Chapter 14: Have a Big, Chubby Son Soon

“Hey, whose dog is this? It’s barking so loudly, it’s giving me a headache. Suddenly, I feel like eating dog meat. I should have just caught that little dog and killed it.”

Yan Xiaoyue’s unique tone was deep and terrifying, almost like a real ghost, making people fearful.

This was after she had enrolled in a dubbing class in her spare time.

Before making short videos, she had dabbled in so many things; there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do, but she wasn’t an expert in any of them.

However, it was enough to scare her second sister-in-law.

“There’s a ghost.”

A little girl’s voice came from the other side.

A moment later, the sound of her second sister-in-law being scolded followed.

The kitchen suddenly went dark. Yan Xiaoyue looked up and saw Jin Chao’s tall figure bending down.

“Look at this. I told you to make the kitchen door taller, but you insisted on this height. Now look, the child has to bend down.”

An old man’s voice came from behind Jin Chao. It didn’t sound like a rebuke, but more like a gentle scolding.

“I know, I know. My son is the most handsome and tallest.”

Jin Chao was completely blocking the doorway, so Yan Xiaoyue pushed him aside to see the two people behind him.

The two elderly people had silver hair, their mouths open, toothless, yet filled with smiles.

“Dad, Mom.”

Seeing their kind smiles, Yan Xiaoyue unconsciously smiled back.

“Ai!”

When Old Man Jin  and Old Woman Jin saw her smile, tears welled up in their eyes.

She suddenly remembered that on the day of the original owner’s wedding, she had caused a huge scene and demanded a division of the family property.

Old Man Jin had been red-eyed, slapping her and saying he regretted agreeing to the marriage. One grandson was dead, and the other married such a troublemaker—how could their life be good?

She thought she wouldn’t be able to manage a household, but today, she actually invited them to dinner.

Yan Xiaoyue was immensely relieved that she had prepared mildly spicy food. She planned to make a bowl of chili for anyone who wanted extra spice.

“Dad, Mom, go sit in the room. I’ve prepared all the dishes. Once I’ve ladled the soup, we can eat.”

Yan Xiaoyue glanced at the setting sun. The room was so dim it was almost impossible to see.

Jin Chao touched the wall, and she saw his hand pull a switch down. The dim, yellowish light in the room came on.

“If it’s too dark, we can light candles.” Jin Chao took a candle from the shelf and lit it.

Only then did Yan Xiaoyue realize she didn’t have a pot for the hotpot. She couldn’t possibly eat from a large iron pot, and she had already placed the other dishes in the main room.

“Jin Chao, do you have a smaller pot?”

She still wasn’t sure whether she should mention this, but she really needed one.

“Yes, wait a moment.”

Jin Chao turned and left. After a while, the sound of rummaging came from the next room.

Yan Xiaoyue looked at the large intestine. Taking advantage of this time, she went to the vegetable garden behind the kitchen, pulled two green onions, and washed them.

By the time she returned to the kitchen, Jin Chao had already brought out a pot—a small one, about half the size of a normal earthen stove pot.

It was paired with a stove made of mud and bricks.

She didn’t know which genius invented this, but it was incredibly convenient. If they used coal, it would be better than a coal stove for cooking.

“Jin Chao, this is great! Did you make this?”

Yan Xiaoyue kept her tone relaxed and friendly, as the proprietress had suggested earlier—to be a little more accommodating.

“Mm.”

Jin Chao nodded, his face looking a little unpleasant.

Yan Xiaoyue didn’t want to say more, but when she turned her head, she accidentally saw Jin Chao’s ears turning red.

“You’re amazing! To think of this method, I admire you.”

This was the first time she had seen such a small stove. When making videos, she often had leftover food, and she never thought of making a small stove.

Before Jin Chao could respond, he quickly lit the fire.

Smoke billowed in the room, like a fairyland, and she could barely see Jin Chao’s face.

When Jin Chao raised his face again, his face was black, looking extremely amusing.

She stifled a laugh, ladled the soup into the small pot, and carried it with Jin Chao to the main room.

“Let’s see if we can find coal for sale and buy a coal stove. This smoke is too irritating.”

Yan Xiaoyue couldn’t help but cough a few times.

Once the fire was going well, the smoke lessened, and the room warmed up.

“Dad, Mom, I don’t know if you like spicy food. I added a little to the soup, but there’s more chili here if you want to add some.”

Yan Xiaoyue picked some dishes and put them in the pot. The soup in the pot was bubbling. “Dad, Mom, eat quickly. The vegetables will be cooked once they’re heated.”

Old Man Jin and Old Woman Jin had never seen this way of eating. After watching her for a while, they understood what she was doing.

Old Woman Jin kept praising her, “Xiaoyue is so good. She even uses public chopsticks. In ancient times, people would use a pair of chopsticks for serving food, usually only used by nobles.”

Yan Xiaoyue knew this Old Woman Jin wasn’t simple. “Mom, it’s not that exaggerated. Xiaoyue just thought it would be cleaner to use public chopsticks. We can’t just grab food with our hands! Besides, we’re family.”

She didn’t need to say the last part. As a family, they naturally share everything.

Unexpectedly, this sparked Old Man Jin to speak. “Your mother, she was a young miss from a landlord’s family, spoiled rotten. If she hadn’t married me, an old farmer, she wouldn’t be eating and drinking poorly now.”

“Dad, Mom, you raised Jin Chao so well. He’s tall and strong, and he even served in the army. That’s an honor that can’t be bought.”

Yan Xiaoyue admired the elderly couple. Even though Jin Chao wasn’t their biological son, they loved him as much as their own.

“That’s because Jin Chao is capable. The second son also served in the army, but he retired after a few years and now works as a police officer in the town.”

Old Man Jin sighed, disappointed. He had hoped that sending his son to the army would allow him to achieve something, but he ended up retiring and coming back.

Yan Xiaoyue only then noticed that the shouting outside had disappeared the moment Jin Chao returned.

It seemed that people really picked on the weak.

“Dad, don’t be too angry. Jin Chao will return to the army soon. At that time, your daughter-in-law won’t necessarily be home. You and Mom can come here more often, and I’ll cook for you.”

Yan Xiaoyue thought that if she wanted to win Jin Chao over, she had to take care of his parents first. This would at least earn her points in his eyes.

“Good. We’re happy that you have this heart. Have a big, chubby son soon. Jin Chao isn’t young anymore, he’ll be twenty-eight after the new year.”

Old Man Jin sighed. He didn’t want to rush them, but his youngest son was getting older. Other people’s children his age would already be helping out.