I'm back in 1990

Chapter 40: A Son in the Family

A meal of lobster completely won over Yu Wei's stomach. In the days that followed, he was inseparable from Huang Xiaochuan. He would help Huang Xiaochuan cook, just so that Huang Xiaochuan could make another meal of garlic crayfish.

Taking advantage of the time before school starts, Huang Xiaochuan did his best to cook all the dishes he knew how to make, with a different menu every day.

Every day, he would take Yu Wei to the market and grocery stores. The two of them were busy buying all kinds of ingredients. Fortunately, when they went to the grocery store to eat cold drinks last time, Huang Xiaochuan discovered a lot of good ingredients.

For the next few days, the Huang family's dining table featured dishes such as pickled fish, stir-fried shrimp, boiled sliced ​​meat, cold chicken noodles, sweet and sour pork ribs, stuffed gluten, cold jellyfish salad, braised ribbonfish, and stewed beef brisket with tomatoes, with a different dish every day.

When someone expressed doubt about Huang Xiaochuan's sudden ability to cook, Huang Xiaochuan would slap a cookbook he bought from Xinhua Bookstore in front of them and then arrogantly say, "Cooking is very simple." After that, no one asked why anymore.

Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan's family was eating so well, Yu Wei simply stopped going home for meals and started eating at Huang's house every day, becoming a permanent resident of Huang's household.

Seeing that they were eating meat and fish every day, Lao Huang and Zeng Lijuan couldn't help but worry about the food expenses going too far, because Zeng Lijuan had only given Huang Xiaochuan fifty yuan for groceries. At this rate, that amount of money wouldn't last more than a few days.

On Friday, Old Huang couldn't help but ask Huang Xiaochuan, "Ever since you took over our kitchen, the food standards at home have gone up dramatically! I've gained three or four pounds. But I've calculated it, and the money your mom gives you for groceries isn't enough to cover your expenses. Tell me honestly, where does the rest of your money come from besides what your mom gives you?"

Huang Xiaochuan immediately used his uncle as a shield: "When I came back, my uncle gave me money, and I added some to our food expenses."

"Your uncle gave it to you, so just use it yourself. Besides, there will be many expenses in college. If you're spending all your money on groceries, what will you do if you don't have enough at school?"

Old Huang instinctively thought that his brother-in-law might have given Huang Xiaochuan a large red envelope. Normally, it would be quite normal for Huang Xiaochuan's uncle to give him a red envelope after he was admitted to university.

Little did he know that his brother-in-law would give his son not a red envelope, but a mobile phone worth over 20,000 yuan, and that Huang Xiaochuan had earned all the money he had spent recently.

Moreover, Huang Xiaochuan only said that his uncle Zeng Jiahua gave him money, without explaining where the money came from. Old Huang mistakenly thought it was a red envelope from his uncle to his nephew, which was completely misunderstanding.

That evening, Lao Huang reported the situation to his wife, Zeng Lijuan. Zeng Lijuan had some doubts, as she knew that her younger brother's feelings for their youngest son were different from those of their eldest and second eldest sons.

Because Huang Xiaochuan grew up with Zeng Jiahua, the relationship between the uncle and nephew was similar to that of a father and son. Since the nephew was admitted to his ideal university, the uncle would naturally want to give him something in return, and according to past practice, Zeng Lijuan would definitely collect this money.

This time was different, though. Huang Xiaochuan was about to go to university, and university life would be different from home; he'd have to learn to handle some of life's challenges on his own. So Zeng Lijuan tacitly approved of Huang Xiaochuan having some money, and even planned to give him some more before he left—better to be prepared on his journey!

Unexpectedly, the child seemed to have suddenly become sensible. Not only did he take the initiative to do housework, buy groceries, and cook, but he also used his own money to help support the family.

This made Zeng Lijuan both happy and worried. She was happy that her son was growing up, but worried that he would soon leave her to study alone in another city.

Let's not talk about the eldest and second sons. They've rarely seen each other since they joined the army, and it's even harder to see them after they graduated. The eldest and second sons are very responsible, and they both volunteered to go to remote and difficult places.

Although children are no longer under their mother's control when they grow up, a mother still worries about her son no matter how far he travels. They are all her own flesh and blood, how could she not miss him!

