The daughter-in-law of a wealthy family does not lie flat

Lunch was ready quickly.

Zhang's mother pulled Fu Jiayi to sit next to Xue Ren.

"I don't know if you like them, they are just home-cooked dishes."

Fu Jiayi saw that the table was filled with all kinds of fried, stir-fried and deep-fried food. She was very grateful to the Zhang family for their warm hospitality. She didn't expect to gain so much by coming to donate books today.

"Aunt, this is so rich!"

"What do you mean by sumptuous? We didn't even have time to prepare it! Let's all sit down. Xueren, go get the squeezed juice. Jiayi, we'll be the only ones eating at noon. Your uncle will be eating in the university cafeteria, and sister Xueren will be eating at work."

Zhang Xueren took a bottle of blueberry juice, poured it for Jiayi, and also poured some for his mother and the maid Sister Wu. He only drank water himself.

Mother Zhang picked up the juice and said, "Jiayi, on behalf of our family, I welcome you. I hope you will come often in the future! Cheers!"

Jiayi also picked up the juice and took a sip, "Thank you for the treat, aunt! It's delicious!"

"We squeeze this juice ourselves. Blueberries are good for drinking and can slow down aging. It takes a large basin to make a bottle of pure juice. Girls need to drink more. Jiayi, try this sea bass. Our Aunt Wu is an expert at cooking fish." As he spoke, he picked up a large piece of fish for Jiayi.

Jiayi tasted it carefully, "Hmm, it is indeed fragrant and fresh, very tasty. It tastes better than the steamed one!"

Zhang's mother hated steamed food the most. When she heard this, she felt like she had found a soulmate. "Isn't it? I'm still not used to the local steamed food method. I just enjoy the freshness of the ingredients! The taste is just like steamed fish with soy sauce!"

Zhang's mother kept winking at her son. Xueren understood what she was saying, so after repeated urging, he used a serving spoon to scoop a spoonful of pine nut corn for Jiayi, "Jiayi, try it. These are wild pine nuts that my classmate sent from the Northeast."

Fu Jiayi tasted it and found it was indeed rich in fat and fragrant. "Our food is so delicious! Aunt, what if I get used to it and come here often?"

"That's great! Usually your uncle is at work, Xueren is often abroad, and his sister is getting married soon, so it's just me and Sister Wu left at home. I'd be very welcome if you could come over more often!"

The dumplings are ready, and Sister Wu serves them up.

"Jia Yi, you said your grandfather's hometown is in the north, so your family must also love to eat dumplings. I use the meat cut from the ribs and add kidney beans to make dumplings. The recipe for this stuffing was given to me by an old Shandong neighbor. You should try it!"

Jiayi didn't care about the heat and ate one. "It's delicious! How did you get this flavor? If I could eat dumplings like this when I'm abroad, I wouldn't miss home so much!"

Zhang's mother misses her son who is abroad everyday. When she heard Jiayi say that, she almost cried, "Good boy, you are suffering out there! Eat more, there is nothing to eat outside!"

Zhang Xueren shook his head and smiled, "Mom, there are all kinds of restaurants abroad now, you can find Ethiopian food if you want to eat it!"

"Then you can find dumplings like ours?! I really don't believe it! Jiayi, ignore him and eat more! Just eat this little cold dish!"

Jiayi saw that the cold dishes were made in Sichuan style. "This cold dish is spicy, numbing, fresh and fragrant. It can't be compared with ordinary Sichuan restaurants!"

Sister Wu is a native Sichuanese and is an excellent cook of Sichuan cuisine. She has cultivated the whole family's taste for sweet food to a love for spicy food. Hearing Jiayi's praise, she also exchanged glances with Zhang's mother with a smile.

Zhang's mother smiled and said, "It's still missing a few local Sichuan spices. The ones bought locally are not authentic enough. Otherwise, the taste is still bright!"

Fu Jiayi thought of something, "I have a relative doing business in Sichuan. I seem to have heard that they sent some seasonings. I'll bring some over some day. You can see if they are better than those bought locally."

Sister Wu blurted out, "That would be great! If I have local chili peppers, I'll make dandan noodles for you!"

The more Zhang's mother looked at Jiayi, the more she loved her. She was really like the perfect daughter-in-law in her mind.

"Jia Yi, how long will you stay in China this time? Is there anything going on?"

Jiayi put down her chopsticks, swallowed the food in her mouth, drank a sip of tea, and then answered seriously, "Aunt, I came back this time to represent the school to attend the Pacific Rim Forum. I can stay for about half a month. The previous experiment has just been completed and the data is relatively good. It happens to be a relatively leisurely period. If you want to stay longer, the school should agree."

Zhang Xueren looked up and said, "You are also going to attend the forum? That's a coincidence. Cambridge also asked me to go there to attend. It starts tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, many famous universities will send people here, and basically all the domestic universities are here."

Zhang Xueren is looking forward to it. "This forum has a very good reputation in recent years, and many academic achievements have been first published here. It's just a little far from here, as it was moved to the suburbs."

"Nowadays, university towns in many cities are also in the suburbs. Depending on the meeting time, you can only drive. It is inconvenient to take the bus or subway."

Zhang's mother was very happy to hear the two talking. Seeing that Zhang's mother didn't react, Sister Wu whispered, "Then the two of them can have lunch together at noon. It won't be too late to have lunch after coming back, right?"

Zhang Xueren didn't think it was a big deal. "These forums usually have tea breaks, so we won't go hungry."

Fu Jiayi couldn't help but laugh when she thought about how everyone went to these activities just for the tea break. "Before each of these activities, our instructors would remind us not to eat too much, especially not to eat and take food at the same time, or it would bring shame to the school!"

Zhang Xueren smiled and said, "The best Chinese meal I had in the UK was during a tea break at an academic event. We had fried dumplings, spring rolls, and roast duck. Originally, it was only for the Economics Department, but later people got to know about it and other departments also went to eat."

Zhang's mother and Sister Wu looked at each other, with the words "great hope" in their eyes.

"Jiayi, then don't drive. Let Xueren pick you up every day and come back together at night!"

Fu Jiayi didn't want to take a big step, so she declined, "Our meeting agendas are different, and they probably involve many different majors. It would be very tiring for Professor Zhang to pick him up and drop him off. I'd better drive myself!"

"That's fine! But, Xueren, you must have lunch with Jiayi at noon. I'll be happy if you two take care of each other!"

Zhang Xueren agreed.

After Fu Jiayi finished her meal, she helped to clean up the dishes before politely saying goodbye and thanking the host for his hospitality. Zhang's mother left Jiayi's phone number and added her on WeChat before sending her out.

The Zhang family members accompanied her to the gate and watched her get into the car and leave before they went home.

Zhang's mother hummed a little tune and went into the bedroom for a nap. Zhang Xueren watched from the side and laughed. It seemed that his mother was desperate and would try any possible means to cure her illness. If she saw a suitable girl, she would bring her home as soon as possible.