Lu San personally brought gifts and flattered Mrs. Wei sincerely, making her so happy that she invited Lu San to stay for dinner. Because Lu San was a guest and he had not come empty-handed, Mrs. Wei told Li, "Go to the butcher shop outside and buy some pork belly. We will make fried meatballs for dinner."
Li went to buy meat. Old Lady Wei said to Chen Xuan, "Don't cook porridge tonight. Steam rice. Isn't there rice from outside the Great Wall?" She turned around and said to Lu San, "The rice from outside the Great Wall is better than the rice here. It's very fragrant."
Lu San leaned forward slightly, stretched his greasy hair in front of Old Lady Wei and agreed, "Yes, my mother always said that if we want to eat rice, we should eat rice from outside the Great Wall."
Old Mrs. Wei nodded. "Your mother and I, even though we are old sisters who just met, we can talk to each other very well."
"My mother often talks about my aunt at home. Just yesterday, she ate this cake and said it tasted good. So she asked me to buy some for my aunt to try. It was late at night and all the shops were closed. I said I would go there early in the morning, but they ran out of fresh cream. So they didn't bring it to my aunt until the afternoon. If you think it's good, I'll buy it for you tomorrow." Chen Xuan had to say that Lu San was such a filial son and grandson, and he was probably not as filial as her even in front of his own mother.
Chen Xuan looked down on Lu San, thinking that he was unstable and flattering, so she went to the kitchen to steam rice. If there were other guests at home, Chen Xuan would definitely cook a few more dishes. Although she only knew how to cook home-cooked dishes, one could still tell whether she put in enough effort or not from the home-cooked dishes. For example, this time when Lu San stayed at home for dinner, Chen Xuan prepared to stir-fry a big pot of pickled cabbage with vinegar, without any other dishes. Li bought the meat, and Chen Xuan took it. She first washed it in a basin of clean water, then cut it into pieces on a red chopping board, and then chopped it into minced meat. Li was chopping green onions and ginger on the side, and when she saw Chen Xuan had only washed a large earthenware basin of cabbage leaves, she said, "Second sister-in-law, there is only one fried meatball and one cabbage. Isn't it a little less?"
"Didn't the old lady say that we should live frugally? Sister-in-law, you don't know that Mr. Lu is very unstable. When he drove over here, he drove very fast and almost hit me and Ah Yin. If it were the elderly and children, wouldn't they be scared?" Chen Xuan whispered to Li, "His family has plenty of money. If he wants to eat good food, he can go home. Our family is frugal, that's our family tradition."
Li asked Chen Xuan if she was frightened by the brakes. Chen Xuan said, "I'm fine, but Ah Yin was mad."
Li shook her head. Although Lu San looked so slick, other people might like him. Li and Chen Xuan were both serious women, so they didn't think much of Lu San's behavior. Li came in earlier and knew Old Master Wei and Old Madam Wei better. Li said, "Two dishes are still not enough. Why don't I wash two more radishes and make a stewed radish?"
"Okay."
The two sisters-in-law discussed and prepared dinner, and the men of the Wei family went home. When they met the Lu family, they had some pleasantries. Even when it was time for dinner, there were eight plates on the Wei family table, including three plates of pickled cabbage, three plates of stewed radish, and two plates of fried meatballs. Old Mrs. Wei asked Lu San to sit next to Old Master Wei. Looking at the table of dishes, she couldn't help but frown and said, "This is too simple. The second wife can make an egg pancake."
Chen Xuan lowered her eyebrows and replied, "Madam, we have run out of eggs. I am going to buy some tomorrow."
Lu San was a man who knew how to behave himself, and he quickly said, "Aunt, this meal is excellent. We usually eat vegetarian food at night, but here at your place, these fried meatballs are just the right thing to satisfy my craving.
Old Mrs. Wei said, "I heard from your mother that you guys eat vegetarian food tonight. Hey, you are such a grown man, how can you eat vegetarian food? Come, try my meatballs."
After Lu San tasted it, he praised its delicious taste.
