Chapter 19: This Family Is Hard to Please  

Cheng Fangping pressed Qian Lai back into her chair, finally allowing a faint smile to appear on her face. “They’re all elders. Meeting you for the first time, they naturally have a lot of advice to give. Consider it tough love. Why are you getting worked up? You need to steady your temper.”  

After exchanging glances with Gu Weiguo and the others, she asked Qian Lai, “Can you understand Shanghainese?”  

Of course she could!  

The modern Qian Lai was originally born in Shanghai and only moved to Beijing with her family when she started elementary school.  

“I don’t understand.”  

Cheng Fangping was satisfied with her answer—just as she had expected.  

Immediately, the Gu family began conversing in Shanghainese.  

“Mom, she looks too unruly, and her temper is quite fiery. Will she obediently stay by Big Brother’s side?” Gu Yue said.  

“As long as she listens and can relieve our worries, why does it matter what she looks like?”  

“Someone from a small town might not necessarily be obedient. Fourth Sister-in-law, you should keep Hanchuan’s entire salary under your control.  

Better safe than sorry. If Hanchuan can’t move, over time, what if she gets ideas and benefits her own family?” said Fifth Aunt Gao Zhen.  

“As for the ‘Three spinning things and one sounding thing’ for their wedding, let’s not bother adding them. She’ll be busy taking care of Hanchuan all day anyway and won’t have a chance to use them,” Fifth Uncle Gu Weidong chimed in.  

“She’s not even nineteen yet, tsk tsk, with that fox-like appearance. Who knows if she’ll end up cuckolding Hanchuan in the future!”  

…  

“Enough! Is this how elders should speak? An eighteen-year-old girl, leaving her hometown behind, willing to take on the responsibility of caring for a paralyzed patient—that alone is commendable!”  

Second Uncle Gu Weijia, who had remained silent until now, interrupted the Gu family’s nonsense with a stern expression.  

“She’s helping share our burden. I advise you all to be more generous!”  

With a serious expression, Second Uncle turned to Gu Weiguo. “Old Four. We’ve met her now. I think this girl is quite clever and has her own opinions. Since we’re entrusting Hanchuan to her care, we should trust her—if we don’t, we shouldn’t use her at all.”  

Once Gu Weijia spoke, Gu Weiguo and Gu Weidong listened respectfully, not daring to interrupt.  

“If you don’t approve of her, let her go back as soon as possible. If you want to keep her, then stop making things difficult for her with all this gossip. That’s my opinion. I have a meeting to attend, so I’ll take my leave.”  

With that, he stood up, walked over to Qian Lai, and handed her a red envelope, speaking in Mandarin: “Child, traveling all this way alone to a strange place isn’t easy. Take good care of Hanchuan. If you need anything, just tell the family.  

This is a gift for meeting you. Don’t think it’s too little—take it.”  

“Thank you, Uncle Gu.”  

Gu Weijia and his daughter returned her friendly smile before leaving directly.  

Seeing that Second Brother had spoken, Gu Weiguo also spoke awkwardly: “Hanchuan’s chances of recovery now are very slim. For Xiao Qian to willingly serve him for life is truly not easy. Let’s see how she performs in the future.”  

“Hmph, if Big Brother weren’t paralyzed, someone like her with only a middle school education would never have been allowed into our Gu family!” Gu Yue put away her fake smile and complained in Shanghainese.  

“Someone like her is easier to control—what do you know? Don’t say such things in front of her from now on. We still need to coax her into working tirelessly to care for your brother.”  

While warning Gu Yue, Cheng Fangping also took out a red envelope from her pocket. “This is a small token from Hanchuan’s father and me. Take it.”  

Her smile still didn’t reach her eyes.

Qian Lai quickly took out some local specialties from Nan City from her bag and held them in her hands. “Thank you, Uncle and Auntie. I’ve also brought some Nan City specialties for you to try.”

Cheng Fangping glanced sideways, the corner of her lips curling slightly, without even lifting a hand. “Give them to Aunt Zhang,” she said.

Then she addressed everyone, “Come, let’s go for dinner.”

