In the afternoon, after seeing off the Lin family, Feng Yifan sat in the restaurant with his wife, father-in-law and mother.
The street outside looked bleak and deserted because it was closed on both sides.
But the family sitting in the restaurant was not affected by the bleakness. Everyone still had a smile on their face and were chatting about interesting things. From time to time, laughter could be heard floating out of the restaurant.
Lu Cuiling mentioned her son's childhood again: "When Yifan was little, he was a kid who loved to eat. At that time, his grandmother often said that this kid was a glutton and it would be great for him to be a chef when he grew up so that he could cook for himself. But I didn't expect that this kid would actually become a chef."
Su Ruoxi was always very curious about her husband's childhood. She moved her chair closer to her mother-in-law and chatted with her around her.
"Mom, was Yifan very naughty when he was a child?"
Lu Cuiling glanced at her son and said, "If you talk about naughty, Yifan wasn't naughty when he was little. Maybe it was because his father and I were not around, so he was very sensible and would help grandma with a lot of work."
Su Ruoxi then asked, "Mom, did Yifan do anything excessive to you and Dad when he was a child?"
Lu Cuiling glanced at her son again, thought for a moment and said, "If there is anything excessive, it's probably that he has lived in the city with me and his father for two years. He has almost never been nice to us. Every day when he comes home, he locks himself in his room. When we ask him to eat, it's like inviting a master."
When Su Ruoxi heard this, she gently kicked her husband with her foot.
Feng Yifan was kicked by his wife and asked, "What are you doing? Why did you kick me?"
Su Ruoxi glared at her husband and then nodded at her mother-in-law.
The meaning was very clear. It was to let the husband quickly apologize to his mother-in-law, take the opportunity to clarify the wrong things he had done in the past, and ease the previous conflicts between mother and son.
But Feng Yifan seemed to not understand what his wife meant at all, and said seriously: "It's been so many years, and those things are nothing anymore."
Hearing her husband say this, Su Ruoxi glared at her husband again and kicked him again.
In his wife's opinion, Feng Yifan's words would make her mother-in-law sad, so she wanted him to be locked up and make a statement to her mother.
How could Lu Cuiling not see what the couple was doing? She couldn't help but smile and said, "Okay, okay, can you two stop doing those little things? Mommy doesn't care about what happened back then anymore. Yifan was still a child at that time, so that kind of behavior is normal."
After listening to his mother's words, Feng Yifan hesitated for a moment, then sighed and started talking about the past.
"Actually, I didn't hate you and Dad at that time. It's just that I had never lived with you before. So when we suddenly lived together, and grandma wasn't around, I didn't know how to get along with you. So I could only avoid you as much as possible."
After hearing what her husband said, Su Ruoxi seized the opportunity to ask, "Why don't you talk to your parents?"
Feng Yifan looked helpless: "I couldn't help it. I was young at that time and didn't know how to communicate with my parents. I always felt that I was just a child in my parents' eyes, so they wouldn't believe me no matter what I said."
Lu Cuiling suddenly said, "By the way? Actually, there was another thing that made Yifan unwilling to communicate with us."
Su Ruoxi quickly asked: "Mom, what's the matter?"
Lu Cuiling looked at her son and saw that he did not stop her from talking, so she continued to talk to her daughter-in-law.
"At that time, Yifan had just transferred to a new school and was ostracized by some classmates. Some of them targeted him, but he refused to accept the consequences and started a fight with the classmate who had played a prank on him. Afterwards, his father thought that he was the one who started the trouble at school and gave him a lecture."
Hearing his mother mention this, Feng Yifan said helplessly: "My father is a man who always thinks that as long as he doesn't cause trouble, others won't bully him. If others come to him, it must be you who started the trouble. This is not the first time this has happened."
Lu Cuiling also smiled bitterly and said, "It's indeed not the first time. Yifan seems to have been scolded several times for this."
Su Ruoxi said softly, "I know of one incident. It was when you guys just came back from the city and he transferred back to the town middle school. It was his first day of school, on the school bus."
Lu Cuiling nodded: "Yes, that time too. Your father is that kind of person. He always thinks well of others and thinks that there will be no trouble if he doesn't take the initiative to cause trouble."
Feng Yifan shook his head: "I can't help it. I've been a good person all my life. I can't change."
Su Jinrong suddenly said, "You can't say that. That means you, your father, need to respect him."
