novelslam Chapter 238 is quite professional.
Chapter 238 is quite professional.
Chapter 238 is quite professional.
The father-in-law and son-in-law strolled leisurely around the second floor.
Yu Huan and others followed Lao Lin out of the bathroom and then walked closely behind him toward the stairwell.
Looking at the stairs that still led upwards, Old Lin asked curiously, "Is the top floor the dark, enclosed space?"
An attic is the space between a pitched roof and the ceiling. If it is used for living, it can be called an attic.
Upon hearing the question, Yu Huan nodded under Old Lin's gentle gaze and then explained in detail:
"It's piled up with some useless junk, such as an old CRT TV, an old-fashioned fan, and an old-fashioned refrigerator. Although these things are no longer valuable, my family felt it was a waste to throw them away, so we stored them all on top."
Old Lin smiled faintly and said with emotion, "Your generation has much better material conditions than our generation. Take You Rong for example. If something is slightly broken or outdated, she throws it away without hesitation and doesn't feel bad at all."
Without going up to investigate further, he turned and walked downstairs.
Yu Huan smiled and said, "Dad, I'm actually a nostalgic person too. If I had a place to put them, I would prefer to keep the old things that carry memories and feelings."
"Oh? Then you and You Rong are quite different in this respect," Old Lin said with a smile.
"I'm the type to throw away what should be thrown away and keep what should be kept."
Yu Huan followed behind, her gaze fixed on the thick crown of Old Lin's head, and continued with a smile:
"Dad, let's go back after dinner."
Old Lin shook his head: "I've already talked to your mother and asked her to prepare dinner for you and Uncle Xu tonight."
The two people's voices reverberated in the stairwell.
Upon hearing this explanation, Yu Huan could only nod slightly and reply with an "Oh."
Old Lin walked down the last step of the stairs, but turned around and went through the back door to wander around the yard.
Yu Huan glanced at the front door and saw only the old man and President Xu sitting face to face, chatting quietly.
The father-in-law and son-in-law stayed on the second floor for about ten minutes.
When Yu Huan followed Lao Lin to the backyard, he found that Lao Yu was already killing fish in the yard.
Meanwhile, Ms. Wu and her aunt, wearing aprons, sat on small stools and helped scrape the fish scales.
Old Yu quickly grabbed a crucian carp from the large plastic bucket with his left hand, pressed it onto the cutting board, and deftly gutted it with a swift knife.
Use the tip of a knife precisely to scrape out the fish scraps, remove the gall bladder, and collect them in a stainless steel basin at your feet.
After skillfully preparing a fish, he casually tossed it into an oversized plastic basin.
The whole process took less than ten seconds.
Suddenly.
A shadow was cast on the cutting board.
Hearing footsteps, Lao Yu looked up and saw Lao Lin stop and stand to the side watching him kill fish.
The movements of my hands involuntarily slowed down.
A smile appeared on his face, then he turned to look at the cutting board, and as he swiftly chopped the knife, he slowly said:
"Old Lin, I won't be joining your fishing activity this afternoon. I'm really not interested in it, and I'm not very good at it either. But I can have a few drinks with you tonight."
Old Lin smiled and shook his head gently: "Dinner has already been prepared for us at home."
Upon hearing this, Teacher Wu turned around and gently advised, "Father-in-law, there are still so many leftovers from lunch, don't trouble Sister Duan any further. Besides, we can make a hot pot with these fish offal and roe tonight."
With Mr. Lin's arrival, Teacher Wu prepared an exceptionally generous portion of food.
When Yu Huan finally finished serving the leftovers, he estimated that she had only eaten about half of the total.
Of course, he and Yu Chengcheng ate a lot of tangerines in the morning and weren't very hungry. The two heavyweight eaters didn't exert their full fighting power.
After being instructed by the old man, Yu Chengcheng knew that these two guests were quite important, so she might have to be a little more cautious.
Old Lin's gaze shifted from the fish scraps in the stainless steel basin, and his lips twitched slightly.
Yu Huan, observing the situation, realized that Mr. Lin's refusal wasn't strong, so she smiled brightly and chimed in, "Yes, anyway, with me as your driver, you can drink to your heart's content tonight."
Having said all that, Old Lin smiled and said, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, then we'll have to trouble you."
"Please don't say it's a hassle. You should come to visit often in the future. We welcome you anytime!" Teacher Wu said, glancing up as she skillfully scraped fish scales with a wire brush. "But Sister Duan must come along next time too."
Old Lin nodded in agreement, saying, "Great. We work in the city every day, and now we have another place to get close to nature and breathe fresh air."
Teacher Wu tossed the scaled crucian carp into the bucket next to Lao Yu and continued, "I heard Huanhuan say that you and Sister Duan usually don't cook at home, otherwise I would have let you take some homegrown vegetables back with you."
"Oh? You and Lao Yu grow your own vegetables?" Lao Lin seemed a little surprised.
"My grandfather mainly takes care of the vegetable garden, and my parents are both high school teachers, so they are usually quite busy," Yu Huan said with a smile.
“That’s right.” Teacher Wu nodded affirmatively.
Old Lin's earlier surprise stemmed from this sudden realization.
He looked around and noticed an iron gate in the courtyard wall on one side, which must be behind the vegetable garden, and he couldn't help but feel curious.
Yu Huan noticed Old Lin's gaze and said with a gentle smile, "That door leads to the vegetable garden in the back. Dad, would you like to take a look?"
"Okay." Old Lin nodded slightly.
Yu Huan smiled even more broadly and gladly led the way for Lao Lin. He gently opened the bolt and pushed open the iron gate with a creak.
