Lu’s Family iron and steel factory were not large, just two rooms, whereas the houses in the residential area for families were considerably larger than those here.

With small houses, voices inevitably carried inside.

She vaguely heard children’s voices.

She groped for the light switch, picked up the bedside clock to check—it was already six in the evening.

In winter, it gets dark around five o’clock, so it wasn’t surprising that it was pitch black outside now.

Shi Tingyu put on her clothes and got up.

But when she got out of bed, she couldn’t help but shiver all over. She felt like eating dinner in bed.

However, considering there were elders at home, she restrained herself from doing so.

In the main room, Lu Weiguo’s eldest brother and his family had come over.

They also brought the blanket given by Uncle Mao.

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, the voices of the people stopped, and they all looked towards the northern room together.

Because she had just gotten up, Shi Tingyu hadn’t tied up her hair yet. She was wearing a nice down jacket and still had a blush on her face from just waking up, which left everyone staring in surprise.

Lu Weiguo reached over and took Shi Tingyu’s hand, patting it gently. “How are you feeling? Are you cold?”

“It’s okay. I felt a bit cold when I first put on my clothes, but I’m much better now.”

Lu’s mother brought a small stool near the stove and said to Shi Tingyu, “Xiaoyu, sit by the stove to keep warm.”

On the other side of the stove was a boy who looked about eight or nine years old. Shi Tingyu thought to herself, this must be Weiguo’s little nephew.

Lu Weiguo introduced Shi Tingyu to his eldest brother’s family. Shi Tingyu greeted them as “Big Brother and Sister-in-law.”

This call finally brought Lu Jianguo and his wife back to their senses.

Lu’s sister-in-law, Qin Ping, felt speechless. This was her sister-in-law whom she had never met?

For the first time, she realized someone could be so beautiful, and in that instant, she keenly felt the gap between them. The clothes she was wearing now were specifically changed into after work; they were her best clothes. She had thought she was dressed nicely, but upon seeing Shi Tingyu, she realized that clothes were just accessories—some people were naturally attractive, even if they wore rags.

When Lu Jianguo finally came to his senses, he smiled and called out, “Brother and Sister,” then reached out and poked his wife, who was still silent, with an embarrassed smile. She also called out “Brother and Sister.”

Lu Jianguo took out a red handkerchief from his pocket with twenty yuan inside.

Likewise, Qin Ping also took out a red handkerchief with twenty yuan inside.

“This is a gift from us, just a small token,” Lu Jianguo said, extending the handkerchief towards Shi Tingyu.

Customs varied from place to place, and Shi Tingyu wasn’t sure if she should accept the money.

Lu Weiguo said, “This is a gift from Big Brother and Sister-in-law. You should accept it.”

Shi Tingyu took the red handkerchief but didn’t open it immediately. She remembered that it wasn’t customary to open red packets in front of the giver.

“Thank you, Big Brother and Sister-in-law. You shouldn’t have gone to this trouble.”

Lu Jianguo and his wife smiled and insisted it was nothing.

Originally, Lu Zhen, who was playing with a Lijian by the stove, finished chatting with the adults and shouted towards Shi Tingyu, “Auntie.”

Shi Tingyu smiled and responded.

Looking at Shi Tingyu’s smiling face, Lu Zhen couldn’t help but say involuntarily, “Auntie, you’re really beautiful.”

Lu Weiguo patted his head, “You have good taste.”

Seeing that the children were addressing her, Shi Tingyu got up and went into the room to take out the red envelopes wrapped in red paper that she had prepared in advance.

She handed the red envelope to Lu Zhen, “Your name is Xiaozhen, right? This is a gift from Auntie.”

Lu Zhen looked at his parents and accepted it only after they nodded.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Shi Tingyu nodded with a smile.

Lu Jianguo and his wife were somewhat surprised. Their son had never said thank you like this before. This was a first.

Instead of opening the red envelope, Lu Zhen handed it to Qin Ping.

Qin Ping accepted the red envelope.

The soup was simmering on the stove, and the other dishes were ready.

Lu Weiguo looked at Shi Tingyu’s loose hair and reached into her down jacket pocket. Sure enough, he found a hair tie.

He gathered Shi Tingyu’s hair together and was about to tie it up for her. Since they were near the stove, he was worried about her hair catching fire. Shi Tingyu hadn’t felt anything special before. Occasionally when she cooked, her hair would loosen, and she would ask Lu Weiguo to help tie it up when her hands were oily.

It was only when she suddenly felt the gaze coming from all directions that she realized she was in her mother-in-law’s house, and there was also her eldest brother and his family next to her.

She quickly reached out and took the hairband back. “I… I’ll do it myself.”

Lu Weiguo nodded and sat back down.

Lu’s mother quietly turned her back, her shoulders shaking slightly, clearly holding back laughter.

It turned out that her youngest son was like this with his wife.

It didn’t take long for the soup to be ready, and Lu’s mother called everyone to eat.

Lu’s mother’s cooking skills were indeed good.

Today she had put in a lot of effort, making both fish and meat dishes.

There were sliced fish in soy sauce, braised prawns in oil, sweet and sour pork, cabbage stewed with tofu, stir-fried bean curd, and a radish bone soup.

With the dishes all laid out on the table, Lu Zhen felt like his eyes weren’t enough to take it all in; this meal was better than Chinese New Year.

If Uncle and Auntie could stay here forever, he could eat these delicious dishes every day.

Northern Chinese people liked to eat wheat-based food, with steamed buns as the staple. Afraid that Shi Tingyu might not be used to it, Lu’s mother made her a portion of rice separately.

Since everyone else was eating steamed buns, Lu Weiguo was afraid his wife would feel embarrassed eating rice alone, so he ate with her.

Lu’s mother first put a big prawn into Shi Tingyu’s bowl. “Xiaoyu, taste Mom’s cooking.”

The glossy prawn looked appetizing and tasted fresh, rich, salty, and slightly sweet when eaten. She generously praised, “Mom, your braised prawns are really delicious.”

Lu’s mother smiled with satisfaction, “If you like it, Mom will make it for you again next time.”

Qin Ping watched with a bit of emotional disparity. But after all, when she first married over, her mother-in-law also treated her like this. She felt she shouldn’t have these emotions.

The family dinner was lively and warm, adding some warmth to the originally cold winter night.

After dinner, Shi Tingyu and Qin Ping offered to help clean up but were sent away by Lu’s mother. “You don’t need to help here. I’ll take care of it.”

Seeing that Shi Tingyu didn’t seem to object, and she didn’t insist on it either, she didn’t insist on it anymore. Instead, she went to the room and took out the gifts for Uncle and his family.

Seeing the not very large clothes, Lu Zhen’s eyes lit up—it must be for him!

Sure enough, his aunt beckoned to him.

Lu Zhen happily ran over and crisply called out, “Auntie.”

Shi Tingyu handed the clothes to Lu’s sister-in-law, “Sister-in-law, this is a dress I bought for Xiaozhen. Please have him try it on for size.”

Qin Ping was a bit at a loss for words, “How… how can this be, it’s too extravagant.”

However, since the clothes were already bought, it wouldn’t be right to ask them to return it. She changed Lu Zhen into it to try it out.

The padded jacket felt soft, and the color was nice. Lu’s sister-in-law calculated in her mind that this outfit must have cost quite a bit of money.