"Why are you bathing in the middle of the day? You could have just used some orange peel and water to get rid of the smell," his mother chided.
"Come help me prepare the dishes. It's rare for our family to be all together. We must have a good meal tonight."
"When the cooking starts, the smell of the oil and smoke will cover the alcohol smell. I'll get hot water for you to wash up later."
As soon as Chen Yang stepped into the kitchen, his mother grabbed him to help with the ingredients.
Seeing the abundance of food piled up in the kitchen, Chen Yang understood how much his mother valued this dinner.
Indeed, their family rarely got to be all together.
He hadn't come home for the Lunar New Year in the past few years, and now his elder sister was married.
Even though she lived nearby, his parents naturally felt a sense of emptiness. This reunion dinner during the New Year, with the entire family gathered, was something she wouldn't take lightly.
His mother knew her cooking wasn't great, so when she saw Chen Yang return, she immediately pulled him over.
She had witnessed her son's culinary skills; they were far better than hers.
"Mom, you should rest. I won't delay you today. It's barely two o'clock. No matter how grand the dinner is, we don't start preparing this early."
"I'll go take a shower and rest for a bit. I'll start at four, and I promise to have all the dishes prepared before you serve dinner."
Chen Yang yawned. He hadn't really trained his alcohol tolerance in this life, and he was a bit overwhelmed. After just a couple of drinks, his head was already feeling fuzzy.
He remembered his previous life, where he was a seasoned veteran of "alcohol tests" in the business world, able to hold clear conversations after downing a pint of strong liquor.
Alcohol tolerance, while partly genetic, could be trained if one's body wasn't too frail.
Of course, that was nothing compared to people from Shandong or Northeast China, where some men could drink baijiu as if it were water, chugging directly from the bottle.
Even Russians wouldn't dare drink vodka that way; it was incredibly audacious.
"Alright, then I'll leave this to you. I'll take the two precious grandchildren out for a stroll."
"With such good weather, it's a shame to stay home. Let's go out for a walk."
Qin Lifen was beaming. With the cooking tasks delegated, she had free time to take her grandchildren out for a walk. What a wonderful prospect.
Chen Yang didn't pay his mother any mind. He heated water and took a shivering bath.
Many people in the North probably didn't know how much courage it took to bathe in the South during winter; it was just too cold.
Chen Yang also wished for a steaming hot bathhouse where he could soak and have an old scrubber rub off the grime.
Scraping off half a pound of dirt, he'd feel light as a feather.
After his bath, Chen Yang's alcohol had worn off, and he was no longer sleepy.
Shivering, he put on his clean clothes and found his brother-in-law already busy in the kitchen, washing and chopping vegetables.
His technique was no less skilled than Chen Yang's.
Chen Yang knew his brother-in-law's cooking skills well. Ever since his elder sister married him, her husband had never let her step into the kitchen.
But that was all in his past life. In this life, Chen Yang hadn't tasted his brother-in-law's cooking yet and wasn't sure how far his culinary skills had developed.
"Yangzi, you go rest. This kitchen is small, and it'll be awkward if we're both crowding in here. I can manage alone."
Li Zhengpeng knew Chen Yang had had a bit to drink and wanted him to relax.
He was also trying to impress his mother-in-law to make up for her earlier displeasure.
"Brother-in-law, alright then. It's not me being lazy; you insisted on doing it."
Chen Yang didn't stand on ceremony with Li Zhengpeng. He might be polite with outsiders, but not with his own family.
Being family, he didn't want to complicate things; otherwise, life would be too tiring.
"Go on, go on. I told Mom that she and Dad are taking the two little ones out for a walk. Your sister is resting inside, saying she needs to rest too, acting like a pregnant woman."
"You rest well, and I'll call you when dinner is ready. Tonight, we'll have a few drinks with Dad to liven things up during the New Year."
Li Zhengpeng got along naturally with Chen Yang. It felt as if they had known each other for decades, and he felt comfortable in both their conversations and actions.
Moreover, the house where he and his wife lived was arranged by his brother-in-law, who had also given them both Shanghai brand watches.
Having such a good brother-in-law was like finding a needle in a haystack, so he had to take good care of him.
"Okay, Dad said the same thing."
"Brother-in-law, has there been any news about you and my sister getting a unit from your company's housing allocation?"
"If it's just a dormitory-style building, let's not take it. We can look around the area for a while. If anyone is selling a courtyard house like yours, find an opportunity to buy one. In the next few years, the country will definitely relax its housing policies."
"Once this house is bought, it's yours. It will only become more expensive in the future. You won't lose out by buying it to live in."
"If you're short on money, just let me know. We're family, so you don't need to be polite. As your brother, I'll definitely help if I can."
"If you really feel bad about it, you can pay me back when you and my sister have saved enough."
Chen Yang gave his brother-in-law a hint. If they bought a courtyard house near Xuanwu Lake like his, it would appreciate tenfold or even a hundredfold in the future.
While courtyard houses in Jinling couldn't compare to those in Beijing, which could be worth hundreds of millions or even billions, tens of millions were certainly possible. Prime locations wouldn't necessarily be cheaper than Beijing's siheyuan.
"Yangzi, okay, I'll keep this in mind."
"To be honest, after living in this big courtyard with you and your sister, I wouldn't be used to living in a dormitory."
"With our salaries, we can save forty to fifty yuan a month. However, there are occasional extra expenses. After saving for a few years, we can afford a courtyard house."
"If I find a courtyard house I like and the money isn't enough, I won't be too proud to ask you."
Li Zhengpeng smiled. He knew his brother-in-law was considering his feelings, and he did have such thoughts.
Although his brother-in-law wouldn't push them out, living in their own home would still feel more comfortable. Regardless of whether it was good or bad, living in one's own place was different from living in someone else's, even if that someone else was his wife's younger brother.
"Brother-in-law, I'm relieved to hear that."
"We're family. Just speak up if you need anything anytime."
"If I need help from you and my sister, I'll always ask directly."
Chen Yang was referring to the unconditional help he received from his elder sister and brother-in-law in his past life, things he had never forgotten.
In this world, the most unbreakable bond was family.