Chapter 528: Chapter 526: A Mother’s Heart
Jiang Feng looked at the task and fell into deep thought.
He could probably understand the aning behind the ga issuing this task. Although Zhao i hadn’t starved recently, she had been avoiding als to escape the Braised at, leading to an extrely irregular eating pattern, which was clearly very unhealthy behavior for a soon-to-be mother.
Originally, she had co back to her mother’s house to nurture her pregnancy better, but after returning ho, she couldn’t even guarantee stable als, eating as if she was engaging in guerrilla warfare. Advance when the enemy advances, retreat when the enemy retreats, she was short of employing all 36 stratagems.
The thought was a little heart-wrenching.
But how should he complete this task?
Jiang Feng was well aware of Tian Lin’s culinary skills; when it ca to at dishes, she either neglected to season them or over-seasoned them, hovering between serving food that could kill and couldn’t. Her cooking skills were at a basic level where she could only boil noodles well, and while she could manage simple vegetables, anything slightly more complicated was beyond her.
To put it bluntly, teaching Tian Lin to cook was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. It wasn’t because Tian Lin was a beginner; on the contrary, she had been in charge of the Zhao Family’s kitchen for decades and had developed her own set of cooking theories. Even if those theories were wrong, Jiang Feng couldn’t easily correct them.
With these worries in mind, Jiang Feng left the bathroom and returned to Zhao i’s room.
Everyone had already started eating glutinous rice balls, each holding a bowl and spoon, with the plump rice balls floating adorably in the bowls.
Among them all, Zhao i’s husband was eating the most cheerfully, and indeed, he was the one who suffered the most these days. Zhao i could use feeling sleepy to avoid al tis, but he couldn’t. Not only that, but he also had to forcibly grin and bear his mother-in-law’s ‘lovingly’ prepared Braised at, assist his wife in guerrilla warfare, provide her with food, and apologize to his wife when necessary—and even when not necessary.
Zhao i, having eaten 5 buns and two or three glutinous rice balls, felt full and scooped the remaining balls into her husband’s bowl, not forgetting to praise Jiang Feng, “How about it, my cousin’s skills are not bad, right?”
“Excellent, amazing!” Zhao i’s husband exclaid, devouring the rice balls.
“Eat slower, chew more. Glutinous rice balls are made from sticky rice; if you eat too fast, they won’t be easy to digest,” Zhao i advised.
Seeing everyone eating glutinous rice balls, Zhao i leaned on the bed and slowly got up.
Because she was about to give birth and was carrying twins, Zhao i’s belly was incredibly large, making her originally round face, neck, hands, and sowhat swollen feet look very delicate by comparison.
Seeing Zhao i getting up to move, her husband quickly helped her into her coat and followed behind her.
“It’s warm inside with the air conditioning, so you all stay here. I’ll go out and talk with Third Grandma and the others, and also get so exercise,” Zhao i said with a smile, supporting her belly and walking out.
Zhao i’s room was indeed much warr than outside. Going out not only ant facing the cold but also the risk of being forced to consu a bowl of Braised at by the uncle. Therefore, everyone obediently stayed inside, continuing to eat their glutinous rice balls while chatting.
“ii’s belly is so big, isn’t it exhausting for her to walk like this?” Jiang Junqing exclaid.
“The more so, the more she needs to move around,” Jiang Shoucheng said. “But I feel that ii has changed a lot.”
“She has beco gentler,” Jiang Zaidi agreed, nodding.
Jiang Feng was busy eating his glutinous rice balls and couldn’t join the conversation, only intermittently nodding his head and listening to everyone discuss how pregnant won endure hardship and difficulties.
It was only after Jiang Feng finished his bowl that he joined the discussion group.
“Cheng, isn’t it a bit bad for ii to have such irregular als?” Jiang Feng asked.
“It isn’t great, but if it’s just for a few days, it should be okay. I see that ii is quite rosy and often gets down to walk around; her state is not bad,” Jiang Shoucheng said. “Plus, Sir’s family won’t be able to stew at for many days; they can’t have that much Wuhua pork to keep up with Aunt’s cooking.”
Although Jiang Shoucheng’s words made sense, since the ga had issued a task, Jiang Feng couldn’t just sit on his hands.
He decided to take a turn in the kitchen first to see if there was any space for intervention.
“I’ll check out the kitchen,” Jiang Feng said, getting up.
No sooner had Jiang Feng stepped out when he overheard the voice of Aunt talking with Zhao i in the living room. As he passed by, he glanced in and saw Zhao i sitting central like a star, the center of attention, surrounded by a group of elders, while her uncle sat on the side laughing and drinking tea, all in high spirits.
Jiang Feng briskly walked toward the kitchen and before even entering, he heard voices coming from inside, Mrs. Jiang and Tian Lin conversing.
Since the Zhao Family’s kitchen was small, he could see everything inside from the doorway. Realizing they were discussing Zhao i’s issue, Jiang Feng did not enter directly but instead eavesdropped from the doorway.
Tian Lin was washing vegetables while Mrs. Jiang was helping her pick vegetable leaves.
“Aunt, this isn’t overthinking things, I’m sure ii is being bullied at her in-laws’ place,” Tian Lin said with a worried look, “Lately, I’ve sensed that sothing was off with her; I feel like she’s been hiding sothing from . Ever since she was little, ii has shared everything with . If she isn’t being mistreated by her in-laws, why else would she keep secrets from ?”
