Shen Wuqiu: "Imagine you getting beaten up and crying when you fight with the kids in the future..."
Gu Lingyu's face instantly fell. "Even my sister looks down on me like this..."
Shen Wuqiu smiled as she took her hand and placed it on her belly, saying softly, "Baby, quickly greet your mother."
My palm was kicked again and again by tiny little feet; such tenderness was irresistible.
Gu Lingyu couldn't help but laugh and pressed her face against it again.
The babies in her belly showed no respect for their mother, kicking her in the face.
The thrill of life is so comforting.
Gu Lingyu then switched to another face and interacted with the children.
She didn't stop squatting until her legs went numb, then she pretended to be fierce and said to her stomach, "Are you guys never going to stop?"
Shen Wuqiu touched her belly, glanced at her and smiled: "I thought they were so mischievous because they took after you."
Gu Lingyu hummed in agreement, “I was very well-behaved when I was little, and I must have been well-behaved in my mother’s belly too.”
Shen Wuqiu didn't believe her, but she didn't refute her. She just lowered her head and comforted her belly, saying, "Did you hear that? Your mother said she was very obedient when she was little, so you should be obedient too."
As soon as she finished speaking, the little ones kicking and punching inside her immediately became well-behaved.
Gu Lingyu looked at her now-calm belly and pouted.
The little girl looked a bit resentful.
Shen Wuqiu pinched her cheek, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "The kids are amazing, they must have taken after you."
Gu Lingyu nodded proudly, "Of course."
Sure enough, a simpleton like me doesn't deserve romance.
All that roundabout sweet talk was for nothing.
Seeing such an unromantic person, Shen Wuqiu was disappointed and a little sullen. She had no mood to be in the same room with him anymore, so she said in a cold tone, "I still have to continue to reconcile accounts with my aunt this afternoon. I'll rest for a bit now. You can leave."
Gu Lingyu quickly rolled onto the bed. "Then I'll rest for a bit too, and I'll massage your legs and feet while I'm at it."
Shen Wuqiu wasn't buying it. "No need, go back to your room."
Gu Lingyu belatedly realized, "Sister, did I make you angry again?"
"No..." Shen Wuqiu felt that arguing with this simpleton would only make things worse, so she changed her mind and said, "What do you think?"
Gu Lingyu began to reflect on her words and actions just now. After a while, she finally found the key point and knelt down in front of her, saying, "Sister, the children's achievements are not my achievement. I think my greatest achievement is finding a partner like you, sister."
Shen Wuqiu lowered her eyes; she wasn't entirely beyond help.
Chapter 66 Tasting
After feeling the baby's movements in her belly, Shen Wuqiu's maternal instincts were fully awakened, and she began to devote herself wholeheartedly to her pregnancy, putting everything else aside for the time being.
In addition, after the summer solstice, it rained for several days in a row. The continuous rainy weather greatly affected the quality of the bayberries. Fortunately, this is the last stage of bayberry picking. Only a dozen or so late-ripening trees still have a lot of fruit on them. The rest have been picked.
Compared to the previous batches of bayberries, this batch not only doesn't look as good, but it also doesn't taste as good.
Shen Wuqiu had no plans to continue shipping the fruit; she intended to use it as a gift and, once the weather cleared up, would notify the nearby villagers to freely pick the fruit in the orchard.
On the day when the villagers could freely pick the fruit, Zheng Xinghe, who had disappeared for about ten days, returned, this time bringing three friends with him.
His three friends were all city dwellers who had never seen much of the countryside. It was their first time visiting Jingrong Village, so everything seemed strange and unusual to them.
Zheng Xinghe originally just brought them to the bayberry garden to join in the fun, but unexpectedly, Uncle Shen was very hospitable. When he heard that he had brought friends, he insisted that Uncle Zheng invite them to his home for dinner.
It was hard to refuse such hospitality.
After picking the bayberries, Zheng Xinghe had no choice but to bring his friends over for lunch.
