Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11926

Yang Yongqing glared at Kang Xiaozi and said, "What are you talking about? What's wrong with a boy getting a little dirty?"

"Right, Liangliang? Come on, Uncle will take you to play in the yard!"

Not only did Yang Yongqing adore Liangliang, even letting him ride on his shoulders while he was holding him, but Yang Yongzhi and the others, whenever Liangliang passed by, would either pinch his little hand or pat his chubby little bottom peeking out from his open-crotch pants, all with expressions of fondness on their faces…

Even the two Luo boys, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, who were the hosts, took the initiative to bring out their toys and invite their younger brother Liangliang to play with them...

Yang Ruoqing and Wang Cuilian happened to see this scene when they entered the canteen.

Yang Ruoqing nodded with satisfaction and reached out to pat Tuantuan's head: "You did a great job, just like a big brother. But you can't be biased. Why don't you invite the other older brothers and sisters and younger brothers and sisters to play together?"

Tuantuan nodded, "We have so many toys, we can't even play with them all!"

Then, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan went to call their other friends to play together.

Wang Cuilian felt gratified and proud as she watched this scene.

"You've grown up! You even know how to greet guests now."

Yang Ruoqing knew that Wang Cuilian was praising Tuantuan and Yuanyuan. Tonight, with Luo the blacksmith and Luo Fengtang not at home, it was actually these two little ones, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, who took on the important task of entertaining the guests...

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law entered the dining hall, where the atmosphere was very pleasant. The tables were full of dishes, but they hadn't started eating yet because Yang Ruoqing, the hostess, hadn't been there.

However, even if these dishes are served in advance, there's no need to worry about them getting cold.

Why?

Because in the dietary habits of the Mianniu Mountain area, almost every household has a small pot on their dining table in winter.

These small pots can cook everything, from meat to vegetables; there's nothing they can't solve.

For example, at this moment, on the Luo family's dining table, there are already six or seven small pots arranged like a tripod, with glowing red charcoal fires flickering and nourishing the black bottom of the pots at the top of the flames.

In the pot, which is just the right depth, various dishes are stewed and simmered.

There's beef and radish hot pot, pork, vermicelli, and cabbage hot pot, fish head and tofu hot pot, and even a three-delicacy hot pot with old hen soup, pork ribs, egg dumplings, and more...

There's a stewed pork trotters with soybeans, a stir-fried beef with pickled peppers, and a fragrant and spicy pork liver stew with wine.

Oh right, with so many pots, there must be Yang Ruoqing's favorite lettuce and salted duck hot pot...

The aromas of various pots mingled together, creating a tantalizing and tantalizing effect that awakened your very senses and made you hungry.

"Everyone, sit down! What are you waiting for? Let's start eating!"

Yang Ruoqing gestured for everyone to sit down, then turned to the group of children playing with toys and said, "How about we eat first? You can continue playing after you finish eating!"

Following this family gathering custom, after dinner, Yang Huaming, Yang Yongqing, and a few others would stay to play a few rounds of cards, while the women would drink a couple of bowls of tea and chat for a while.

The children couldn't just leave after finishing their meal; they would stay together to continue the games they hadn't finished earlier.

During this time, many people must have noticed the absence of Luo the blacksmith and Luo Fengtang, so they inquired with Yang Ruoqing and Wang Cuilian about it.

As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had discussed beforehand at the gate of the courtyard, they said, "We'll stay in Zhoujia Village and won't come back for dinner tonight. We'll eat by ourselves."

Everyone had heard about the message that someone from Zhoujia Village had sent, but no one knew the specifics.

Hearing Yang Ruoqing and her mother-in-law say this, no one thought much of it. They just assumed that Luo the blacksmith had delivered Laba porridge to Zhoujia Village, and Zhoujia Village had invited the father and son to stay for dinner in return.

Farmers are always so hospitable. I can't say about other things, but when guests come, they will definitely put together a couple of dishes to entertain them.

Especially since the guests went out of their way to deliver Laba porridge...

As the host, Yang Ruoqing naturally had to take care of everyone during the meal.

Her gaze swept over the people in the dining hall, and then she noticed something.

This phenomenon is rather intriguing.

That is, all the children are arranged to eat at the square tables next to them, and the tables and chairs are also the standard equipment for children, which is very convenient.

So each family left their children there, and the adults only needed to go over occasionally to look after them.

