I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 17 - 16: First Time Showing Off Culinary Skills

Xu Xiuxiu paused, looking up at the serious Song Yuanhuan in front of her. "I thought you wouldn't want me to ask." She wasn't the original person in this body, and aside from an uncontrollable maternal love for Song Chengguang, she was almost a stranger to Song Yuanhuan. Her feelings for him weren't deep; all she wanted was to maintain a superficial peace.

"There's nothing between us, I don't even know her name." Xu Xiuxiu's calm demeanor seemed to wound him, and Song Yuanhuan hurriedly spoke up, his tone uncharacteristically agitated.

"I believe you." Xu Xiuxiu simply nodded. "We need to have lunch at Chief Han's house later, should I bring anything?" Xu Xiuxiu swiftly changed the topic, clearly not wanting to continue discussing the woman from before with Song Yuanhuan.

Song Yuanhuan frowned. "There's no need to bring anything." It seemed like a petulant response, and as soon as he finished speaking, he turned around in a huff and picked up Song Chengguang from the bed to dote on him.

"Will I have time to leave after I finish washing the clothes?"

"Mm." With a face that showed he no longer wished to engage with Xu Xiuxiu, Song Yuanhuan still gave a reluctant response.

Having received an answer, Xu Xiuxiu curved her lips into a smile and headed to the bathroom. She efficiently washed and tidied up the clothes before hanging them out on the small balcony to dry. Then she went back inside to change her clothes and get ready to go out.

Chief Han's house was located on the edge of the Military District. It was a spacious, comfortable, two-story villa, especially the kitchen, which was Xu Xiuxiu's favorite place. After getting acquainted with everyone inside, Xu Xiuxiu took over cooking duties and left Song Chengguang with Song Yuanhuan to watch, then turned to immerse herself in the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Xu Xiuxiu was slicing fish fillets when Chief Han's wife, Cai Qiufen, rolled up her sleeves and walked in. "Xiuxiu, what are you going to make? Let your sister-in-law help you a bit!" Being the hostess, Cai Qiufen felt it wasn't right to leave all the work to Xu Xiuxiu, hadn't she seen Old Han reproaching her with his eyes already?

"No worries, I'll be done soon." Xu Xiuxiu enjoyed working with food and seldom relied on others, even for simple tasks like preparing ingredients. She was used to doing all the cutting herself. "Here are the fruits I've just cut, sister-in-law, could you please take them out?" Turning around, Xu Xiuxiu passed a carefully arranged plate of fruit to Cai Qiufen.

"Alright then! You carry on, if you need me just give me a shout. I'll take the fruit to them," Cai Qiufen had originally intended to help, but after seeing the meticulous way Xu Xiuxiu prepared the side dishes, she didn't want to meddle and be a nuisance, especially since she felt she had no talent for cooking.

Stepping out of the kitchen, Cai Qiufen served tea and brought the fruit to Chief Han and Song Yuanhuan, who were playing chess outside, along with the deputy team leader, Zheng Guohui and Fu Guanglei, who had shamelessly insisted on coming to freeload a meal.

"You guys are always bragging about your own charm on ordinary days, but I bet you didn't expect Song Yuanhuan to undercut you," Cai Qiufen exclaimed in admiration, her mind still reeling from the elegant presentation she saw in the kitchen.

She thought to herself that they were all women, and she had lived over ten years longer than Xu Xiuxiu, but her knife skills were not even half as beautiful—it was somewhat embarrassing to admit.

"It looks like we're in for a treat today." Zheng Guohui said, casting an envious glance at Song Yuanhuan, who was holding Song Chengguang. "Look at you, kid, getting a beautiful wife and having a big chubby son without making a sound. You've kept so cool, we thought you were lying about getting married!" Who would've thought it was true, and his wife was also stunningly beautiful. What kind of luck is this! Song Yuanhuan, a rough guy with a foul temper and a dark face, managing to marry a beautiful wife. And here he was, a model good young man, why was he left over?

