A foreign city, dear you

After Cao Xueqin finished his call, he came to the kitchen door again.

"Who are you calling?" Ye Lian asked. She was about to put the lamb chops in the electric cooker to stew them.

"Wang Daqun."

"Wang Daqun?" Ye Lian stopped what she was doing and looked at Cao Xueqin.

"Ah."

"Haven't you guys contacted each other for a long time?"

"Yeah, it's been a long time since we last contacted each other."

"Why did he call you?"

"I don't know. He heard that the Tongxin factory was closed and knew that I was idle at home. He said he wanted to talk to me about something."

"Did you let him come home?"

"He was originally going to Jinjinghuayuan, and I told him that we had moved here, and then I asked him to come here."

Ye Lian looked at Cao Xueqin with lowered eyes and said nothing.

"Are you unhappy?" Cao Xueqin asked.

"..."

"You don't want him to come?"

"..."

"So, I told him not to come? Say we're not home?"

"You've already said it, how can you refuse them again?" Ye Lian finally spoke sullenly.

"Isn't that because my wife is unhappy? My wife's happiness must come first."

"Forget it." Ye Lian said reluctantly.

"You agreed to let him come?"

"What else? Did you really reject him? Go back on your word?" Although he had thought about never receiving Wang Daqun again before, after all, so much time has passed that he is not so obsessed with some things.

"Thank Wife."

"Stop it."

"It was just this time. I hadn't contacted him for a long time. Two years ago, he wanted to borrow money from me but I didn't lend it to him. I felt a little guilty about it. I haven't seen him for a long time, and I don't know how he has been doing in the past two years. So when he said he wanted to come, I let him come."

"What if he wants to borrow money from you again?"

"No, I didn't lend it to him two years ago. How could he lend it to me again?"

"Anyway, I'm sounding the alarm for you," Ye Lian said seriously, "Not everyone can lend money, especially someone like Wang Daqun. Why would you lend him money? To help him change his wife? He uses money better than you do."

Ye Lian had heard of many cases where people lent money with good intentions but ended up becoming enemies with the borrower, so she was very cautious about lending money to others, let alone lending money to someone she had always disliked.

"I know. If he really wants to borrow money from me, I won't lend it to him. My wife's words are like an imperial decree."

Ye Lian rolled her eyes at Cao Xueqian and said, "That sounds nice."

"I did the same thing, okay? Didn't I not lend it to him two years ago?"

"So are you going to explain today why you didn't lend him the money that time?"

"It's been so long, why explain again? Just pretend it never happened. There's no need to bring it up again."

"Okay, so is he alone or with two people today?"

"I don't know. Just cook one more cup of rice. It won't matter if one more person comes."

"I guess he will bring another woman with him. Maybe he has a new wife."

"Don't always think so badly of him."

"Do you want a bet?"

"Betting with my wife? Am I that stupid? The first rule of a family is: the wife is always right. How can I escape from the family rule?"

"What principles are there? Hurry up and help wash the vegetables, peel the garlic, and scrape the ginger."

"okay."

*

Fortunately, I bought more vegetables today, so I don’t have to go out to buy vegetables again.

Ye Lian planned five dishes, lamb chops stewed with radish, stir-fried beef with red pepper, pickled fish, snow mustard greens, and a winter melon soup.

After all, those who come are guests, and we should not treat them too poorly.

But why did Wang Daqun suddenly come to see Cao Xueqian? Was he just visiting a friend, or did he have another purpose?

Wang Daqun arrived at around twelve o'clock, and a young woman came with him.

Cao Xueqin was entertaining guests outside. Ye Lian greeted the guests and went back to the kitchen to busy herself.

Although the kitchen door was closed and despite the noise of the range hood, Ye Lian could still hear laughter coming from the living room from time to time.

From the moment Ye Lian saw Wang Daqun and the woman beside him, she felt very unhappy.

It turns out that he has changed his wife again.

If you want to change it, just change it. Why did you bring it in front of Cao Xueqin? Are you here to show off to Cao Xueqin?

What kind of person is this? He always eats shit.

It was strange, how come he was always surrounded by women? What did those women see in him?

Ye Lian was very dissatisfied, but she no longer regarded Wang Daqun as a scourge as before. Because after so many years, Cao Xueqin did not become a person like Wang Daqun as she worried.

Several dishes were ready, and Ye Lian asked Cao Xueqin to take them out and set the table.

At around 12:20, Cao Lanshan came back.

Cao Lanshan called "Uncle Wang" and Wang Daqun exclaimed, "It's so big and tall now?"

While eating, Ye Lian noticed that Wang Daqun's voice was a little hoarse, he coughed from time to time, and his throat looked a little swollen.

Cao Xueqin invited Wang Daqun to eat and asked him, "Your throat is uncomfortable, can you eat these dishes?"

Wang Daqun coughed and said, "You can eat anything, just don't make it too spicy. I feel much better now. I was in severe pain some time ago and had difficulty eating."

Cao Xueqin asked him if he had been to the hospital.

Wang Daqun said, "Why are you so delicate?" It should be caused by a cold. Take some medicine and it will get better slowly. I am old and my immunity is not as good as before. When I was young, I was really tireless and immune to all diseases.

As Wang Daqun spoke, he turned to Cao Lanshan and said with emotion, "Cao Lanshan has grown up, how can we not grow old?"

Cao Lanshan smiled politely and said that Uncle Wang was also in his prime.

Wang Daqun asked about Cao Lanshan's studies and upon learning that Cao Lanshan had been admitted to the top class of Anbao Middle School with his own strength, he praised him highly and asked Cao Lanshan what kind of university he wanted to apply to and what major he wanted to study.

Cao Lanshan said it was too early and he hadn’t thought about it yet.

Wang Daqun disapproved and said that wouldn’t work, that life should be planned early, and only with a direction can one work harder, and then he recommended several universities and several majors that he thought were better.

Cao Lanshan nodded and expressed his gratitude.

Cao Lanshan ate quickly and went to rest after finishing his meal. The others continued eating, but their voices became quieter.

Ye Lian didn't participate much in the conversation, she just listened quietly.

Ye Lian felt that Wang Daqun's personality had not changed much. He was still talkative and still as eager to teach others.

Ye Lian was too lazy to be enthusiastic about the women around Wang Daqun.

Anyway, I don’t know who she is. Anyway, the women around Wang Daqun change frequently, so I may not see her next time.

Ye Lian was still comparing this woman with Li Huamei in her mind. She was more familiar with Li Huamei. As for Li Li, she had only met her once and did not know Li Li's name. She also did not want to know Li Li's name, just like she did not want to know the name of the woman next to Wang Daqun.

Ye Lian felt that, although this woman was young, she was not as young as Li Huamei at the beginning. She should have had a certain amount of life experience. How could she be bewitched by Wang Daqun?

……

Cao Xueqin and Wang Daqun's chat never stopped, but Wang Daqun talked more.

"Now that your factory is closed, what are your plans next?" Wang Daqun asked Cao Xueqin.

"I haven't made any plans yet," Cao Xueqian replied, "I want to take a break first and then decide next year."

Wang Daqun looked at Cao Xueqian and said, "How about we two brothers work together again?"

"Cooperation?" Cao Xueqian also looked up at Wang Daqun: "How to cooperate? Do you have any good ideas?"