The Fifty-Third Birthday Banquet

  Chen Mei hurried over with a gift box, saw Chen Xi still riding on Zhao Yang's neck, and didn't come to hug her. She felt empty and a bit jealous, saying: "Come, Mom will hold you!" As she said that, she reached out and picked up Chen Xi.

  She had just taken Chen Xi into her arms when Chen Xi handed the apple in his hand to her mouth and said happily, "Mom, eat!"

  She held Chen Xi in her arms, and only then did Chen Mei feel a sense of fullness in her heart. She kissed Chen Xi's small face and said, "Mommy won't eat, Xi Xi will!"

  Morning twilight shook her head and said: "No, this apple is the biggest and best, give it to mom to eat!"

  Zhao Yang smiled and said: "Sister-in-law, you eat, these apples were specially picked by Xiao Xi for you!"

  The plum blossom was bitten into, and as soon as it entered her mouth, her heart felt sweet all over!

  "This apple is too big, Mom can't finish it, Xixi help Mom eat some!"

  Chen Xi happily took a bite, then turned around and said to Zhao Yang: "Uncle, you have some too!"

  Zhao Yang smiled and patted her head, saying: "That's for your mom to eat, Uncle will eat when he gets home!"

  Chen Mei scolded, "Look at this child, she can't even let go of her uncle!" Then looked around and said, "Which restaurant is good here? Sister-in-law will treat you to a meal!"

  Zhao Yang took down the suit from Chen Mei's arm, pulling a suitcase as he walked forward and said: "No need to bother, we're heading home now, my mom has already cooked dinner!"

  Chen Mei had no choice but to follow him and said, "How embarrassing!"

  "What's wrong with that? I'm still underpaid for eating and living at my sister-in-law's house!"

  It's already past twelve, and Morning Plum probably didn't eat much after getting up early. It's even less likely that she ate on the bus. So Zhao Yang decided to rent a car to go back to the village. In Qishui County, there are many three-wheeled vehicles with canopies for rent, which usually cost between 30 and 50 yuan to get to each village.

  Zhao Yang had just walked out seven or eight meters ahead when Kong Fansheng drove up beside him again. "Get in the car!" he said. "I thought you guys had left already!"

  Zhao Yang smiled and said: "Your matter has been settled!"

  Kong Fansheng got out of the car and opened the trunk, putting Chen Mei's luggage inside. He smiled and said, "Just finished! By the way, have you guys eaten yet? Why don't we eat together? The salted chicken at Liu's big courtyard is very famous among us!"

  Zhao Yang first opened the door and let Chen Mei and her mother get in the car, then smiled and said: "Forget it, my mom has already cooked dinner!"

  "Alright then, let's have another drink together next time!"

  In Zhao Yang's old house, Sun Zhenxiang was preparing to make a pancake with eggs and flour. She first mixed the flour well and put it there to wake up, then shouted at Zhao Bingxing in the room: "Bingxing, what time is it?"

  Zhao Bingxing put on a new suit he had just bought this year, sitting in the direction of the gate. He turned his head to glance at the quartz clock and found that it had only been five minutes since Zhao Yang's phone call, so he complained: "What's the hurry? It's only been five minutes!"

  Sun Zhenxiang pursed her lips and didn't speak, stirring the filling of the glutinous rice cake well. She looked at several dishes she had made and calculated for a moment before suddenly realizing that one soup was missing. Thinking that they would be eating glutinous rice cakes at noon today, which were too greasy, she washed the rice and made a small millet porridge.

  She sat the porridge on the stove and started making Huajuan. The method of making Huajuan is very simple, roll out the dough into a circular pancake, similar to a pizza or egg pancake, then wrap the filling in the middle, pinch the edges together, and a semi-circular Huajuan is done!

  After wrapping up the pastry, Sun Zhenxiang asked again: "What time is it now?"

  Zhao Bingxing impatiently said: "Twelve thirty!"

  Sun Zhenxiang muttered to himself: "Aren't we on the bus already? Shouldn't we be arriving soon?" After finishing, he shouted again: "Bingxing, go out and take a look, are we almost there!"

  Zhao Bingxing said with a scowl: "I won't go! An old man like me going to welcome my daughter-in-law, what would she think!"

  Sun Zhenxiang grabbed a shovel and ran to the door, saying: "Are you going or not?"

  Zhao Bingxing's eyes widened and he said, "I'm not going!"

  Sun Zhenxiang sneered and walked two steps forward to the table, pointing at Zhao Bingxing's nose with a spatula: "Are you going or not?"

