Chapter 889

After the dishes were cooked, a pot of rice was also steamed.

Although it was already mealtime, Wang An wasn't in a hurry to start the meal.

Mainly because Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan hadn't returned yet, and Wang An couldn't eat with the guests first.

Just after Wang An kept all the hot dishes in the pot to keep warm for a while, Wang Dazhu, his wife, and Shen Wei returned driving a horse cart.

Shen Wei following Wang Dazhu and his wife to work in the fields was also a very normal thing.

Because the relationship between Shen Wei and Wang An was actually already semi-public.

Even the people in the village had already seen it, so how could Wang Dazhu and his wife not see it?

It's just that the people in the village only dared to discuss it secretly behind their backs; they didn't dare to say it to their faces.

Because for a ruthless person like Wang An, who dared to talk nonsense, Wang An really dared to go directly to their house to beat them.

And Wang Dazhu and his wife had an attitude of turning a blind eye to this matter.

Mainly because the daughter-in-law Mu Xueqing didn't say anything, so the parents could only pretend to be ignorant.

Mainly because Shen Wei's family only had Shen Wei as a laborer; whether it was planting, weeding, or plowing, even harvesting and pulling crops home, that wasn't something Shen Wei could do alone.

So for the sake of life—or more accurately, for the sake of survival—Shen Wei could only rely on Wang An's family everywhere. Of course, Shen Wei also did quite a lot of work for Wang An's family, basically coming to help every day.

No one is a fool; after a long time, who wouldn't know what's going on?

However, Shen Wei helping Wang An's family work also had benefits, which was that when it was mealtime, she generally ate at Wang An's house.

And not only did Shen Wei eat at Wang An's house, but when she left, she also took some food and dishes home for her mother-in-law and her daughter Xiaolai.

Wang Dazhu and the others returned, and as guests, Yu Xiangnan and Wu Dong naturally had to go out to welcome them.

Wang An simply introduced his parents and Yu Xiangnan to each other, and everyone returned to the house.

Whether it was Wu Dong or Yu Xiangnan, they were both serious and important guests. In this era, when important guests come to the house, women and children do not sit at the table to eat together.

Although equality between men and women has always been advocated, this point has not been achieved.

Of course, the reason why women and children don't sit at the table with guests isn't entirely because of inequality between men and women.

Actually, the main reason is one word: "poor"!

That's right, it's because of poverty.

At this time, there wasn't enough food to eat, and meat and eggs were extremely rare things, but people at this time generally had large appetites.

So as long as guests come, the things in the house must be eaten by the guests first. Even the male host who accompanies the guests at the dining table only tastes a little bit, or more accurately, just goes through the motions.

There's no way around it; letting the guests eat alone would make them feel embarrassed, or if the host doesn't eat, the guests can't pick up their chopsticks.

So often after a meal, the male host who accompanies the guests is even hungrier.

Watching the guests gorge themselves while you only eat a few small bites for fear that there won't be enough dishes—this feeling is truly something only those sitting at the dining table know how uncomfortable it is.

It must be said that in many cases, poverty is the original sin.

As for the conditions of Wang An's family now, although they are far from the word "poor," due to past habits, Liu Guilan and the other women, as well as the three children including Wang Yi, all ate at another table.

Of course, the dishes on the two tables were the same, because Wang An didn't skimp when cooking. Even if the plates on both tables were full, there was still an abundance of various dishes. When eating, both Wu Dong and Yu Xiangnan were quite satisfied with the dishes Wang An made.

Yu Xiangnan was heard eating the vinegar carp while praising with a smile:

"It's my first time eating such delicious fish. I really didn't know before that fish could be made so delicious."

Actually, for fish to be delicious, the only and most important point is that you must use plenty of oil when cooking it.

Fish without oil, no matter what method is used to make it, will have a muddy smell.

Getting Yu Xiangnan's praise, Wang An didn't humble himself at all and said:

"Hehehe, let me tell you, Principal, this fish I made is absolutely not much worse than what the chef at the state-run restaurant makes."

On this point, Wang An still had this confidence.

At the very least, the oil Wang An used when cooking fish was definitely far more than what the restaurant used.

You have to know that even deep-fried tree branches would taste delicious.

After Wang An finished speaking, Wu Dong interjected:

"Yeah, I've really eaten a lot of restaurant fish, and what you made is indeed more delicious than what the restaurant makes."

Wang An laughed and said:

"I dug a fish pond in the northwest corner of my courtyard, and it will be able to store water and raise fish soon. Whenever you want to eat fish, just come over, and I'll cook for you personally, hahahahaha."

While talking, Wang An raised his wine glass and clinked it with Yu Xiangnan, Wu Dong, and Wang Dazhu.

After the meal, both the host and guests were happy; at the very least, Yu Xiangnan and Wu Dong looked very satisfied.

After the meal, when Wang An was sending Yu Xiangnan and Wu Dong back to the county town, Wang An gave Yu Xiangnan 6 black bear kneecaps.

Maybe Wang An's previous words had an effect, or maybe Wang An's large courtyard and living conditions had completely shocked Yu Xiangnan.

So this time, Yu Xiangnan didn't refuse but accepted them gladly.

Besides the black bear kneecaps for Yu Xiangnan, Wang An also gave Wu Dong and Yu Xiangnan each a gourd of tiger bone wine.

It's just that tiger bone is a serious matter, so Wang An only said it was medicinal wine and didn't explicitly say it was tiger bone wine.

In this era, there was no such thing as drunk driving, so although Wang An had drunk alcohol, he still rode the sidecar and sent Wu Dong and Yu Xiangnan back to the county town.

And Wu Dong and Yu Xiangnan didn't feel that Wang An riding after drinking had any safety hazards.

After sending Yu Xiangnan and Wu Dong home respectively, it was already almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon. After some mental struggle, Wang An still rode the sidecar toward Fang Xiue's house.

The reason Wang An was so conflicted was mainly because at this time, Fang Xiue should be at work, and I don't know if Wang An's idea of finding Fang Xiue for some fun could still be realized.

It must be said that it had been a long time since he had fooled around with Fang Xiue, and Wang An really missed it quite a bit.

(End of chapter)