spring bite mark

Chapter 211 The Pampering of the Son-in-Law
From breakfast onwards, Yan Changye keenly sensed the change in Huo Mingcai's attitude towards him.

"Good son-in-law, come and try some of the Beijing breakfast dishes that Dad made for you online."

Seven or eight kinds of Beijing-style breakfasts were placed in front of him. In comparison, Huo Yungui only had a bowl of clear soup noodles in front of him, which seemed particularly meager.

"Dad, you're being a bit biased!" Huo Yungui muttered discontentedly as he added chili to the clear soup noodles. "What do I lack compared to my brother-in-law? Is it really necessary for you to be so critical?"

“Where is he inferior? Your brother-in-law is perfect in every way except for his love of spending money. And look at you, you are flawed in every way except for not having any family fortune for you to squander.”

Huo Mingcai, who had been accumulating frustration all night and was looking for a way to vent it, suddenly unleashed a torrent of inexplicable abuse on his son:
"I got up at six to make breakfast, and I called you three times but you didn't get up to help. If you could at least give me an egg, I wouldn't have to get this bowl of watery noodles. You're getting lazier and uglier, and you don't even look for a wife. Do you want to sponge off me for the rest of your life? I don't have the time to serve you. From now on, you can make your own meals, or go beg for dog food from the neighbor's dog, Wangcai."

Huo Yungui was given a thorough dressing-down, leaving him completely bewildered. He stammered, "Well, my brother-in-law didn't get up to help this morning either..."

"Your brother-in-law's hands are so precious, how could he waste them in the kitchen? Besides, you just loaf around all day, doing nothing productive. Your brother-in-law is busy earning money to support the family, which is much harder than your job. You should learn from your brother-in-law's sense of responsibility towards his family and his tolerance in love!"

Huo Mingcai mumbled a few more words before turning to Yan Changye, his tone softening considerably:

"Changye, it's 40 degrees outside today, so don't rush out. Dad will go to the farm to catch some free-range chickens and ducks to cook for you for lunch. If you want to go out this afternoon, take Dad's car so you don't get sunburned."

Yan Changye's beautiful peach blossom eyes showed a hint of confusion, and his voice was casual: "Dad, why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

"I said I'd pamper you, so how could I not treat you well?" Huo Mingcai paused for a moment. "As long as you continue to treat our youngest son well, Dad will pamper you for the rest of his life."

Yan Changye: "..."

Huo Mingcai rushed out the door.

Huo Yungui looked at Yan Changye with a somber expression: "Brother-in-law, my status in the family is now even lower than Wangcai next door..."

Yan Changye casually handed him a cup of soy milk: "Brother-in-law, there's no need to belittle yourself. I think you're excellent, with a genuine personality."

It's like watching your youngest son, Xie Jian, grow up...

Yan Changye's feelings were a bit complicated and subtle. He handed Huo Yungui another stack of small fried buns: "Is this enough?"

"That's enough, thank you, brother-in-law!" Huo Yungui stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth and then naturally stopped Yan Changye from wiping the bean curd residue on the table with a tissue. "Don't move, just eat. Leave the cleanup to me."

After the two had finished eating, Huo Yungui took his bowl and went to the kitchen to study how to use the dishwasher.

Wang Ying also got up, washed up, and sat down opposite Yan Changye.

"Good morning, Mom." Yan Changye greeted her politely. After all, there is a difference between men and women when he was with his mother-in-law, unlike the slight sense of impertinence he showed in front of his father-in-law.

Wang Ying had very noticeable dark circles under her eyes. Her gaze swept gently over Yan Changye's face: "Has son-in-law had breakfast?"

"I've eaten." Yan Changye looked at her haggard face, which looked like she hadn't slept all night. "I'll have someone bring over some of my usual face masks later, specially for repairing the effects of staying up late."

"Have you forgotten how many boxes you just gave me? Those are ridiculously expensive, two thousand a piece, and I haven't even been willing to use them."

“That was just a random gift, and it’s not as effective as the one I usually use that costs 5,000 yuan a piece.” Yan Changye pondered, “I was afraid Mom would think I was spending too much money, so I didn’t feel comfortable giving it to you as a gift.”

“How could that be? Spending money is no big deal. How could your mother bear to scold you?” Wang Ying looked at Yan Changye with boundless affection. “If spending money can bring happiness, then let’s spend as much as we want. If we don’t have enough money, we can ask your mother.”

