RYEY -Chapter 478 Still Just a Few Dishes

Li Le nodded. Tomorrow, her elder brother would leave. She didn’t know when they’d meet again, but she should at least remember the support he had given their family over the years.

“Hey, where’s Cheng Qiao? Why isn’t she here yet?”

Mother Li looked around, not seeing Cheng Qiao, and asked Li Le. Li Le shook her head—she didn’t know either. The second sister-in-law had said she was going to pick someone up, but she didn’t know who.

There was a sound at the door. Cheng Qiao arrived with Zhu Qingde, Shen Sanling, and Shen Ying. Today, there was bear paw; last time, Shen Sanling and Shen Ying hadn’t gotten any and had complained about it for a while.

“Sit down, everyone. Smokers here, non-smokers there, and the kids’ table over there.”

Seeing Cheng Qiao arrive, Li Huan immediately organized the seating. Ye Jun and Cheng Liguo sat to Qin Daqiang’s left, while Uncle Niu, Yang Jun, and others sat to the right.

Qin Guoqing and Xiao Dan sat beside their wives next to Mother Li. But neither Li Le nor Xiaoniu wanted to sit next to Jiang Meili, which annoyed her a bit.

“Second sister-in-law, come, there’s a seat saved for you here.”

Li Le sat at the space next to Mother Li. Seeing Cheng Qiao waving vigorously, Mother Li stood up, letting Cheng Qiao take a seat. Cheng Qiao nodded and pointed to the children, indicating they should be settled first.

“Cheng Li, Xuhui isn’t here, so you’re the eldest among the kids. Take care of your younger siblings.”

Li Chen, seeing Li Ming, ran over from Jiang Meili’s side to him. Li Ming sighed helplessly. Why was this little brother so clingy?

“I’ll sit with the kids then.”

Shouhou felt a shiver whenever he saw Qin Daqiang. He just wanted to eat a meal in peace, without worry. Li Huan accompanied Shouhou, and they sat down with the driver.

“Oh, Daddy’s eating with me! The great hero is eating with the little hero!”

Seeing Li Bing, Li Chen no longer clung to Li Ming and climbed onto Li Bing’s lap. Li Bing looked at his son in surprise. Who said anything about a great hero and a little hero?

Li Chen pointed at Li Huan and answered seriously. His second uncle had said that Daddy is the great hero, so he would be the little hero, and a great hero would always eat with a little hero. The second uncle’s words were spot on.

Li Bing looked at Li Huan, his Adam’s apple moving up and down. This was his brother. With such a brother and sister-in-law, Li Bing no longer felt wronged.

Seeing that Li Huan, Li Bing, and Shouhou were all sitting with the children, Cheng Qiao sat down properly beside Mother Li. Mother Li leaned closer to her. With Cheng Qiao there, she felt at ease.

“Commander Qin, say a few words.”

Shen Sanling smiled at Qin Daqiang. Since Cheng Qiao came to Liangzhou, she had established a medical college, a military district hospital, and was about to start a family farm to solve the problem of getting enough meat.

“Today I have two pieces of good news. First, congratulations on our newly established small store. From now on, buying cigarettes, oil, salt, and condiments will be much more convenient.”

Everyone applauded. This was truly good news. They had seen a fully loaded truck arrive; it would open tomorrow, and they were all ready to support it.

“Second, I want to congratulate my son and daughter-in-law. They’re leveling up—they’re going to be parents. And I also want to congratulate myself on becoming a grandfather.”

“This is really great news! The Qin family has an heir! Come, let’s celebrate properly. Fill your own cup and drink three rounds! Both father and son must drink.”

Everyone nodded, clapping even more enthusiastically. Their eyes were on Qin Guoqing and Qin Daqiang, silently reminding themselves to pour and drink three rounds.

Qin Guoqing stood up, went to Qin Daqiang, picked up six small wine cups, filled them all, and drank them together, one cup at a time.

“Good… as expected of a soldier, drinking well. Guoqing, with your bravery, you’ll surely have a son.”

“Thanks for your kind words, Uncle Niu. If I have a son, I’ll bring you cigarettes.”

“Really, I want Flying Horse brand, one pack.”

“One word, I’ll make sure you get it.”

Everyone laughed. Uncle Niu was in high spirits with such happy events. His son had recognized his father, was learning his skills, and his granddaughter was clingy to him. Unfortunately, no grandson yet—but that would come.

Boss Deng came out with a large platter of his specialty—steamed bear paw. Qin Daqiang’s eyes lit up, and he stood up, calling everyone to start eating.

As three platters of steamed bear paw arrived, no one spoke. Chopsticks reached toward the plates. Li Chen quickly looked up and saw Hantong sitting with her mother, finally putting her mind at ease.

Hantong sensed someone’s gaze on her. Without turning, she knew who it was. That little brat—must catch a live bear paw to scare you.

Jiang Meili felt a bit sad. When Qin Daqiang announced the good news, she realized Lele was pregnant. She quickly glanced at Mother Li and Cheng Qiao, seeing they were calm, realizing she alone didn’t know the news.

She was Lele’s elder sister-in-law, yet she felt like an outsider. That meant they didn’t treat her as one of their own.

Li Bing had no idea what Jiang Meili was thinking. He had intended to tell her the good news that evening but had forgotten due to the day’s events.

With so many people and them sitting separately, he couldn’t explain now. He’d wait until after dinner; he trusted Meili wouldn’t overthink it.

Seeing the bear paw, Cheng Qiao quickly took a piece for Mother Li.

“Mother, eat quickly, it won’t taste as good once it cools.”

Mother Li picked up her chopsticks and ate. The bear paw was delicious but somewhat greasy. Having eaten lightly these days, she wasn’t used to such rich food.

“Mother, this piece is big. I’ll give it to you.”

Jiang Meili, imitating Cheng Qiao, gave a piece of bear paw to Mother Li. But Mother Li couldn’t finish it and put it into Jiang Meili’s bowl for her to eat.

Jiang Meili’s expression soured. Why did the second daughter-in-law eat it but not the first? Cheng Qiao noticed and quickly explained:

“Eldest sister-in-law, Mother’s stomach is weak. One piece is already her limit. I didn’t want her to eat more. Why don’t you give that piece to me? I’m greedy for it.”

Only then did Jiang Meili realize she had misunderstood her mother-in-law. She quickly passed the bear paw in her bowl to Cheng Qiao, grateful to her sister-in-law for saving her from the awkward situation once again.

Mother Li only now realized that her unintentional action had hurt Meili’s feelings. She wanted to explain, but Cheng Qiao had already spoken for her, leaving nothing more to say.

All she could do was point to a plate of rabbit meat a little farther away and tell Meili to eat that. Meili quickly smiled, stood up, and served a piece of rabbit meat to Mother Li.

Li Le, sitting across the table, watched everything clearly. Her eyes betrayed his obvious disdain for Meili—if it weren’t for her mother injuring her own mother, her mother could have eaten a few more pieces.