After hearing what his father-in-law said, Feng Yifan quickly said, "Dad, I know, I was wrong, I shouldn't have said that about my dad, I actually respect my father very much in my heart.
And I admire him very much. After going through so many things, he can always face them optimistically and positively. "
When Su Ruoxi heard what her husband said, she also echoed, "Yes, Dad is more optimistic. I also think that Dad's optimism is very contagious."
Lu Cuiling smiled and said, "He is not optimistic or positive at all, he just likes to comfort himself."
Feng Yifan said to his mother seriously, "Mom, please don't say that. When it comes to optimism and positive attitude, my dad is really better than you. Think about when you left the factory together?"
Hearing her son's reminder, Lu Cuiling immediately remembered the time when they had just left the factory.
Indeed, at that time, Lu Cuiling really felt like the sky was falling.
Because she left the factory, she would no longer have an income. She would have to support her family and, more importantly, her son. This made Lu Cuiling very upset and she almost became autistic.
Fortunately, Feng Jiandong was still optimistic and positive at that time, and he quickly made the decision to return home together.
And because Feng Jiandong signed the contract to leave the factory voluntarily, he also received a considerable subsidy, which successfully supported his family's expenses for a period of time.
Now after hearing what her son said, Lu Cuiling recalled that incident and had to admit it.
At that time, it was thanks to my husband's optimism and positivity that I was able to support the entire family.
Later, when they were growing vegetables together, Feng Jiandong was optimistic and positive many times, which helped everyone overcome difficulties together and finally successfully established the "Yanghu Township" vegetable brand.
Su Ruoxi asked curiously, "Mom, why did you and Dad think of growing vegetables?"
When Lu Cuiling heard this, a smile suddenly appeared on her face. She came out of her previous state and radiated a different kind of brilliance.
"In fact, your father and I used to do various specialty plantings in the countryside. Although we made some money, some things could only be done for one year. It might not be easy to do the next year. Later, Yifan ran away and came to your house to be an apprentice, didn't he?"
Having said this, Lu Cuiling paused, but a smile gradually spread across her face.
"At the time, your father and I discussed it and thought that since our son would be a cook, he would definitely need vegetables in the future. Since we were farming in the countryside, we might as well grow vegetables. We could grow a variety of vegetables and supply them exclusively to your Su Ji in the future."
Hearing this, Feng Yifan, Su Ruoxi and his father-in-law Su Jinrong were all stunned.
No one expected that the original purpose of Lu Cuiling and Feng Jiandong’s decision to grow vegetables was to supply their son’s restaurant.
Feng Yifan laughed: "Mom, you and my dad are really amazing. We actually did it."
Lu Cuiling waved her hand and said, "It's impossible for the two of us to do it alone. We still need the support of the village, especially Yue Qingsong, who has helped us a lot over the years. There are also many young people in the village. With their participation, we can grow organic vegetables on a large scale."
After hearing what his mother said, Feng Yifan smiled and said, "I didn't expect Qingsong to be so capable."
Lu Cuiling immediately said, "That's right, Qingsong is much better than you, and he also knows how to be filial to his parents."
Hearing his mother say this, Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Mom, what you said sounds like I am not filial to you. Haven't I always been very filial to you and my dad?"
Lu Cuiling continued, "We are both old and strong, and we don't rely on you. You should take care of your father-in-law, and take good care of Ruoxi and Ruoruo."
Feng Yifan smiled and responded: "That's no problem, I promise to take good care of it."
Hearing this, Su Jinrong looked at Lu Cuiling and said, "It's me. I'm asking everyone to stop you from being with your son and daughter-in-law."
Lu Cuiling immediately said, "Brother Rong, what are you talking about? If it weren't for you, would Yifan have achieved what he has today? You have carefully cultivated him. It can be said that you have spent more effort on him than his father and I combined. It is only right that he should respect and take care of you."
Feng Yifan also stood up and said to his father-in-law, "Dad, don't think too much. I will definitely be filial to you and my parents. When Ruifeng's stall is on track, we will go back to the countryside together. I think by then, you will recover faster in the countryside."
Su Jinrong nodded and said, "Okay, let's go together."
Lu Cuiling smiled and said, "That's right. You can go together and stay with us for a while to enjoy our rural life. By the way, Yifan, you can also study the recipes at home. Aren't you going to restore a recipe of Su Ji?"
