Chapter 187: Mrs. Fu Feels She Is the Superfluous One
That made sense to Lü Feng.
Qin Tuan’s wife had only been here for a short while. All that had happened before was just a small misunderstanding.
"It’s good you weren’t involved. From now on, just stay out of trouble at home and stop causing a scene outside. You need to get along with the people in the family compound."
If he had said this in the past, Zhu Xiaohong would have definitely snapped back at him.
But today, she was uncharacteristically agreeable.
"──I know. Alright, hurry up and eat."
Lü Feng wasn’t a particularly observant man, so of course, he didn’t notice his wife’s unusual behavior.
...
Meanwhile, at the Qin Family Mansion, they were also having dinner.
Dinner was quite lavish: three dishes and a soup.
Mrs. Fu had specially ladled a bowl of chicken soup for Qin Wenhao, making sure to include chunks of meat.
She had even put the large drumstick in his bowl.
"Wenhao, eat up!"
"Mom, you should have this drumstick──"
"Stop passing it back and forth. Isn’t this whole bowl full of meat? Besides, I’ve already set aside some chicken soup for Mingxue."
A chicken yesterday, and another one today.
Even women in postpartum confinement didn’t eat this extravagantly.
It truly pained Mrs. Fu.
Unfortunately, her son-in-law was the one who had prepared the chicken today, so she couldn’t stop him.
"Eat... eat──"
Just then, the two little ones’ voices rang out.
Qin Wenhao and Mrs. Fu couldn’t help but look over at them. They were waving their little hands, drooling at the sight of the chicken.
"Oh, they want some too."
Mrs. Fu reached out and wiped the two little ones’ drool.
"You can’t eat these big pieces of meat. I’ll shred some for you to eat in a bit."
Looking at the two children, Qin Wenhao said to Mrs. Fu, "Mom, don’t always feed them. Let them learn to eat by themselves."
"How old do you think they are? How can they possibly hold a spoon? Let’s wait another two months." Mrs. Fu doted on these two children!
The weather was cold, and the food would get cold quickly. If the kids ate by themselves, who knew how long it would take?
"They’re not that young. They’re over fourteen months old." Qin Wenhao remembered the two children’s birthdays clearly.
They were born on the twenty-third day of the eleventh lunar month.
Afraid he would press the issue, Mrs. Fu just gave a perfunctory nod. "──Yes, yes, let them learn. Next time. There’s no rush with this meal."
Qin Wenhao saw through her, but didn’t say anything more. He just said, "I’ll feed them in a bit. Mom, let’s eat first."
When Mrs. Fu heard her son-in-law’s words, she subconsciously wanted to refuse, but she still nodded.
"──That... works."
She thought the two kids were very smart.
Besides knowing how to say "Grandma," they could also say "Mama" and "Dada" now.
They could also say "Auntie," "Grandpa," and "Grandma"──they’d only been talking for a short while, yet they already knew so many words.
If it weren’t for the cold weather, they’d probably be walking already.
’Speaking of walking──thank goodness my daughter is busy with work. Otherwise, that silly girl would be tormenting the poor kids. The weather is so cold, and they’re wearing thick clothes. What’s wrong with learning to walk a little later? When the weather warms up and they shed their thick clothes, won’t they just start walking on their own?’
Mrs. Fu subconsciously forgot that the room was heated by a stove.
Qin Wenhao quickly finished his meal and then went to feed the two children.
To be precise, he was teaching them how to hold a spoon and scoop food for themselves──
Mrs. Fu watched this scene, her mouth agape. ’Forget it,’ she thought. ’I’m not getting involved.’
’Out of sight, out of mind.’
She simply cleared the table and went to wash the dishes──
Half an hour later, Qin Wenhao put away the bowls, wiped the two little ones’ faces and hands, and then helped them practice walking.
Mrs. Fu: ...?
’He’s really putting them through it.’
’Those poor children.’
Fu Mingxue got off work at nine-thirty.
When she came out, she saw Qin Wenhao’s bicycle.
