Chapter 64.2

Su Ying looked at the menu and said, “After being on the train for a day and night, I don’t want anything greasy. Let’s go with green pepper pork, cabbage with tofu, and stir-fried bamboo shoots.”

Xu Zhao noticed fish on the menu and added, “Let’s also get a steamed yellow croaker.”

Su Ying worried about wasting food, “There are only three of us. We don’t need four dishes.”

Xu Zhao handed the money and food coupons to the waiter, “You’ve been on the train for so long and haven’t eaten much. Have more food now.”

The dishes arrived one after another. Su Ying tasted the stir-fried bamboo shoots, which had a bit of red oil and was slightly spicy but very appetizing.

“You’re out, and your daughter-in-law is home alone? How is she going to have lunch?”

Xu Zhao, savoring the steamed yellow croaker, replied, “There’s food at home. She’ll cook for herself.”

Su Ying questioned, “Didn’t she have trouble eating because of morning sickness? Can she even stand the smell of cooking oil?”

Xu Zhao was somewhat helpless: “She does not vomit anymore. Mom, you haven’t seen your son for half a year. When you see him, you only think about your daughter-in-law. Can’t you see me?”

Su Ying couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re old enough to not be jealous of your wife. I can see you’re fine, I just asked about your wife.”

Xu Zhao shrugged and said to Xiao Li, “See, this is how a mother treats her son after he’s married. She only cares about her daughter-in-law.”

Xiao Li, holding a bowl, chuckled quietly.

After lunch, they went to the department store and bought some snacks for Xiao Li to take on the road.

Su Ying glanced at the items in the store and said, “The place is small, and the selection isn’t great. Since I brought a lot of things from the capital, let’s use those first and buy more if needed.”

Accustomed to the capital’s department stores, Su Ying wasn’t interested in this small store. The luggage she brought had everything needed for eating, wearing, and using.

Xu Zhao didn’t respond. He approached the counter and asked the sales clerk if they had osmanthus cakes.

The clerk responded indifferently, “No osmanthus cakes, but we have egg cakes that were just delivered this morning. Would you like some?”

Not knowing if Jiang Suihan liked egg cakes, Xu Zhao decided to buy some just in case: “I’ll take a pound and a half.”

If she didn’t like them, they could be given to Lele. That kid will eat anything.

“Do you have milk biscuits?”

The clerk replied, “Yes, how many?”

Xu Zhao listed his requirements: “Give me two pounds of milk biscuits, half a pound of milk candies, two boxes of snowflake cream, two hair ties—one red and one blue—and two butterfly hair clips.”

Su Ying stood nearby and watched in astonishment. Was this her son?

It was like he had become a different person. In the past, when we asked him to accompany his sister to go shopping, he refused to go no matter what we said, and he argued that it was too shameful for a man to accompany a woman shopping.

Now it is no longer shameful, and he takes the initiative to buy all kinds of women’s things for his wife.

Improved!

Xiao Li was equally surprised: Is this still the Brother Xu I knew before?

Xu Zhao noticed a basket of wool in the corner and asked, “Is this wool?”

The clerk nodded, “Yes, it’s wool.”

Seeing Xu Zhao’s interest, she quickly added, “This wool is of excellent quality. It’s much warmer than regular sweaters and feels great. Feel it for yourself.”

The wool had been in the store for half a month. Many people had inquired, but few bought it because it was expensive—twice the price of regular yarn, which deterred many.

Xu Zhao touched it and found that the winter in Li Province was much colder than that in Mingjiang City. He was worried that Jiang Suihan would not be able to adapt to the winter here in the first year. He decided to buy five pounds of white wool.

The clerk’s smile became more genuine.

Su Ying had a different opinion: “I think red would be better. It’s festive and would look good on a young woman, making her complexion look fairer.”

Xu Zhao insisted, “I want the white one.”

Unable to persuade her son, Su Ying waved her hand and pulled out money and tickets: “I’ll buy five pounds of red wool.”

Xu Zhao was exasperated: “Mom, what are you doing?”

Su Ying replied, “You buy the white, I’ll buy the red. It doesn’t conflict. Your wife can alternate between them. What’s the problem?”

Xu Zhao couldn’t argue with that and let it go.

The clerk commented admiringly, “Auntie, you’re so kind to your daughter-in-law, buying such good wool for her. Your daughter-in-law is really lucky to have a mother-in-law like you.”

Su Ying smiled brightly: “It’s all mutual. My daughter-in-law is very filial, always writing letters and sending things home. We told her there’s no need to worry about us, but she still sends things. Oh, this child, why is she so stubborn?”

The clerk responded, “Your daughter-in-law must be very good, knowing how to respect her elders.”

Su Ying beamed even more: “Not only does she have a great personality and is thorough in her actions, but she’s also very good-looking. I even brought a photo. Let me show you.”