Li and Chen Xuan didn't touch any of the two plates of fried meatballs. Because there were guests today, Lu San sat next to Old Master Wei, and Wei Nian sat directly below his nephew Wei Ming, next to Chen Xuan. Wei Nian naturally picked up a fried meatball for Chen Xuan and whispered, "You've been busy for half a day, so you can taste it."
Chen Xuan felt sour and warm in her heart, and she felt the sharp gaze from Old Lady Wei. Chen Xuan didn't know whether to eat the fried meatballs. The meatballs were made of meat stuffing that she chopped herself, and mixed with some chopped green onion, ginger, and salt. Although there were only these three seasonings, Chen Xuan had been smelling the aroma in the kitchen for half an hour. Even though she had never tasted it, she knew it must be delicious. Chen Xuan was hesitating, and Wei Nian had already naturally talked about some interesting things in the city with Lu San, so Chen Xuan had to eat the meatballs. Chen Xuan couldn't bear to eat it all at once. She took a small bite and ate a big mouthful of rice, and then took a small bite and ate a big mouthful of rice. Then, she ate more than half a bowl of rice with one meatball.
Fortunately, Wei Nian didn't do anything else out of line, and Chen Xuan finished the meal with her heart beating fast.
After dinner, Lu San said goodbye.
Chen Xuan returned to the room and saw the eggs cooked for Wei Yin, the meatballs on the plate, a small bowl of pickled cabbage, and a small bowl of stewed radish. Except for the cabbage that was touched by a few chopsticks, most of the rice in the bowl was left.
Seeing this, Chen Xuan put her hand on Wei Yin's shoulder and asked Wei Yin, "Are you losing your appetite?"
Wei Yin asked, "Second sister-in-law, has the man surnamed Lu left?"
"Leave."
Wei Yin finally breathed a sigh of relief and frowned, saying, "Why is this guy so annoying? What is he doing here? Is our house still short of his two boxes of snacks?"
On the day when he got the news about Lu San, Wei Nian invited his friends home for dinner. Cheng Su worked at a newspaper, and he knew all kinds of people, so he was very well-informed. In fact, in the eyes of the Wei family, the Lu family's financial situation was naturally good. But, it was really not in the eyes of people like Cheng Su who worked at a newspaper. Therefore, Wei Nian went to Cheng Su to inquire, but he had to wait for two days before he got the news. Chen Xuan didn't know that there were guests coming. Now that the first month of the year was over, the chicken, fish, and pork elbows for the New Year had all been eaten. Wei Nian didn't tell her in advance, and there were only a few home-cooked dishes at home. Fortunately, Wei Nian bought a box of dishes from Qingyunzhai on the way back. Cheng Su greeted the Wei family, and Wei Nian handed the box of dishes to Chen Xuan, asked her to plate it, and took Cheng Su to talk in the house.
Chen Xuan was not in a hurry to eat. She quickly carried the box of food into the house and placed it on the small table. She then went to the kitchen and got two sets of clean bowls and chopsticks. This was the first time Wei Nian brought a friend home. Chen Xuan was very enthusiastic. "This box of food is all meat. I'll cook a few side dishes so that Mr. Cheng can have a taste of my cooking skills."
Cheng Su smiled, "A Nian and I are good friends, sister-in-law, you can call me Xiao Cheng or Xiao Su."
"Then let's call him Xiao Cheng." Chen Xuan made some tea, put it on the tea cabinet beside her, and asked, "Xiao Cheng, are there any foods that you don't eat?" She learned this from the waiter when she was having a meal at Bian Yi Fang last year.
Cheng Su said no, so Chen Xuan went out to get busy. She first moved the small table from Li's room over. The small table was too small and was already full of cooked food. She was afraid that there would not be enough space for more dishes. Then, Chen Xuan went to the kitchen, made a golden scallion egg pancake, fried some pickled cabbage, mixed some radish skin, and added a tofu, ham, dried shrimp and cabbage soup, and brought it in on a plate. Chen Xuan put down the dishes and told them to eat slowly, and she was about to go out. Cheng Su hurriedly said, "While I'm here, I asked my sister-in-law to cook for me. Sister-in-law, have you eaten before? Let's eat together."