She walked over. "Have you been waiting long?"
She was supposed to get off at nine, but when you’re busy, an extra half hour is hardly noticeable.
Qin Wenhao shook his head. "Not long. Hop on."
Fu Mingxue then noticed that a thick cushion was tied to the back seat.
’This guy’s actually pretty thoughtful,’ she mused, ’to even consider this.’
She got on and found it was quite soft yet firm, feeling as if the cushion was stuffed with a lot of cotton.
Qin Wenhao balanced the bike with one foot on the ground. He saw that after she had settled in, her hands had yet to find their way to his waist.
After two seconds of silence, he started riding away.
The bicycle’s handlebars swerved, and the tire lurched as it went over a shallow pothole.
Fu Mingxue hadn’t been holding on, and her whole body was jolted into the air.
Qin Wenhao immediately said, "──Hold on to me. It’s a bit dark tonight; I can’t see the road clearly."
In reality, his eyesight was excellent. His night vision was very strong, honed by years of training.
Besides, his memory was exceptional.
He could ride this stretch of road with his eyes closed and still know where every single pothole was.
Fu Mingxue quickly threw her arms around his waist.
’If that happened again, I really don’t want to fall off.’
’It’s normal not to be able to see the road on such a dark night.’
Little did she know, it wasn’t just the night that was dark—someone’s intentions were a little dark, too.
When her hands wrapped around his waist, the corners of a certain someone’s lips curled into a smile that not even an AK-47 could suppress.
Fortunately, the rest of the ride was very smooth.
As soon as they reached their front door, Fu Mingxue jumped off the bicycle.
Just as she was about to open the door, Mrs. Fu opened it from the inside.
"You’re back!"
"Mom, why aren’t you asleep yet?"
’She opened that door so fast—you’d think she’d been waiting right behind it!’
Mrs. Fu said bluntly, "It’s still early, I wasn’t tired. Come on in, don’t block your husband’s way."
Fu Mingxue walked into the courtyard.
After she entered the main room, Mrs. Fu pulled her over for an inspection──
Seeing that she was truly unharmed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fu Mingxue instantly understood why her mother wasn’t asleep.
’So she was waiting up, worried about me!’
’Of course. Mom must have found out about what happened today.’
"Mom, I’m fine. I didn’t even lose a single hair. Don’t worry, I’m great! How could your daughter ever let herself be at a disadvantage?"
Mrs. Fu shot her a look.
"It’s good that you’re okay. From now on, if you can’t win against someone, just stay away. Nothing is more important than your own well-being."
’Those two wretches,’ she fumed internally. ’Why do they have to bother my daughter? If they’ve got a problem, they should take it up with Qin Wenhao directly. Why must women make things difficult for other women?’
"Oh, right, there’s still hot chicken soup in the kitchen. Have some."
Just as she was about to go get it, she saw her son-in-law had already brought the earthenware pot in.
"Honey, it’s still warm. Drink up. Mom’s soup is delicious."
Fu Mingxue had been about to say she wasn’t hungry, but he had already brought it over.
So she sat down.
Then, she saw that besides the soup he had poured, there was also a large drumstick.
She picked up the large drumstick, took a couple of bites, and praised, "This tastes great."
Qin Wenhao immediately said, "If you like it, I’ll have Mom stew another one tomorrow."
When Mrs. Fu heard this, her mouth twitched. ’If they kill another one tomorrow, that would be three chickens in a row! What kind of family could withstand eating like this? Wouldn’t even a mountain of gold and silver be eaten away?’
"No, thanks. We’ve already had two, I think. Let’s wait a while before having it again."
Qin Wenhao thought his wife was worried about the cost and immediately said:
"It’s fine. I’ll trade for one with the villagers. The chickens from the village taste better when stewed."
Mrs. Fu couldn’t listen anymore.
She wasn’t about to stay and be a third wheel.
"Just leave the bowls there, I’ll wash them tomorrow morning. I’m going to bed. You two should get to sleep early, too."