At the Gu Family dining table.

Gu Weiguo sat at the head of the table, with Cheng Fangping and their two children on his left. On his right were his fifth brother’s family. Qian Lai was seated at the far end, next to Gu Yue.

“Qian Lai, can you cook?” Cheng Fangping asked.

“I can make a few dishes.”

“Oh? Then you can handle breakfast tomorrow. Hanchuan has no appetite lately. If you’re a good cook, we’ll feel more at ease.”

“No problem.”

“Wonderful. We’ll look forward to tasting your skills then,” Gu Yue said with a meaningful smile.

Just then, Aunt Zhang began serving the dishes.

Salad, steak with pasta, and a serving of borscht for each person.

In this era, it was quite rare for an official’s family to serve Western cuisine for dinner.

“Qian Lai, get a health check-up as soon as possible. We’ll have plenty of meals together in the future, and a health report will put everyone at ease.”

Ah, so they were afraid she had contagious diseases!

Qian Lai sighed inwardly.

“You probably haven’t had these before. Do you know how to use a knife and fork?” Gu Yue asked with a smirk, clearly waiting to see her struggle.

How laughable!

She picked up the knife and fork, cut the steak into small pieces, and ate them slowly without making a sound.

After mixing the salad and tasting it, she said, “Aunt Cheng, if there’s a chance, I can make some Caesar sauce for everyone to try. It pairs well with salad.”

Taking a sip of the borscht, she added, “Aunt Zhang’s cooking is excellent. If no one told me, I’d think it was made by a Russian chef.”

Pleased with the compliment, Aunt Zhang smiled silently and mouthed, “Eat more.”

The Gu family exchanged glances, falling silent.

Gu Weiguo asked with a smile, “Xiao Qian, have you had Western food before?”

“Yes. When I was little, my father’s factory often had Russian engineers, and I learned some recipes from their families.”

“You even know Russian?”

Gu Weiguo was even more astonished.

“I’ve studied a bit.”

Gu Weiguo and his wife exchanged a look. Qian Lai’s performance was somewhat unexpected.

After dinner, Aunt Zhang busied herself pouring tea, water, and cutting fruit for the family.

Qian Lai wanted to help with the dishes but overheard Cheng Fangping instructing Aunt Zhang, “Throw away all the utensils Qian Lai used. She hasn’t had her health check yet.”

Well, in that case…

She turned back to the living room. Wouldn’t curling up on the sofa with tea be much nicer?

After an evening of Shanghai dialect listening practice, she finally saw off Gu’s fifth brother’s family.

Cheng Fangping shoved a set of bedding into her arms and said, “There are no spare rooms at the moment. You don’t mind making do for the night, do you?”

Following her pointing finger, Qian Lai saw—wow! A Harry Potter-style cupboard under the stairs.

So, in the Gu family’s eyes, she wasn’t even worthy of the maid’s quarters.

“And here’s the breakfast menu for tomorrow morning.”

Qian Lai took it and was once again amazed!

The neatly formatted list detailed everyone’s breakfast preferences, filling an entire page.

She couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation!

Curled up in her tiny space, she stared at the list—

Gu Weiguo: Rice with stir-fried baby bok choy, pan-fried crispy fish, and braised wheat gluten with four seasons vegetables. Serve at 7:30 a.m.

Cheng Fangping: 2 slices of bread with jam, 2 boiled eggs, unsweetened soy milk (40°C), a plate of greens, one portion of smoked fish. Meal at 6:30 AM.  

Gu Yue: 3 meat-filled buns, one fried dough stick, half a jianbing, preserved egg and lean pork congee (no shredded ginger), crispy pickles (sweet variety, rinsed to remove salt), 250ml milk. Meal at 7:00 AM.  

Gu Hanze: Beef rice noodles (no cilantro), 2 meat-filled baked sesame flatbreads. Meal at 8:00 AM.  

A small note below the table read: To ensure family health, please refrain from outside purchases.  

Qian Lai: This family is really hard to please. I wonder if serving Gu Hanchuan would be even worse!