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

Ren Zhen felt bad asking the couple to help in the kitchen, but Zhuang Qingxiang said that time was tight and Lu Congyue's help would speed things up.

Ren Zhen checked the time and realized it was indeed too tight, so he had no choice but to follow Zhuang Qingxiang's arrangements.

Soon, Lu Congyue arrived, rolled up his sleeves, and asked, "What do you need me to do? Just tell me!"

Zhuang Qingxiang directly asked him to chop vegetables and mince meat.

There wasn't enough pork, but since it was a wedding banquet, we couldn't leave out the Four Happiness Meatballs, so we had to mix some other vegetables into the meat.

When the sound of guests arriving could be heard outside, the wedding banquet was almost ready.

"Zhuang Qingxiang!"

Shang Hua appeared at the kitchen doorway, his face somewhat grim. "You and Cong Yue are guests. Who gave you permission to do all this?"

Lu Congyue tried to explain, but Shang Hua interrupted him directly: "It was a problem with my family's arrangements, I apologize! Zhuang Qingxiang, come with me!"

Zhuang Qingxiang was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lu Congyue.

Lu Congyue smiled reassuringly: "It's almost done. I'll take care of the rest. You and Sister Shang go and see if there's anything else."

Helpless, Zhuang Qingxiang took off her apron after recovering and left the kitchen with Shang Hua.

As Shang Hua passed through the living room, she went straight upstairs without stopping. Zhuang Qingxiang followed her, completely bewildered, all the way to her room.

Shang Hua's room reminded Zhuang Qingxiang of another Lu Congyue's room: simple, tidy, and cold.

I don’t know if it was because Shang Jianjun required it that the children he took care of all made their bedrooms look like military dormitories.

Looking at the square blanket on the bed, Zhuang Qingxiang's lips twitched.

Lu Congyue used to wear a square-shaped quilt, but after he got together with her, the square-shaped quilt rarely appeared anymore, probably because the bed was always messy when the two of them were together...

"Sit down!" Shang Hua said, then opened the wardrobe and rummaged through it for a long time before finally pulling out a collared floral dress from a corner and handing it to Zhuang Qingxiang.

Zhuang Qingxiang: ?

Shang Hua said sternly, "You've been busy in the kitchen for so long, aren't you uncomfortable with the smell of cooking oil on you? There's no time to wash your hair or take a shower, so at least change your clothes! My mom is the same; if the person she asked isn't available, she could just order a table of food from a state-run restaurant. Why does she have to ask you for help?"

Zhuang Qingxiang blinked and smiled, "Sister Shang, are you worried about me?"

"Who cares about you!" Shang Hua pouted, denying it. "You're a guest, I'm just worried about being accused of neglecting a guest!"

Zhuang Qingxiang smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Sister Shang, with your temper... can't you ever soften up? Can Peng Wanzhou possibly put up with you?"

Shang Hua's cheeks immediately flushed pink: "What are you saying? Hurry up and change, then come downstairs with me!"

Zhuang Qingxiang sized up Shang Hua. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and military green trousers. Was he getting married or going to work?

"Sister Shang, you're dressed like this today because you're the bride?"

She shoved the floral dress in her hand into Shanghua's hands, saying, "You should wear this. You'll look more like a bride if you dress up nicely."

Shang Hua glanced disdainfully at the floral dress: "I'm not wearing this. What I'm wearing is the best look!"

"Yes, yes, that's the best look, but that's only for everyday wear. You need to wear something different today!"

Zhuang Qingxiang thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have any others? Red ones?"

Shang Hua frowned: "Why are you wearing red?!"

"If you won't tell me, I'll find it myself!" Zhuang Qingxiang put the floral dress aside and rummaged through Shang Hua's wardrobe, eventually finding a red plaid collarless and sleeveless dress in a corner.

Zhuang Qingxiang's eyes lit up: "Wear this."

"I won't wear it!" Shang Hua said with obvious disgust.

