I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Qiaoqiao listened quietly, constantly putting food on her brother's plate.

Yang Zheng took a bite of the pickled cabbage and pork, and happily closed his eyes. In Shanghai, what kind of food do people eat? Even pickled cabbage has sugar in it.

He'd been craving this for a year, but Qiaomei's cooking was still the best.

"What was your ranking in the final exam?" Zhou Zhonghai asked, showing great interest in Yang Zheng's academic progress.

Yang Zheng glanced at Qiaoqiao and stammered, "First in...the whole grade..."

Yang Zheng didn't want to say it, afraid of embarrassing his sister.

Qiaoqiao wasn't embarrassed at all and immediately cheered, "Brother, you're amazing! I barely passed. You have a prosthetic leg and you still got first place, that's incredible! Eat meat, brother, eat meat!"

His admiration was evident. Zhou Zhonghai was also very satisfied: "Excellent, the prosthesis is well made, and you're doing well in your studies too. Uncle Zhou is happy. Here, have a drink."

Yang Zheng humbly raised his glass, and Zhou Zhonghai took a sip of wine, then couldn't help but look at Zhou Wenjing: "Look at him."

They are someone else's child, not yours.

Zhou Wenjing and Annie quickly lowered their heads and ate, their hard-won performance completely ruined.

Annie understood that she couldn't compete with Qiaoqiao in this family; Qiaoqiao had such an outstanding older brother to support her, while she didn't.

My brother, sigh, he's over thirty and still acts like a scoundrel, always hanging around the ice rink trying to pick up young girls.

"Your Aunt Luo said Chen Yan's second skin graft surgery was very successful, and he was discharged today. You should go see him tomorrow. The mutton is coming over later, so take some for your master to try."

"Brother, I'll go with you tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you, Aunt Luo. My master writes to me, and he mentions Director Luo in every letter."

"It's fate, isn't it? He made a prosthesis for Wenhui, and Aunt Luo treated his illness. It's like it was all arranged by heaven," Zhou Zhonghai said with some emotion.

Fate is both accidental and inevitable.

"Uncle Zhou, Professor Dong, who I studied prosthetics with, gave me a batch of upgraded equipment, which I brought back. I also brought the latest prosthetic materials from all over the country. I want to make Wenhui the softest, lightest, and most comfortable prosthesis in China. I have half a month off, enough time to take molds, and the later production can be left to my master."

"Really?" Zhou Zhonghai's eyes lit up.

"Brother, you brought back five packages, all of them are instruments?" Qiaoqiao asked in surprise.

Yang Zheng chuckled: "Sorry, Qiaomei, I didn't bring you any gifts. The five packages contained nothing but equipment and raw materials, except for my change of clothes."

"Brother, I don't want any gifts. Making a prosthetic leg for Wenhui is the best gift you can give me."

Qiaoqiao's eyes were red and swollen. "Brother, my dear brother, when you think of Wenhui, you're thinking of your little sister."

Zhou Zhonghai was also deeply moved. He patted Yang Zheng on the shoulder, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "Thank you, Yang Zheng."

"Uncle Zhou, I made so many lightweight prostheses because I wanted to master the technique so that Wenhui could have the best prostheses."

"Good boy, good boy, Uncle Zhou was right about you."

Zhou Zhonghai raised his glass and said, "Yang Zheng, this glass is for you, on behalf of an old father, to thank you for keeping Wenhui in your heart."

"Uncle Zhou, no, no, I respect you more."

Yang Zheng was panicked. When Vice Governor Zhou offered him a toast, he didn't dare to drink it.

Zhou Wenjing also raised his glass: "Yang Zheng, as your younger brother, I should also toast you. Thank you. It was you and your sister-in-law who helped my brother get back on his feet."

Yang Zheng was at a loss for words. He quickly stood up, bowed, and raised his glass with both hands: "Thank you, Uncle Zhou, thank you, Wen Jing, thank you for treating Qiao Mei like your own daughter and sister."

"Hey, family, thanking each other back and forth, drink up, it's great!"

Zhou Zhonghai drank it all in one gulp, as did Zhou Wenjing and Yang Zheng.

"Sigh, I can't eat this at all," Annie thought sullenly.

When her father-in-law toasts the younger generation, she can forget about ever surpassing her sister-in-law.

As a fellow daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, it's really unacceptable for a country bumpkin to steal the spotlight.

If I had known that Zhou Wenjing, that good-for-nothing, had such a low status at home, I would have been happier staying in the Soviet Union.

Yang Zheng enjoyed the meal very much. He liked all the dishes as long as they didn't contain sugar.

When people travel far from home, besides missing their loved ones, they must also miss the unforgettable taste of their hometown dishes.

Liu Songming arrived in his Jeep right after we finished eating.