"Marrying a wife is a skill," Song Yuanhuan rolled his eyes at Song Guohui, looking at his son, Song Chengguang, who was munching on fruit in his arms, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile involuntarily.

"Yes, you young man really have some skills there," Chief Han commended heartily, "And the rest of you shouldn't be dissatisfied, if you've got skills, hurry up and settle your own lifelong matters." While delivering his blow, he didn't forget to push Zheng Guohui and Fu Guanglei to address their marital affairs, moving his chess piece as he spoke, "General." Song Guohui, who was facing Chief Han in the game, sacrificed himself gloriously, and Fu Guanglei stepped forward to continue the front-line struggle.

"Come, let me hold my little nephew, I haven't even held a kid before!" Zheng Guohui, undiscouraged by his chess loss, turned around and eagerly approached Song Yuanhuan, reaching out to take the child, Song Chengguang, from his arms. He, a grown man, had never held a child at his age!

"No way, my son is shy around strangers." Song Yuanhuan pulled back his hands, adamantly refusing his offer. Hmph, this guy is a real brute, never having held a child before—who knows if he can't control his strength? Xu Xiuxiu cherishes Song Chengguang a lot, if he doesn't take good care, Xu Xiuxiu would tear his heart out.

"Hey! Why are you being so stingy, what's wrong with me holding him for a bit." Zheng Guohui accused Song Yuanhuan huffily, thinking the young man was full of himself for having a son and a daughter-in-law, looking down on single people.

"Yuanhuan, let sister-in-law hold Chengguang! You go watch them play chess," Cai Qiufen said, reaching out to take Song Chengguang, who was also not shy and happily reached out his little arms to be taken by Cai Qiufen.

After Song Yuanhuan handed over Song Chengguang, he didn't go to watch the chess game, but provocatively glanced at Zheng Guohui before turning and heading into the kitchen to see his capable little wife.

Read latest chapters at freёweɓnovel.com Only.

"Can you manage everything alone?" Song Yuanhuan leaned on the kitchen doorway, watching the busy Xu Xiuxiu and asked.

"I can manage." Xu Xiuxiu took a moment to look back at Song Yuanhuan, then asked, "By the way, can everyone handle spicy food?" Most of the dishes she was preparing today were hot and spicy, and she thought she should ask first—if not everyone was good with spice, she would make it mild.

"Don't worry, everyone can handle spicy food." Song Yuanhuan nodded, his gaze fixed on the garnishes Xu Xiuxiu had already cut—just like his sister-in-law said, all the garnishes were cut into flowers, they looked pretty good.

"Good to know." Xu Xiuxiu breathed a sigh of relief, then moved on to the final steps of stir-frying in the hot wok.

Today she was planning to make boiled live fish, spicy diced chicken, Coca-Cola chicken wings, stir-fried Shanghai greens, beef with water bamboo, as well as some dishes from her hometown like stir-fried celery with dried tofu, bamboo shoots with sliced pork, in addition to a corn ribs soup.

With all the garnishes and ingredients ready, Xu Xiuxiu began to showcase her cooking skills. In half an hour, she had finished preparing the dishes, ready to serve them, just as Chief Han and Fu Guanglei had ended their chess game.

Song Yuanhuan played the role of a waiter, swiftly setting the dishes on the table, and then, with pride evident on his face, he raised his eyebrows at Zheng Guohui, who was clicking his tongue in admiration beside him. Kid, how about that?

"Okay." There's a saying, "Eating someone's food softens the tongue and accepting their gifts shortens the hand." Although Zheng Guohui hadn't eaten or taken anything yet, seeing the colorfully arrayed dishes on the table and the faint savory aroma wafting in the air, Zheng Guohui couldn't help but give a thumbs up and express his approval.

It was truly impressive, the table full of dishes was complete with color, fragrance, and flavor. The same dishes, yet Yuanhuan's wife had turned them into a banquet that rivaled the most luxurious feasts—how could he not admire that?