At dinnertime, Ruojun made a table of meals with his own hands, and the second elder of the Zhou family was really overjoyed when he saw that they were all dishes that he and his two sons liked to eat, and Master Zhou's originally serious face also showed a smile, and Mrs. Zhou said: "Ouch, Ruojun, it's really difficult for you, how do you know that we like to eat these." ”

Ruojun smiled: "I asked Cuiliu and Mother Zhao in the kitchen, it is made according to everyone's taste, you and Dad hurry up and try it to taste?" If I don't do well, I'll change it next time. ”

Master Zhou took a sip of chicken soup and praised: "Mmmm, good, good." ”

Mrs. Zhou smiled and said, "Ouch, sir, it's rare for you to say yes." Ruojun, it's really hard for you. ”

As he spoke, he asked Mama Zhao beside him, "What about the eldest young master and the second young master?" ”

Mother Zhao replied with some embarrassment: "The second young master has just come back, he should be coming soon, the eldest young master is ......" said and looked at Ruojun, and stopped talking.

Master Zhou asked, "What's wrong with Ryan?" His daughter-in-law cooked the food for this table, so he had to come out and eat it together. ”

As soon as the words fell, Ruikang walked in, saw a table of sumptuous meals, and said with a smile: "Yo, what festival is it today, why is it so rich?" ”

Cuiliu came up with the water to wash his hands, Ruikang washed his hands, and looked at the food on the table, each dish is so exquisite, the plate of each dish, there are all kinds of flowers and green leaves to decorate, and some are small flowers carved from radish, little rabbits, small houses, small melons and fruits, elegant and beautiful, the person who cooks is really talented, ingenious.

Ruikang dried his hands, made it, and said mischievously: "This table of dishes is really beautiful, it must not be from Zhao's mother's hand." ”

Mother Zhao smiled on the side: "Ouch, I can't make such a delicate dish, especially the little flowers, the small melons and fruits, if it weren't for a pair of skillful hands, how could I make it?" ”

Mrs. Zhou smiled and said, "Today is your sister-in-law's first day cooking at our house, come and try it." ”

Ruikang looked at a table of steaming meals, with vegetables and soup, looked at Ruojun with appreciation, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect your cooking skills to be so good, it seems that our family's meals will be greatly improved in the future." ”

Ruojun blushed when he praised him, and said, "Second Uncle praised it, sit down and eat." As he spoke, he pointed to a plate of beef rolls and said, "I heard Mother Zhao say that you love beef, so I made this, and I put some mustard and honey in the seasoning, you can taste it or not." ”

Ruikang looked at the plate of beef rolls, slices of beef were neatly rolled into rolls, tied with two shallots in the middle, and the asparagus was rolled inside, and around the plate were two plum blossoms carved from radish, and there was a small plate with sauce in it.

Ruojun sandwiched a piece for both Master Zhou and Mrs. Zhou, and also sandwiched a piece for Ruikang.

Ruikang dipped in some sauce and tasted it, the beef was tender, the asparagus was crisp, the green onion was fragrant, the sauce was sour and spicy and slightly sweet, and it was delicious, and I couldn't help but praise: "It's so delicious, Ruojun, you are amazing, does this dish have a name?" ”

Ruojun smiled: "How do you know the name of this dish?" ”

Ruikang smiled: "Wouldn't such a delicacy lose its fun if it didn't have an elegant name?" ”

Ruojun said: "This dish is called 'Xiangshan Xiaocui'."

Ruikang nodded: "The name is Xinya, but what is the explanation?" ”

Ruojun's eyes flashed and explained: "This fragrance refers to the fragrance of green onions, the fragrance of meat, this mountain refers to the continuous meat rolls, undulating like mountains, and Xiaocui naturally refers to the sweet and crisp taste of asparagus." ”

Ruikang smiled: "I obeyed you, you are amazing." He looked at his parents and said, "I'm going to have a good meal tonight." ”

Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou saw that Ruojun was smart and capable, and they were very quick-witted, and they liked it very much, especially the dishes on this table were really full of color, flavor, and taste, which made people have a great appetite.

"Where's the big brother?" Ruikang asked.

Mother Zhao said embarrassedly: "The eldest young master said that he didn't come out to eat." ”

When the whole family heard this, they were all disappointed, and Master Zhou said loudly: "What kind of temper is this?" Three days and two ends of the temper. Go, let Zhou Fu, Zhou Gui go and set him up for me. ”

Mrs. Zhou was busy dissuading on the side: "Master, forget it, Ryan is not in good health, no wonder he is." ”

"Well, he's not in good health, it's not the first day, it's been so many years, the whole family knows that he's not in good health, so I've endured him for so many years, what else? Now that my daughter-in-law is married, it's time to live a normal life! Master Zhou said angrily.