Feng Yifan nodded: "Yes, there will be fresher ingredients in the countryside, which will be convenient for my research."
When Su Ruoxi saw the state of her family, a smile appeared on her face and she was very happy in her heart.
Su Ruoxi has always been looking forward to this kind of family atmosphere.
Her husband's return finally made the family atmosphere more harmonious, and Su Ruoxi was naturally very happy.
Lu Cuiling suddenly glanced at the clock on the wall of the restaurant and said to her son, "Alright, alright, stop talking. Go make some snacks for our little baby Ruoruo. You promised Ruoruo that you would bring some snacks to pick her up. If the food you make is not tasty, we will not agree."
When urged by his mother, Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll do it right away."
Feng Yifan stood up and extended his hand to his wife.
Su Ruoxi smiled, stood up, and walked towards the kitchen hand in hand with her husband.
Lu Cuiling and Su Jinrong turned their heads together to look at the young couple.
Su Jinrong said: "This is good."
Lu Cuiling also agreed: "Yes, this is very good. If they live in harmony, our big family will also be harmonious, and our Ruoruo will be happy every day."
After entering the kitchen, Su Ruoxi asked her husband, "What kind of snacks are you going to make for our daughter today?"
Feng Yifan went straight to the refrigerator and took out the watermelon that he and his apprentice bought at the farmers' market in the morning.
"Let's make a watermelon pie for our daughter and her kindergarten friends."
Speaking of making "pie", Su Ruoxi is naturally no stranger to it. She and her husband have made various pies many times. Today, she is very curious about her husband's watermelon pie.
Feng Yifan immediately assigned a task to his wife: "Do you have a good foundation in being a pie master?"
Su Ruoxi raised her chin proudly and said, "No problem, I know how to do all this. It's just butter, flour, powdered sugar, and egg yolks, mix them evenly, come and do it."
Feng Yifan nodded and said, "Yes, that's right, my wife is getting smarter and smarter."
Su Ruoxi was very proud and started to prepare.
Feng Yifan also broke the watermelon open, took out half of it, and squeezed out the watermelon juice. He then added some milk, cream and eggs and mixed them evenly.
As for my wife's pie crust, although it has been stirred into a floc, it has not yet been kneaded into a ball.
At this time, Su Ruoxi said to her husband, "Come here and knead the dough."
Feng Yifan had no choice but to go over and add a little bit of matcha powder to it, and then knead it into dough. In this way, the dough turned green, and he wrapped it with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to cool it down.
In the following time, Feng Yifan continued to mix the pie filling.
At the same time, Feng Yifan also specially prepared some embellishments to make the watermelon pie look more like a watermelon, such as cutting out the rind, boiling it in boiling water, and then sweetening it with honey.
Although there is not enough time, the cooked melon rind strips cannot be dried in the sun.
But Feng Yifan baked it in an oven to remove some of the moisture, and then made honey.
The melon rinds made in this way tasted pretty good, so Su Ruoxi ate several of them in a row.
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "You ate it all, what will your daughters eat?"
After hearing what her husband said, Su Ruoxi also stopped immediately.
Afterwards, Feng Yifan took out the refrigerated pie crust, rolled it into a very thin dough, put it into the prepared baking mold, removed the excess scraps, and poke small ventilation holes on the bottom layer.
Add the prepared watermelon core and then put it in the oven to bake.
The result is that the green edge and the red inside really look like a watermelon.
Then, after it cooled down a bit, Feng Yifan took it out, decorated the bottom with melon rind, and used the chocolate made in advance to decorate the pie as watermelon seeds.
This way a watermelon pie is made that is almost exactly the same as a watermelon.
When Su Ruoxi saw it, her eyes lit up and she couldn't help but want to taste it quickly.
But this time Su Ruoxi didn't get to taste it, as her mother-in-law called out from outside: "Are you two ready? It's almost time for Ruoruo Kindergarten to get out of school."
Su Ruoxi glanced at the time and quickly responded to the outside: "It's done, it's done, Mom, we can pack it up and go out."
Seeing his wife reluctant to leave and hurriedly packing, Feng Yifan stepped forward to help, and hugged his wife and said, "It's okay, this is for Ruoruo and her kindergarten friends. When I get back, I'll make another one for you in the evening."
After hearing what her husband said, Su Ruoxi turned her head and said seriously, "It's agreed, you can't forget it."