Having left Emily Lopez's room, James Brown headed straight for the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves and saying, "Auntie, let me do the chopping."
Mrs. Lopez immediately responded with a smile, "No need, no need, you go have fun."
"I've been sitting around half the day, getting all stiff. It's a good time to get moving." James took the kitchen knife without further discussion, and with a flick of his wrist, he began chopping the filling.
At this moment, Mrs. Lopez looked at James with even more fondness. In the eyes of the older generation, having money and capability was certainly important, but Gina was now the CEO of a company, and earning money was well taken care of by the daughter. They valued a man like James who could cook a good meal and take care of the family even more.
"Auntie, go take a break. You've worked hard all year, it's time for you to rest. Leave tonight's dinner to me," James said as he turned to Mrs. Lopez, who was still standing behind him, and flashed a brilliant smile.
"Alright, alright. For so many years, it's always been me busying about and the three of them lounging around. Today, I'll take a break for once."
"From now on, Auntie, you can take it easy every New Year."
"Good, good, what a lovely boy. Gina really has a good eye in finding you."
Mrs. Lopez returned to the living room and said to her husband, who was pruning the house's bonsai, "Old man, I'm liking James more and more. Our Gina will definitely live a blessed life with James."
Jonathan Lopez chuckled and said, "Yeah, even the mother-in-law is liberated, how could you not be pleased?"
"Eh, Mom, weren't you chopping the filling?" At this moment, Emily came running out and saw her mother sitting on the sofa, eating sunflower seeds and watching television, and she cried out in surprise.
"Your brother-in-law took over, so I've retired."
Emily immediately exclaimed in exaggeration, "Wow, are you treating brother-in-law like a laborer or what?"
Emily's mother glared at her and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Emily stuck out her tongue, then giggled and ran into the kitchen. She stopped at the door, her eyes suddenly wide in amazement. James was now holding a kitchen knife in each hand, the two blades rising and falling rapidly, making urgent sounds as he continually turned the stuffing without slowing down or making a single sound of contact.
After watching for a good half minute, Emily stuttered, "Brother-in-law, are you... are you performing a juggling act?"
James didn't stop his hands and turned his head to look at Emily, smiling, "What juggling act?"
"That's... that's too fast, isn't it?" Emily pointed at James.
James's knives continued to dance, scooping the already chopped filling into a bowl beside him in just a couple of movements, leaving no trace of minced meat on the cutting board.
Emily rushed over and hugged James's arm, exclaiming excitedly, "Wow, brother-in-law, are you chopping or performing? It's the first time I've seen someone make chopping, such an annoying task, look so appealing. Brother-in-law, you're so cool."
James slapped the two kitchen knives down on the chopping board and laughed heartily, "This is the first time someone's called me 'cool' for chopping filling."
"It's really cool, this is like, an art form. Those plebs just can't see it, only I can see it."
James Brown couldn't help but smirk and said, "Are you complimenting me, or praising yourself?"
"Both, both, we're kindred spirits, Tehee!" Emily Lopez laughed cheerfully.
With the stunning Emily watching on, James couldn't help but show off a bit more, making his knife-work in the kitchen even more impressive, eliciting another round of cheers and whoops from Emily.
"What are you yelling about?" Gina Lopez also emerged from the bedroom, frowning as she entered the kitchen. But as soon as she saw James's flying cleaver, she jumped back in alarm, quickly pulling Emily away and scolding James: "What are you doing, chopping stuffing or performing tricks? What if you accidentally hurt someone?"
The same phrase "performing tricks," when said by Emily and Gina, had completely different connotations: Emily's words were full of admiration and praise; Gina's were criticism.
Emily was quite displeased at her sister pulling her away, immediately leaning forward to say, "Stop meddling, you're distracting me from watching my brother-in-law chop the stuffing."
Gina immediately put on her elder sister act, glaring and saying, "What's so interesting about chopping stuffing? You've never set foot in the kitchen before, so what are you stirring up now?"
By then, James had finished chopping the stuffing and also transferred it into the bowl, saying, "Okay, I'm done. Emily, you and your sister should go out, or else your sister might have a go at me later."
Emily, still not having her fill of watching, immediately turned her dissatisfaction towards her sister, pouting and saying, "Brother-in-law, I really don't understand how you can tolerate my sister, who just has no fun in her."
Gina was instantly irked and snapped, "What did you just say?"
Emily, undaunted, replied, "I said you're not fun. What is clearly a fun thing becomes dangerous in your eyes. Being with you is just boring, utterly boring!"
Seeing the sisters about to quarrel again, James hurriedly played peacemaker, pulling Gina and saying, "Gina, don't be angry. It's my fault for showing off. Blame me, not Emily."
Emily immediately pouted and said, "See? How generous my brother-in-law is."
It was then that Gina remembered James's role and her expression softened, but she still glared at her sister, saying, "He doesn't know when to stop, and you join in the commotion. What if you got hurt by mistake? I am doing this for your own good."
Emily, however, was having none of it, snorted and said, "Save that 'for your own good' talk. You always like to impose your will on me. Why should you? I am me, and you are you. Just because you like something doesn't mean I do, and just because you dislike something doesn't mean I dislike it."
"You..." Gina's chest heaved, clearly quite angered.
"It's the holiday season, let's all speak nicely. You're the older sister; give in to your sister a bit," James pulled at Gina again.
Gina huffed and turned to walk away. Emily stuck her tongue out at Gina's back, then turned to James with a grin and said, "Brother-in-law, why don't you continue?"
James shrugged his shoulders and replied, "The stuffing's ready, now we just wait to wrap it."
Emily pouted, saying discontentedly, "It's all my sister's fault for ruining my fun."