A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Some people absolutely hate it when others touch their things, and they won't want anyone to help them tidy up, no matter how messy they are.

Zhuang Qingxiang suspected that Lu Congyue was this kind of person.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have stood in the courtyard with a furrowed brow the whole time.

Zhuang Qingxiang inwardly groaned, gritted her teeth, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I tidied up the yard without your permission... I just felt it was a waste to leave such a big yard empty, so I planted some scallions, peppers, chives, loofahs, and things like that, so we won't have to spend money to buy them once they grow..."

"And that chicken, I just happened to buy it when I went to exchange eggs today. I figured I had some free time, so I might as well feed it and then I wouldn't have to go to someone to exchange eggs every day..."

Zhuang Qingxiang's voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared completely.

The main problem was that Lu Congyue remained expressionless, and she couldn't tell whether he agreed or disagreed.

She swallowed hard and said nervously, "If you don't like it, I... I'll restore it to its original state right away."

"No need, this is... just fine!" Lu Congyue sensed her unease and said against his will.

Actually, there's no need for that at all. He has to go to work every day, sometimes work overtime, and often travels for work. He doesn't have time to take care of the vegetable garden and poultry.

She's already busy enough taking care of three children on her own, how could she possibly have time to add extra workload?

Lu Congyue heard the woman let out a soft sigh of relief. Although her voice was very soft, he could easily detect it.

What's wrong? Are you afraid of him? Is he some kind of monster?

Lu Congyue's gaze fell on Zhuang Qingxiang. Her hair was pulled back, revealing her slender, fair neck, but her bangs were thick and untrimmed, covering her eyebrows and eyes and making her look very untidy.

However, judging from the contours of her face and her lips, you can tell that this woman is not ugly.

Troublesome… he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

Zhuang Qingxiang was secretly delighted at that moment.

Director Lu allowed her to grow vegetables and raise chickens in the yard, and he didn't mention the chaos just now. He probably won't kick her out, right?

He had just returned from a business trip and must be exhausted and hungry, so Zhuang Qingxiang decided to quickly cook him dinner.

She was a very good cook, which her mother said she inherited from her. Her mother used to work as a kitchen maid in the farm because of this. But she was too beautiful, with a pair of big, watery eyes, and the farm owner took a liking to her and made her his concubine.

Actually, Li Shufen was right about one thing: her mother was a concubine, so she was born to a concubine.

Later, the government only allowed monogamy, so her mother could no longer stay with the farm. She was a girl who was not well-liked by the farm, so her mother had no choice but to take her back to her hometown.

But her mother had been bought to work as a maid in a farmhouse since she was a child, and she didn't remember where her home was. She walked north and met Qian Dayou on the way. She followed him to Dongya Village and married him to him.

Her mother told her to keep this matter a secret and not let anyone know who her biological father was, so as not to cause trouble. Her stepfather also warned her the same thing, so she never mentioned it to anyone.

Li Shufen probably doesn't know her background; she's probably just used to cursing people like that.

Zhuang Qingxiang put the child on the kang (a heated brick bed), put her chaotic thoughts to the back of her mind, and hurried to the kitchen to get busy.

Lu Congyue, however, was somewhat uneasy.

This was clearly his place to stay, but at this moment he felt like an outsider who had suddenly barged in, completely out of place.

Lu Congyue put his luggage in the main room, untied the towel from the handle, took a change of clothes, and went outside.

"Uncle, where are you going? Mom has already cooked, and we'll be eating soon," Xiao Qianyue said, mustering her courage.

Mother said that if we wanted to stay, we had to respect Uncle Lu and make him happy, so she had to remind him about meals.

Lu Congyue paused, looked at the little girl, and noticed that she seemed to have gained a little weight since the last time they met. He nodded and replied somewhat awkwardly, "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be right back."

He was really bad at dealing with women and children, and after saying that, he hurriedly left.

He was covered in dust from the journey and needed to wash up.

Before, I could just rinse it off at home, but now it's inconvenient and I have to go out.

When Zhuang Qingxiang heard the commotion and ran out to see what was happening, she only saw Lu Congyue's departing figure.

"Yueyue, what's wrong?"

Xiao Qianyue shook her head: "Yueyue didn't do anything. Uncle took the towel and clothes out and will be back soon."

Zhuang Qingxiang understood immediately and nodded: "Yueyue, it's okay. You go and watch your little brother, Mom will cook."

When Lu Congyue returned, the food was already on the table.

The golden-brown scallion pancakes, the soft and well-cooked rice porridge, the scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and the dish that was clearly not meat but looked a bit like braised pork.

When Zhuang Qingxiang saw Lu Congyue return, she hurriedly said, "Director Lu, dinner is ready. Please eat first."

That feeling of being an intruder returned, and Lu Congyue frowned slightly as he sat down at the table.

"Uncle, have some." Little Qian Yue offered Lu Congyue a scallion pancake in a flattering manner.

"You eat," Lu Congyue coughed lightly, replying awkwardly, "Uncle, help yourself."

Little Qian Yue stared at him expectantly. Lu Congyue had originally planned to wait for Zhuang Qingxiang to eat together, but with her staring at him like that, he didn't know whether to eat or not.

His gaze swept toward Zhuang Qingxiang, only to see her carrying a bowl into the inner room.

Lu Congyue hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Isn't your mother eating?"

Xiao Qianyue shook her head: "Mother needs to feed my younger brother rice oil first."

Upon hearing this, Lu Congyue's face darkened, and Xiao Qianyue immediately shrank back, not daring to speak again.

Lu Congyue was displeased.

Although he was never married and had no children, and didn't know anything about raising children, he knew that such a young child definitely needed to drink milk, otherwise he wouldn't have asked Village Chief Qian to help find a wet nurse who could feed the child.

If feeding him rice and oil would suffice, why would he go through all this trouble?

"Comrade Zhuang, come out here, let's have a talk," he said loudly with a stern face.

Zhuang Qingxiang was about to feed her son rice oil when she heard Lu Congyue's voice. She immediately sensed the displeasure in his tone and began to feel uneasy again.

She put down her bowl, lifted the curtain, and asked softly, "Director Lu, is something the matter?"

Lu Congyue's voice was extremely serious: "You fed the child rice oil?!"

Zhuang Qingxiang immediately realized he had misunderstood and hurriedly explained, "Director Lu, please don't misunderstand. I didn't feed your child rice oil; I fed it to my son."

Lu Congyue frowned.

"Director Lu, I know the rules. Since I said I would take good care of your child, I will definitely not mistreat him. You can see for yourself if you don't believe me. He's a little fatter than before you left."

Fearing he wouldn't believe her, Zhuang Qingxiang quickly went back inside to bring the child to show him.

Lu Congyue had to admit after just one glance that the woman was taking good care of the child.

She's cleaner than before, and a little chubby, which makes her look kind of cute.

"You can hold him," Zhuang Qingxiang suggested softly, noticing that his expression softened when he saw the child, indicating that he could take the child.

Lu Congyue reached out to take it, but his fingers touched something soft and bouncy the instant he took the child…

His lips tightened suddenly, and he withdrew his hand as if he had encountered some ferocious beast, startling Zhuang Qingxiang.

Luckily, she hadn't let go, or the child would have fallen.