Chapter 67: Madam Liu asked Cai’er to cook

In the living room.

Ou Zilong was a bit worried. “Grandma, it’s Cai’er’s first time coming to our house, how can you have her cook for us? Aren’t you just deliberately making things difficult for her?”

“What do you know?” Lin Zhenzhu replied. “If she wants to enter our Ou family, she needs to be able to handle these small tasks. If she can’t even do this, then she doesn’t deserve to step through this door. Don’t forget, you promised me that you would let me test her however I saw fit. If you’re worried that she can’t handle it, you can send her back now.”

Ou Zilong had no reply and could only silently pray that Cai’er would pass Lin Zhenzhu’s test.

Earlier, when Lin Zhenzhu had called Ou Zilong over, it wasn’t because she had something to say to him; she simply didn’t want him to go help Cai’er.

—

In the kitchen.

After Madam Liu left, Cai’er glanced at her, confirming that she had indeed left, and walked over to the sink.

She looked at the ingredients in front of her; there were about ten or so items, and none of them had been prepared. What made it worse was that there was a live fish that hadn’t been slaughtered. She knew how to eat fish, but killing it was as if they were asking her for her life.

Fuming, she muttered angrily: “Old hag, making me cook for you all, not even afraid I’ll poison you and kill you.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough that the people outside wouldn’t hear.

Cai’er assumed that the people outside couldn’t hear, which is why she dared to speak so recklessly.

Normally, she was as gentle as a well-behaved kitten in front of Ou Zilong, which made him think of her as a kind-hearted, good woman.

If Ou Zilong were to see her now, with such a vicious expression, he wouldn’t know what to think. Would he regret ever thinking she was a good woman, wondering if he had been blind to fall for someone like her?

Cai’er was losing her mind in the kitchen, but she couldn’t refuse. To successfully marry into the Ou family, she had no choice but to force herself to cook.

When it came time to kill the fish, the blood splattered all over her face, and she nearly threw the fish into the trash in frustration. But when she thought of the position of Madam of the Ou family, she endured.

While cooking the dishes, Cai’er was splashed with scalding hot oil on her hand, and the pain made her want to throw the pot. But when she thought about the position of Madam Ou, she gritted her teeth and endured it.

After more than two hours of effort, Cai’er finally managed to prepare a meal.

However, the kitchen was in a disastrous state—there was trash and water everywhere on the floor, and the tiles on the walls were stained with blood and filth.

The dishes she had made were equally unappetizing. The rice was half-cooked, and the vegetables were either burnt or undercooked, making them practically inedible.

Cai’er herself was also a mess—her hair was disheveled, and she was covered in dirt, completely unrecognizable from the glamorous image of a top star.

When Ou Zilong saw her in this state, he didn’t know why, but he found himself feeling somewhat repelled.

He had always thought he loved her, but at that moment, he suddenly realized that perhaps his feelings for her weren’t as strong as he had imagined.

Cai’er, embarrassed, apologized in front of everyone: “Grandma, I’m sorry. I haven’t cooked in so long, so… that’s why it turned out like this.”

“Great-grandma, how can we eat this? It looks so disgusting.” Zhao Jiaying innocently voiced her honest opinion.

As Cai’er’s boyfriend, Ou Zilong naturally couldn’t undermine her, so he comforted her: “It’s okay, it didn’t turn out well this time, but you can learn slowly in the future, right, Grandma?”

Lin Zhenzhu didn’t directly answer their question. Instead, she said: “With the dishes looking like this, they definitely can’t be eaten. Just throw them away.”

She then instructed the housekeeper, Madam Liu: “Madam Liu, bring up the lunch that was prepared in the kitchen. Yingbao must be hungry by now.”

Upon hearing Lin Zhenzhu’s words, Cai’er was furious. She clenched her fists in anger. She had worked hard all morning on this meal. Although it couldn’t be eaten, she still expected at least a few comforting words. Yet Lin Zhenzhu didn’t say anything and immediately dismissed the fruits of her hard work, throwing it all away. Wasn’t this clearly embarrassing her?

But she couldn’t lose her temper, because she knew that, in her current position, she had no right to get angry in front of Lin Zhenzhu.

Instead, she forced a smile and said: “Grandma, I’m sorry. I didn’t do well this time, but don’t worry, I’ll work hard to learn how to cook in the future.”

Lin Zhenzhu replied indifferently: “Come, come, let’s eat now!”

After saying that, she didn’t even look at Cai’er and began eating with Zhao Jiaying.

Cai’er looked at Ou Zilong, feeling a bit aggrieved.

Ou Zilong patted her on the shoulder and comforted her: “Let’s just eat first.”

After lunch, Cai’er went to the bathroom. Looking at her disheveled appearance in the mirror, she desperately washed her face with water.

After tidying herself up a little, she gave a resentful look and muttered to herself: Lin Zhenzhu, you old hag, what you did to me today… once I marry into the Ou family, I’ll make sure you pay for it in full.

When she came out of the bathroom, Cai’er was startled because Lin Zhenzhu was standing at the door, staring at her intently.

“Grandma… are you going to the bathroom?”

She felt a sense of relief that she hadn’t spoken those curses out loud earlier, or else Lin Zhenzhu might have heard them.

“I was waiting for you. Come with me, I have something to ask you to do…”

“Okay, Grandma.”

Cai’er followed Lin Zhenzhu outside the villa. As they passed the living room, she noticed that Ou Zilong and Zhao Jiaying were not there.

“Grandma, where are Zilong and Yingbao? I don’t see them.”

“They went out to play.”

“I see…”

While Cai’er was in the bathroom, Lin Zhenzhu had asked Ou Zilong to take Zhao Jiaying out shopping, deliberately sending him away. 

Ou Zilong hadn’t wanted to go, because he was worried that Cai’er would be left alone and wouldn’t be able to handle things. With him there, Lin Zhenzhu might not make it too difficult for her.

But when Lin Zhenzhu shot him a sharp look, Ou Zilong had no choice but to obediently take Zhao Jiaying out.

Lin Zhenzhu had also specifically instructed Zhao Jiaying to keep track of the time and only return after five o’clock. Zhao Jiaying nodded in agreement: “Great-grandma, don’t worry, Yingbao will complete the task.”

Lin Zhenzhu led Cai’er to the flower room.

Cai’er was amazed when she saw all the various beautiful flowers in the room. “Grandma, there are so many flowers here, they’re so beautiful!”

“I didn’t bring you here to look at the flowers, I brought you to work. See those flower seedlings over there? Take them one by one, plant them in those small pots, and then water them. Be careful not to kill the flowers. These are rare species, very precious. I’ll go take a nap for a while and come back later.”

Cai’er forced a smile and responded: “Okay, Grandma.”

But as soon as Lin Zhenzhu left the flower room, Cai’er immediately changed her expression, revealing a sinister look. She muttered under her breath: “It would be best if you never woke up, dying in your sleep…”

After venting her frustration, Cai’er reluctantly began the task Lin Zhenzhu had assigned.

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