Seeing that her youngest son was about to leave her, Zeng Lijuan felt a little sad. Moreover, her youngest son had not been by her side since he was a child, and she already felt somewhat indebted to him.

She had been thinking of making it up to him as much as possible, but she never expected that the child would actually repay her kindness. This made her feel gratified, but it also made Zeng Lijuan even more reluctant to part with him.

Thinking of this, Zeng Lijuan couldn't help but wipe her eyes. Old Huang saw his wife's expression. After being married for so many years, how could Old Huang not know what his wife was thinking? So he gently persuaded Zeng Lijuan.

"It's a good thing that Xiaochuan is sensible. Besides, we can feel more at ease knowing he's all alone out there. And Shanghai isn't far away, plus there are winter and summer vacations. It's easy for us to see him. If you really miss him, we can just take a leave of absence and go for a visit. I can also go with you on a trip."

Old Huang lost his parents early, so he values ​​family ties very much. Although he is quite strict with his three sons' education, he is still a loving father at heart. In fact, he is also reluctant to let them go, but after all, children have to go out and make their own way in the world when they grow up. Parents can't follow behind them and protect them for life. In the end, they have to let them learn to grow up and become strong on their own.

Meanwhile, Huang Xiaochuan was playing cards with Yu Wei and Yu Min on the third floor. Perhaps he was just unlucky today; whenever Huang Xiaochuan was the landlord, he was bound to lose. But he refused to believe it and called for the landlord role several times. As a result, his face was covered in so many paper strips that his features were no longer visible. Except for his eyes, his entire face was covered in paper strips. When he breathed, the paper strips near his nose would flutter. From a distance, he looked like a mummy, but alive.

As expected, Huang Xiaochuan lost again. Yu Wei looked at Huang Xiaochuan's face with a troubled expression, holding a piece of paper. Where the hell was he supposed to stick this? There was simply nowhere to stick it!

He wasn't much better off; his face was also covered in paper strips, though fewer than Huang Xiaochuan's, at least his eyes, nose, and mouth were still visible. Yu Min had the fewest on her face. She was cunning; she wouldn't call "Landlord" unless she was absolutely certain of winning, so she won more than she lost. She only had three paper strips on her face, but they were evenly distributed: one on each cheek and one on her chin.

"Slap!" Yu Wei didn't care anymore. His face was covered, but his chest was too. He did something outrageous: he lifted Huang Xiaochuan's shirt and stuck the note on Huang Xiaochuan's chest.

Huang Xiaochuan was so angry he almost cursed, but then he remembered that Yu Min was there and didn't have the heart to do it. Besides, his mouth was covered with notes, so it wasn't convenient for him to talk. He quickly pulled his shirt down to get rid of it.

Yu Min blushed slightly at Yu Wei and Huang Xiaochuan's actions, but luckily her skin was a bit dark, so Huang Xiaochuan and Yu Wei didn't notice.

The note was pasted on, and Yu Min shuffled the cards, preparing for the next round.

At this moment, Huang Xiaochuan glanced at the clock on the Yu family's wall and, seeing that it was almost time, ripped the note off his face and said, "It's getting late, I'm going back to sleep."

Yu Wei scoffed, "You're a sore loser, aren't you? Making excuses, huh?"

How could Huang Xiaochuan admit that he was afraid of losing? So he stubbornly said, "Look, it's almost ten o'clock. I have a lot of things to do tomorrow. If I don't sleep well, I won't have any energy tomorrow."

Yu Wei wouldn't let Huang Xiaochuan leave, pulling at him while pleading, "How about three more rounds, then we'll end it?"

Huang Xiaochuan decided to fight to the bitter end: "Fine, you want to fight, huh? Let's fight all night tonight, are you in or not? But you're cooking the lobsters tomorrow, I need to catch up on sleep."

The plan to have lobster at Yu's house on Sunday had been arranged a few days in advance. As soon as Huang Xiaochuan said he was going to back out, Yu Wei quickly put away the cards and let Huang Xiaochuan go home. Playing cards is nothing compared to a meal of garlic lobster.

She added, "Okay, okay! Go back now! Don't forget to get up early tomorrow and come with me to buy lobsters."

Huang Xiaochuan casually waved his hand behind him: "Just call me when you come to my house tomorrow morning."

After saying that, he touched his face with his hand to make sure there was no note before going downstairs to go home.