"Have you eaten? There's still a bite left," Zhou Zhonghai asked with concern.

Annie, sitting in the living room drinking tea, felt utterly disheartened. Her father-in-law was warm and welcoming to everyone, but he just didn't like her and her husband.

"Liu Songming, I've missed you so much!" Zhou Wenjing was both happy and scared when he saw Liu Songming and went to greet him.

"Hey kid, call me 'brother,' I'm way older than you."

"Then my brother will also call you Liu Songming."

When Liu Songming was taking care of the two brothers, he was just an ordinary guard. His father called him Liu Songming, and the two brothers followed suit.

"Your brother has corrupted you. Come on, help your brother carry the mutton."

"I'm not moving it, it's all greasy."

If Zhou Wenjing hadn't moved, Yang Zheng would have already carried a whole sheep into the kitchen.

"Look at you, all slicked-back hair and powdered face, you haven't learned anything useful."

Zhou Zhonghai pointed at Zhou Wenjing with a look of disappointment and frustration.

Soon, two sheep, ten catties of ribbonfish, twenty catties of beef, twenty catties of pork, and six large bluefish were all moved into the kitchen.

"Liu Songming, what are you doing? I only wanted half a sheep, and you've given me so much. Aren't you making me break the rules?" Zhou Zhonghai said with dissatisfaction.

"Old Chief, this is a personal gift to my fellow townsman and friend Yang Qiao. It has nothing to do with you."

Liu Songming chuckled. Normally, the old commander wouldn't accept any gifts he offered, but now that he had finally asked, he would get some from the Armed Forces Department for the commander to try.

"Lamb is hard to prepare, I'll have Old Li from the cafeteria take care of it later. We'll roast some lamb in the yard tonight and make a lamb and radish soup."

Liu Songming took out two bottles of specially supplied Moutai liquor from the back seat and said, "Old Chief, I'm not going back. I'll be having dinner at your place tonight. I'll drink the liquor myself; that won't be considered a violation of regulations, will it?"

"You insist on forcing the old commander to make a mistake. Come inside, come inside and have some tea. Yu Fu will be back soon, let him take care of these things."

Then, Zhou Zhonghai said to Qiaoqiao, "Distribute this meat. Your family should take more, and Jin Tao, Yao Xing, and Master Chen Yan should all get some too. If we eat all this ourselves, it would really be considered bribery."

"Yes, Dad."

The kitchen was full of meat, and Hu Xiaomei was so excited she didn't know what to do.

"Qiaoqiao, it's hard to even buy a pound of meat, but Minister Liu has sent us so much. We're rich!"

"Yes, this is the first time I've ever seen so much meat. Sister Hu, we'll have a lot of guests tonight, so we'll eat one lamb and share the other. Chef Chen, my family, Brother Jin Tao, and Yao Xing, let's each have a leg. Let's save some meat for the New Year."

"Alright, Qiaoqiao, I must say, the cupboard that the second son bought has come in handy."

"Refrigerator, not cupboard."

"Isn't it just like a cupboard?"

Okay, call it whatever you want, anyway, Qiaoqiao thinks it's a cupboard.

Fish is easy to handle; once marinated, it can be stored for a long time.

Fish offal can be stewed with sauerkraut, and it can last for several days.

The ribbonfish were cleaned and fried, and each family received a small portion. As for pork, every household in Dashui Village slaughtered a pig. Parents' families didn't need to bring any; they should give Master Chen Yan extra, since meat ration coupons were required to buy it in the city.

Qiaoqiao left some extra beef, because beef is good for children, and she saved it for Zhou Xiaowei.

Finally, only one whole sheep was left. Chef Li from the Armed Forces Department's canteen arrived and quickly divided the sheep into portions, marinated more than half of it, and roasted the mutton that evening.

There were also some bones, which we stewed with radishes in a large pot at home.

The sheep wasn't very big, weighing about 20 kilograms. With so many people at night, eating a whole sheep wouldn't be a problem.

Chef Li was in charge of cooking, Yang Zheng assisted, and Qiaoqiao and Sister Hu cooked a few more home-style dishes.

When Yu Fu returned, the house was already bustling with activity.

"Yu Fu, are you going home for the New Year? Take some meat with you." Qiaoqiao asked with concern.

"I'm not going back, the section chief wants me to be on duty."

"Can't we let local employees take shifts? How long has it been since you've been home?" Hu Xiaomei said with dissatisfaction.

"It's okay, I'm used to it."

"Then come back for New Year's Eve dinner."

"Okay, I have a home in Huailin too. It's good to spend the New Year with Xiaowei."

"You little rascal, they're bullying you because you're new, making you do the shifts, and you're actually happy about it," Hu Xiaomei complained.