This vegetarian meal was very satisfying. The old monk’s cooking was quite good, but after the meal, it was time to go home.
Today, their eldest sister’s husband, Li Zhengpeng, had parents visiting from Shanghai, and Chen Liming and Qin Lifen, the couple, wanted to make a formal impression for their first meeting with their in-laws.
Coupled with it being the Mid-Autumn Festival, the evening meal was bound to be a good one.
Chen Yang didn't have a deep impression of his eldest brother-in-law’s parents. He hadn't returned for his eldest sister's wedding in his previous life. After he returned to the city, his eldest sister and brother-in-law always lived in Jinling. Their parents consistently stayed in Shanghai and rarely visited Jinling. Even after his eldest sister had their little nephew, the elder couple didn’t come to help. On the other hand, during summer vacation, his eldest sister and brother-in-law would take the children to visit them, and Chen Yang naturally wouldn't accompany them, so he indeed saw this elder couple very infrequently.
“How do you like Dad’s shirt? Doesn’t it make him look spirited?”
Qin Lifen had put a Dacron shirt on Chen Liming, and even polished his leather shoes. Chen Yang could tell his parents were taking this meeting with their in-laws very seriously.
“Spirited indeed. If you didn’t tell me, I could go out and call my dad ‘brother,’ and no one would object.”
Chen Yang glanced at his father. If it weren’t for the white hair at his temples, his dad would truly be a handsome man. However, from his appearance, it was evident that his father wouldn't have been bad-looking when he was young.
“You child, what nonsense are you spouting? Do you want to be on the same generation as us?”
Qin Lifen shot Chen Yang an exasperated glare. Parents in this era were still quite traditional, deliberately maintaining their parental authority in front of their children.
“Mom, you’re wearing a floral dress. If you go out, can’t I call you ‘sister’?”
Li Yu mimicked Qin Lifen's eye-roll. The little girl sidled up to Qin Lifen. It was true, mother and daughter looked alike, and with her mother dressed up like this, just from the back, they truly resembled two sisters.
“You two, always joking around.”
“Yanyan, Haohao, come over. See how Grandpa and Grandma look in their new clothes.”
Being praised by their children naturally made them happy. The two elders then doted on their grandchildren, as grandparents often do.
“Grandma, beautiful.”
The little darling was incredibly sweet-tongued. Chen Hao, the quiet one, glanced at his grandfather, who was holding him, and after a long moment, managed to say,
“Grandpa, you’re like my dad.”
Chen Yang’s face darkened upon hearing this. What was this kid saying?
“Dad, Haohao means you are as young and handsome as I am.”
Chen Yang quickly added. This kid was incredibly smart when it came to food, but when not eating, he was unwilling to use his brain and loved to daydream, simply speaking whatever came to mind.
Originally, the wedding for his eldest sister and brother-in-law was to be held in Shanghai. However, firstly, their family was in Jinling, and secondly, their eldest sister and brother-in-law’s colleagues and friends were all in Jinling. Thus, the wedding was arranged to be held in Jinling. Today, the brother-in-law’s parents were coming to scout ahead, and for both sets of parents to meet. In this era, most marriages were arranged by parents. It was rare for a couple like his eldest sister and brother-in-law to get married, have their marriage certificates, and yet their parents had never met.
“Mom and Dad, you two take the children out for a walk. Don’t stay home. Look how nervous you are, you can’t sit or stand still, it’s making us all anxious.”
“It’s just a meeting, isn't it? Eldest sister and brother-in-law are going to pick them up at the station. Xue’er and I have prepared the meal. What else is there to be nervous about?”
Chen Yang looked at his parents’ restlessness with a mix of amusement and helplessness. They were old enough, why were they acting like he was going to meet his father-in-law?
“It’s the first time we’re marrying off a daughter, we have no experience.”
“When you got married, we couldn’t make it to meet your in-laws either, so we didn’t gain any experience. This time, we even drank wine brewed by our in-laws, which was too impolite.”
Chen Liming said earnestly. It was said that people from Shanghai were not easy to get along with, and their daughter would soon be part of their family. They didn’t want any friction with their son-in-law’s parents, otherwise, their daughter might suffer in the future, which would make them feel miserable.
“Alright, alright, you’re right.”
Chen Yang was helpless and simply returned to the kitchen to help Shen Xue with the cooking.
Amidst the anxious waiting of the elder couple, the tinkling of bicycle bells from Li Zhengpeng and Chen Juan finally sounded.
“Dad, Mom, we’ve picked up Zhengpeng’s parents.”
Chen Juan stopped her bicycle and quickly called out to the house. The elder couple, who had been waiting, hurried out.
“In-laws, welcome, welcome.”
Chen Liming and his wife looked at Li Zhengpeng’s parents outside, who were also dressed in Dacron and floral dresses, and were stunned. Then, the two parties simply froze for a moment, neither expecting the fashion collision, and both families dressed identically. However, after a brief moment of stunned silence, the two pairs of parents looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“What do you call this? This is fate bringing us together from afar.”
“Our parents are wearing the same style of clothes. What great chemistry.”
Li Zhengpeng was also a bit speechless, but he quickly spoke up to ease the awkwardness.
“Ahem, allow me to introduce myself. I am Li Zhengpeng’s father, my name is Li Zhengyang. This is Li Zhengpeng’s mother, Lou Xiaohui.”
Li Zhengyang stepped forward to shake hands. Chen Liming quickly extended his hand.
“Zhengpeng’s father, hello. I am Chen Juan’s father, my name is Chen Liming. Her mother is Qin Lifen. We welcome you from Shanghai. Come inside and sit down, what is it like standing at the doorway?”
Chen Liming was very warm. Since they had traveled from afar, they, as in-laws, naturally had to be hospitable.
“Chen Juan’s father, you are too kind, too kind.”
Li Zhengyang and Lou Xiaohui entered the house, then put down their luggage and took out two stacks of boxed pastries wrapped in kraft paper.
“These are some small pastries we brought from Shanghai. It’s our first visit, so we didn’t prepare anything special. Please forgive us, in-laws.”
Li Zhengyang placed the gifts in Chen Liming’s hands. Although this couple was polite, they always gave off a cold, distant feeling. Chen Yang, who had intended to come out and greet them, simply stayed in the kitchen. His brother-in-law had always been reasonable, so he wouldn’t oppose his eldest sister’s and brother-in-law’s marriage. However, it now seemed that the brother-in-law’s parents were not easy to get along with. It was no wonder his eldest sister always disliked going to Shanghai, especially later when her brother-in-law’s family was relocated and they acquired two apartments in Pudong. She was unwilling to have her name on them, preferring them to be solely in her brother-in-law’s name.
“In-laws, Zhengpeng is now a university lecturer. We originally suggested he go abroad for further studies, but now that he plans to marry Chen Juan, we couldn’t object.”
“However, I still hope they don’t rush to have children. They are both young and should seize the opportunity to improve themselves. We hope Chen Juan can support Zhengpeng’s decision to study abroad. This would be beneficial for both of them and lead to a better future.”
Chen Yang didn’t want to say anything, but unexpectedly, before the in-laws had even settled in, Lou Xiaohui, with a pinched tone, mentioned this.
“Ahem, mother-in-law, what are you saying? The couple has just gotten married, and you want Zhengpeng to go abroad to study? Two lovers separated so soon after marriage, how can that work?”
Chen Liming was not foolish and naturally understood the underlying meaning. He smiled and retorted.