Before they even had lunch, Tianluo, Shen Wuqiu's neighbor, brought them a lot of processed chickens and ducks. He said that the weather had been unpredictable lately, with alternating sunshine and rain, making it difficult to raise chickens and ducks. This morning, Tianluo's wife noticed that many of the chickens and ducks in the backyard were not moving much. She was worried that if they died, all the feed she had given them would be wasted, so she simply killed them all.
They killed seventeen animals in one go. In the summer, the temperature was high, and these things were not easy to store. They couldn't eat so many at once, so they sent two chickens and two ducks to Shen Wuqiu and the others as a favor.
To be honest, Shen Wuqiu is currently in a precarious position, and besides, her family doesn't lack these things, so they really don't want to accept this favor.
However, not wanting to refuse their offer, Su Yunzhi accepted it. Just as she was wondering what to do with it, Tianluo's wife casually remarked, "Don't underestimate these chickens and ducks just because they've only been raised for less than half a year. They're quite plump. During the Dragon Boat Festival, Hui Maotou brought some friends back and insisted on making roast chicken. They used these chickens; they're fragrant and tender. Your family is quite lively, so it's perfect for roasting them."
On such a hot day, Su Yunzhi didn't have the leisure or inclination for such things.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Xinghe's friend was not polite at all. Upon hearing this, she immediately came over and said, "I've eaten roast chicken and roast duck before, but I've never roasted them. Auntie, why don't you teach us how to roast them?"
The saying goes, "The host follows the guest's lead."
Su Yunzhi naturally couldn't refuse, so she immediately pickled the chicken and duck. Thinking that there were many people in her family, she also bought two lively little hens from Tianluo's house.
So, after lunch, Mr. Shen very attentively set up a fire pit for the group of young people and started roasting chicken and duck under the stainless steel shed in the yard.
Although Gu Lingyu didn't like eating chicken or duck, she was very interested in this kind of thing, so she naturally joined in the fun.
She is lively, beautiful, and has strong practical skills, making it easy for her to get along with people.
Before long, he became familiar with everyone.
Zheng Xinghe brought two men and one woman with him. The two men were named Shi Lei and Zhang Jin, and the woman was named He Meilin. Among them, only Zhang Jin was married, and the others were all single.
Despite being married, Zhang Jin is still the most flamboyant one, and he never speaks seriously.
Gu Lingyu had barely become acquainted with him when he started his smooth-talking remarks: "Little sister, have you found a boyfriend yet? Want your big brother to introduce you to one?"
Of course, Gu Tiehan was different from the girls he usually flirted with. There was none of the shyness or bashfulness he expected. Instead, he just rolled his eyes and said, "Why are you so nosy? And your tone is so slick."
"..." Zhang Jin was caught off guard. He glanced at Zheng Xinghe, who was watching the commotion, and said, "Your sister is quite feisty."
Before Zheng Xinghe could react, Gu Duidui was online again: "What sister? You're not a good person. How can you have such bad eyesight at such a young age? I'm not his sister."
After saying that, she felt it was pointless to stay with this person, who kept chattering away, so she went to Shen's father and pleaded, "Uncle, could you build another grill? I don't want to grill with them anymore, they're so noisy."
"..." Zheng Xinghe and the others all looked at Zhang Jin.
"..." Zhang Jin really didn't expect that young girls these days are so easily charmed.
Mr. Shen glanced at them and said with a smile, "Lingyu is just that straightforward, don't take it to heart."
Zhang Jin quickly stated, "I was wrong to say that; it has nothing to do with the little girl."
Gu Lingyu looked like she was about to vomit, "Calling me 'Grandma' would be more appropriate."
Zhang Jin, ever the opportunist, replied, "Yes, yes, my dear."
Gu Lingyu hummed in agreement and accepted the compliment without any modesty.
Zheng Xinghe watched her silently from the side, chuckling softly.
As luck would have it, his gentle expression was seen by Shen Wuqiu, who came out with the seasonings.