Mrs. Jiang picked through the vegetables indifferently, offering comfort, “Zhuangshi, you’re just prone to worrying. I just saw ii, and she seed to be in a good mood. Her husband seems like a decent man, very earnest. Whenever she walked ahead, he’d follow right behind her, obviously very attentive to ii. Besides, didn’t you tell that ii doesn’t live with her in-laws? ii is a smart girl, not soone who would get easily bullied.”
“No, I’m sure she is being bullied. Aunt, I went to the city especially to ask a doctor, and the doctor said pregnant won experience significant emotional fluctuations; they can make a mountain out of a molehill over trifles. ii was fine before, but ever since Zhu (Zhao i’s husband) arrived, she suddenly lost her appetite. There must be sothing Zhu did that reminded her of sothing upsetting. What could be so disturbing that it made her unable to eat?” As Tian Lin spoke, she abruptly put down the potato she was holding.
“Could it be that Zhu abuses her?”
“Tut-tut-tut, what are you talking about? How could you even speak of such things, careful not to ruin the harmony between ii and Zhu. Zhuangshi, don’t you trust your aunt? When have I ever misjudged a person in all these years? There used to be so many wife beaters in our village; don’t you think I’d be aware of their type? Zhu is definitely not one of them; he’s clearly an honest lad. It looks to like you’re the one with wild thoughts instead of ii.” Mrs. Jiang was stern, “Don’t talk nonsense like that again. You’re grown up now; don’t you understand such basic principles?”
Tian Lin knew she had spoken recklessly, “But Aunt, why did ii suddenly lose her appetite?”
“ii looked quite rosy to , not like soone who hasn’t been eating. How could she not have an appetite?” Mrs. Jiang questioned.
“Ever since ii was a child, I don’t know what happened, but every ti alti cos around, she just gets sleepy. She doesn’t want to eat anything, only willing to drink so soup and have sothing light. ii used to love Braised at when she was young; she’d light up at the sight of it during the New Year’s, able to eat two big bowls at a go. Seeing her lack of appetite, I’ve been getting up before dawn to make Braised at for her, even picking out the fattiest cuts for her, but ii always says she isn’t hungry and doesn’t want it, she would rather have sothing sweet instead.”
Mrs. Jiang: …
A brief silence fell in the kitchen.
“Listen, Zhuangshi,” Mrs. Jiang didn’t quite know what to say, “Braised at can indeed be too greasy for pregnant won; perhaps it doesn’t suit her. From now on, you should cook less Braised at for ii; just make her so atball soup in the morning.”
“How could she be averse to it? When I was pregnant with ii, I rember it was also during the Spring Festival, and I relished eating two bowls of Braised at every day,” Tian Lin disagreed.
Mrs. Jiang was at a loss for words.
“Just thinking about it makes worry; I feel like ii has lost quite a bit of weight these past few days,” said Tian Lin with a face full of concern.
“Zhuangshi, take my advice; cook less Braised at. Maybe if you do, ii’s appetite will improve,” Mrs. Jiang suggested ekly.
“Actually, Aunt, I ca today to ask Uncle for a favor,” Tian Lin began.
“What is it?”
“ii has been having cravings for sweets lately because of her lack of appetite, but she can’t have too much because she’s pregnant. It’s not nutritious only eating sweets without at. When I got married to Zhuangshi, the city was repairing the dam, and you found Zhuangshi a job carrying bags, but he wasn’t well, so I took over. During that ti, I would eat and stay at your place, do you rember?” Tian Lin asked.
“Of course, I rember,” Mrs. Jiang replied.
“There was this one ti Uncle made Braised at, I think with bamboo shoots, and it was sweet and incredibly tasty. ii hasn’t been having much of an appetite and wants sothing sweet, so I was thinking, what if ii would like to eat sweet Braised at? That’s why I wanted to ask if Uncle still rembers how he made that dish. If he does, could he teach ?” Tian Lin requested.
Mrs. Jiang rembered when Tian Lin ca to the city to carry bags but didn’t recall that particular Braised at dish. Having eaten Sir’s cooking for decades, there wasn’t a single Braised at dish that would linger in her mory, even if it was sweet.
“I’ll ask him for you, and even if Weiguo doesn’t rember, I’ll have him show you sothing else. A different recipe might just be to ii’s taste,” Mrs. Jiang began to speak truthfully.
“Thank you for the trouble.”
Jiang Feng stood at the doorway, stunned.
He realized that he and Zhao i had both fallen into a misunderstanding.
Zhao i couldn’t stomach the Braised at and didn’t want to disappoint Tian Lin by directly telling her it was too unpleasant for her to eat, so she chose to use “Lies” to deceive Tian Lin.
That deception stemd from Zhao i’s concern as a daughter and her desire not to disappoint her mother.
They only thought about how to deceive Tian Lin, making her believe that Zhao i just wasn’t hungry and not that she disliked the Braised at. However, they overlooked the fact that Tian Lin was making Braised at out of a mother’s concern and love for her daughter. Tian Lin always rembered how Zhao i loved eating Braised at as a child, so she believed making Braised at for Zhao i during the New Year was showing her the greatest care because Braised at was the best food she could offer Zhao i.
Completing this task was actually quite simple, just as indicated in the mission tips: teaching soone to fish is better than giving them a fish.
Tian Lin needed to learn how to make truly delicious Braised at so she could pass on that acceptable form of care to Zhao i.
The heart of a loving mother.
Jiang Feng entered the kitchen.
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