83: From Pork Bo-young to White-collar Beauty

The two sisters giggled and played all the way back to the kitchen to get the dishes.

Nguyen Tan Minh, on his own initiative, went to get all the bowls and chopsticks and set them out.

Li Qinghe felt that this younger brother-in-law was quite good, and his mother-in-law had also taught him well, without the bad habits of most Vietnamese men.

At least he was a person who saw what needed to be done and didn't just sit there waiting to eat because his sisters would do it.

He just didn't know how Nguyen Thi Linh had been taught; the treatment for her own man and her brother was completely different.

Li Qinghe sincerely felt that it was no big deal to lend a hand with some housework; he could even cook some dishes himself, but with Nguyen Thi Linh, his opportunities to enter the kitchen were completely blocked.

He could only sit by, cross-legged, like a lord.

Perhaps it was because of the dependent relationship with Li Qinghe.

As various dishes were gradually brought to the mat, it was clear that Tran Thi Bao Anh, his mother-in-law, was indeed a better cook than Nguyen Thi Linh.

There were seven or eight dishes laid out on the straw mat, and five people sat on the mat on the floor.

Next to the dishes was a large bowl of amber-colored liquor, with a small bamboo dipper resting on top.

Li Qinghe looked at the table full of dishes—chicken, fish, and meat—well, let's call it a table; the entire mat was essentially a table.

This was Li Qinghe's first time eating in such an environment, and he found it to be a novel experience.

He was about to open his mouth to offer a few compliments.

Tran Thi Bao Anh had already begun to instruct: "Xinming can have five scoops of wine, A Shui two scoops, Linh one scoop, you drink more soup, give me one scoop of wine, and the rest of the wine goes to A-He."

"???"

"Mom, why can I only have two scoops?" Nguyen Thi Shui, emboldened by her young age, pouted at her mother.

"This is baijiu; how much do you think you can drink? You'd be impressive if you could stand up after drinking it."

Tran Thi Bao Anh scolded her youngest daughter irritably.

Nguyen Thi Shui stuck out her tongue and dared not say anything more.

Nguyen Thi Linh obediently picked up the bamboo dipper and first scooped two scoops of wine for Li Qinghe, then for Tran Thi Bao Anh, Nguyen Tan Minh, Nguyen Thi Shui, and finally herself.

After the wine was distributed, all the remaining wine was poured into Li Qinghe's bowl.

Tran Thi Bao Anh was the first to raise her bowl: "We thank A-He for the tremendous help he has brought to our family."

"Yo yo yo!" Nguyen Thi Linh and the others all raised their bowls, and Li Qinghe also raised his bowl, clinking them together with everyone.

Many Vietnamese people, when toasting, don't say "cheers" but rather "yo yo yo," which originates from the Miao people's drinking chants, and many are skilled in its use.

So the whole family "yo-ed" together.

Li Qinghe took a sip of the wine and found that it was quite smooth on the palate, though it carried some herbal notes and a faint fishy smell.

Overall, it was acceptable.

After everyone had taken a sip, Tran Thi Bao Anh picked up a large piece of eel meat with her chopsticks and placed it in another empty bowl in front of Li Qinghe.

"Linh said you like to eat eel; try what Auntie made. We even put the eel blood in when stir-frying it, and added a lot of chili."

"Thank you, Auntie Bao Anh, I'll help myself; I'm not an outsider," Li Qinghe said, acting completely at home.

"Mom, Brother-in-law bought so, so many clothes for each of us, and they're so pretty! Yours are in the room."

Nguyen Thi Shui threw a piece of chicken into her mouth, quickly swallowed it, and then loudly told her mother.

"A-He, you've spent too much money," Tran Thi Bao Anh said, looking at Li Qinghe with increasing fondness as she spoke.

She picked up another large piece of beef with her chopsticks and placed it in his bowl; no son-in-law in all of Xiangyang County had ever been heard of giving such great help to a family.

