Chapter 269: Chapter 269

This girl was upset last night, how come she became happy again after just one night of sleep? I was even planning to go in and ask her what happened, but seeing the situation now, it seems unnecessary.

The boys, even though they sat on the train all night, are still very energetic due to their youth, and went out to collect junk after breakfast this morning.

Qin Xi had to go out for something, while Li Xianglu first called the An Family to invite Xu Hui to bring the two kids over for some "mianpi" and then also called Lu Anna, hoping she could bring Lu Ping’an with her.

Anna did want to come, but she had already visited the courtyard house yesterday, and felt a bit embarrassed to come over two days in a row. Now that it’s summer vacation, both her sisters-in-law are here, and she was afraid of being teased.

Li Xianglu didn’t insist, just told them to cook less for lunch, and that Qin Zhen would bring over some food when he comes back, including smoked meat and flatbreads.

The flatbread Li Xianglu made wasn’t the common kind, not made with leavened dough, but unleavened dough mixed with lard and then kneaded hard. Finally, it’s twisted into bundles and rolled out and cooked in a pan.

Once cooked, the outside of the bread is crispy, with layers unfolding one by one. Cut the middle in half with a knife and stuff it with chopped smoked meat. One bite and the crispy exterior and the meaty aroma inside is like a tongue-dropping experience.

Mr. Li hadn’t had his granddaughter’s pork-stuffed buns for a long time and couldn’t wait to go to the kitchen to take a look.

Su Yan shook her head helplessly. Li Huai Ren was such a man thirty years ago. Look at him now, not only a geezer, but a total foodie as well.

Qin Zhen and Li Jianqing knew they were making "mianpizi" at home and returned by eleven o’clock. They had a good haul, a cart full of old books, newspapers, and various bottles and jars.

Li Xianglu had already started to make "mianpi" and quickly told Qin Zhen to wash up and deliver some food to the Lu Family.

Although the food is not expensive, the sentiment is heavy. After all, Lu Anna is the Qin Family’s future daughter-in-law. It is valuable for a son-in-law to eagerly bring some food to his mother-in-law to make a good impression.

Ten flatbreads were made, meat, Li Xianglu put chunks with soup in a large lunchbox.

The "mianpi" and ingredients were packed separately, quickly filling up four lunchboxes.

This was what they brought for Qin Zhen, so they didn’t have to wait and just started eating.

Su Yan had tried "mianpi" once before and really liked it, soft and chewy with a great texture, especially the sour and spicy sauce which was very appetizing.

Mr. Li tasted a crispy pork-stuffed bun and nodded in satisfaction, much tastier than the ordinary white "Jim" flatbread.

Xu Hui also came with the two kids. Now a teacher at a local elementary school teaching Chinese, she was on vacation and idle at home. After receiving Li Xianglu’s call, she came over without any politeness.

Even though they had paid back the Li Family’s money, Mr. Li and Li Xianglu had taken great care of their family. For the past two years, they had given them some Foreign Exchange Vouchers every year, and the family also had enough auxiliary food. The two kids had grown up rapidly, and she and her husband were happy with their progress, gradually becoming closer.

After sending off the An Family, there were five "mianpi," some meat, and buns left. Li Xianglu urged Sister Xing to deliver the items home. "Mianpi" doesn’t keep well, even with a fridge. Though it could be stored, it wouldn’t taste as good as when it’s freshly made and cool.

Qin Zhen also came back at two o’clock sharp, accompanied by a somewhat embarrassed Lu Anna.

Li Xianglu wanted to take a nap, but seeing the two return together, she said disgruntledly, "What, didn’t get enough to eat? There’s nothing left at home."

Lu Anna quickly waved her hands, "It was enough, really. I’m home with nothing to do, just came over for a visit." In reality, she hadn’t had enough: her three sisters-in-law, two brothers, plus herself, her mom, and the nanny, and Qin Zhen—how could that be enough? The nanny had to roll out noodles just so everyone had enough to eat.

Seeing Li Xianglu picking on Anna, Qin Zhen’s eyes widened in displeasure, but he dared not say anything. His brother was not one to trifle with, and if he really went nuts to talk back about his beloved brother’s wife, he’d probably have to die a hundred times just to make his brother feel better.

Since it was scorching at noon, the two planned to go out at four in the afternoon to gather more junk, so everyone went to sleep in the house, leaving Anna and Qin Zhen alone in the yard to engage in their romantic talk.

It was hot, so Qin Xi turned on the air conditioning to cool the room down. Watching his significant other fall asleep holding his arm, he adjusted the airflow direction before leaning on one side and also dozing off.

They slept till well past four in the afternoon. When Li Xianglu woke up, the courtyard was empty. Grandpa and Su Yan were watching TV and drinking tea in the living room, and Sister Xing had started washing the opened quilts in the washing machine in the yard.

Having eaten "liangpi" at noon, which doesn’t really fill one up, they had to prepare a proper meal for dinner, such as stir-frying a few dishes and cooking some porridge.

Qin Xi rode his bike with Li Xianglu to the Overseas Chinese Store to shop for food. Li Xianglu planned to boil some tea eggs for Su Yan to eat on the way; even though Su Yan would absolutely refuse such vulgar food, eggs can be hunger-satisfying.

The two were about to walk out with a heap of purchases when a figure suddenly burst out, almost causing Li Xianglu to fall. Fortunately, Qin Xi was quick and caught her.

Li Xianglu looked towards the running figure, annoyed, frowning, "What’s the rush, not looking where you’re going..." But before she finished her sentence, she stopped. That figure seemed so familiar, a white shirt, blue jeans.

Li Xianglu’s eyes widened. Wasn’t that Teacher Jiang, the one who had run away just now?

Qin Xi realized something was wrong too, but Li Xianglu thought to chase after the person. This person had caused Iro such misery, but instead, Qin Xi held her back firmly.

ps: 3000-word Chapter counts as 4.5. Still 3000 words left, writing now.