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As the mother and daughter chatted, the aroma of chicken stewing in the pot had already begun to fill the air.
Today, Zhou Guiyun was pulling out all the stops. She was preparing a meal to welcome her son-in-law, and of course, that meant she had to slaughter a chicken—nothing less would show enough respect!
Zhou Guiyun certainly didn’t waste the sacrifice of the chicken, turning it into a delicious braised chicken.
But the meal didn’t end there. Today’s ingredients were truly abundant. In addition to the braised chicken, there were two fish, large and plump.
The ingredients were all prepared by her sisters-in-law, just waiting for Zhou Guiyun, as the mother-in-law, to showcase her cooking skills.
The two large fish were also braised, making the meal even richer in flavor.
These dishes were all cooked in one pot, while another pot was used to scramble eggs. After that, Zhou Guiyun simmered some cabbage, adding a spoonful of lard and some oil residue.
The taste of the stewed cabbage was absolutely unique.
Besides the cabbage with oil residue, there was also a tangy stir-fried potato strip dish.
Lastly, after washing the pot, she made a soup with dried shrimp and seaweed.
The meal consisted of braised chicken, braised fish, scrambled eggs, cabbage with oil residue, stir-fried sour potatoes, and a shrimp and seaweed soup. While the number of dishes wasn’t overwhelming, it was certainly enough, and each dish was hearty and satisfying.
If it were an ordinary family, they wouldn’t be able to treat guests like this. But the Jiang family’s conditions were among the best in the village.
Moreover, this was the first time they were hosting Han Shiguo, their son-in-law, for a meal at home. The Jiang family wasn’t going to just serve some pickled vegetables and dried meat.
Neighbor Li Daniu, having caught a whiff of the delicious aroma, came in to take a quick look.
Then she went outside to praise the meal.
“The Jiang family really seems to be happy with their son-in-law. You wouldn’t believe it—today, they killed a chicken and stewed it, then they made fish and scrambled eggs. Oh, the spread was amazing! I can’t even get a meal this rich at a banquet!”
“Is that for real?”
“Of course it’s true! If you don’t believe me, go take a look for yourselves! I peeked inside just now, and I almost drooled!”
“…”
Of course, the news quickly spread to the second household as well.
In the past, at a time like this, Zhou Guiyun, as the eldest daughter-in-law, would definitely call the children over to ask Jiang Ershu (Second Uncle Jiang) to join them for the meal.
After all, it was a big occasion, and inviting him over would be a way to strengthen their relationship.
But given the situation with the earlier incident, Zhou Guiyun definitely wasn’t going to ask him anymore.
Jiang Ershu, of course, felt a bit uncomfortable about it, and Sun Shi (Second Uncle’s wife) couldn’t help but scoff.
The first household really seemed to want everyone in the village to know how great their son-in-law was!
“It’s such a pity,” the wife of Shouliang (Jiang Shouliang’s wife) said sarcastically, “this was supposed to be our family’s son-in-law.”
She was still upset about not getting the job at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative today.
What kind of education did it even require? It was just selling things. She wasn’t bad at accounting, but the truth was, they were unwilling to give the job to her daughter-in-law.
Now her daughter-in-law had become an outsider!
Wasn’t this enough to make Shouliang’s wife angry?
“Stop talking nonsense!” Jiang Shouliang snapped.
Shouliang’s wife wasn’t one to stay quiet. She turned to Jiang Yue and said, “Little sister, you’d better not regret it later!”
“What would I regret?” Jiang Yue didn’t want to admit that she was jealous. It was hard to deny—Han Shiguo really had outstanding qualities. If he weren’t likely to die young, she certainly wouldn’t have given him up.
But sadly, Han Shiguo was just a supporting male character, meant only to highlight the main male lead’s happy life.
She snorted coldly. Let the first household laugh for now—soon enough, there would be tears to shed.
They really thought Han Shiguo was such a good son-in-law!
