Rebirth Counterattack with Space

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Visit Home More Often

Chapter 59 -59: Visit Home More Often

“Xia Yuan and Aiguo are both generous-hearted people. But now that you’re a family, you should take more care of your own small household. You should also persuade Aiguo,” said the second uncle’s wife as she came over and patted Xia Yuan’s hand. She held it as she solemnly introduced them.

“This is your eldest sister and second sister, and this is Xia Yuan and Xiaoyun. Get to know each other, so you won’t fail to recognize your family if you meet outside.”

“Xia Yuan, we also owe you and Aiguo our thanks for bringing all that formula and bottles for Dabao and Xiaobao. It’s such a relief, thanks to you—we don’t have to worry about them going hungry,” Lu Aimei said as she took Xia Yuan’s hand, her face full of genuine gratitude.

“Don’t say that, second sister. It’s too formal between us. Actually, it was all Aiguo who thought of Dabao and Xiaobao. He brought everything, I didn’t do much,” Xia Yuan said with an embarrassed smile, pushing all the credit onto Lu Aiguo.

“Don’t be so modest. If you weren’t there to remind Lu Aiguo, could he have been so thoughtful? Anyway, I accept your kindness. This is a small token from me and Xie Changgen. Don’t refuse it. When Zhang Cai was in the same position, your eldest sister and I both gave her something. It’s the same for you.”

Lu Aimei stuffed a red envelope into Xia Yuan’s hand with a giggling smile, then casually touched Lu Yun’s cheek and invited her, “Xiaoyun, come visit your second aunt’s house when you’re free. I’ll make you some delicious food when you do.”

“Okay, second aunt,” Lu Yun responded to Lu Aimei’s friendliness without refusal, nodding her head obediently.

Xia Yuan felt a bit awkward holding the red envelope. When Lu Aijiao’s red envelope also came her way, she, sensing Xia Yuan’s embarrassment, joked.

“This is a small token from me and Xie Jiang. Please accept it—refusing it would be like looking down on us.”

“Don’t worry about it, just take it. This is the traditional gift they’re supposed to give. Aibing received it as well when he got married to Zhang Cai,” the second uncle’s wife said with a smile, while Zhang Cai nodded and laughed along.

So Xia Yuan stopped trying to refuse and bravely put the red envelopes in her pocket, “Then on behalf of Lu Aiguo, I thank you, eldest sister and second sister.”

“Ha, what’s there to thank among family? Xia Yuan, mom said there’s a lot to watch out for when making formula with that bottle, so tell me about it,” said Lu Aimei, pulling Xia Yuan aside to talk.

The second uncle’s wife laughed, “Xia Yuan, that’s too complicated for me to explain clearly, so you go on and teach her properly. Your eldest sister, Zhang Cai, and I are handling the cooking for tonight’s meal, and we’ve almost got everything ready.”

“Alright, second aunt,” Xia Yuan nodded in agreement. Lu Yun also came over to listen.

Xia Yuan asked Lu Aimei to bring over a bottle and a can of formula, and she carefully explained everything she learned the night before. Lu Yun listened attentively, interjecting now and then to help out. Lu Aimei was very careful and serious about learning.

“It really is quite intricate. But why can’t you use hot water to mix the formula? Why must it be lukewarm—will that dissolve it properly?” Lu Aimei asked, finally voicing her lingering question.

“I’m not really sure myself,” Xia Yuan admitted, looking clueless at Lu Aimei, “but from what I’ve heard, because this formula is for babies, too hot water can cause a loss of nutrients. It should dissolve fine. Just tighten the bottle and shake it well,” Xia Yuan said. Lu Aimei didn’t dwell on it much and nodded, moving past the topic.

By five-thirty, with the sky still bright, Aiguo and Shitou came over, looking like they had taken showers.

In the main house, Xia Yuan and Lu Yun were formally introduced to the Lu family’s two sons-in-law.

The dinner was very lively, with exceptionally plentiful and generous servings—a seven-course meal plus soup, better than what we had for New Year’s.

