Dinner consisted of simple home-cooked dishes. Lu Jiatang's mother excitedly said that many of them had been picked fresh from the fields that afternoon.
Lu Jiatang's father carried out the last dish of boiled pork slices, still wearing an apron. His features were ordinary, yet he possessed an exceptionally comforting air. Time had settled over him, making him seem incomparably steady and dependable. He was also tall and broad, and Lu Jiatang had clearly inherited quite a bit from him.
"Come on, come on, try my cooking!" Lu Jiatang's father set the dish on the table and said naturally, "Little Jin is so thin. You need to eat more tonight."
It was their first meeting, and Fang Jin had not expected things to be like this. At once, he stood up again. "Yes, Uncle."
"Sit, sit. You're Jiatang's... friend. Relax." Lu Jiatang's father scooped up a bowl of rice and placed it by his wife's hand.
Lu Jiatang's mother said coquettishly, "I told you, I'm losing weight."
Lu Jiatang's father waved a hand. "No dieting! You're not fat!"
Lu Jiatang's mother giggled at his teasing.
In a family like theirs, the relationships from top to bottom were all so good. It was no wonder Lu Jiatang had grown into someone so gentle and reserved.
Only after the elders had picked up their chopsticks did Fang Jin take some stir-fried bean sprouts. There was little taste in his mouth, but their first meeting had gone far better than he had expected, so his mood inevitably brightened.
"Eat some meat." Lu Jiatang's mother placed a chicken leg in Fang Jin's bowl. "It's stewed until tender, with gastrodia in it. Very nourishing."
Fang Jin was flattered. "Thank you, Auntie!"
Lu Jiatang's mother glanced down and saw Fang Jin's nervous hand clenched and unclenched