"Why did you buy it if you're not going to wear it? To let it get moldy?" Zhuang Qingxiang asked.

Shang Hua thought for a long time before replying, "It was probably bought after I married Ge Jiangtao. I must have been out of my mind at the time. I've never worn it since."

"Then wear it today. If you wear this, I'll agree to let you wear the one you gave me," Zhuang Qingxiang said, negotiating with her.

Shang Hua was naturally unhappy. A white shirt and military trousers were the most popular and envied outfits among young girls in the city. They wanted them but didn't have them.

Zhuang Qingxiang rolled her eyes and whispered a few words in her ear.

Shang Hua blushed deeply: "You..."

Zhuang Qingxiang sighed. She had only reminded her that Peng Wanzhou definitely liked her in skirts, and she blushed like this.

If Sun Yongxian were to chat with Shang Hua for a while someday, Shang Hua's face would probably be so hot it would be like a steamed egg.

"Try it if you don't believe me," Zhuang Qingxiang said, adopting the air of someone who had been there before.

Shang Hua hesitated for a long time, but under Zhuang Qingxiang's repeated persuasion, she changed into the red plaid dress.

The dress, which had been stored away for several years, still fit her perfectly, especially the waist, which was cinched just right and showed off her waistline to the fullest.

Shang Hua rubbed her waist and stomach uncomfortably and sighed, "I'm getting old, my figure is out of shape. Back then, clothes weren't this tight..."

"Then you bought too big back then, this size is just right now," Zhuang Qingxiang said with a smile.

She changed into Shanghua's dress but found it didn't fit. She was already plump, unlike Shanghua who was slender. The dress was too tight, making her chest look very ample, and she couldn't possibly go out in public.

Shang Hua blushed as she looked at her. As a woman herself, this was the first time she had ever seen Zhuang Qingxiang with such a voluptuous figure.

I've never seen anything this exaggerated before...

Zhuang Qingxiang blushed and changed out of her dress, wondering if she should eat less good food.

"Never mind, I'll just wear my own," Zhuang Qingxiang said helplessly.

"Wait a minute!" Shang Hua thought for a moment and then took out another set of clothes: a white shirt and military trousers.

"Try this outfit on, it should work."

Zhuang Qingxiang tried it on, and it really suited her.

Shang Hua clicked his tongue, thinking to himself, "How come the clothes that were so neat and tidy become disheveled when they're on Zhuang Qingxiang?"

"Sister Shang, let's go downstairs. We shouldn't keep the guests waiting," Zhuang Qingxiang reminded them.

Shang Hua looked at herself awkwardly in the mirror: "I think... I should change it, it really doesn't suit me."

"Perfect, absolutely perfect! She looks like a bride!" Zhuang Qingxiang quickly said. "If you don't believe me, I'll call Peng Wanzhou over, and you can ask him."

The thought of walking around in front of everyone dressed like this made Shang Hua feel like she wouldn't be able to sell her legs. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Alright then, call him up. If he says yes, I'll go down."

Zhuang Qingxiang nodded, suppressing a laugh, and quickly ran downstairs to find Peng Wanzhou.

"Sister Shang wants you to go upstairs for a moment, something's wrong."

"Dinner's about to start, can't we talk about this at the table?" Ren Zhen snorted, but didn't stop her. Instead, she looked Zhuang Qingxiang up and down with great interest. "Little Zhuang, you look really good in this dress."

Zhuang Qingxiang smiled and said, "Sister Shang felt sorry for me because I'd been busy in the kitchen for so long and smelled of cooking oil, so she specially lent me these clothes. But I'm fatter than her..."

"Don't be chubby, you look good like this, you're a lucky person." Ren Zhen interrupted her, smiling, "I don't know why, but ordinary clothes look so good on you. Cong Yue, don't you think so?"

She greeted Lu Congyue with a smile.

Zhuang Qingxiang's gaze met Lu Congyue's as he walked over, then quickly looked away.

That look in his eyes... is he trying to eat someone alive?