"Not at all, I’m so happy you could come." The Ruanlin Family scolded gently, looking towards the woman by his side, "And this is...?"
"Ah, look at my forgetful mind, this is my wife, Zhao Li." Lu Zhiwei finished introducing, then turned to Zhao Li and said, "Xiaoli, this is the family whose son got his head broken by our son."
He then pointed at Ruan Jiaojiao, who was looking up at them, "Look, this is the girl from their family I told you about, the one who makes you crave for more!"
In the past few years, family planning was strictly enforced, and Lu Zhiwei and Zhao Li only had two sons. Zhao Li herself wanted a daughter to dress up, but it turned out they had two sons instead.
Over the years, to compensate for this disappointment, she could only turn her longing onto her relatives’ daughters.
Now seeing Ruan Jiaojiao, she couldn’t take her eyes off her.
Ruan Jiaojiao herself was exquisitely beautiful, and now dressed up prettily, she completely overshadowed her relatives’ daughters. Staring at her, Zhao Li couldn’t peel her eyes away and exclaimed, "How can this child be so beautiful! Auntie, how did you raise her?"
The Ruanlin Family loved nothing more than hearing people praise Ruan Jiaojiao, she could hear it a thousand times and never tire of it, yet she modestly replied, "Beautiful? She’s just got a nose and two eyes, that’s all."
Then she said to Lu Zhiwei, "You’ve come at the perfect time. Just a couple of days ago, Jianguo caught a couple of wild pheasants and hares; let me show you what I can do in the kitchen!"
"Of course, of course." Lu Zhiwei nodded, not the least bit shy, "I’ve heard all about your excellent cooking skills, that’s why I brought the whole family to freeload a meal!"
"Good, good, good!" The Ruanlin Family said ’good’ three times, thinking about what else she could cook for lunch, then, as if remembering something, she turned and ordered Ruan Jie, "Quick, go inside and bring out the washed fruits."
Ruan Jie nodded and hurried back inside to get the fruits.
These fruits had been sent over by a monkey on Xiu Xi’s behalf just last night, all of them top-quality.
Even Zhao Li, a town girl herself, couldn’t help but be amazed. Their area did not produce any particular fruit; all fruits were transported from other places and were outrageously expensive. Despite earning a decent salary every month, she seldom indulged in buying them.
She didn’t expect to see such fine fruits at a seemingly unremarkable farmer’s mud house.
Surprised, she politely gestured, "These fruits are too expensive, we really shouldn’t..."
"My dear girl, don’t be polite, we country folks don’t stand on ceremony. Fruits are meant to be eaten, regardless of the cost. Besides, look at last time in the city, it was Zhiwei here who treated us to a meal, and we didn’t hold back," the Ruanlin Family said.
Hearing this, Lu Zhiwei laughed and added, "Xiaoli, we’re all family here, no need for formalities."
Zhao Li playfully spat at him from across the room, but being a straightforward person herself, she dropped the formalities and smiled, "Then I won’t stand on ceremony."
As she spoke, she took a peach and beckoned Ruan Jiaojiao over.
Ruan Jiaojiao was still watching her, slowly walking over. She had some impression of Zhao Li, because in the original book, she was an indispensable key character. She was the cause for the revelation of the male lead’s true identity.
The Lu Family indeed had some connections in this place. Zhao Li had a distant relative in Beidu, who lived in a large compound. In that compound, there was a family named Jiang who had lost a child, and that child was Xiu Xun.