"Auntie Bao Anh, we're family, so let's not be strangers. As long as everyone is happy together, there's no need to worry too much about money."

As soon as Li Qinghe uttered these words, Tran Thi Bao Anh felt her tear ducts activate.

It had been so hard raising the children alone for so many years; thankfully, Nguyen Thi Linh had now found a good man.

Seeing Tran Thi Bao Anh's tears falling profusely, Nguyen Thi Shui, who had been playfully smiling, sobered up. She and Nguyen Thi Linh both cuddled into their mother's embrace to comfort her.

Nguyen Tan Minh silently watched his mother; as the only man in the family, he couldn't act childish anymore.

Li Qinghe simply handed her a tissue. Tran Thi Bao Anh paused, took the tissue to wipe away her tears, and then pushed her two daughters away.

"Alright, these are tears of joy," she said, then picked up her bowl and drained it, exhaling a long breath that seemed to release all the grievances of the past decade or so.

"Mom, go try on your clothes."

It was Nguyen Thi Shui, the little darling, who, while still eating, urged her mother to try on her new clothes.

Perhaps emboldened by a little wine, Tran Thi Bao Anh actually agreed.

So she got up and went back to her room.

A few minutes later, a mature urban beauty appeared before the whole family.

She wore a white short blouse, paired with beige wide-leg pants, black platform sandals on her feet, and her long hair was tied into a thick braid, playfully tossed over one shoulder.

Tran Thi Bao Anh

Nguyen Thi Linh and her two siblings were stunned; they had never seen their mother look so captivating.

And Nguyen Thi Linh was even more dumbfounded; she had bought the clothes according to her mother's size, but she had never imagined her mother could wear them with such an effect.

Li Qinghe was also momentarily awestruck. Who would have thought that this elegant and confident woman, like an urban professional, had been wearing a greasy apron and selling pork just an hour ago?

From Tran Thi Bao Anh's current appearance, one could imagine how beautiful and charming she must have been in her youth.

What strength allowed that bright young girl to grit her teeth and single-handedly raise three toddlers who were crying for food?

"Wow, Mom, you look so beautiful!"

Nguyen Thi Shui giggled, clapping her hands enthusiastically.

"Brother, quickly take some photos of Mom, I want to print them out!"

Nguyen Thi Linh quickly moved next to Li Qinghe, shaking his arm and pleading.

"Okay, no problem."

Li Qinghe quickly pulled out his phone and took several photos of Tran Thi Bao Anh from a short distance away.

The continuous "click-clack" of the camera made Tran Thi Bao Anh's body stiffen for a moment, then quickly relax.

Nguyen Thi Shui pulled the radiant Tran Thi Bao Anh back to the mat: "Mom, wear this outfit to dinner tonight."

She then looked ingratiatingly at Nguyen Thi Linh: "Sister, the clothes you and Brother-in-law chose are so suitable; I really love how Mom looks now."

Li Qinghe raised his bowl: "Come, let our whole family toast to Auntie Bao Anh's beauty!"

"Yo yo yo!"

The excited Nguyen Thi Shui also drained her bowl of wine.

"A Shui, you drink slowly... a little."

Seeing Nguyen Thi Shui drinking like that, Tran Thi Bao Anh quickly tried to stop her, but it was too late; Nguyen Thi Shui had already chugged the wine in her bowl.

Soon, Nguyen Thi Shui began to turn red like a big shrimp, and her speech became a little slurred. She looked with hazy eyes at Li Qinghe, who was sitting beside her.

"Brother Qinghe, it's so nice to find such a handsome boyfriend. Do you have any younger brothers? Can you introduce them to me?"

"A Shui, that's not something you should be thinking about right now."

Li Qinghe was about to patiently instruct this innocent young girl.

But he saw the young girl lunge forward, collapsing onto the mat, sprawled there.

"Just let her sleep for one night."

Tran Thi Bao Anh looked at her youngest daughter, who was starting to get muddled, feeling both annoyed and amused.

"Brother, while A Shui is sleeping, let's move her to the bed."