"Dad, Mom, can you go back tomorrow to see third brother!" Zhang Wenxue and his wife, who were far away in Nancheng, heard their second son's words and couldn't help but look up at him, waiting for him to continue.
Zhang Liuxing saw that his parents were only confused and had no other expression, so he continued, "Today Ruru met third brother, and he actually set his sights on Ruru's elder sister and insulted her."
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Wenxue and his wife's expressions changed. They knew the elder sister of their second son's wife. She was the director of Nancheng's largest food factory, a well-known strong woman in Nancheng, and the most legendary female representative.
They heard that she had even appeared in newspapers.
Would their infatuated son dare to set his sights on her? If it were true, wouldn't their youngest son be condemned by others!
"Is that true, second son? With the third son like that, would he set his sights on her? Besides, they don't even know each other!" Zhang Wenxue's face twitched twice, unsure if it was from anger or anxiety.
Zhang Liuxing looked at his wife, Fang Ru, who nodded very seriously, "I heard it directly from my elder sister, so it can't be fake. My elder sister also said that this matter is not impossible to resolve, as long as third brother gives her his braised meat recipe, she will forgive him."
Braised meat recipe?
Zhang Wenxue and his wife exchanged glances. They both saw disbelief in each other's eyes.
Where would their family get a braised meat recipe? Their youngest son certainly wouldn't have one.
"Second son's wife, did you hear wrong? How could Liunian have a recipe?" Zhang Wenxue looked at his second daughter-in-law with disbelief.
Fang Ru looked at her in-laws suspiciously, with an expression that suggested they were acting. "How could he have one? Just touch your hearts and you'll know. My little brother-in-law used to be lazy and relied on his wife to live. Suddenly having this braised meat recipe, shouldn't you explain it to us?"
Fang Ru's words implied that she suspected Zhang Wenxue of hiding something and showing favoritism by providing help to Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Wenxue and his wife were speechless. If they were to show favoritism, it would be towards their second son's family, not their youngest son.
If they had a recipe, they would have given it to their second son to build a house, and how could they only give it to their youngest son.
If this matter were not clarified, their second son and his wife would surely argue. Zhang Wenxue did not want to see this happen, so he said, "No, if our family had a recipe, we would have given it to our second son long ago. How could we only give it to Liunian and not to you? Besides, Liunian would not have a recipe."
They knew their own son best. No one knew Zhang Liunian's abilities better than they did.
Yu Xiaohua, who was standing nearby, also chimed in, reminding them, "If we old folks were to show favoritism, it would be towards you. When Liunian said he wanted to study and go to college, it coincided with Liuxing going to college. Out of favoritism, we gave all the money to you and ignored him. Have you forgotten this so quickly?"
What Yu Xiaohua said made Zhang Liuxing blush and unable to speak.
In fact, he knew the family situation best. If his parents had anything good, they would indeed prioritize him. They hadn't been like this before, but after he got into college, things changed. Food and daily necessities were prioritized for him, and he also enjoyed the feeling of being favored.
So when his wife came home and told him that their parents had shown favoritism and given the recipe to their third brother, he had said it was impossible, but his wife didn't believe him!
"Why keep bringing up these old, trivial matters? We are talking about my little brother-in-law insulting my elder sister, and my elder sister wanting him to give her the braised meat recipe. Let's not discuss how this recipe came about, what do you think we should do now?" Fang Ru intentionally avoided the origin of the recipe, wanting to cast blame on her in-laws. If she didn't have the support of her elder sister and family, she wouldn't dare to speak like this.
Zhang Wenxue saw that his second daughter-in-law wanted to pin the blame on them, and said sternly, "Second son's wife, you don't need to trick me. I'll tell you the truth, our Zhang family has no recipes. If Laosan has one, I don't know how he got it. As for the insult to your elder sister you just mentioned, we will ask Laosan when we go back. If it's true, we will discuss the recipe with Laosan."
Fang Ru was exasperated. Going to ask Zhang Liunian would expose the lie, right? Her elder sister hadn't said that Zhang Liunian insulted her; this was her idea to trick the old couple. She hadn't expected these two old folks to be so clear-headed and calm, and to want to clarify things. How could that be? That was twenty thousand yuan for nothing!
Fang Ru looked to her husband, Zhang Liuxing, for help. He naturally knew all of his wife's plans and what benefits they could get from this recipe. That was twenty thousand yuan, which was his income for several years. In life, no one dislikes having too much money. Besides, he had just built a house and owed a lot of money to his wife's family. If he could get this money, it would clear his debts!
"Dad, Ruru's elder sister needs that recipe. Please try your best to get it back from third brother. Our house could be built thanks to her sister lending us money." Zhang Liuxing's words were much more effective than Fang Ru's.
Hearing him say this, Yu Xiaohua immediately responded, "Okay, okay, okay. As long as Liunian really has that recipe, we will help you get it." As long as it was something her second son wanted to do, she, as a mother, would naturally help him.
Zhang Wenxue looked at his wife and second son, then shifted his gaze to Fang Ru. He had always known that daughters-in-law were outsiders, they wouldn't side with their Zhang family, and they liked to stir up trouble among the sons. But he hadn't expected her to make such a fuss today.
Fang Ru met her father-in-law's scrutinizing gaze, and felt a sudden panic in her heart. Her father-in-law's gaze was truly terrifying.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go back to my room." Fang Ru didn't want to face her father-in-law's all-seeing gaze, so she got up and said she was going back to her room.
Seeing this, Zhang Liuxing also got up and left.
After they left, Zhang Wenxue and his wife looked at each other and went back into the house to discuss the matter.
"Old man, do you think Liunian really has that recipe?" As soon as the door was closed, Yu Xiaohua came to her husband's side by the bed, looking uncertain. Actually, she didn't quite believe it either, otherwise she wouldn't have said "as long as Liunian has it." Because she felt that Liunian couldn't possibly have it.
Zhang Wenxue thought the same way, "I don't believe it either." How could their youngest son, who never left the house, have a recipe? But the second son and his wife clearly believed it and hoped they would help. If the matter was as the second daughter-in-law said, they wouldn't object. They were afraid that the second daughter-in-law was deceiving them. He clearly remembered Fang Ru's guilty expression just now. It was clear that she hadn't told them the truth. As for their second son...
Recalling his thoughts, Zhang Wenxue decided to go home tomorrow afternoon to take a look. But the thought of seeing Jiang Qingqing and that granddaughter of unknown origin made him feel distressed.