  Zhao Bingxing hastily said: "Don't let the oil spill on the table!" Then he lowered his voice and said: "Be careful of your influence, it's not good for the children to see this!"

  Sun Zhenxiang thought for a moment and also smelled the oil fume, thinking that the oil was still in the pot, so she said fiercely: "Wait until I have time to settle accounts with you!"

  Sun Zhenxiang had just baked three buns when she heard the sound of the door opening at the entrance. She couldn't help but look up and see Zhao Yang pulling a suitcase, with a young and beautiful woman holding a morning gift box beside him.

  Sun Zhenxiang couldn't help but feel a little regretful in her heart. She should have made the rice cakes earlier! What to do now? Should she go out or not?

  Just as she was hesitating, Zhao Bingxing had already come out of the main room. Sun Zhenxiang took a look and quickly flipped the pastry over, also walking over.

  "You must be Mom of Morning Dew!"

  Sun Zhenxiang's reputation preceded him, and Zhao Bingxing was at a loss for words.

  "Good morning, Auntie! I'm Chen Mei!"

  Sun Zhenxiang's eyes fell on Chen Mei's face, and she was so absorbed in looking that she forgot to speak. She didn't expect her skin to be so tender and white, even more beautiful than what she saw on the computer!

  Chen Mei felt a bit uneasy being stared at, it was like the legendary "meeting the parents" situation!

  There was a moment of silence in the courtyard.

  "It's so hot outside, let's go inside and talk!"

  Zhao Bingxing also responded and said, "Right, let's go inside first! Let's go inside first!" He then touched Sun Zhenxiang's arm and said, "Your pancake is burnt!"

  Sun Zhenxiang came back to himself and smiled: "You all go inside first, dinner will be ready soon!"

  Seeing Zhao Bingxing lead the way to the main house, Sun Zhenxiang also returned to the kitchen. Chen Mei whispered to Zhao Yang: "Your parents are really enthusiastic!"

  "Don't worry, my parents are very nice!"

  Chen Mei took a deep breath and followed him into the hall.

  The dishes were served quickly, all of which were home-cooked dishes, similar to what Zhao Yang and his family usually ate, but more delicate and with a bit more quantity.

  Chen Mei had been on the bus for seven or eight hours and didn't have much of an appetite when faced with a table full of dishes. But under Zhao Yang's parents' enthusiastic urging, she picked up a piece of steamed bean sprout with chili sauce and then ate a mouthful of thin white noodles stir-fried in red chili oil, and her appetite suddenly opened up. She also had quite a bit of the later dishes, such as the clear-steamed fish, Zhao Yang's invention of steamed meat, deep-fried cicada shells, etc., which looked quite oily.

  After they had almost finished eating, Sun Zhenxiang brought out a golden-brown pancake.

  The hot Huo Bao was just right, with a crispy outer skin and scallions as filling that were especially fragrant. Especially when Zhao Yang took a big bite of one quarter of the pancake, it only took a few bites for the whole thing to disappear into his belly! Morning Plum was led astray and unknowingly ate an entire pancake!

  Sun Zhenxiang didn't rush to eat, but instead picked up a small pancake specially made for Chen Xiu and blew on it. After it was no longer hot, she handed it to Chen Xiu who was sitting quietly beside her and said: "Take a small bite... right, drink the soup inside... is it delicious?"

  Chen Xiu nodded vigorously, and Sun Zhenxiang burst out laughing, his eyes narrowing into a line.

  "Come on, Auntie, hurry up and eat! I'll feed Xiaoxi!"

  Sun Zhenxiang picked up a piece of rice cake and slowly took a bite, saying: "I'm not hungry, I'll eat after Xixi finishes eating, it's not urgent!" Then she saw Chenmei put down her chopsticks and didn't want to eat anymore, so she quickly put down the rice cake she had just taken a bite of and said: "The porridge should be ready, I'll go get it right away!"

  Golden millet porridge, fragrant rice aroma, drinking a small bowl, slightly relieves the thirst caused by eating dishes, and resolves greasiness, after finishing it instantly gives people an unfulfilled feeling!

  What made Chen Mei feel more comforted and even surprised was Zhao Yang's parents' heartfelt enthusiasm for her mother and daughter. No wonder Chen Xi could adapt quickly to a brand new environment, just like she did, in just over an hour, she also had a feeling of not wanting to leave!

  PS: This is the first update, and I'm going to code the second one now~~~

  Also, seeking collection ~~ Can this book's collection this week not rush to one thousand?