Ma Lili saw Lu Jiaxin taking out so much food and was glad that she was generous to her, but still had to offer her advice, "Xinxin, the money Third Uncle gave you might seem like a lot, but it really doesn't last if you spend it carelessly. You should try to save more on a daily basis."
Lu Jiaxin knew she meant well and said with a smile, "Fifth Sister-in-law, I understand. Of all these things, only the red date cake was bought by me; the rest were brought over by my dad the other day."
Lu Jiajie leaned in and asked, "Did you ask Third Uncle for them?"
"No, he bought them himself."
Ma Lili took the opportunity to say, "Xinxin, Third Uncle really dotes on you."
Lu Jiaxin nodded with a smile and said, "I was foolish before because I always thought it was not easy for him to make money and never asked him for anything. Now I understand, not asking doesn't save anyone but that venomous mother and daughter. In the future, if I run out of money or need something, I'll just ask my dad."
Lu Jiajie laughed heartily, "Sister, that's exactly how you should be."
At that moment, a loud voice came from outside, "Lao Wu, I could hear your laughter from afar. What's making you so happy?"
Immediately after the question, Lu Jiaguang entered, followed by his wife Wang Xiaojie and Lu An, the siblings. The couple had four children altogether, with the eldest, Lu Ping, having been admitted to the Second Medical College in the Forty-nine City last year. Even though it was only a diploma program, he would have a guaranteed job after graduation and wouldn't have to worry about his future. Due to the heavy study load, he didn't come today.
With a cheerful voice, Lu Jiajie said, "Brother, Jiaxin has finally seen the light."
Lu Jiaguang agreed, "Jiaxin, you're still young, and Third Uncle should support you until you start working."
Wang Xiaojie, holding onto Lu Jiaxin, said, "I meant to come to see you when you returned, but I couldn't take leave last week because I was attending an advanced training at the main hospital."
Lu Jiaxin had already known this, "Sister-in-law, work is important. You can come over here anytime. Take a seat, big brother and sister-in-law, I'll go cut the watermelon."
Wang Xiaojie waved her hand, "It's not hot yet. It's not too late to eat it later. Jiaxin, you are recovering and need to take care of yourself. Take Zhenzhen and Xiao Feng inside for a rest."
The brothers and sister-in-law knew that her qi and blood were severely depleted after her injury and they all felt very sorry for her. At the same time, they also thought that Lu Hongjun was heartless to let his daughter move out when she was in such a condition.
Lu Jiaxin was never one who liked to do household chores, seeing them not allowing her to lift a finger, she decided to tell stories to Zhenzhen and Qiangqiang. She didn't tell them fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm but chose to tell them "Journey to the West."
Of all the classics, "Journey to the West" was her favorite; she read the book three times and watched the TV series several times, but only the old version. This time, she specifically chose the story of Sun Wukong fighting the White Bone Spirit three times.
Because she narrated it so vividly, not only did Zhenzhen and Lu Zhang, the little ones, enjoy it, but even Lu An, who was in high school and had already read "Journey to the West," was captivated by the story.
Lu Jiajie, tired from work, went to the porch to catch a breeze. However, he hadn't expected that after standing there and listening for a while, he too would become engrossed.
When the story of the White Bone Spirit concluded, Lu Jiajie was disappointed because he hadn't heard the beginning. He really wanted Lu Jiaxin to tell another story, but he couldn't bring himself to ask in front of the children.
Lu Jiaxin had a purpose in telling this story, "Zhenzhen, after hearing this story, what do you think?"
Without thinking, Lu Zhenzhen replied, "Auntie, that White Bone Spirit was so evil, actually wanting to eat Monk Tang's flesh."
Considering that she was only ten and hadn't come to her senses, Lu Jiaxin turned to look at Lu An, "What do you think?"
After pondering for a moment, Lu An said, "Auntie, Monk Tang is useless and has a bad temper; he really doesn't deserve to be Sun Wukong's master. In my opinion, Sun Wukong would be better off taking Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie to fetch the scriptures on their own."