Meanwhile, there are lilies of the valley and peonies next to the square table, ready to help the children eat and prevent them from getting burned or choking.

Liangliang ate by himself, while Liu Jinchuan and Liu Shi would occasionally glance at him.

However, the fifth son of the family was a month or two older than Liangliang, but when the child sat there eating, there were always two people standing behind him to serve him.

Those were Jiang Guiling and Bao Suyun.

"Fifth Aunt, come and sit down and eat with Guiling. I've sent someone to keep an eye on the child!" Yang Ruoqing greeted them with a smile.

Bao Suyun quickly shook her head: "It's alright, Qing'er, I can eat whether I'm standing or sitting. You go and take care of them, don't worry about me."

Faced with Bao Suyun's sincere words, Yang Ruoqing didn't think much of it and turned her gaze to Jiang Guiling.

Jiang Guiling was peeling shrimp with her very well-maintained nails, which she had even painted with nail polish tonight.

"Sister Qing'er, I'm not an outsider either, it's more comfortable for me to stand!"

"Why? You guys stood for ages helping me add porridge today!" Yang Ruoqing asked with a smile.

Jiang Guiling said, "Serving porridge is really not tiring. It's convenient to eat standing up right now. If I want any dishes, I can just go over to the other table and get them. The main thing is that my son is too naughty, and I don't feel comfortable letting him eat alone."

“Oh? They’re two years old already. You can try letting them eat on their own now,” Yang Ruoqing said.

After Tuantuan and Yuanyuan turned one year old, they were gradually trained to eat independently, provided that the ingredients were not too complicated to prepare for them.

Even so, Wang Cuilian and Ronggu would try their best to stay by their side and help them eat. Yang Ruoqing would criticize them every time she saw this.

If someone needs to be served even when they're eating, isn't that turning them into a useless person?

What about Jia Baoyu?

What a spendthrift!

Even a fool under the overpass knows to shovel food into his mouth. In Yang Ruoqing's opinion, Bao Suyun and Jiang Guiling spoiled their son too much, especially Jiang Guiling, who doted on him in every aspect of his life... Yang Ruoqing had heard Cao Bamei and the others mention it privately within the Yang family.

A bit exaggerated.

"Sister Qing'er, you go ahead and do your work. It's best if we eat here; otherwise, I won't feel at ease," Jiang Guiling said to Yang Ruoqing again.

As she spoke, she had already peeled three shrimp, and fed the three plump, pink shrimp meat to her son one after another.

The last one was personally put into his mouth by Jiang Guiling.

Yang Ruoqing glanced again at a quiet and well-behaved little girl sitting next to her. This little girl was also Jiang Guiling's daughter, but there were no shrimp peeled by her mother in her bowl...

"Alright, make yourselves at home then." Yang Ruoqing smiled and turned to greet the others.

Before leaving, she put a salt-baked chicken leg on the little girl's plate and said, "Eat more."

"Thank you, Aunt Qing," the little girl said softly.

Jiang Guiling poked the little girl's back with her finger, her tone slightly annoyed with the child, "Speak louder, it's like a mosquito buzzing!"

The little girl blushed, her eyes looking timid.

Yang Ruoqing pressed Jiang Guiling's hand down and said, "Don't treat the child like that. Her voice is fine now. I can hear everything."

“Sigh, this girl is getting more and more timid and useless. When the whole family gets together, all the other children are very outgoing, but she’s so petty and always whining.” Jiang Guiling shook her head repeatedly, every word of hers filled with criticism.

Bao Suyun tried to smooth things over, saying, "You can't say that. Our granddaughter is like her Aunt Mianmian; she has a gentle personality and speaks softly. She doesn't whine and whimper like you described."

"Mom, just spoil her! I can't be bothered with her anymore, all my energy has been drained by my second child!"

As she spoke, Jiang Guiling went to make meatball soup for her son again.

She had a loud voice and a clear laugh, moving between the large round tables and the octagonal tables from the dining hall to the kitchen.

She's like a large oriole, able to strike up a conversation with anyone naturally. She's adept at social interaction, not only taking care of her son's meals but also overseeing her son's drinking at the big round table.

"Da Bao, drink less! You reek of alcohol!"

"Sister-in-law, that's not a very nice thing to say. Wine smells wonderful, how could it smell bad?" Yang Yongqing frowned, his face smiling but his eyes showing some displeasure.

Because he was the one holding the wine jug and pouring wine for Da Bao...