The rumors circulating outside didn’t reach the Jiang family, who were currently enjoying their meal.
This dinner was also a clear signal to Han Shiguo that the Jiang family considered him a legitimate son-in-law.
So, when Jiang Qian’s father pulled out the alcohol, Han Shiguo didn’t hesitate to raise his glass and drink with his father-in-law and brothers-in-law.
As they were about to leave, Zhou Guiyun couldn’t help but ask, “Shiguo, are you sure you’re alright?”
“No problem, Aunt. I’ll head back now.”
“Alright. Take care and go slowly,” Zhou Guiyun smiled.
Han Shiguo smiled and nodded. After bidding farewell to his brothers-in-law, he finally turned to Jiang Qian, “Qianqian, I’ll head back now.”
“Mm,” Jiang Qian nodded shyly, blushing under everyone’s gaze.
Though he was reluctant to leave his wife, Han Shiguo comforted himself knowing he’d soon marry her. So, he didn’t linger, hopping on his bicycle and heading back to Han Family Village.
The village Party Secretary of Han Family Village was his uncle—his real, paternal uncle.
Although his uncle was kind to him, Han Shiguo still felt the need to show his gratitude after borrowing the bicycle for a day. The bag of brown sugar he bought was meant as a token of appreciation.
However, Han’s uncle waved it off, “What are you giving me brown sugar for? You already gave me some when you came back.”
This nephew was thoughtful. Although it was rare for him to return, every time he did, he would always stop by to visit, bringing a good cigarette or a bottle of fine liquor as a token of respect.
Han Shiguo smiled, “This is for my aunt to improve her health. But I’ll need to borrow the bicycle again tomorrow. I plan to take Qianqian into the city. I didn’t have enough time today and didn’t get to visit my third sister’s place.”
“It’s fine, it’s the off-season for farming, and the bike’s just sitting there,” Han Shiguo’s uncle, the village Party Secretary, hadn’t spoken yet, but his wife, Aunt Han, was already smiling widely, eager to ask, “So? Did the girl agree?”
They had naturally heard about the events that had unfolded in the second household.
The engagement was broken off, but the Jiang family’s main branch was willing to take another look. It was said that this girl was even more outstanding than the previous one.
Han Shiguo smiled and nodded, “Qianqian agreed.”
“Good, good, good!” Han’s aunt nodded enthusiastically.
Han’s uncle, the village Party Secretary, wasn’t too surprised. With a nephew as outstanding as him, any family with good judgment would appreciate him.
Only those lacking in luck, with something amiss, would come knocking to break off the engagement.
Yes, what Han’s uncle was referring to was Jiang’s second household. It was clear they weren’t people with much fortune.
Han Shiguo stayed for a while before heading back home.
His family was waiting for him.
When Han Shiguo returned, the scent of alcohol immediately reached his mother’s nose. Anxious about her son’s marriage, Han’s mother quickly asked, “Why are you coming back so late? And what’s with the smell of alcohol? Have you been drinking? Where did you drink?”
Her face showed worry, fearing that her son might have been rejected and gone to drown his sorrows in alcohol.
“Aunt made me stewed chicken and fish, and Uncle Jiang opened a bottle of his treasured Maotai. I couldn’t refuse, so I had a little with them,” Han Shiguo humbly explained to his mother.
Hearing this, Han’s mother’s face instantly brightened, her eyes beaming with joy. “So you stayed at the Jiang family for dinner?”
Han Shiguo’s father, who was sitting nearby, also broke into a smile. He knew that the marriage had been settled.
“Yes,” Han Shiguo smiled and nodded.
“Good, good, good,” Han’s mother responded repeatedly, clearly overjoyed, but then quickly turned to the matter at hand. “Your vacation isn’t long, so the wedding needs to be settled soon. Didn’t you ask Matchmaker Zhang to go over and talk? Forty-eight legs and the three turns and one sound—has your third sister prepared everything? Did you go into the city today to check?”