Chapter 157

Liu Ling had her doubts, but she didn't dare ask outright. She could only indirectly speak well of her eldest brother-in-law, "Sister-in-law, you don't know that big brother has been looking forward to your arrival. Since I came last year, he had started applying for a house. The house I'm living in now was the one he applied for back then. It was just that you hadn't arrived yet at that time, so I moved in first because I was in a hurry. Now that you're able to come over, big brother must be overjoyed."

Hearing these words, Liu Ling didn't know what to think. She was clearly trying to avoid the topic, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. When I came over, grandma asked me to bring you some things. They're all on the table outside."

Liu Ling stood up and went outside to get the things, so Wen Qing could only follow along.

Inside the bundle were two cans of malted milk, a summer dress and a pair of small leather shoes, a pair of pants and a shirt. Grandma had likely considered that Wen Qing needed to breastfeed, so the dress had buttons on it too.

"Grandma heard that you grew taller and fuller, so she was very happy. She said that you must take good care of your health and not be careless..." The old lady had said this while crying. In her mind, a girl's height was fixed by eighteen or nineteen years old. The fact that Wen Qing was still growing meant she must have been undernourished before, and was only growing more now that she was eating well.

Perhaps it was because of her age that she was prone to melancholy. Thinking about the days her granddaughter had endured made the old lady very distressed.

As Wen Qing touched the handmade clothes, she felt her nose turn sour. She had wanted to escape so she had come here for a long time, yet she had never thought about going back. She truly felt guilty about the old lady's love and care for her.

Suppressing these emotions, Wen Qing smiled and said, "Grandma's skills are so good. This dress even has an embroidered flower on it."

Right at the chest area was a hand-embroidered sunflower, beautifully made.

"This wasn't made by grandma," Liu Ling laughed and explained, "This was made by our family's old tailor. Now they don't allow raising embroidery workers anymore, but he still would do it for grandma's sake. Grandma said her eyesight was going bad so she worried that her work would make her pretty granddaughter look ugly."

Liu Ling had heard about the past glory of the An family before she got married. After the wedding, grandma had even brought her to get clothes made, though they had to keep it hidden.

With the men back, the dishes that had already been prepared in the kitchen were brought out.

In addition to the red braised fish and a bowl of stewed wild chicken and ginseng, there was also a plate of lobster tails. The rest were vegetables grown at their doorstep, and a plate of salted duck eggs and preserved eggs. When Wen Qing had first brought the children back, neighbors who came to visit all brought eggs. She couldn't finish them all, so she had Pei Jing make preserved eggs. It was their first time making them, but they had turned out quite well.

An Zhiqing joked, "You two are living quite the good life here. Where did you get the salted duck eggs and preserved eggs?"

"We made them ourselves. The duck eggs were traded with the nearby village. If you're envious, make them yourself. I can provide technical support," Pei Jing said as he poured wine for them. It was the leftover half bottle from when he and Zhao Xin had drank last time. Liu Ling had just arrived, so no one planned to drink too much.

"You miser. I thought you were going to say you'd give me some," An Zhiqing shamelessly rolled his eyes.

Liu Ling was sitting right next to him. She picked a chicken leg for Wen Qing to gnaw on, and subtly glanced at the wine cup in front of An Zhiqing.

Although she didn't say anything, Wen Qing had been watching the two of them the whole time, and clearly saw a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

Wen Qing nudged Pei Jing next to her and said, "Sister-in-law and Wen Qing have just arrived, so there must be many things around the house they need to tidy up. Don't let big brother drink too much, otherwise he'll have an excuse to slack off tomorrow. Wouldn't that leave sister-in-law to tire herself out alone?"

Pei Jing looked deeply at her. Although their marriage wasn't long, they clearly already had a lot of tacit understanding.

"Don't worry, no one can drink much even if they want to. This is just leftover from last time, so everyone only gets the small cup in front of them."

Right after Pei Jing spoke, he saw An Zhiqing looking at him thoughtfully. Then he glanced at his satisfied little sister, and suddenly felt a bit of heartache.

He and Pei Jing were around the same age and had grown up together since they were little. Although they were best friends, their difference in seniority made An Zhiqing subconsciously somewhat disdainful of him.

But now, seeing that the other party seemed to have the potential to become a strict husband, while his wife just happened to be his own little sister, An Zhiqing couldn't help but want to laugh at him.

Zhao Xin was also whispering to Pei Meng, "You heard it too. We're only having a small cup today, it's fine."

The two of them had been busy preparing to conceive a child. Although they had been married for some time, there was still no news. Although neither had voiced it, they were both somewhat anxious.

After all, not wanting children and being unable to have children were completely different concepts. And since they hadn't been using contraceptives, it was inevitable they would worry about each other's health.

Although Wen Qing was just a child, she ate the fastest. Liu Ling helped wash her little hands clean before she excitedly ran towards the room.

"Auntie, auntie, little brother and sister are awake..." The tender voice came from the room. Wen Qing stood up and told the others, "You guys keep eating, I'm going to check if they peed."

Because they both had guests today, they had put the babies back in diapers.

Pei Jing had also wanted to get up but she refused him.

When Wen Qing entered the room, she saw the two little ones with their eyes open, kicking their little feet. Wen Qing was playing with them, occasionally making them laugh out loud.

Wen Qing went over and took a look. Wanqing had already peed, so she swiftly helped change her diaper. Then she went to check on her son.

This little one actually behaved for once. He hadn't peed this time.

Wen Qing was about to help him pee to save herself from washing another diaper, but as soon as she lifted it, the stinky boy peed.

She was so startled she hurriedly covered the diaper again.

Watching as the diaper slowly got soaked, Wen Qing could only change it for him. She even angrily smacked his little bottom.

She hadn't used much force. The stinky boy thought they were playing and grinned widely while giggling.

Wen Qing was also crouching there giggling foolishly. She stretched out a finger that was seized by the stinky boy and shook around haphazardly.

Wen Qing took out candy and melon seeds for him from the cabinet, "Wen Qing, watch over little brother and sister here. Auntie is going back out to eat."

"Okay, I'll watch over little brother and sister well." Wen Qing nodded solemnly, as if he had been entrusted with a major mission.

Wen Qing wanted to ruffle his hair but remembered her hands had just touched the diaper.

With a helpless smile, she went to wash her hands first before going back out to continue eating.

At the dining table, she talked about the embarrassing situation of changing the kids' diapers earlier, making the whole table laugh. They chatted animatedly using it as a conversation starter, and the atmosphere became very lively.

Zhao Xin said that he didn't expect dragon and phoenix twins, and that if heaven blessed them with identical twins he would be satisfied too. An Zhiqing ridiculed him for wishful thinking, saying that dragon and phoenix twins were passed down in their family, and only to daughters not sons. His grandmother and mother were examples. Marrying Wen Qing was a huge advantage Pei Jing had lucked into.

Pei Meng had ladled herself half a bowl of fish soup, but before she could drink it, just the smell made her suddenly feel uncomfortable. Flustered, she hurriedly ran outside.