Xia Zhe looked at Qiao Mei, feeling a little embarrassed. In the future, he must watch Qiao Mei cook more often and learn how to make a few dishes.
Later on, after Qiao Mei gave birth, she would have nothing to eat if he did not know how to cook. Xia Zhe watched carefully as Qiao Mei used a kitchen knife to shred the potatoes and also paid attention to how she added the seasoning after she heated up the oil.
From the corner of her eye, Qiao Mei saw Xia Zhe watching her secretly but she did not say anything. Xia Zhe was still in a daze when Qiao Mei was done.
“Are you done watching?” Qiao Mei asked.
“Yes,” Xia Zhe replied blankly.
“So, does your wife’s cooking taste good or is your wife pretty?” Qiao Mei asked, holding back her laughter.
“My wife is pretty… No! My wife’s cooking tastes good,” Xia Zhe said laughingly.
“Let’s go. The dishes will get cold soon. Ask Grandpa Zhou and Aunt to come over for dinner,” Qiao Mei said as she carried the plates.
Xia Zhe helped to carry the plates and brought Qiao Mei to the dining room before making his way to the courtyard to call out to Zhou Sheng and Xia Fang.
“Aunt and Grandpa Zhou. The food is ready. You can come and eat now.” Xia Zhe turned around and went back to the kitchen to get the rice.
Zhou Sheng and Xia Fang sat in the dining room, waiting for Qiao Mei and Xia Zhe. The fragrance of the food made their mouths water.
“The food smells quite good,” Zhou Sheng said.
“Don’t just think they smell and look good. The food that our Mei Mei makes tastes even better. Even the neighbors praise her,” Xia Fang said proudly.
“It’s not as exaggerated as Aunt says.” Qiao Mei brought the rice into the house and sat down. After Xia Zhe came in, they all started eating.
“Grandpa Zhou, this is the special liquor I bought in the army. Give it a try.” As Xia Zhe spoke, he poured the liquor for Zhou Sheng.
“Then I must try it today,” Zhou Sheng took a sip after saying that. This liquor was indeed of good quality and it left a nice fragrance in his mouth.
“Grandpa Zhou, I hope you don’t mind these dishes. It’s raining outside and we can’t go out to buy any other groceries. We can only use what’s available in the kitchen to make a few simple dishes. I don’t know if you’d like them,” Qiao Mei said embarrassedly.
“There’s no need to be so polite with me, my child. I usually just eat steamed buns and drink some soup at home. These dishes are already very good. Besides, the food you make is indeed very delicious. Even your ordinary home-cooked dishes are comparable to the dishes served at the hotel restaurants,” Zhou Sheng took a sip of wine and praised her with a smile.
“Grandpa Zhou, we might move here in the next two days. When you’re free, I’ll come and play chess with you. You must come to our house for dinner too,” Xia Zhe said.
“Then I would be disturbing the two of you,” Zhou Sheng said as he shook his head.
“How can that be? I’m still unfamiliar with the capital and I think it’s nice to have someone as approachable as Grandpa Zhou around,” Qiao Mei said happily.
She felt that Grandpa Zhou was very similar to her grandfather. If her grandfather came to the capital to live in the future, the two seniors would definitely get along well.
“Uncle Zhou, do you know if anyone around here wants to sell their house?” Xia Fang asked.
“Huh? Why are you asking this? Are you going to sell the old house?” When Zhou Sheng heard what Xia Fang said, he immediately put down his chopsticks and spoke with a stern expression.
“That’s not it, Grandpa Zhou. It’s that my grandfather is alone in the countryside. As I’ll stay in the capital after giving birth. I’m worried about him. Furthermore, he wants to return to the capital to live, so he asked me to buy a house here,” Qiao Mei said.
Hearing this, Zhou Sheng felt relieved. However, it was Xia Zhe who became jittery.
Xia Zhe whispered into Qiao Mei’s ear, “Why don’t I know about this? If Grandpa wants to buy a house, it won’t be easy to buy one around here. My wages are still too low. We have to save up for another year before we can afford to buy a house here.”
Even at this moment, Xia Zhe’s main concern was about using his own limited salary to buy a house for her grandfather, and it made Qiao Mei very happy to know that. Xia Zhe did not immediately blame her for not telling him that she wanted to buy a house. Instead, he was worried that his salary was not enough for her grandfather to live around the same area and afraid that her grandfather would not be able to live comfortably.
“My grandfather had dug up a 100-year-old ginseng on the mountain. Since he had been thinking about returning to the capital, he told me to ask around when I’m here and see if I can sell the ginseng and then exchange it for a house,” Qiao Mei explained.
