Chapter 103: Fifth day of the Lunar New Year

The heaviness in Chu Qin's heart finally eased. Now that his heart was no longer burdened, he was completely at peace as he slept at night, nestled in Zhong Yibin's arms. However, Mother and Father Chu returned to their room and talked for half the night. And so, they didn't get up the next morning.

Chu Qin woke the next day in glowing spirits. Seeing that his father and mother hadn't gotten up, he went to the kitchen to make the whole family breakfast.

"I'll do it," Zhong Yibin leaned against the door and impatiently looked on. His current breakfast-making skill was already very high - it had been acknowledged after much difficulty and now was the best time to curry favor with his mother-in-law.

Chu Qin raised a brow as he watched him. "Okay."

Thus, the head chef was changed to Zhong Yibin.

He didn't know how to make anything too complicated, but he could make pancakes and toss a salad. He cooked a pot of jujube congee, made two plates of pancakes, tossed together strips of Chinese cabbage, and grilled several sausages - it smelled, looked, and tasted great.

Just as Mother Chu yawned and walked out of the room, she smelled a fragrant scent. Her elbow jabbed at the dazed Father Chu. "Oh, our son got up to make breakfast."

The mother and father wobbled to the living room. With a glance, they saw their own son seated on the sofa watching television while eating fruit. The fruit had been peeled, cut into small pieces and placed on a plate for him to eat with a small fork. On the other hand, in the richly fragrant kitchen was the 1.86 meters tall director bustling about with a large red ap.r.o.n tied around his waist.

Mother Chu glanced at her son, who was the epitome of an arrogant idler, and then looked towards the diligent honeybee Zhong Yibin. She suddenly felt that Zhong Yibin was a daughter-in-law who had just married into their family - even getting up in the early morning to wait on her family's slag son, who didn't know anything about doting on his wife. Mother Chu walked over and gave the back of Chu Qin's head a slap. "Yibin's cooking, don't you know how to help out a little?"

Chu Qin, who had been seated cross-legged on the sofa, was. .h.i.t by his mother till he keeled forward. He pouted and turned around. "He can handle it himself." Saying this, he even stuffed a piece of fruit into his mouth.

"This child," Mother Chu's finger poked his forehead and she turned towards the kitchen. "Yibin, no need to be so busy. Give to me."

"Mum, you rest first. It'll be done soon," Zhong Yibin said extremely naturally and pushed Mother Chu out of the kitchen.

"You… What did you call me?" She had just given permission yesterday night but the next morning, he was already calling her mum; Mother Chu found it a bit hard to adjust.

"Mother," Zhong beamed. He scooped up the pancakes, placed them on a plate, switched off the fire and served the dishes.

The pancakes were fried till golden and crispy; the jujube congee was cooked till soft and fragrant, and the grilled sausages were done perfectly. The c.u.min kernels on top of the sausages had popped open, emitting an alluring fragrance; the Chinese cabbage strips were sliced evenly and neatly, and its delicious sweet and sour taste perfectly neutralized the slightly greasy pancakes.

"Your culinary skill isn't bad," Father Chu ate without even raising his head. Previously, he had worried that two youngsters living together wouldn't be able to eat good food but now, he could rest easy.

"Qin Qin is too busy at work and constantly skips breakfast. To make him eat, I specially learnt cooking from my family's cook," Zhong Yibin lied through his teeth.

"Oh my, it's fortunate that he had your care," Mother Chu rejoiced. Turning, she rapped Chu Qin on the head. "This child, you just don't know how to take care of yourself." This male daughter-in-law was really not bad; many girls now didn't know how to cook yet this young master actually learnt how to cook just for her son. This was truly hard to come by.

Chu Qin side-eyed Zhong Yibin and silently drank his congee. In the past when they lived together, it was always Chu Qin who cooked for Zhong Yibin. It was only after Zhong Yibin had amnesia and he suffered an injury that Zhong Yibin learnt how to cook. But putting it like this would make his mother happy, so he happily pretended to be a good-for-nothing.

Zhong Yibin smiled harmlessly and politely gave Mother Chu more rice. "Mother, let's go eat hotpot in the afternoon. I heard the hotpot here is very well-known and haven't managed to try it the past few days."

"Sure, I also haven't eaten hotpot for quite a few days. I'm almost craving for it," Father Chu echoed Zhong Yibin's words. The amount of food stored in the house over the New Year was plentiful, so Mother Chu refused to allow the family to eat outside. They had to finish the stock at home before going out and Father Chu had long been tired of it.

