Chapter 174

The young man in front of her looked like a mountain when he was still and like a big black bear when he moved.

He was robust and strong, luckily not fat, or he would have looked like a wild boar.

Qin Yilin whispered softly, “Jiajia, just look at how other people feed their children. One of him is almost as big as two of you.”

Ding Jiajia also saw him, her fair and smooth cheeks blushing deeply. Thinking about how she specifically didn’t wear a veil when she went out this time to avoid her mother noticing, she quickly lowered her head.

Beside her, Qin Yilin continued to whisper, “Don’t stand too close later. The contrast is too obvious. Outsiders might think I mistreat you and don’t give you enough to eat and drink.”

Heaven knows, she really put a lot of effort into cooking!

Every meal was different, and she always tried her best.

But for some reason, the more effort she put into it, the worse the food tasted.

The main thing was it was clean and hygienic, but it was terrible.

She didn’t know how those people who made delicious food did it. With the same oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, others could make it taste good, but hers was just awful!

So unfair.

Ding Jiajia softly murmured in agreement.

She also didn’t dare to stand too close.

Hu Wenhua, who was carrying a freshly skinned and cleaned fat rabbit, saw the two figures approaching and deliberately waited.

Whoever entered the courtyard was supposed to close the gate, so he waited to go in together, saving them the trouble of knocking.

As the two got closer and he clearly saw the slender and delicate figure behind the round and kind woman, Hu Wenhua felt his breath stop!

He hastily hid the bloody rabbit behind him, afraid of scaring her.

Qin Yilin, sharp-eyed, noticed his action and asked with a smile, “Young man, I’m here to find Hu Shuiqing. May I come in?”

Hu Wenhua quickly looked away, nodding vigorously, and then, fearing it wasn’t respectful enough, he responded, “Of course! Auntie, please come in first.”

Is this her mother?

Qin Yilin felt that this strong and burly young man was very polite.

Not only did he let her and her daughter go in first, but he also thoughtfully closed the courtyard gate.

He was clearly waiting for them.

Then he ran into the house to inform them.

Qin Yilin’s satisfaction almost overflowed, and she whispered to her daughter, “This boy is not only robust but also well-mannered.”

Her daughter was so beautiful, and he just stared in a daze at first sight, then avoided looking further.

Any man who didn’t make advances towards her daughter was a good one.

Shuiqing already had a good impression of the Ding family, especially after seeing Ding Auntie’s decisive skill in administering herbal medicine to Fan Qian and her group last time. She had been admiring her ever since.

Unexpectedly, they came to visit proactively now, and Shuiqing ran out joyfully.

As soon as she came out, she was stunned by the delicate and beautiful girl beside Aunt Ding.

If a man looked at her daughter like that, Qin Yilin would have smacked him away, but since it was a woman, especially a straightforward and generous one, she just thought Shuiqing had good taste!

Immediately, she categorized Shuiqing as having good taste and cheerfully introduced, “This is my daughter, Ding Jiajia. I brought her over to visit. Jiajia, say hello.”

Hu Wenhua stood silently aside, memorizing this.

“Call me Sister Shuiqing or just Sister,” Shuiqing said, not forgetting the seniority issue in the midst of her busyness!

She wasn’t joking. She had found the reason why her brother was lovestruck.

She definitely couldn’t let her call her auntie.

Qin Yilin thought about the ages. Jiajia wasn’t much younger than Shuiqing’s eldest child, so she should call her auntie. By asking her to call her sister, wasn’t Shuiqing lowering her own status?

People in the village usually liked having seniority and took pride in it. Few would lower their own status.

Shuiqing was really unique.

“Sister Shuiqing,” Ding Jiajia called out obediently.

Shuiqing always felt that beautiful girls were not only admired by men but also by women.

And she was one of them!

Now she added a new criterion: having a sweet voice!

“Good, good, good. I’m making dinner right now. Tonight we’re having roasted whole rabbit and lamb skewers. Stay and eat with us before you go.”

It was their first visit, and they had something to ask for, so how could Qin Yilin have the nerve to stay for dinner?

They explained the purpose of their visit and handed over two jars of honey.

Shuiqing absolutely refused to accept them.

For such a small matter, how could she accept gifts?

However, Aunt Ding was strong from her years of working with medicinal herbs, and she pushed harder. Unsurprisingly, Shuiqing lost the battle—she simply couldn’t outmatch Aunt Ding!

Qin Yilin successfully delivered the two jars of honey to the kitchen and said nonchalantly, “These aren’t valuable things, just a little something to sweeten your mouths. You can’t expect me to take them back.”

Shuiqing wanted to say that this wasn’t something worthless.

On the contrary, it was quite valuable.

Because in her ears, she could hear the shopping mall prompt: “Pure wild honey, 351 yuan per jin, ten jins in total, amounting to 3,510 yuan. Do you want to sell?”

Without thinking, Shuiqing clicked “No.”

This was rare wild honey, pure and natural, without pollution, effective for dry lungs, coughs, dry intestines, constipation, mouth ulcers… it was truly hard to find even if you wanted to buy it!

Thinking about Aunt Ding’s visit and her 3,000-yuan gift, Shuiqing immediately decided to reciprocate with roasted lamb skewers and the whole fat rabbit as a return gift.

She couldn’t let them leave empty-handed, right?

While roasting the rabbit, she took special care to teach the two of them hands-on.

Qin Yilin and Ding Jiajia were very serious in their learning.

Qin Yilin now admired Shuiqing immensely, especially after seeing her five children.

She knew that before they split from the family, these children were malnourished, their cheeks sunken, and far skinnier than her own daughter, Jiajia!

But now, Shuiqing’s two daughters were plump and graceful, and her three sons were robust and had grown much taller. It must be because Shuiqing’s cooking was good after the family split.

If she could learn, even just a few dishes, couldn’t she also make her daughter plump and healthy?

Seeing that the roasting was almost done, Shuiqing turned to the stove to prepare the hotpot base.

Qin Yilin immediately followed.

Shuiqing shared her experience, “This hotpot is simple and delicious to make, perfect for those who aren’t good at cooking.”

Hearing it was perfect for her, Qin Yilin’s eyes lit up. She felt Shuiqing was simply a savior, rescuing her family from terrible meals!

If the seniority weren’t an issue, she would have wanted her daughter to recognize Shuiqing as a godmother.

By the charcoal fire, remaining were Hu Wenhua, Ding Jiajia, and a group of chattering little sparrows.

Really, Hu Wenhua had never found his nephews so noisy.

“How can Mom let you call her sister? Then we can’t call you sister. Calling you aunt or auntie makes you sound old!” Fan He was very dissatisfied.

Fan Hu and Fan Jiang nodded heavily in agreement: “Yes!”

Hu Wenhua: What’s there to agree on? You call me uncle, and it doesn’t make me sound old. Jiajia should call me sister.

Ding Jiajia softly said, “Then just call me Jiajia.”

Hu Wenhua coldly said, “No.”

He hadn’t even called her Jiajia yet.

Ding Jiajia thought he was worried about the boys being impolite, so she looked at him softly and said, “It’s okay.”

In the village, if the age difference wasn’t significant and there was no close blood relation, people usually just called each other by their names.

The girl had fair skin and moist eyes looking at him, and Hu Wenhua felt an unusual warmth all over.