A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Ge Jiangtao hadn't expected Shang Hua to leave so suddenly, and that she hadn't obediently stayed as he had asked, which made him feel like he had lost face in front of the Shang family.

After a couple of seconds, he returned with a smile and said to Shang Jianjun, "Dad, Ahua's temper has gotten even worse..."

Shang Jiang, who had been mostly silent, couldn't help but chime in, "That's right, what's my sister doing? Wasn't she the one who asked Cong Yue to mediate between her and her husband? Why did she run away again when her husband arrived?"

"Also, what's the deal with her blind date? Is she stringing her brother-in-law along while going on blind dates?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Ren Zhen's sharp rebuke suddenly rang out. Shang Jiang turned around and saw his mother glaring at him with a livid face. He quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"Mom, I was just talking nonsense, I was just talking nonsense!"

"If you know it's nonsense, then don't say it!" Ren Zhen said without any politeness. "You're over thirty years old, how come you still can't keep your mouth shut? It's one thing for others to talk about your sister, but how can you join in and talk about your sister like that? She's your own sister! Don't take your brother's side!" Ren Zhen said angrily.

Now, Ge Jiangtao couldn't sit still any longer.

Ren Zhen is clearly targeting him.

My ex-mother-in-law has a worse temper than my ex-wife; I don't know how my ex-father-in-law put up with it.

"Mom, don't misunderstand, I didn't say anything about Ahua," he tried to explain.

Ren Zhen raised her hand and said coldly, "Don't call me that. You and my daughter are already divorced. Just call me Aunt Ren."

Ge Jiangtao was extremely embarrassed and blamed Shang Hua in his heart again.

If she hadn't taken the initiative to be friendly, he wouldn't have thought of coming to visit the two elders with Shang Jiang today.

"Alright," Shang Jianjun said, frowning. "Go about your business and don't get involved in the children's affairs."

Ren Zhen looked indignant, and Zhuang Qingxiang quickly said, "Aunt Ren, let me help you. I'm pretty good at cooking."

As she spoke, she pulled Ren Zhen back to the kitchen.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, Ren Zhen's anger turned into sadness.

He wiped his eyes and forced a smile at Zhuang Qingxiang, saying, "Little Zhuang, I'm sorry you had to see this. My daughter is such a worry."

Zhuang Qingxiang shook her head: "I think Sister Shang is a good person. The divorce is definitely not her fault."

Ren Zhen's eyes lit up, and he immediately felt that Zhuang Qingxiang was his soulmate.

"You think so too?" she said with surprise. "I also think it wasn't Ahua's fault! I know my daughter. Although she has a temper, she's straightforward and honest in her dealings with people. She doesn't hide anything. Besides, I didn't approve of her marrying Ge Jiangtao, but she insisted on marrying him herself, saying she would definitely be happy. But..."

Ren Zhen's voice choked: "We've been married for so many years, and not only do we not have children, but we've also come to the point of divorce. When I ask her what happened, she won't say. I'm really afraid she's suffered a great injustice."

Seeing how upset she was, Zhuang Qingxiang's nose also started to sting.

She really admires Ren Zhen as a mother, who unconditionally believes in and stands by her daughter no matter what happens, unlike her own mother...

Her mother would only tell her to endure it, to be a good child and a good older sister...

"Aunt Ren, I believe that Sister Shang was very careful when she got married, and she made the decision to divorce after careful consideration. She is not an irresponsible person, so something must have happened that forced her to choose divorce. We just need to choose to believe her," Zhuang Qingxiang said earnestly.

Ren Zhen nodded vigorously after hearing this, feeling that Zhuang Qingxiang was a thoughtful and good girl. Originally, she felt it was a pity that Lu Congyue married her, but now she could understand why Lu Congyue chose her.

Such a wonderful woman deserves to be loved.

If Lu Congyue knew that Ren Zhen thought this way, he would definitely be ashamed.

The reason he fell for Zhuang Qingxiang was actually quite simple: she was beautiful, and he felt a surge of attraction and physical attraction the moment he saw her…

Ren Zhen was quite worried about dinner. In this day and age, too many eyes are watching, and it's not allowed to hire a housekeeper. She had to cook for herself, but her cooking skills were really just so-so; she could only manage to eat it.

It can be a bit difficult to prepare a banquet when guests come over.

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Qingxiang was quite skilled at this. She could tell how many cold dishes and hot dishes to make just by looking at the ingredients and counting the number of people. She arranged everything perfectly.

Ren Zhen became his assistant, and was pleasantly surprised.

"Xiao Zhuang, your cooking skills are quite good."

"Fortunately, I've been helping my mother with cooking since I was little," Zhuang Qingxiang said modestly. "I guess I took after my mother; I have a bit of a talent for cooking."

Ren Zhen was slightly taken aback.

The information she received from her husband and daughter was that Zhuang Qingxiang was the daughter of the notorious spy Zhuang Luping, who was a capitalist before liberation and whose family was wealthy and had servants after liberation, and even had several concubines.

"You've been doing chores since you were little?" Ren Zhen asked curiously.

Zhuang Qingxiang nodded, recalled for a moment, and said, "I started helping with the fire when I was two or three years old, and by the time I was five, I could stand on a stool and help my mother cook."

"Oh my god..." Ren Zhen exclaimed in surprise, "Working at such a young age? You're not... not..."

"Isn't she the young lady of the Zhuang family?" Zhuang Qingxiang asked for her, then smiled. "I'm just an unwanted maid. My mother was an orphan who was sold to the Lu family. She grew up in the Lu family, working her way up from a kitchen maid to the head cook. Zhuang Luping discovered that she was pretty and wanted her to be his concubine, but being a concubine was just a title; she still had to do all the work."

As Zhuang Qingxiang spoke, her smile faded slightly: "I was a maid, and the Zhuang family never treated me like a proper daughter. Later, the policy required monogamy and did not allow taking concubines, so the Zhuang family dismissed all the women in the family. The Zhuang family didn't want me, so my mother took me to a distant place and remarried someone else."

After listening, Ren Zhen said with great pity, "So that's how it is... Then you're a pitiful person too."

"It's all in the past now, and I'm very happy," Zhuang Qingxiang said with a smile. "Aunt Ren, things always get better, don't they?"

Ren Zhen knew she was talking about Shang Hua, so she smiled and nodded: "Yes, things will get better. Ah Hua will definitely find her own happiness."

The two of them talked as they prepared a table of dishes.

Ren Zhen called out, "The dishes are almost ready, Lao Shang, hurry up and bring the kids over to eat."

Shang Jianjun smiled and agreed, and even asked Shang Jiang to fetch a bottle of wine.

"I've come all the way from Vietnam with my wife and children, so we have to have a drink," he explained.

Ren Zhen glared at him: "I think you just wanted to drink! Don't forget what the doctor told you to quit smoking and drinking!"

Shang Jianjun gave a wry smile: "Sigh, you woman..."

"Alright, for the sake of Cong Yue and Xiao Zhuang, I'll allow you to have one drink, but don't overdo it!" Ren Zhen commanded.

Shang Jianjun then sat down in the main seat with satisfaction, and said to Lu Congyue, "Look, you have more influence, otherwise I wouldn't even get a drink."

"Dad, Mom is only thinking about your health," Ge Jiangtao advised.

Shang Jianjun smiled but didn't say anything.

Once everyone was seated, Ge Jiangtao glanced towards the door, frowned, and said, "Ahua is really something... Should we wait for her a little longer?"