Shen Wuqiu paused at the door for a moment before picking up the seasonings and casually asked, "Lingyu, what are you talking about with Mr. Zheng and the others?"
Gu Lingyu pointed at Zhang Jin with her eyes: "We didn't talk about much, just that he was talkative and greasy. I said I wasn't going to roast chicken with them."
Zhang Jin: "Miss Shen, please don't misunderstand. I was just joking because I thought Miss Gu was innocent and cute."
Shen Wuqiu nodded, "Yes, Lingyu has the mentality of a child."
"I'm not..." Shen Wuqiu glanced at her, and the cat immediately pursed her lips and silently helped her father Shen set up the new grill.
Roasting a chicken is no easy task. It requires constantly turning the rack over and repeatedly brushing on seasonings to ensure it's flavorful. It takes at least two hours.
Zheng Xinghe and the others roasted chicken and duck just for novelty and for fun, and their patience wore off in no time.
Gu Tiehanhan was different; she genuinely wanted to roast a chicken for her partner.
They baked one until 5 p.m.
These young people were naturally very excited about the fruits of their labor. As soon as the chicken was roasted, they couldn't wait to take out the cutting board and cut it into pieces.
As everyone scrambled for the chicken, Zheng Xinghe said, "I didn't see you guys being this enthusiastic when it was being grilled, but now you're all so eager to eat it. I don't ask for much, just save me a chicken leg."
No one objected to this, after all, he was the only one among them who had such patience.
After receiving his chicken leg, Zheng Xinghe immediately handed it to Gu Lingyu, saying, "You've been standing by the fire for quite a while now, why don't you try some of my grilled chicken first?"
"What? You want me to taste it for you?" Gu Lingyu glanced at him sideways. This guy was being unusually attentive; he definitely had ulterior motives. He probably hadn't given up on her sister yet and wanted her to taste it first so he could then fawn over her.
Zheng Xinghe was already used to her unusual way of thinking. "Well, let's just say that."
Gu Duidui rolled her eyes: "You wish."
Zheng Xinghe, still holding the chicken leg, looked a little embarrassed. "Try it..."
Gu Lingyu didn't even look at it, "I won't try it, I don't eat chicken."
"Is that so?" Zheng Xinghe looked at the crispy roasted chicken on the grill in her hands. "I thought you were roasting it so carefully because you liked it."
Gu Lingyu didn't even look up. "I'm happy to."
Having been thoroughly rebuked, Zheng Xinghe had no choice but to take back the chicken leg and hand it to Zhang Jin: "Here, take it."
Zhang Jin, who had missed out on the chicken leg earlier, took it and took a bite. Then he pulled him aside and whispered gloatingly, "You got what you deserved. You used to ignore all those girls, but now you've finally caught up. I didn't expect you to like this kind of thing. I thought someone as aloof as you would like someone like you, but it turns out to be a cute little girl like this."
Zheng Xinghe punched him, "You talk too much."
Zhang Jin: "Tsk tsk tsk, everyone else is all about the husband and wife following each other, but you're already doing it? Oh, no, that's not even close to happening yet."
Zheng Xinghe: "..."
The two spoke in low voices, but they didn't deliberately lower their voices either. Zhao Jiujiu, who had been invited to eat roast chicken, only heard a little bit of what they said, but with a bit of guesswork and the fact that Zheng Xinghe had just given her chicken legs, she understood the gist of it.
Now, she didn't need to ask to know what Zheng Xinghe meant.
For a moment, Zhao Jiujiu's mood became somewhat complicated.
Although she was still somewhat reluctant to have a cat as her nephew-in-law, she also felt a little annoyed if someone else had designs on the cat.
After politely tasting a tiny bit of chicken, Zhao Jiujiu went to whisper with Shen Wuqiu, getting straight to the point:
"You need to control that cat. She's a mother now, so stop her from going out and flirting with random men all the time..."
Chapter 67 Thank you