"I'll just go to the kitchen to eat something." Chen Xuan smiled, "Xiao Cheng, this is your first time here, it's not right for me to cook a few dishes myself."
Wei Nian said to Chen Xuan, "Just come and eat together. Cheng Su is not an outsider. We are talking about the Lu family. As a sister-in-law, you should listen together."
After hearing what Wei Nian said, Chen Xuan was also worried about Wei Yin, so she went out to get her own bowl and chopsticks, and sat sideways on the edge of the kang. Cheng Su had a delicate appearance, which was inferior to Wei Nian's handsomeness. His bright eyes revealed a sense of cleverness, and it was obvious that he was a smart man. Wei Nian picked up a piece of braised pork with chopsticks and put it in Chen Xuan's bowl. Chen Xuan glanced at Wei Nian embarrassedly, thinking that there were guests here, so why was Brother Nian not dignified? Cheng Su couldn't help laughing, and talked about the Lu family. Cheng Su said, "The old master of the Lu family is doing well in the Quartermaster Department. Although his position is not high, I heard that he is a stable official. The three masters of the Lu family all found jobs in the Quartermaster Department. The first and second masters of the Lu family are ordinary people, but the third master Lu is more sociable. I heard that the third master Lu often goes to dance halls. However, he goes there less often now. I heard that he made friends in the Yaogong Dance Hall in Tianjin."
Cheng Su was very euphemistic and said "making friends", but even Chen Xuan understood that this was not making friends at all. Third Master Lu was afraid that there was someone outside. Chen Xuan was startled and turned to look at Wei Nian out of habit. Wei Nian pursed his thin lips, forming a cold arc, and then smiled, "It's better to know this earlier than later."
"Yes, that's what you said." Chen Xuan served them both a bowl of tofu soup and said, "Don't just drink. Drinking too much is bad for your health. Xiao Cheng, try this tofu soup. I put ham from the south and dried shrimp from Qingdao to make it more fresh, and finally added green onions to enhance the flavor. Drinking a bowl in the evening will warm you up."
Cheng Su took a bite and praised the tofu soup for its fragrance, freshness and smooth taste.
Chen Xuan smiled, "I still have some white wine that Smith sent me. Next time when we have Western food, we can bring this wine to the restaurant and pair it with steak and bread. It will taste even better."
"Okay, it's settled then." Cheng Su was the most discerning person, so he naturally wouldn't mention the Lu family's affairs again. He continued along with Chen Xuan's words, "Sister-in-law is honest. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that A-Nian still had American wine hidden here."
Chen Xuan looked at Wei Nian with a smile, and Wei Nian said, "Aren't you getting married? I wanted to give you a wedding gift. In that case, let's drink it tomorrow."
"No, no! Let's just make a gift." A hint of joy appeared on Cheng Su's thin face. Although Chen Xuan was not familiar with Cheng Su, she was happy to hear the good news and said with a smile, "Xiao Cheng, you are getting married? This is a great event! Congratulations, Xiao Cheng."
Cheng Su smiled, "I'll invite my sister-in-law and Ah Nian to come over for a drink then."
"I will definitely go." Chen Xuan passed a piece of chopped green onion egg to Wei Nian and said, "Xiao Cheng, if you are too busy for your wedding, just tell Brother Anian. I don't know much about other things, but Brother Anian knows the most about buying fabrics." As she spoke, Chen Xuan was worried that Cheng Su would misunderstand, so she explained, "I'm not asking you to go to Brother Anian to buy fabrics. Nowadays, it's popular to wear Western-style clothes and make suits and coats. Brother Anian has a good eye and he knows some good tailors."
Maybe it was because she was too lonely in the past two lives, Chen Xuan actually likes to be around a lot of people. When Wei Nian brought his friends home, Chen Xuan was very enthusiastic. Besides, Cheng Su helped a lot.
However, when Wei Nian told his parents about this, Old Master Wei's face darkened. Old Madam Wei could not keep it to herself and immediately panicked. She looked at her husband and then at her second son without knowing what to do, and expressed her panic in her heart, "What should we do? Your father has already agreed to the marriage with the Lu family!"
Wei Nian's heart sank instantly.