The clerk was shown a photo of Xu Zhao and Jiang Suihan. The two young people looked perfect together.

Su Ying touched the clerk’s arm: “Aren’t they a perfect match?”

The clerk forced a smile: “Yes, they are a good match.”

Xu Zhao couldn’t help but twitch his mouth and pulled his mother away.

Once outside the department store, he asked, “Mom, what were you doing just now?”

Showing off his daughter-in-law in various ways to a stranger, how come he never knew that his mother was such a show-off person?

Su Ying glared at Xu Zhao angrily: “That female comrade looked at you several times, her eyes were like staring at a piece of meat, just about to pounce on it and take a few bites. I have to protect my son’s innocence, otherwise I won’t be able to explain to your wife later.”

Xu Zhao remained expressionless.

Xiao Li stepped back, feeling the cold emanating from Xu Zhao, as if freezing everything around him.

Xu Zhao took a deep breath: “Can you stop causing a scene?”

Su Ying snorted and turned to Xiao Li: “Isn’t it funny?”

Xiao Li, not wanting to get involved, shook his head: “It’s okay.”

Su Ying sighed: “Young people should behave like young people. Why keep such a cold face? Aren’t you afraid of freezing your wife?”

Xu Zhao learned from experience that when someone is unreasonable in front of you, the best course of action is to ignore them, and they’ll eventually quiet down.

He turned and walked away.

After sending Xiao Li to the train station, Xu Zhao and Su Ying were the only ones left in the car.

The road conditions were poor, causing the car to bump and shake. Su Ying initially thought she could rest during the drive but soon realized how naive that idea was.

“No wonder it’s so inconvenient for you to travel. If you didn’t have a car, you’d probably walk until dark.”

Xu Zhao, focused on driving, replied, “You’ll get used to it.”

Su Ying, feeling somewhat sentimental, said, “I used to blame your father for being so old-fashioned and stubborn, not considering your feelings at all when he arranged your marriage to the Jiang family. But now that I think about it, while your father might not have been completely thorough, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”

“You two have a good relationship, which is better than anything else. I’ll tell you in advance: Sui Sui is a young girl who left her home to endure hardships here with you without complaining. You need to treat her well. Don’t keep everything to yourself. If you don’t say what you’re thinking, how will she know? Marriage isn’t a guessing game.”

Xu Zhao didn’t like anyone meddling in his life, even if they were family.

“How long are you planning to stay?”

Su Ying replied, “I took a six-month leave from work. We’ll see how things go. You two are young and inexperienced, and it’s important for you to have an elder looking after you. This is also your grandfather’s wish. He was very pleased and even opened a bottle of wine someone gave him, drinking quite a bit with your father that night.”

Even though the old man was in his seventies, with most of his old friends having great-grandchildren, he had always envied other people’s grandsons. With the good news about the Jiang family, he finally felt he had fulfilled his duty to the family ancestors.

Xu Zhao had a good relationship with his grandfather. When he was young and his parents were busy with work, he would stay with his grandfather, who was very strict. He trained Xu Zhao in running, boxing, and physical conditioning, never missing a single lesson.

“Is Grandpa’s health still okay?”

Su Ying answered, “He caught a cold last month, which took half a month to recover from. His knee is still the same, sometimes hurting so much at night that he can’t sleep. He got some medicine from Doctor Liu, which helped a bit.”

The old man’s knee problems were from the war years, a condition that many doctors and treatments over the years hadn’t cured, only alleviated.

Jiang Suihan had just woken up from a nap, which lasted almost three hours. Feeling like her bones were soft from so much sleep, she still felt like she hadn’t rested enough.

Xu Zhao hadn’t returned yet, so she asked Jiang Leyun if he was hungry.

Jiang Leyun looked up from his homework. “Not hungry. I just had two cookies.”

Jiang Suihan considered this. “Then we’ll eat dinner later. If you’re hungry, make yourself a cup of malted milk and have some cookies.”

Jiang Leyun closed his homework book. “Where’s my brother-in-law?”

Jiang Suihan picked up his homework book to check for mistakes. “He went to the county to pick someone up.”

Jiang Leyun asked, “Who is he picking up?”

Without looking up, Jiang Suihan responded, “His mom.”

As soon as she said it, she realized the statement could be misunderstood, so she quickly added, “His mother.”

Jiang Leyun rested his chin on his hands. “I wonder if my brother-in-law’s mother is a nice person?”

Seeing no mistakes in the homework, Jiang Suihan looked at her brother. “Why do you ask? Are you worried she might not treat you well?”

Jiang Leyun gave his sister a look that said “How can you be so stupid?” “They all say that mothers-in-law will bully their daughters-in-law. I am worried about you.”

Jiang Suihan asked, “Who are ‘they’?”

Jiang Leyun was about to answer when they heard the sound of a car outside.

Jiang Suihan stood up. “They’re back.”