After breakfast, Ji Weiwei, Xiaochán, and Sister-in-law Xiao Qian helped Xie Yunqing prepare the midday feast. Traditionally, every dish had to be prepared by hand. The results might not taste as good as hotel food, but in terms of effort, they were absolutely incomparable to ordering a banquet from a hotel. More importantly, there was that traditional, festive, home-cooked flavor.
As the morning wore on, some relatives arrived. There were not many of them, all relatives who already lived in Yan City, such as Zhou Zhengtao's family and Sixth Uncle An Guohua's family, who had opened an auto repair shop and bought a house in Yan City.
The villa grew livelier by the minute. The young people sat on the sofas watching television, playing on their phones, and teaming up for games. Although they did not have much to talk about, they still filled the house with plenty of youthful energy.
In particular, Sixth Uncle An Guohua had a younger son who was only in fourth grade. He had been born pretty, and everyone who saw him said he looked like a girl. He was also obedient, quiet, and very polite, making him extremely likable—a world apart from his rebellious, chūnibyō older brother. After properly calling out to all the older brothers and sisters under his parents' guidance, he became everyone's target for teasing and playful harassment.
For example, An You, who usually showed little interest in any of the relatives, took quite a liking to the boy. She sat beside him and occasionally asked whether he had a little girlfriend at school or whether any girls were pursuing him. The poor child was so embarrassed that he tried several times to escape from An You, only for her to catch him and drag him back.
Zhou Yilian and Zhou