Jiang Guiling was taken aback for a moment, then changed her tune and said with a smile, "Young man, you don't know, my Dabao can't hold his liquor. Don't force him to drink, you guys drink a few more cups yourselves."

“This isn’t about forcing people to drink; it’s about the brothers having fun together,” Yang Yongqing said.

"Hey, I know you guys are good friends, but there are many ways to have fun, but Da Bao doesn't drink alcohol!"

As Jiang Guiling spoke, she walked to the large round table and reached out to take the wine cup in front of Da Bao.

Yang Yongqing's smile vanished. "Sister-in-law, that's a bit inappropriate. When men are drinking, it's disrespectful for you to snatch his wine cup like that!"

Does this "not giving face" mean disrespecting Da Bao, Yang Yongqing, the others drinking with Da Bao, or even the Luo family, the host family behind the scenes? It's hard to say.

Everyone understood the vague meaning in Yang Yongqing's words and his dissatisfaction, and they all looked in this direction.

Many people tried to smooth things over.

Yang Huazhong: "Guiling, don't worry, Dabao didn't drink many cups."

Yang Huaming said, "The Luo family has brought out good wine tonight. Even if you drink a few more cups, it won't hurt anyone."

"Guiling, aren't you being a bit too strict with Dabao? What man doesn't drink?" These were Liu's words.

While gnawing on a pork rib with soybean paste, Liu smacked her lips and said, "There are no outsiders here tonight, and nothing else to do. It'll be better to have a few drinks before going home and getting some sleep!"

Yang Ruoqing did not comment on the matter; she continued to stay at the children's table to take care of them.

However, the host, Wang Cuilian, was certainly advising Jiang Guiling not to worry about Da Bao. She said that everyone here was family and that they should just drink to their hearts' content and not get anyone really drunk.

Faced with everyone's attempts to smooth things over, Jiang Guiling's smile widened, becoming even brighter and more genuine.

"Look, Da Bao, everyone's protecting you. It makes me look like the bad guy, deliberately not giving you any wine and ruining the mood!"

Jiang Guiling chuckled, but her hand remained firmly gripping the wine cup, showing no intention of letting go.

Seeing Jiang Guiling start her self-deprecating humor, everyone was at a loss for words, because Jiang Guiling had said everything they wanted to say, leaving them speechless.

Besides, it would be like contradicting himself, so everyone basically kept quiet and only looked at Da Bao himself.

Da Bao sat there, his face flushed red. He didn't know if the redness was from the alcohol or from the embarrassment and awkwardness he felt after Jiang Guiling jumped out and snatched the wine cup from him and argued with the others...

"Da Bao, I'm asking you a question, so say something!"

Jiang Guiling patted Da Bao's back hard with her other hand. Although she was still smiling, there was a look in her eyes that seemed to want to kill Da Bao.

Da Bao sensed that Jiang Guiling was unhappy, so he quickly looked up and said to the others in the canteen, "My Guiling didn't mean to snatch my wine cup. I just caught a cold and haven't fully recovered yet, so I have a bit of a cough..."

After saying that, Da Bao even covered his mouth and coughed twice in front of everyone.

The murderous intent in Jiang Guiling's eyes vanished instantly, and she immediately followed up on Da Bao's words, saying loudly, "Did everyone hear that? I'm truly innocent! I was just worried about Da Bao's health. His cough hasn't completely cleared up, so he really can't drink. But if he doesn't drink, I'm afraid it will spoil everyone's fun..."

"It's alright, Guiling. We didn't know Dabao was coughing. We were being reckless." Yang Yongzhi immediately waved his hand and gestured for Yang Yongqing, who was carrying the wine pot, to sit down.

“We’ll drink it ourselves. You should let Da Bao eat more vegetables and drink more hot soup.”

Yang Yongqing understood Yang Yongzhi's meaning, so he said no more and went to drink with Kang Xiaozi after sitting down.

Da Bao raised his hand to rub his face and quietly let out a breath. At this moment, Jiang Guiling had already filled a large bowl with soup and placed it in front of him.

"Da Bao, why don't you offer soup instead of wine to your third and fourth uncles? They are your elders."

The implication is that, apart from elders who need to be shown respect, other peers don't need to be.

Da Bao nodded, picked up the soup, and began to offer it...

Jiang Guiling patted Da Bao on the shoulder again, reminding him, "How can you sit down when toasting your elders? Stand up quickly!"