"All right," Mother Chu agreed helplessly. Seeing Zhong Yibin's sparkling eyes, she couldn't help laughing. This child became cuter the more she looked at him. He was clearly a wealthy young master, yet he could be satisfied simply by having hotpot; he was nice to raise.

In the afternoon, the family rushed grandiosely into the hotpot shop. Zhong Yibin ordered a few dishes and then pa.s.sed the menu to Mother Chu.

Mother Chu naturally knew her own son's favorite foods and seeing that the dishes Zhong Yibin had ordered were all Chu Qin's favorites, she grew even more satisfied.

The fifth day of the New Year was opening day for businesses. Mother Chu's wholesale clothing shop would also open for business. The day had yet to break when Zhong Yibin was dug out of the quilt by Chu Qin. "Let's go, we need to help mother open the store."

The wholesale business started in the morning, hence the door needed to be opened for delivery of goods before the sun rose. On the first day of business, items would need to be placed back on the shelves, so every family business saw the entire family pitching in.

Mother Chu was efficient and got along very well with the neighbors around her store. Everyone saw Chu Qin coming over and became extremely excited.

"Ah! Chu Qin!" The daughter of the plump auntie next door noticed Chu Qin and started shrieking.

"Shh—" Chu Qin hurriedly stopped her from speaking and gifted her a sweet. "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year!" The daughter from the family next door smiled broadly. "I guessed that you would come today just to gain firsthand knowledge from us."

"Get over here and work," A slender arm reached over and wound around Chu Qin's neck, dragging him away.

"Zhong… Director Zhong! Heavens! Did you follow Chu Qin here to spend the New Year?" The girl found out about something totally new and was very excited. "Wow, can I post this on my Moments?"

"Post it then," Zhong Yibin generously waved his hand. Anyway, that lady from the blind date had already taken a photo; this was not the first one. The whole country would know very soon that he had followed Chu Qin home for the New Year.

"Don't make it public," Mother Chu was somewhat dissatisfied. "This old mother's store relies on its reputation for quality goods, not my son's fame."

"Yes, yes, yes, you don't rely on fame," The plump auntie next door curled her lips and pointed at the name of Mother Chu's store - Qin Qin Wholesale Clothing.

"Pfft—" Zhong Yibin couldn't resist smothering his laughter.

After putting the goods in order, Chu Qin and Zhong Yibin needed to leave. Their leave had started from the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, so they needed to return to work on the sixth day of the Lunar new Year. They had booked the flight ticket for today afternoon.

After a busy first round of sales in the morning, the wholesale market only quietened when it was almost noon.

Mother Chu held a large tea mug and sat at the entrance chatting with the plump auntie next door.

"Oh, your necklace is really pretty. Where did you buy it from?" The plump auntie noticed the sapphire necklace around Mother Chu's necklace. Its s.h.i.+ne completely lured the eyes – it would be difficult to pretend not to have seen it even if one wanted to.

"Oh, this. This can't even be bought here," Mother Chu stretched out a hand. On her hand was a similar sapphire ring with a gem the size of a pigeon's egg; it was practically blindingly dazzling.

"This was bought by Chu Qin? Oh my, he's really filial," The plump auntie was very envious. "Your family's Chu Qin has such high earning capabilities, why do you still need to open this store."

"This wasn't bought by my son," Mother Chu crooked her finger mysteriously, gesturing for the plump auntie to move closer. "This was bought by my daughter-in-law."

"Oh, Chu Qin has a partner already?" The plump auntie was somewhat shocked, and she stared at the sapphire ring admiringly. Mother Chu took off the ring to show her. After a closer inspection, it seemed like it was extremely expensive. "This daughter-in-law is quite wealthy."

"En, the family owns a Group on the stock market and the person is also the director of one of the companies," Mother Chu said delightedly.

The other neighbors also walked over to catch a glimpse of the sapphire stone. They clicked their tongues and praised Chu Qin for being so impressive - he himself had a high earning capacity but he still found a rich second-generation wife. This was causing even jealousy to be out of their reach.

Mother Chu basked in the envious gazes of her neighbors and drank a mouthful of tea happily.

The author has something to say:

Small theater:

Neighbor: Our family's daughter-in-law works at a large company

Mother Chu: Our family's daughter-in-law is a director at a large company

Neighbor: Our family's daughter-in-law is very clean in appearance

Mother Chu: Our family's daughter-in-law is a nationwide-famous kind of good-looking

Neighbor: Our family's daughter-in-law is 1.67 meters tall

Mother Chu: Our family's daughter-in-law is 1.86 meters tall

Neighbor: …… This humble one has lost