"Okay, Auntie’s cooking is my favorite." Lu Zhiwei smiled and looked around the room, not finding Ruan Jianguo, he asked, "Where’s Jianguo? Why don’t I see him?"
"Oh, he went out to the fields early this morning, he’ll be back soon. You all sit down for a bit, and I’ll go make noodles for you," she finished, then shouted upstairs to have Ruan Hao and Ruan Jie come down to greet the guests.
After Ruan Jie and Ruan Hao came down, Zhao Li looked upstairs somewhat doubtfully and asked, "Jiaojiao hasn’t gotten up yet?"
"Sister didn’t sleep upstairs, she slept in Grandma’s room," Ruan Jie replied. He had just woken up and wasn’t very spirited, but he immediately perked up when he saw his friends, and he pulled Lu Zhen to show off the paper gun he had made last night. Lu Zishu caught a glimpse and could only follow along, bored.
Hearing his words, Zhao Li nodded. It wasn’t decent to disturb Ruan Jiaojiao’s sleep, so she followed Ruanlin Family into the kitchen to help with making the noodles.
Ruan Jianguo hadn’t come back yet, so his portion was left uncooked to avoid it getting mushy; the rest were cooked together, with a poached egg nestled in each bowl, topped with a spoonful of pork and wood ear mushroom soup, smelling so good it made one’s mouth water.
Ruan Jiaojiao had already woken up by then. Zhao Li helped bring the bowls to the table in the main house, and when she looked up, she saw Ruan Jiaojiao being led out by Xiu Xi, and she immediately beamed with a smile.
"Oh my, Little Jiaojiao’s up, come over and eat some noodles." She was going to go over and hug her, but Xiu Xi kept her at a distance, blocking her.
She looked with surprise at this handsome little boy, knowing he was adopted by the Ruan Family but not the specifics. Now, watching him help Ruan Jiaojiao wash her face and brush her teeth, seeing how skillfully and naturally he went about the sequence of actions, she was somewhat taken aback.
Finally, after Ruan Jiaojiao washed her hands and face, Xiu Xi had her sit on a small stool, brought a chair for her, then carried over the noodles and placed them in front of her: "Eat up."
"..." For some reason, Zhao Li had a strange feeling.
She turned to Ruan Jie, who was enthusiastically chatting with his son, and asked quietly, "Have they always been ?"
Ruan Jie glanced nonchalantly and nodded his head, clearly used to it.
Okay, Zhao Li thought she might be overreacting; it was nothing much, just two little kids who were close.
The Ruanlin Family’s cooking was excellent, plus the ingredients were fresh, all coming from the mountains. The pork soup noodles they made were so delicious it was incredible.
Although Lu Zishu always felt like he had been dragged here against his will, every time he tasted the Ruan Family’s food, he was immensely satisfied, even finding it better than any noodles he’d eaten in a town restaurant.
The family of four also had an implicit understanding; they hadn’t mentioned going out for breakfast on the way here, clearly waiting for this meal.
After breakfast, Ruan Jianguo finally returned from the fields. Seeing that Lu Zhiwei’s family of four had arrived, he smiled and greeted them, then went to change into a clean set of clothes.
At ten in the morning, they formally began the recognition ceremony.
There was no fuss about empty formalities; Zhao Li and Lu Zhiwei sat in the main seats, while Ruan Jiaojiao performed the ritual of kneeling and bowing to them. There were no cushions at home, so Ruanlin Family padded the floor with an old piece of clothing that no longer fit.
Ruan Jiaojiao knelt neatly on the clothing, holding the tea Ruanlin Family had given her, looking up with a smile as she handed it to Zhao Li and Lu Zhiwei respectively, sweetly calling out, "Godmother, godfather, please have tea."
Both of them accepted in turn.