Chapter 25

Chapter 25

In the main hall, Huo Huaichuan was already seated at the dining table, and had already scooped out three bowls of rice, placing them at three spots.

When they entered, his gaze immediately shifted over—first landing on Gao Mingzhu, then he casually pulled out the chair next to him.

Gao Mingzhu acted as if she hadn't seen his gesture, walked straight to the seat across from him, and gestured for Mother Huo to sit next to Huo Huaichuan: "Mom, sit down! Let's eat! I'm telling you, even though this is my first time really cooking, it's gonna taste great!"

There was a hint of smugness in her voice.

Mother Huo, still clueless about the tension between the young couple, chuckled back: "Oh yeah? Then I gotta try it."

"Go on, try it!" Gao Mingzhu said with a grin, picking up a shiny, oil-glazed piece of duck and placing it into Mother Huo's bowl.

Mother Huo did as she was told and popped the duck into her mouth.

Under Gao Mingzhu's hopeful gaze, Mother Huo's eyes widened instantly, her face lighting up with shocked delight: "So good! Really good!"

She wasn't lying! Even though she'd planned to say it was good no matter what, the duck was honestly, undeniably delicious.

The rich, hot fat under the skin was melt-in-your-mouth, the lean meat was tender and not dry, with a slightly sweet, savory freshness. With one bite, the aroma seemed to seep right into her teeth, leaving a long, satisfying aftertaste.

Mother Huo thought, no exaggeration, that yesterday's chicken was the best she'd ever had, but this duck was even better!

Even though Gao Mingzhu had added spirit spring water to both, yesterday's meal, which Mother Huo cooked, didn't have as much oil and salt. So compared to Gao Mingzhu's duck, which had all the seasonings, it was way more flavorful.

Mother Huo looked at Gao Mingzhu, her eyes full of amazement and disbelief: "Mingzhu... is this really your first time cooking?"

"Really, it is," Gao Mingzhu admitted with a smile, though she didn't want to get too cocky.

Other people might not know, but she knew full well that most of the credit for this amazing taste went to the spirit spring water.

It had nothing to do with her skill!

"You're so talented!" Mother Huo exclaimed sincerely, then turned to her son, "Huai Chuan, don't you think?"

Huo Huaichuan glanced at Gao Mingzhu and nodded: "Yeah, it is."

Gao Mingzhu couldn't help but roll her eyes at him: "You haven't even tried it yet, so what are you agreeing to?"

Huo Huaichuan paused: "...It smells great."

Gao Mingzhu snorted lightly, ignored him, and picked up her chopsticks.

She'd already tasted it while cooking and knew it was good, so she was pretty happy with this meal!

She urged Mother Huo: "Mom, eat up, have some more. You look so skinny."

"Oh, okay, okay, you eat plenty too," Mother Huo replied cheerfully.

Being ignored by Gao Mingzhu, Huo Huaichuan quietly picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of duck as well.

After chewing a few times, his usually blank face flickered with a barely noticeable hint of surprise.

It was, indeed, delicious.

Gao Mingzhu, who had been watching Huo Huaichuan's expression out of the corner of her eye, caught that brief surprise and couldn't help but curl her lips in smug satisfaction.

—

Lin Meilan, scared away by Gao Mingzhu, ran several meters off before realizing that Gao Mingzhu hadn't chased after her at all.

She realized Gao Mingzhu had tricked her again and was so mad she felt like she was gonna explode.

Damn Gao Mingzhu!

She stormed all the way home, her chest heaving as she panted, her face bright red.

As if scared no one would see how mad she was, she kicked the door with a loud "bang" when she got to the doorstep.

Old Man Huo had just gotten back from working in the fields and was sitting barefoot on the doorstep, puffing on his pipe with a "puff-puff" sound.

The loud kick from Lin Meilan startled him so much that he jumped, nearly dropping his precious pipe.

He fumbled to catch it but ended up burning himself on the hot bowl.

"Hiss—" Old Man Huo winced in pain, both annoyed and angry, glaring at Lin Meilan as he shouted: "Second Brother's Wife! What madness has gotten into you now? Day in, day out, no peace! Why aren't you cooking yet? Trying to starve me to death?"

What a cursed family! None of the daughters-in-law he'd married were reliable!

The eldest daughter-in-law had disappeared somewhere, the second's wife had a temper worse than an ox, and the third's wife was cooking in the back—the smell of meat was wafting over... but she hadn't even called him, her father-in-law, to join!

As the aroma of meat grew stronger in the air, his stomach growled even louder, and his resentment toward Gao Mingzhu deepened.

Damn Gao Mingzhu, living it up with that three-thousand-yuan compensation from his son, eating rich food every day, and she—

"Dad, if you're hungry, go eat in the back. Isn't that one also your daughter-in-law? She even called Mom over," Lin Meilan said sarcastically.

"What?" Old Man Huo's eyes lit up, forgetting to puff his pipe, "She called your mother over for a meal too?"

Lin Meilan, though she had run off, hadn't gone far and had clearly heard what Gao Mingzhu said next: "Of course! Today she's being generous—duck meat and bone soup!"

"Two kinds of meat?!" Old Man Huo's eyes widened, and he nearly drooled.

"Yeah!" Lin Meilan replied grumpily.

Old Man Huo unconsciously licked his dry lips, momentarily quieting his curses toward Gao Mingzhu.

But he still put on a tough front, puffing his pipe again and muttering: "What a wasteful woman!"

As he said this, his eyes couldn't help but sneak glances toward the door, his gaze longing for something unspoken.

Lin Meilan couldn't help but roll her eyes dramatically.

Stubborn old man, wanting to eat but pretending! Who was he fooling!

Though she was craving it herself, she knew full well that there was no way she'd get any of Gao Mingzhu's meat.

She stomped her foot in frustration and twisted her way into the kitchen to cook, banging pots and pans noisily.

Over at the small courtyard.

Gao Mingzhu, Huo Huaichuan, and Mother Huo sat around the table, eating in perfect harmony.

After Gao Mingzhu had been sent to the countryside, her family had fallen on hard times, and she had become withdrawn and quiet, worried about her parents.

Over time, the Huo family and the Qingshui Brigade folks had come to see her as aloof and proud.

But in truth, she had been raised with indulgence, naturally lively and sweet-tongued. If she set her mind to charming someone, no one could resist.

Take Mother Huo, for instance—she was all smiles, completely won over by her.

"Oh, Mingzhu, that's plenty, plenty! Don't just keep loading up my bowl! Eat some yourself, have more meat!" Mother Huo said, happy but a little worried, eyeing the mountain of meat in her bowl.

"Mother, I noticed you weren't really reaching for the meat! With all this meat out, why hold back? You need to eat more—look how thin you are, hardly any flesh on your face."

Gao Mingzhu said as she picked up another rib and placed it in Mother Huo's bowl, smiling sweetly as she coaxed, "You're so gorgeous—if you filled out a bit, you'd be even more stunning!"

"Oh, you and your sweet talk!" Mother Huo was overjoyed, her grin stretching from ear to ear, unable to close it. "I'm just an old bag of bones; what's all this talk about being pretty? People would laugh at me!"

"Mother, don't say that!" Gao Mingzhu said earnestly. "Your features are truly striking! I'm not just making this up—just look at Huaichuan, and your eldest and second daughters; they all have such outstanding looks, and that's all thanks to your great genes!"

While Gao Mingzhu's words were partly meant to please her mother-in-law, they were also sincere.

The Huo children were all quite good-looking, especially Huo Huaichuan and his two half-sisters from the same mother, and it had to be said that most of the credit went to Mother Huo's excellent genes.

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