Mrs. Zhou still wanted to persuade, but Master Zhou interrupted: "Don't always protect him, it's just that you are used to him all day long, so you have become like this, you haven't been out of the house for several years, and you are nested in the study every day, we all owe him, and it is so difficult to even have a meal with the whole family." ”

As he spoke, he shouted loudly: "Zhou Fu, Zhou Gui, go and invite the eldest young master out for me." ”

Ruikang hurriedly stopped Zhou Fu, and Zhou Gui said: "Dad, if you make a table of good dishes, don't be so disappointed, if your brother doesn't come out, then ask Cuiliu to send it to him." How can you enjoy food when you are in a bad mood? ”

Mrs. Zhou also hurriedly said, "Yes, what are you doing with such a big fire?" There's no taste for anything to eat later. Come on, come on, drink this chicken soup first. As he spoke, he sent the chicken soup to Master Zhou, and suddenly said, "Ruikang, in the future, you can't always call Ruojun Ruojun, you have to call sister-in-law, you know?" You see, although Ruojun is younger than you, he is much more sensible than you. ”

Ruikang and Ruojun couldn't help but chuckle in their hearts, although what Mrs. Zhou said was reasonable, but in their hearts, they always felt that Mrs. Zhou's words sounded like words. Ruikang secretly glanced at Ruojun and nodded at his mother.

Ruojun thought about it and stood up and said, "Dad, don't be angry, I'll bring some food over and have a look." Eat first. ”

Mrs. Zhou helped: "Yes, yes, let Ruojun go over to eat with Ryan, so that they can be more familiar with each other." ”

Master Zhou waved his hand and stopped talking, Ruojun and Cuiliu put the meal together, put it in the basket box, and walked towards the study.

Master Zhou, Mrs. Zhou, and Ruikang sat in the dining room while praising Ruojun's craftsmanship while eating.

Master Zhou sighed: "I think Ruojun's child is good, to be honest, I didn't expect Mrs. Zhang to tell us such a good daughter-in-law." It's a pity that we Ryan...... I hope he can cherish his blessings and cherish them. ”

Mrs. Zhou said: "Yes, Ryan's temperament is stubborn, I hope he won't be wronged Ruojun." ”

Master Zhou snorted, looked at Ruikang after a while, and said, "Ruikang, your eldest brother has already married, and you will be next." ”

"Me?" Ruikang took a bite of food and said, "Don't worry about me, I don't want to get married now." ”

"You kid, you're nineteen years old, this is going to be in the past, you've been a father a long time ago. Your eldest brother is because of his body, so he didn't find a good family until so late. Mrs. Zhou looked at her handsome son with a smile and said, "You, seriously, several matchmakers have come to me to mention it, but your eldest brother's business has not been done, so it has been delayed until now, and now that your eldest brother has become a relative, it is naturally your turn." ”

Ruikang was upset: "Mother, don't talk about matchmaking for me, I don't want to marry blindly and dumbly like my eldest brother, even if I want to get married, I have to find it myself." ”

Master Zhou said sharply: "You kid, you always have to deviate from the norm, you have been advocating some anti-government and anti-traditional arguments all day long, I am messing around with your temperament, but everything must be done in moderation, and the marriage must be the order of the parents to be the words of the matchmaker." ”

Ruikang argued: "What if I don't like what you're looking for? That's the guy who's going to live with me for the rest of my life. ”

Mrs. Zhou said: "Yo, you child is not worried about his father's eyes, so how about you look at your sister-in-law?" ”

At the mention of Ruojun, Ruikang was even more irritable, frowned involuntarily, and said, "Sister-in-law is very good, it's just too good, but do you really think she and eldest brother can live well?" ”

Master Zhou frowned and said, "How do you know if they are doing well?" I think it's good. ”

"Well, Dad, you think it's good, but does your sister-in-law think it's good?" Ruikang sandwiched a piece of chicken and said: "The situation of the eldest brother, as long as everyone knows that he is not worthy at all." ”

Master Zhou said angrily: "Why don't you deserve it, she is talented, our Zhou family is rich and noble to match her, wearing gold and silver, silk and satin, and maids to serve her, do you treat her very badly?" ”

"Daddy!" Ruikang frowned and said: "She is married, not married, cough ......." He knows how old and traditional his parents' thinking is, it is not the first time he has advocated women's emancipation, monogamy, and freedom of marriage and love at home, and it is not the first time he has opposed this marriage, and now that he has made a boat, his previous high-minded talk is like a joke, he feels very tired, and he doesn't want to make a revolution in this family anymore.

