Damao, Yuan Man, and Doctor Yang arrived. Seeing the steamer on the iron bucket stove, Doctor Yang's mouth watered.
"Nephew, can't you pick up the Yuan family's culinary skills?"
Yuan Man, without turning her head, ascended the steps. "I plan to send Yuan Fang to learn cooking from his paternal aunt."
"Don't! Don't!" Doctor Yang stopped smelling the food and hurried after his nephew into the courtyard. "Yuan Fang is my successor in medicine, you mustn't mess around."
Yu Ziyu, who was tending the fire, chuckled lightly. "Doctor Yang is so amusing."
Damao wanted to take the fire poker from her hand, intending to take over the task.
Yu Ziyu disagreed. "Tending the fire is the most fun."
Li Weibo waved to his elder cousin. "Cousin Damao, don't worry about her, just let her play."
Damao squinted at her cousin. "Don't you feel sorry for your wife?"
Li Weibo smiled. "Isn't this me showing concern? She enjoys playing with this, so let her."
"Then what about carrying water?" Damao knew the couple had even carried water from the Kuke River.
"Ziyu doesn't like it." Li Weibo shook his head. "By the time she carries it home, only half a bucket is left, and she quits."
"Xiaobo!" Yu Ziyu called her husband teasingly, then smiled at Damao. "Carrying water is tiring, it hurts the shoulders. Tending the fire is simple and you can play with fire. I really like tending the fire." "However, for the next two days, I won't be causing trouble with the fire, don't worry."
Damao was persuaded to enter the courtyard.
Not long after, Xiaomai and Zhou Chenbin arrived.
Xiaomai also wanted to tend the fire, but was also persuaded away by Yu Ziyu.
Yu Ziyu wiped her sweat. "Why do they all want to snatch the job of tending the fire?"
"It's not like that." Li Weibo wiped her sweat with the towel in his hand. "They're showing concern for you. Tending the fire in the summer is not pleasant."
Yu Ziyu let her husband wipe her face. "Isn't this an open space? It's cooler than the kitchen." "Besides, with you by my side, I'm happy doing anything. When you go back, I'll go back too. With Aunt Cai here, I'm practically fed and dressed."
Li Weibo caressed her face tenderly. "When I'm not home, find things that make you happy and spend more time with your parents and them."
"Mmm-hmm, I know."
...
When Sun Quanxiao came out of the room, he brought Zeng Jingchu with him.
Upon seeing this, Li Weibo hurried to support Zeng Jingchu. "Your leg can't walk, don't you know?"
"Xiaobo." Zeng Jingchu's gentle gaze fell on Li Weibo's face. "Carry my little uncle to the living room, uh, no, carry him directly to the dining room. I'll wait for dinner in the dining room."
Li Weibo looked at Sun Quanxiao. "Mr. Sun, please go to the living room first."
"No need, I still have something..."
Before Sun Quanxiao could finish, Li Weibo interrupted him. "Mr. Sun, it's a descendant of the Yuan family cooking today. Will you really not stay for dinner?"
Sun Quanxiao paused, then smiled. "I didn't expect to have this good fortune? Alright, I'll be imposing then."
Li Weibo shook his head. "You're too kind, Mr. Sun. Please go to the living room and sit for a while."
Sun Quanxiao waved his hand. "I'll go to the dining room and wait with your little uncle. I'll chat with him along the way."
After Li Weibo carried Zeng Jingchu into the dining room, he turned to make tea, but Xiaomai had already entered with the tea tray and utensils.
Zeng Jingchu beckoned to Xiaomai. "Come, give me the tea tray and utensils. I'll make tea for Mr. Sun."
Sun Quanxiao smiled. "Certainly, it's my great fortune to taste Boss Zeng's tea artistry."
Zeng Jingchu, while warming the teaware, replied, "Mr. Sun speaks humorously. I only know a little bit, just showing off in front of an expert."
