Chapter 204: Chapter 203 Son-in-law’s Cooking
Mrs. Mo gently kissed her nephew’s face and tightly held his little hand.
Seeing the baby smile in sleep, she said to her sister-in-law, “Sister-in-law, the little nephew smiled in his sleep as if he saw in his dreams.”
“Hehe, I heard that it’s the Flower King’s smile. A baby’s smile is involuntary,” Young Madam Zhong replied with a loving smile upon hearing her elder sister’s words.
“Really? Is that so?”
“Sister, seeing your little nephew, don’t you also want to have such a lovely child?”
Mrs. Mo laughed and nodded at her sister’s words, then she tapped her sister on the forehead and said, “Child, don’t talk nonsense with adults.”
“Sister, I’m already 15 years old, not young anymore.”
“Hmm, you’ve grown into a fine young lady; it’s ti to look for a marital match.” When Mrs. Mo said this, she did not use any persuasive words. Marriage is, after all, governed by the mandates of parents and the matchmaker’s words, but one’s personal fate in marriage is determined by destiny.
“Not talking to sister anymore…” Zhong Xiaoi shyly blushed.
Mrs. Mo stayed in her sister-in-law’s courtyard for a while, then rembered so of her luggage was still unpacked, so she took her leave.
Mrs. Mo then said goodbye to her parents, ntioning she needed to go ho.
Mrs. Zhong had previously planned to go shopping with her daughter and now instructed soone to prepare the carriage.
Hearing that her mother and elder sister were going shopping, her younger daughter also wanted to join.
The three won got into the carriage together and not only did they visit the gold and silver store, but they also shopped in clothing stores and so general stores.
Mrs. Zhong kept buying; she bought gold and silver jewelry for her daughter. This ti, for her daughter’s dowry, she even bought so fabrics from afar, ready-made clothes, and gifts for others.
In addition to buying gold and silver jewelry for her daughter, she bought so gift jewelry as well.
After all, the family she was going to work for were relatives of relatives.
When eting people, it was customary to present gifts, and as a mother who thought so thoroughly, the daughter could only gratefully accept them. One could never completely repay a parent’s kindness; they could only plan to reciprocate when they and their spouse were capable enough in the future.
The three won shopped until evening before reluctantly ending their spree. The carriage took the daughter ho and also transported the gifts to her ho.
Scholar Mo hadn’t been idle that afternoon; in fact, he wasn’t even at ho. Being self-sufficient from a young age, packing was no big deal for him.
After packing essential items, he packed so usable things. Even if he wasn’t to live in this courtyard in the future, it would be convenient for Housekeeper Zhao to help move them.
As evening approached, which was when he usually returned ho, his wife had already prepared dinner.
His wife hadn’t specifically gone out to buy groceries today. He looked into the kitchen and saw there were still eggs and flour.
Scholar Mo wasn’t an ignorant scholar when it ca to grains; he had helped with household chores and knew how to prepare simple ho als. Born in the North, his family most commonly ate stead buns, and flatbreads were a rarity.
Having both white flour and eggs now, he could make white flour egg pancakes, which was already a luxurious food at ho.
He took a plate, asured two bowls of flour, cracked eggs onto the flour, and prepared to make egg pancakes that evening.
While he was making the pancakes and they were almost ready, there was a noise outside the courtyard. Distracted, he glanced out the kitchen window. The gate opened, and in ca his mother-in-law with his wife and her younger sister.
Then a maid entered carrying many items, followed by the driver helping with the luggage.
People entering the courtyard slled the aroma. It was dinner ti, and delicious scents wafted from the kitchen along with smoke from the chimney.
The couple’s ho was emitting slls from the kitchen at that mont, which everyone found surprising. Peering through the kitchen window from the courtyard, they saw the young son-in-law rolling up his sleeves to prepare food.
Mrs. Zhong saw her son-in-law cooking and smiled in approval, nodding her head contentedly.
It seed that the son-in-law her daughter had chosen wasn’t a useless scholar who only stretched out his hand to eat and opened his mouth to be fed. He indeed had so redeeming qualities.
Mrs. Mo’s sister saw her brother-in-law working in the kitchen, which was unlike anything she had known; indeed, a man in the kitchen was quite handso.
No wonder her elder sister had fallen out with their family over this man. He did have his strengths, not lacking in virtues, mainly in how he cherished her sister.
Mrs. Zhong had originally planned to put down her things, say goodbye to her daughter, and leave with her younger daughter.
But seeing her son-in-law cooking, she longed to try the food he was preparing, not for anything else but because she had never experienced a al cooked by a man. It was not that the workers in her ho couldn’t cook.
There were male chefs at ho too, but she pondered which man of her family—her father-in-law or her sons—would cook?
Besides her older daughter who had joined her in the kitchen to learn cooking when she was younger, her younger daughter was also learning a bit of cooking now.
She genuinely had never tasted food cooked by a close male family mber, so with that thought, she decided not to leave.
As a younger sister-in-law, she too harbored a curiosity to taste her brother-in-law’s cooking.
Mrs. Mo felt slightly embarrassed seeing her relatives discover that a man was cooking for her.
The driver, after helping to bring in the gifts, went out to watch over the carriage. He thought to himself that he had witnessed so good gossip today, and in the future, if anyone spoke poorly of the young master, he would be the first to defend him.
The driver was completely aligned with his own family’s views that it wasn’t unseemly for a man to be in the kitchen.
The attentive maid chose to go into the kitchen to help, but upon arriving, they realized that no help was needed as everything was already prepared.
Scholar Mo, seeing the maid enter, understood that they were going to join in the al. He had only made egg pancakes, without going out to buy groceries or at, and felt a bit embarrassed about serving such simple food. But given the situation, he had no choice but to carry on.
Mrs. Zhong and her younger daughter saw that only egg pancakes were served. They didn’t say much, having already realized that the couple were frugal and led a simple life.
Mrs. Zhong took a piece of the egg pancake, tasted it, and nodded her approval, comnting, “Not bad, crispy on the outside and tender inside.”
“Who would have thought, brother-in-law, you are really skillful in cooking,” Zhong Xiaoi also followed suit, taking a piece of the egg pancake and praising after a bite.
Scholar Mo felt sowhat embarrassed hosting his wife’s family with such simple fare. He half-expected a few comnts from them.
Unexpectedly, his mother-in-law and sister-in-law were very gracious, heartily eating what he had cooked.
Mrs. Zhong, after having an egg pancake, instructed the maid to pack several pancakes to bring back ho to share with her family.
The younger sister-in-law also wanted more. Seeing her mother ready to pack the egg pancakes for ho, and realizing there were not many left, she decided to let them go.
The Scholar and his wife said goodbye to her family. Alone, they ate the egg pancakes and savored their last night in the Capital.
After dinner, the couple washed up without any other life pressures, and while going to bed, the Scholar continued to chat with his wife.
He talked about their future, their dreams, and what they might possibly have ahead.
His wife listened quietly, smiling. That night, without forr life pressures, the couple slept exceptionally well.
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