Ruikang sighed and surrendered: "Okay, okay, Daddy, I take back what I just said, I also hope that my eldest brother and sister-in-law can love each other, I don't have a say in the marriage of my eldest brother, just ask you, don't do the same thing to me, otherwise I will run away, I will leave this family." ”

"You!" Old Man Zhou said angrily: "Are you threatening your parents?" ”

Mrs. Zhou hurriedly pressed Master Zhou's arm, and said: "Oh, master, Ruikang has received a Western-style education, and we can't be too demanding, so let's allow him to find the girl he likes, and then we will propose marriage, so that it is not impossible to follow his heart and complete the courtesy." ”

Master Zhou pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "Well, then that's it, it's just that I'm afraid that he is not sensible and will fall in love with some indiscreet girls." ”

"No, it won't. Our Ruikang is smart and has a high vision. Mrs. Zhou said, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said, "By the way, the girl from the Cheng family who came to our house last time was very good." Ruikang, I see that the way she looks at you is a little interesting. ”

Ruikang chuckled in his heart, he actually felt that Cheng Jiaqi was a little strange about him, but he never thought about it in that way, and now that his mother mentioned it, some of the doubts in his heart were confirmed, could it be that Jiaqi was really interested in himself?

Ruikang couldn't help but say with a hot face: "Mother, don't talk nonsense. Jiaqi and I are just classmates and friends. ”

Ruikang didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, so he hurriedly finished eating the rice in the rice bowl, left the dining room, and hurriedly walked to his Yongmei Garden.

Along the way, he recalled some bits and pieces after getting to know the Cheng brothers and sisters after entering the university, and found that he was really dull enough, in fact, Cheng Jiaqi has shown his heart to himself many times, but he has always been ignorant of the feelings of men and women, plus he is busy with schoolwork and speeches and marches, and has never paid attention to her heart for herself. If Jiaqi really has a crush on herself, how will she get along with her in the future? Also, do you like her or not? He didn't seem to be able to think of a reason, he liked being with the Cheng family brothers and sisters very much, but to Jiaqi, he couldn't tell what it was like, the more he thought about it, the more annoying he became, he lowered his head and walked forward, and just walked to the corner of the garden and collided with a person.

The two people who bumped into each other were both preoccupied and confused, Ruikang fixed his eyes and saw that it was Mei Ruojun who bumped into Mei Ruojun, her face was full of tears and her expression was quite embarrassed, Ruojun looked at Ruikang in a panic when she hit it, and shouted trembling in her mouth: "Ruikang ......." turned around and was about to run away, Ruikang pulled her to the rockery in the corner of the garden.

He saw her sobbing pitifully, tears to the broken pearls, kept sliding down from both sides, and he couldn't bear it in his heart, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Mei Ruojun hurriedly shook her head and stammered: "No, it's okay......."

"Is my brother embarrassed you?" Ruikang hurriedly said: "I'll go tell you about him." ”

"No, no, no, don't go, it's me who is not good, he said that the food I cooked was unpalatable, and it all fell to the ground, and I ....... that I will change it tomorrow......." Ruojun said softly.

"Unpalatable?" Ruikang said angrily: "Seriously, this is the best meal I've ever had, he said it on purpose." He's deliberately angry with you. Go, you come with me, I'll help you talk about him. ”

"No, don't go, I'm fine, really." Ruojun stopped.

"Nothing? It's okay, so why are you crying? Ruojun, I know that my brother has a strange temper, you must have been wronged to cry. Ruikang said urgently.

Ruojun hurriedly wiped away his tears, squeezed out a smile, and said, "No, I'm really fine, thank you for comforting me." ”

Ruikang saw her barely squeezing out a smile, and his heart was even more sad, frowning: "I'm not comforting you, and I don't want to comfort you." I'm mad at you. ”

Ruojun raised his head and looked at him with some puzzlement, Ruikang had an urge to pull her into his arms, but he restrained himself, paused, and said angrily: "I'm not only angry with you, I'm also angry at this inhumane marriage system, and even more angry with myself, I hype up democracy and freedom in school every day, but live in such a traditional and rotten family, and watch you fall victim to this cruel marriage system." ”

Ruojun didn't fully understand what he was saying, she only knew that it was an act of etiquette for her to stand alone behind the rockery with him and talk, so she hurriedly said, "I'm sorry I made you angry." I'll go back to the kitchen and stew white fungus soup for your eldest brother. ”

When Ruikang heard her say this, his heart was even more cold, he grabbed her, sighed heavily, and said: "Mother Zhao and Cuiliu do these things, why do you all have to follow the eldest brother?" ”

Ruojun also sighed: "Your eldest brother is very pitiful, I want to try my best to take care of him and be good to him." ”

"Yes, he's always so pitiful, so do you have to make everyone around him so pathetic?" Ruikang shook his head, sighed, and said helplessly: "I think you are more pitiful than him." Then he turned and hurried away.

Ruojun looked at the back of him leaving, his heart became heavy, and he was even more at a loss, and walked slowly to the kitchen.