The braised pork and pig’s feet were ready-made; they just needed to be steamed to warm up. Besides, there were deep-fried spare ribs, stir-fried cured pork with arrowhead, loach stewed with tofu, a big bowl of steamed eggs, cold mixed water spinach, and the soup was a large basin of hot and sour soup.

But with so many people, one table could not accommodate everyone, so in the end, they had to split into two tables. The men sat together because they wanted to drink, while the women and children squeezed onto a makeshift temporary table. Originally, they had wanted to move a couple of women to the men’s table to make more room at the other table. Unfortunately, no one was willing to move; they all disliked the smell of the men’s drinking.

Even the two children didn’t want to go there, preferring to squeeze in on this side.

Luckily, the hall was big enough to fit both tables.

The dishes at the two tables were the same, and there was no rule about one side having more or fewer dishes than the other. In fact, since there were more people on the women’s side, there was even more to go around.

Actually, the Lu Family’s approach had always been different from others, starting with Lu Aiguo’s grandfather’s generation, there was no discrimination against women or rules about women not being allowed at the table when they were behind closed doors at home. In the Lu Family, women had always held a high status. This aspect, at least, Lu Yun’s uncle always implemented thoroughly.

“With more people in the family now, we should make a larger tabletop when we have time. Otherwise, it’s not fun to split into two tables like this during the New Year, not lively enough.”

As Lu Yun’s uncle savored the Moutai brought by Lu Aiguo and his spouse, he looked towards the women’s table, where the bustle of too many people squeezed around a small table made him feel his own five-person table was a bit too quiet, and he became slightly disgruntled.

Eating meals should be a crowded affair, where everyone grabs dishes with their chopsticks and that’s what makes it fun and lively.

“Alright, in a couple of days, I’ll take Aibing and Shitou to find some wood and make a bigger one. In the future, when my brother-in-law and sister come back for the New Year, and Xia Yuan and I come back, everyone can sit down at Uncle’s house.”

Lu Aiguo followed Lu Yun’s uncle’s gaze and quickly agreed. Making a tabletop wasn’t hard work. After all, for the weddings in the Lu Family, the furniture had been made by the brothers themselves. It wasn’t necessarily the finest craftsmanship, but it was certainly presentable.

“Have you decided to come back every year for the New Year?”

Lu Yun’s uncle forgot about the table topic, his face showing surprise. Lu Yun’s uncle’s wife also heard Lu Aiguo’s words and looked at Xia Yuan, asking. Once Xia Yuan nodded, she was also filled with joy, “Good, good, good, when you come back, don’t bother cooking at home, just come eat with us.”

“Mm, that will trouble Auntie then,” Xia Yuan responded nonchalantly, thinking they would at most join in for a meal or two for the festivities—how could they really impose so often? But she wasn’t foolish enough to object right then, merely nodding in agreement.

“…This is the root, how could we not come back? We might have been too busy at the beginning, but we’ll make sure to come back at least once or twice every year. Once things are stable, maybe we can come back more often. After all, it’s not too far, just a day’s journey by train. Including the trip to the county town, two days are more than enough.”

Lu Aiguo’s voice reached the table, and Lu Yun’s uncle’s wife’s eyes reddened, nodding tearfully, “I’d love for you to come back more often, I’m not worried about it being a bother at all.”

Lu Aijiao and Lu Aimei exchanged glances, sighed softly, and then both looked up at Xia Yuan and chorused, “Yes, Xia Yuan, you really should come back more often in the future.”

—

Seeing how some readers can’t accept that Lu Yun’s secret was so abruptly exposed by Shitou, and that there is continuous doubt about the intelligence of the female lead… Meng Xuan really sweats a little, as there’s actually a reason for the female lead to behave this way. I think many people must have guessed it. Even if they haven’t, the reasons will be slowly revealed in the following chapters. Meng Xuan can’t help but add that the female lead has been reborn back to the year she was six years old – it’s precisely because she knows she is “currently” only six, having been a “confused child” before, so she definitely can’t act too out of place yet… Put yourself in her shoes for a moment, if she really did act that way, then probably any sensible person would start to question.