Chapter 126

Lu Weiguo glanced at his wife, whose eyes were slightly red, and then turned to ask his second uncle for the hoe in his hand, “Second Uncle, let me help you for a while.”

Before his second uncle could react, Lu Weiguo had already taken the hoe from him.

Lu Weiguo didn’t know how to comfort his wife at that moment, so he decided to stay there a little longer to let her see her parents more.

But standing around like that was too conspicuous, so he decided to let his second uncle rest while he did some work.

He asked Shi Tingyu to rest on the western field ridge, which was closer to her parents’ field.

His second uncle finally realized what was happening and quickly tried to take back the hoe. “You, who hardly ever work in the fields, what can you do? Give me the hoe.”

Lu Weiguo winked at his second uncle. “Who said I can’t? Before I joined the army, I was quite good at working in the fields.”

His second uncle frowned. “What’s wrong with your eye? Did a bug get in?”

He thought it was strange because there shouldn’t be any small flying insects in the middle of winter.

Lu Weiguo couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He discreetly glanced in the direction of Shi Tingyu’s parents, and his second uncle finally understood.

He muttered, “You’re so cunning.”

Shi Tingyu wanted to stay with her parents longer, even if it was just from a distance.

But everyone in the field was working hard, and she felt awkward just standing there, so she bent down to pick up stones and clods of earth.

Seeing this, her second uncle quickly said, “Weiguo’s wife, you just sit and watch.”

Shi Tingyu didn’t listen and continued to do the simple work she could manage.

Seeing this, her second uncle had no choice but to let her be.

Half an hour passed, and Lu Weiguo was still turning over the soil. His second uncle couldn’t sit still any longer.

He walked briskly to Lu Weiguo, grabbed the hoe back without saying a word.

“Alright, you take your wife back now, don’t let her get cold.”

Lowering his voice, he added, “With you two here, your in-laws can’t focus. They’ve already glanced over here several times.”

Lu Weiguo looked toward the west and saw Shi Tingyu’s parents glancing over occasionally.

Seeing his wife holding clods of earth made him feel both pained and amused.

He didn’t argue with his second uncle anymore and walked towards Shi Tingyu.

He helped her carry the clods to the edge of the field and brushed the dirt off her hands. Feeling her cold hands, he hurriedly wanted to take her back.

“Let’s go back. With you here, your parents can’t be at ease.”

Shi Tingyu looked at her parents again. Just then, her mother, partially hidden by her father, waved her hand in a shooing motion.

This was a gesture telling them to leave.

Finally, Shi Tingyu nodded to show she understood.

Lu Weiguo said goodbye to his second uncle in the field and took Shi Tingyu back.

At about four in the afternoon, Lu Weiguo’s second aunt finished work early and returned home.

Today, Lu Weiguo had brought his wife home, and they planned to have a family dinner together, so she needed to prepare.

According to custom, regardless of the circumstances of Lu Weiguo and Shi Tingyu’s marriage, the family had to have a meal together as a form of celebration.

Given the special times, there wouldn’t be a wedding, but having a meal was still a big deal.

It was a way to introduce the new daughter-in-law to the family.

Recently, the brigade had slaughtered a pig and distributed the meat, so there was no shortage of it.

While Lu Weiguo’s second aunt was preparing, Lu Weiguo’s grandparents arrived with fish, homemade sorghum wine, and some of the meat they had been allocated.

The Lu family’s main relatives included Lu Weiguo’s grandfather’s uncle, who was the oldest in the family, followed by Lu Weiguo’s grandfather and his brother.

Unfortunately, Lu Weiguo’s great aunt had passed away early, leaving just him and his son’s family.

Lu Weiguo’s second aunt calculated: one great uncle, two grandparents, the eldest uncle’s family of four, their own family including the youngest grandson, and Lu Weiguo and his wife, making a total of sixteen people.

Two tables would be enough.

Nowadays, cooking isn’t about fancy dishes but about quantity.

They prepared five dishes, each in its own large bowl.

Grandpa Lu and the others brought carp, and she estimated there was about twenty pounds, which was more than enough.

The elderly couple discussed with Second Aunt Lu about the evening’s menu.

They settled on stewed noodles with cabbage and pork, braised fish, and they would also slaughter two chickens to cook with potatoes. There was also stir-fried lettuce and a fish head tofu soup to round it off.

For staple food, they would steam several batches of steamed buns, and while cooking the chicken with potatoes, they would also make some cornmeal cakes on the side of the pot.

Since Second Aunt Lu had already told Lu Weiguo and Shi Tingyu about the dinner together in the evening, upon hearing the commotion, they went over to help.

Seeing them, Second Aunt Lu quickly waved her hand, “It’s just a few dishes; your grandpa and I can manage.”

Lu Weiguo couldn’t just let Second Aunt Lu and the elderly do everything, so he also helped slaughter the chickens, peel the potatoes, and did what he could.

Shi Tingyu also wanted to help, but Second Aunt Lu refused, “You’re a new daughter-in-law; you don’t need to do anything.”

Lu Weiguo was afraid she would feel bored and awkward, so he pulled her to sit beside him. He showed her how to peel potatoes and occasionally talked about their family.

When it was time to steam the steamed buns, Shi Tingyu insisted on helping.

“Auntie, I’ll sit here and help make these buns. It’s just like playing.”

Second Aunt Lu noticed this too. Since they were all busy, leaving just Lu Weiguo’s wife alone seemed a bit out of place, so she smiled and nodded.

Shi Tingyu was skillful with her hands, and her steamed buns turned out round and beautiful.

They used Second Uncle Lu’s stove for cooking, but the steaming of the buns was done in Lu Weiguo’s kitchen.

After dark, people who had been working gradually returned, and Second Uncle Lu’s home became lively.

Everyone who returned pitched in to help.

Second Uncle Lu’s two daughters-in-law were both working women: the eldest daughter-in-law worked in the police station’s logistics department, and the second daughter-in-law was a primary school teacher in the brigade.

They were very enthusiastic when they saw Shi Tingyu, especially the eldest daughter-in-law, Shen Cuicui. Probably because she dealt with male comrades at the police station, she spoke very openly and even playfully touched Shi Tingyu’s hands.

“Sister-in-law has such soft hands.”

Second Uncle Lu’s second daughter-in-law, Chen Li, couldn’t help but laugh, “Big sister-in-law likes pretty people.”

Shi Tingyu had never been teased like this by other women before. She remained calm and composed on the surface, but she felt a bit embarrassed inside.

Lu Weiguo’s eyes kept following Shi Tingyu, noticing her discomfort. He took the opportunity of needing to take her back to steam the buns, which made everyone laugh heartily.

Meanwhile, when the dishes were almost ready, the steamed buns were also done.

The round, soft, and plump white steamed buns looked very appetizing and emitted a delicious aroma as soon as they were taken out of the pot.

Lu Weiguo picked up the steamed buns in a bamboo basket and carried them over to the next room.

By this time, Grandpa Lu’s family had also arrived, bringing along a large square table and long wooden benches.

Similar to these tables and chairs.

With sixteen people, two large square tables were just enough to seat everyone.