TL: Etude
To her knowledge, Chen Jianghai had never before set foot in the kitchen to cook, and now he was actively offering to make a meal?
Could it be that this lad wanted to show off now that he saw her coming?
Lin Wanqiu simply nodded in response, saying, "Mm, then I'll take Mom over to have a look."
In fact, Lin Wanqiu was also quite surprised when Chen Jianghai first started cooking.
However, after spending these past few days together, she had grown accustomed to it and naturally did not make a big deal out of it.
Lin Jianguo also nodded, "That's fine, then, daughter, take us to have a look!"
After saying this, Lin Jianguo followed his daughter Lin Wanqiu out of the room.
But halfway there, Xue Chunli suddenly turned around and gave Lin Jianguo a stern look.
"The house, I'll take a look by myself. You stay here and... help him cook."
Xue Chunli's thinking was straightforward: let Lin Jianguo supervise Chen Jianghai to see if the food was really prepared by him.
After saying that, Xue Chunli left with a smiling Lin Wanqiu.
Lin Jianguo couldn't help but shake his head and sighed deeply, "Marrying a tigress, life is truly bitter!"
Chen Jianghai just smiled and said nothing.
The matters between his father-in-law and mother-in-law were not for him, the son-in-law, to comment on extensively. To avoid making his father-in-law feel awkward, he turned and went into the kitchen.
Yesterday at the vegetable market, the couple had bought quite a lot of groceries, including chicken, duck, fish, and meat, with a selection that even surpassed that of the New Year's feast.
Lin Jianguo followed into the kitchen and seeing so much food, he couldn't help but express his surprise, "I say, Jianghai, is this... all for today's meal?"
"Yes!"
Chen Jianghai nodded and said, "You and Mom don't come over often, of course, we have to eat well, to welcome and clean the dust of travel for you!"
Lin Jianguo felt a pang of heartache, "This is too much, we definitely won't be able to finish it!"
"Dad, later we'll just eat as much as we can, and we'll worry about leftovers afterward," said Chen Jianghai nonchalantly.
Lin Jianguo didn't just stand by, he glanced around and said, "Jianghai, that green vegetable hasn't been picked yet, right? Come, come, you give it to me."
Chen Jianghai didn't stand on ceremony, handing the green vegetable over directly.
Then, he took out a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Lin Jianguo, and lit it for him.
For a while, the kitchen filled with smoke and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
On the other side, Lin Wanqiu took Xue Chunli over to the rental property.
Just so happened, Old Jiang was also there, and upon seeing Lin Wanqiu enter, he came over to greet her.
"Little Lin, this is your mother, right?"
Old Jiang took a brief look at Xue Chunli and asked with a friendly smile.
Lin Wanqiu nodded and replied, "That's right, Old Jiang, this is my mom. She just arrived today and will be staying here for a while."
Old Jiang waved his hand and said, "Mm, I know, Master Chen already told me yesterday."
Then, he turned his gaze to Xue Chunli with a trace of envy, "Big sister, having such a son-in-law, you're really blessed."
Xue Chunli's lips twitched slightly, and she managed to squeeze out a smile as a polite response.
Old Jiang, seasoned with age, seemed to sense something and said with a smile, "I'll go out for a stroll, you all go ahead with your business."
"Take care, Old Jiang," Lin Wanqiu said with a smile.
Xue Chunli, holding Lin Wanqiu's hand, asked, "The Master Chen mentioned just now, is that Chen Jianghai?"
"Yes!"
Lin Wanqiu nodded, "Didn't Jianghai help plan the electrical repairs for Uncle last time? Mom, how can you still not believe?"
Xue Chunli gave Lin Wanqiu a hard stare, saying discontentedly, "I'm doing this for your good, how can you still be so outward in your support?"
Lin Wanqiu was quite helpless.
Xue Chunli's misunderstanding of Chen Jianghai was indeed very deep, and it would not be easy for her to fully accept Chen Jianghai in a short time.
"Let's not talk about this today, Mom, let's go in and have a look."
Observing her daughter's somewhat helpless expression, Xue Chunli didn't bring up the matter again.
The main reason was that Chen Jianghai had previously been too disappointing, too much of a mess. Now, with such a sudden change, Xue Chunli simply couldn't adjust, nor could she bring herself to believe it.
Seeing the room tidy and neatly arranged, clean and spacious, Xue Chunli finally showed a trace of satisfaction.
Then, as if something struck her, her expression changed slightly, and she turned her head to ask, "Girl, the rent for this house isn't cheap, is it?"
"Oh, it was Jianghai who rented it, I'm not clear about how much exactly."
Lin Wanqiu replied half-truthfully.
Using Chen Jianghai's words, no matter the price, as long as his parents lived comfortably, that's all that mattered.
Xue Chunli was a bit irritated, "Chen Jianghai really spends money lavishly. Doesn't he know how hard you work to earn it?"
"Mom!"
Lin Wanqiu's tone carried a hint of coquettishness, "The money is earned by Jianghai himself; it has nothing to do with me."
"Him? Earning money? Even if he did, is it enough for his own wastefulness?" Xue Chunli snorted coldly.
At this point, Lin Wanqiu really had no way out.
She saw the changes in Chen Jianghai, but her mother was unaware!
If she wanted her old mother to believe it, it seemed she would have to take her to see where Chen Jianghai worked tomorrow. It would be a case of seeing is believing.
"Mom, we had an agreement earlier, to not talk about Jianghai. Just look at this house, does it meet your standards?" Lin Wanqiu asked.
Xue Chunli knew her daughter didn't want to continue on this topic, sighed internally, and nodded, "Okay, I am very satisfied!"
"Then you ask Dad later to see if there's anything he's not satisfied with," Lin Wanqiu added.
Xue Chunli suddenly became displeased, hands on her hips, eyes glaring, "What could he possibly be dissatisfied with? He should be secretly pleased to have a place to live, what else could there be?"
Lin Wanqiu felt somewhat helpless inside; her mother was always so domineering. It wasn't easy to say more, so she quickly responded, "Alright, mom, what you say goes."
It was supposed to be a house inspection, but Xue Chunli wasn't too demanding; she was very satisfied with what she saw.
Of course, this was also because Chen Jianghai had prepared well.
Even with a critical eye, this place was very good, having everything needed, much better than Xue Chunli's own home conditions.
"The houses in the city are so much cleaner than in the countryside!" Xue Chunli touched the brand new quilt, looked at the smooth floor, and couldn't help but exclaim.
Seeing her mother finally satisfied, Lin Wanqiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Mom, you should stay for a while and enjoy it properly."
"There's still a bunch of things to take care of at home! We'll talk about it later!" Xue Chunli didn't immediately agree.
Their main purpose for coming here was to see what Chen Jianghai was actually like, and how their daughter was really living!
Lin Wanqiu followed up, "Mom, that's not what you told me last time! Besides, Jianghai rented this house for three months; if you leave after just a few days, it would be a waste of money!"
"What?"
Xue Chunli exclaimed, "Rented for three months? Why rent for such a long time! He's really a spendthrift!"
Lin Wanqiu replied innocently, "You were the one who told me over the phone that you wanted to stay for a longer period."
"I meant a period like ten days to half a month, three months is way too long!"
Xue Chunli couldn't help but grumble.
Lin Wanqiu helplessly said, "There's nothing I can do about it! It's not a hotel, how could they possibly rent it out for just a few days? Of course, they charge by the month."
"This Chen Jianghai, as soon as he has a bit of money, he squanders it. He really is a spendthrift!"
Seeing that her words were ineffective on her daughter, Xue Chunli vented her frustration on Chen Jianghai.