Li Weibo waved to his cousin, signaling her to go out. He couldn't stand the polite exchanges between the two, it gave him a headache.
Half an hour later, the dishes from the kitchen were being served one after another into the dining room.
Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing, the hosts, also entered.
The dining table could seat a maximum of twelve people.
A table was set in the kitchen.
Lili and Ziyu, the sister-in-law pair, pushed their husbands to the dining room to accompany the guests. They stayed in the kitchen with Xiao Yuan, the two elder cousins, and the three children.
Mother Li had also intended to sit in the kitchen, but as the elder of the family, with Doctor Yang and Mr. Sun present, she had to sit at the head of the table.
After a polite round of introductions, everyone began to eat.
Once they started eating, they couldn't stop.
Sun Quanxiao was thin but had a huge appetite.
He ate two bowls of rice and still looked unsatisfied.
Li Weibo served him another bowl. "When you eat at my house, don't stand on ceremony. Eat until you're full."
"Hahahaha." Sun Quanxiao laughed heartily. "Good, good. It's rare to eat such delicious food, so I won't be polite."
Sun Quanxiao ate two more bowls of rice before putting down his chopsticks. "You all eat slowly. I truly have no more space to store food."
As soon as he put down his chopsticks, the people at the table stopped being delicate.
Except for Han Lushi, who maintained some table manners, everyone else directly scooped dishes into their bowls.
He was stunned, then he smiled. So, what others said about him being too rigid and particular was true.
After eating his fill, Li Weibo wiped his mouth with a napkin and said to Sun Quanxiao, "This is how you should eat, heartily and to your fill. Eating with you, Mr. Sun, makes my stomach hurt."
"Xiaobo!" Tian Jing reprimanded her second son. "Table manners are a sign of politeness. You may not understand it, but you shouldn't speak recklessly."
"It's alright, Captain Tian." Sun Quanxiao waved his hand. "My manners were drilled into me from childhood, and they've become second nature."
"Watching you eat is another kind of scenery. How should I put it? There's a rugged beauty to it, very pleasing to the eye."
Tian Jing smiled faintly. "Please forgive our lack of refinement, Mr. Sun. In our rural area, we don't pay much attention to the niceties of eating and doing things. It's all for sustenance."
Sun Quanxiao froze for a moment, then his face broke into a wide smile. "Yes, yes, for sustenance. The word 'sustenance' best expresses the fundamental pursuit of a person's life."
Li Weibo gritted his teeth. He couldn't stand this Mr. Sun, whom all the members of the special skills team both loved and hated.
"Mr. Sun, you can just say, 'In this life, it's all about food and drink.'"
After saying that, he stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I must take my leave."
Then, he ran off without looking back.
Tian Jing apologized to Sun Quanxiao.
Sun Quanxiao smiled and shook his head, indicating that Li Weibo was being genuine. It was precisely because most of the special skills team members were so straightforward that he was willing to be their specially appointed advisor.
When he said the word 'almost,' Sun Quanxiao's eyes were fixed on Han Lushi.
Han Lushi looked up. "Does Mr. Sun need something?"
Sun Quanxiao shook his head. "No."
After everyone at the table had put down their chopsticks, Sun Quanxiao stood up to leave.
"Captain Tian, I have other matters to attend to, so I must take my leave. Thank you for your hospitality. This lunch was exceptionally delicious, thank you!"
Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo escorted him to the village parking lot. Only when his car disappeared from view did Tian Jing heave a sigh of relief.
Not to mention her son, she herself couldn't stand this kind of person.
Returning to the courtyard, everyone was discussing Mr. Sun's rigid manners.
"Ahem!" Tian Jing coughed heavily. "Where are your manners? When did I ever teach you to gossip behind people's backs?"
"No one is perfect. Mr. Sun has his own respectable qualities, and besides, his manners are not his flaws."
The people who were speaking dispersed.