Lu Zhang and Qiangqiang, being young, were not consulted by Lu Jiaxin on their opinions, "This story tells us that there are many bad people in the world who pretend to be good. In the future, you must be careful and not let these bad people harm you."
Lu Jiajie naturally cast Ding Jing in the role of a villain, "Xinxin, rest assured, that mother and daughter will get their comeuppance."
Lu Jiaxin was both amused and exasperated.
Ma Lili was washing vegetables in the yard, and she said with a laugh, "Sister-in-law, I didn't expect Xinxin to tell stories so well; even my little monkey is mesmerized and not running around causing chaos anymore."
Five-year-old Lu Qiang had boundless energy, often leaving her utterly exhausted.
Wang Xiaojie wasn't surprised at all, "Xinxin has always loved reading and has a broad range of knowledge. It's just that she used to be shy and busy studying, with no time to tell them stories. Now it's different; after setting up a stall outside for more than a month, she's grown braver, and her tongue has gotten slick."
In her opinion, Lu Jiaxin had also turned misfortune into a blessing this time. The child used to be a paper tiger, always putting on a show of fierceness but ultimately finding herself at the losing end every time. But now things were different, not only had she exposed the ugly faces of Ding Jing and Zhao Siyi, but she had also gotten a hold of Third Uncle.
Ma Lili also thought this change was good.
Lu Jiajie glanced at his watch and went back to the kitchen to get busy. He had fallen for Ma Lili and, to win her heart, learned cooking from Mrs. Lu. He turned out to have a knack for cooking, surpassing his teacher after only six months.
Because of his culinary skills, Lu Jiajie was in charge of cooking for the Lu Family gatherings or New Year's Eve dinners. Of course, this was only limited to Lu Jiaguang's home, as he hadn't cooked at Lu Hongjun's place since Ding Jing and her daughter came into the picture.
At ten-thirty, Lu Hongjun arrived, bringing a bottle of Moutai, two bottles of Gujing Gong liquor, a large chunk of marinated beef, and a roast chicken.
Upon seeing this, Lu Jiaxin immediately brought over a plate to fill.
As she cut the marinated beef, Lu Jiaxin couldn't resist the aroma and snatched a piece to eat, "Dad, this marinated beef is really delicious, where did you buy it?"
Lu Hongjun replied with a smile, "Xu's marinated meat shop. They don't have marinated beef every day; it's a matter of luck. I'll buy more next time since you like it."
Lu Jiaxin knew that there were only working cattle in the country at that time, with no beef cattle bred for meat. As working cattle were very important labor tools, they wouldn't be slaughtered unless there was an accident or they died of old age.
After sitting down, Lu Hongjun called over Lu An and Lu Zhenzhen to ask about their studies.
The smiles on the faces of the brother and sister froze in an instant. Meanwhile, Lu Zhang, who consistently failed his exams, was so scared that he slipped into the kitchen to tend the fire.
Lu Jiaxin didn't want to see the kids crying at her housewarming party, so she fished a watermelon out of the water bucket and began to cut it, "Dad, this watermelon is really sweet, want to try it?"
After finishing, she called Lu Qiang and Xiao Feng over. Seeing Lu An and Zhenzhen watching eagerly, the corner of her mouth couldn't help but curl up, "Come on, let's all have some."
The brother and sister didn't dare to move until Lu Hongjun nodded, then they started to eat the watermelon.
After eating a piece of watermelon, Lu Hongjun brought up the matter of an English tutor, "The person I found is a foreign language college sophomore. His grandfather studied in America over thirty years ago. The student grew up by his grandfather's side and speaks fluent English."
Lu Jiaxin was impressed by his swiftness, "When can he start giving lessons?"
Lu Hongjun shook his head, "Something came up at their home, and it'll likely be two weeks before he has time. I'll let you know when he is available."
"Okay."