Yan Changye fell silent for a moment. According to his spending habits, if he spent recklessly, his father-in-law's two supermarkets, a farm, and all their savings wouldn't be enough for him to work for even a day…

Wang Ying didn't understand her son-in-law's complicated feelings and looked around: "Manman hasn't gotten up yet?"

"No, there's nothing wrong anyway, let her sleep until she wakes up naturally." Yan Changye's tone was gentle and very serious. "I stayed up late last night with her to deal with some work, it was a bit late."

He spoke seriously, but his heart was far from serious.

“It’s a good thing that young people are ambitious.” Wang Ying didn’t think about anything else. “Is your youngest daughter getting along well with your parents in the capital? Do your parents…mind her, her past?”

Are you bothered that Jiang Manman was homeless and uncared for when she was a child?

"What's there to mind? My wife is not for others to judge, not even my father." Yan Changye's tone turned slightly somber. "As for my mother, she passed away a long time ago."

Wang Ying's eyes were slightly red, and her gaze towards Yan Changye became even gentler: "It's alright, it's alright. From now on, you and Manman will both be my youngest children."

Yan Changye looked at Wang Ying, whose gaze was even more doting than when she looked at Huo Yungui. After a few seconds of contemplation, he slightly curved his lips and said, "Alright."

To be honest, this mother-in-law is much more interesting to get along with than Chen Suyan.

At noon, Huo Mingcai prepared a sumptuous farm-style feast, featuring authentic farm-raised chicken, duck, and fish, as well as pesticide-free organic vegetables. There were ten dishes on the table, eight of which were Yan Changye's specialties.

"Speaking of these dishes, I also picked up a really weird order this morning." Huo Mingcai said while meticulously serving his son-in-law food and soup. "There's a simpleton in the capital who signed a long-term cooperation agreement with me. Every week, he uses a private jet to bring meat and vegetables from my farm."

The banquet master's hand, which was scooping soup, paused gracefully.

Jiang Manman had already gotten up and had just finished washing up and sat down at the table. She couldn't help but glance at Yan Changye, lost in thought:
"Orders from the capital..."

"It was some kind of assistant who came to sign the contract with me personally. He said that their chairman's wife likes Chongqing cuisine and that only Chongqing ingredients can make the most authentic Chongqing dishes. I don't know why she came to me. After signing the contract, she took a batch of vegetables with her and said that she was going to have a banquet the day after tomorrow. She was very generous with the money, paying several million yuan in advance. She didn't even want to use the cost price. She signed the contract based on the pricing standards of fine cuisine in Beijing. She was really naive..."

Jiang Manman then buried her head in her food and remained silent.

Huo Yungui hissed, "It's like they're handing out money to us."

"That's right, I felt bad about it, so I gave away three of my black-footed hens that I had raised for five years." Huo Mingcai sighed, "I heard that they also poached the head chef from the best private restaurant in Chongqing. I was fortunate enough to taste Chef Zhu's cooking once, and it was absolutely amazing!"

Yan Changye: Is it worth it for him to poach people if he doesn't stop?
Huo Mingcai changed the subject: "But the dishes he makes are really expensive. A plate of stir-fried vegetables can sell for 128 yuan. I heard that he can sell a Buddha Jumps Over the Wall dish for a sky-high price of 3888 yuan, but there are still a lot of people queuing up. Oh well, now he's been poached. I wonder how many people are cursing that idiot from the capital behind his back."

Jiang Manman coughed lightly: "Dad, let's not gossip about others."

Huo Mingcai stopped talking, glanced at his daughter, and for some reason, the worries he had after the video call with Xie last night came back to him.

He looked at his son-in-law with more affection than he would at his own son: "Changye, do you still remember that Dad said he would take you to see the world tomorrow?"

Yan Changye gave a meaningful "hmm": "Where to?"

"You'll find out tomorrow night." Huo Mingcai looked him up and down. "Come out with Dad later, and Dad will take you to buy an expensive outfit. Your clothes don't look bad, but they're not from any brand names. I'm afraid you'll run into some snobbish people who will look down on you and make you upset. Take off all your random accessories too, and Dad will buy you some nice ones later."

Yan Changye looked at his clothes and trousers, which cost nearly seven figures, and elegantly took off his accessories, which were worth tens of millions, and threw them into his wife's hands:
"Tsk, okay."

(End of this chapter)