Chapter 51: 90: A Family by the Spring Chapter 51: Tacitly Acknowledging Him as Her Future Brother-in-law

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"You don't get that, do you?"

Li Yan smiled and teased him: "I'm deliberately eating this for the audience to see, whetting their appetites, making it look delicious enough that they can feel the charm of Lu cuisine right through the screen."

"You've got me there."

Cameraman gave a thumbs-up, agreeing with her words.

Li Yan smiled until her eyes curved, eating with even more gusto.

—

The radish balls were fried, and the first dish finished filming.

The program group's staff all came over cheerfully, scrambling to taste the fresh food.

Lin Xiyu didn't rest for a moment, and under her grandmother's guidance, washed the pork belly clean, minced the filling, and prepared to fry Couhe.

The most crucial step in frying Couhe is slicing the lotus root.

The two lotus root slices sandwiching the meat must not break at the bottom; after slicing, blanch them in hot water for a few minutes, then once soft, scoop them out to dry, stuff the prepared meat filling inside, coat with batter, put them in the oil pot, and fry slowly over low heat.

There weren't many Couhe, just over a dozen.

Lin Xiyu didn't want to waste anything, so she cleaned up the oil residue left from frying the radish balls, poured the oil back into the pot, and continued frying Couhe.

Couhe takes slightly longer to fry than radish balls, so she patiently stood by the stove, occasionally turning them with a skimmer to keep the batter from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

—

It was nearly dark, lights came on in the alley, and Grandma turned on the lamp hanging at the doorway of the main hall to light the way for the program group.

"Smells so good, it's fried Couhe and radish balls."

Xu Yi happened to smell the fragrance and ran in from outside the door at that moment.

"You brat, you've been playing around and only come back now?"

Chen Xiulan saw her son, glared with both eyes, and scolded him in a bad mood.

"Hehe, I was learning to swim with Brother Bin."

Xu Yi rubbed his nose and chuckled, ducking behind the person coming in afterward to avoid his mother's death stare.

"Auntie, sorry about that."

Guben smiled gently and took all the responsibility on himself: "It was my oversight; I forgot to check the time."

"Uh, you, you're Xiyu's classmate?"

Chen Xiulan saw the handsome, tall youth, and her eyelids twitched involuntarily as she stuttered magnificently.

Before Zhang Dafen's partner left that afternoon, after seeing Grandma, he called her Jing Daniang over and over, sounding so affectionate, just like a real grandson.

It made her heart pound with fright.

She had never imagined that her own daughter actually had a classmate with such illustrious family conditions.

Thinking of her brother-in-law's worries, she couldn't help but worry too.

Hopefully her own daughter wouldn't act foolishly and dive headfirst into it.

The two families' conditions were vastly different; she feared her daughter would be gossiped about and suffer grievances at her in-laws' home.

"Yes."

Guben seemed to see her concerns, deliberately lowered his posture, and smiled while making small talk: "Auntie, no need to be polite, just call me Xiao Bin; relatives and friends all call me that......."

"Okay, okay."

Chen Xiulan saw that he was gentle and polite, not quite like the elite cadre children she imagined, without that overbearing feeling, and she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

"Are these balls all fried by Xiyu?"

Guben seemingly unintentionally glanced into the kitchen, looking at the few remaining radish balls on the plate.

"Yes, they're all fried by Xiyu."

Mentioning her daughter, Chen Xiulan's face showed a bit of glory, full of pride belonging only to an old mother.

"Brother Bin, Sister's fried radish balls are delicious, try one."

Xu Yi was greedy, and while the two were talking, he secretly pinched one and stuffed it into his mouth.

He chewed it with relish, not forgetting to flatter and curry favor.

After learning for just one afternoon, the young boy had already been won over by a certain coach with impure motives, and in his heart tacitly acknowledged him as his future brother-in-law.