A pastoral scene slowly unfolds before your eyes.
In the large vegetable garden enclosed by a wooden fence, the plots are clearly defined, and each plot grows different kinds of vegetables.
A Chinese cabbage with thick, layered leaves.
Clumps of winter amaranth and radish greens.
The lush garlic leaves swayed in the wind...
Looking at everything before him, Lao Lin could see the fields reduced to stubble through the waist-high fence.
Under the warm sunshine, the scene is full of vitality.
Old Lin took a deep breath of fresh air and exclaimed, "Living in the countryside is really comfortable. The air is fresh, the environment is beautiful, and we can grow our own vegetables, which are green, organic, and healthy."
"For long-term living, rural and urban areas each have their own advantages, but rural areas are more suitable for retirement."
As she spoke, Yu Huan stopped in the narrow path, turned to look at Old Lin, and smiled broadly:
"Dad, let's take some sweet potatoes back with us. They're all small, thin-skinned purple sweet potatoes. We can steam them for breakfast, and have them with an egg. It'll be delicious!"
After a moment's consideration, Old Lin nodded in agreement and said, "Good idea."
"Speaking of this, I can't help but want to dig out a few and eat them raw when I go fishing."
After saying that, Yu Huan immediately took a step, walked past Lao Lin, and picked up the hoe leaning against the wall by the door.
As he walked to the sweet potato field, just as he was about to wave, Old Lin interrupted, "Let me try."
Yu Huan was taken aback, then handed the hoe to Old Lin: "Okay, Dad, you do it."
Old Lin strode forward and rubbed his hands together with a smile.
He took the hoe, raised it high, used his legs for leverage, and accurately dug towards the front of a clump of sweet potato leaves. In just a few strokes, he dug out several connected sweet potatoes.
Upon seeing his posture while holding the hoe, Yu Huan was immediately surprised: "Dad, you look quite professional!"
“In the present-day city, places with ‘Ling’ or ‘Tang’ in their names used to be in the countryside. I lived in Dongtang when I was a child, a little outside the South Gate, which was a village on the outskirts of the city. My family even had a vegetable garden,” Old Lin explained as he continued digging sweet potatoes.
"No wonder." Yu Huan nodded in sudden understanding. Old Lin dug out two more sweet potato plants, and Yu Huan hurriedly went over, bending down to pick up the large bunches of sweet potatoes as he said:
"Let's go fishing first. My parents can come and get the sweet potatoes this afternoon; they don't have anything else to do anyway."
"it is good."
The moment fishing was mentioned, Old Lin, who was still slightly tipsy, immediately perked up.
Yu Huan tidied up inside and out, and found a dusty plastic box in the storage room, which she rinsed clean under the tap.
Then, put the nine washed sweet potatoes in a plastic bag, along with President Xu's large fish basket, into a plastic box.
After finishing, he immediately carried it to the trunk of the little BMW, intending to use it to carry fish later.
During this time, Old Lin stood in the sunlight in the courtyard, his back to the sun, and took out his phone to send a text message to his mother-in-law: 'We'll be having dinner at your parents' house tonight, no need to prepare any food.'
The text message had barely been sent when a reply came in: 'I understand. You're not so excited about your trip that you don't want to go home and are planning to stay overnight at your in-laws' place, are you?'
Old Lin smiled and slowly typed in a 3x3 grid: 'I'll be back after dinner.'
'Bring back some tangerines!'
'it is good. '
Old Lin put his phone back in his pocket, then looked up and saw Yu Huan standing at the back door calling to him, "Dad, get ready, we can go!"
Old Lin nodded, then strolled over to the three fish-killing group and said with a smile, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, and eldest sister, thank you for your hard work. We'll go fishing now."
"Hey, have fun!" Auntie replied with a smile, while rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand as if scratching an itch.
"Old Lin, I'll have a few more drinks with you tonight!" Old Yu immediately responded.
Old Lin looked at Old Yu and said with a smile, "A little wine is good for the mood, but too much wine is bad for your health. Two or three glasses of that kind of wine at noon are fine."
Teacher Wu smiled and added, "Indeed, people your age should drink in moderation."
"Dad, Mom, if you're free this afternoon, could you please dig up some more sweet potatoes? We want to take them with us," Yu Huan interjected, then paused and added, "We'll pack them into three portions."
Upon hearing this, Lao Yu immediately understood and replied without hesitation, "Okay."
After a brief conversation, the father-in-law and son-in-law walked one after the other through the door into the main room.
"Xiao Yu." Old Lin suddenly called out to Yu Huan in a low voice.
Yu Huan stopped and turned around upon hearing the sound.
Seeing the slight confusion on his son-in-law's face, Old Lin asked in a low voice:
"Does your second uncle still have any tangerines?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Huan thought to herself that Old Lin's first visit was indeed not as relaxed and casual as he appeared; he was still a bit reserved.
He couldn't help but chuckle, and lowered his voice to ask, "Mom wants some?"
"Hmm." Old Lin nodded.
After a moment's thought, Yu Huan said, "Let's go fishing first. I'll message Yu Chengcheng later and ask her to pick some for us."
At this moment, the old man and President Xu were already fully prepared and waiting outside the gate.
The sun hanging in the sky, like a ripe orange tangerine, slowly sank towards the horizon.
As it set in the west, the originally scorching and dazzling light gradually became soft and warm, draping the entire earth in a golden afterglow.
Before we knew it, the sky had darkened.
Around 7 p.m., after a hearty meal and a cup of tea, the two groups waved goodbye.
"Orange, you still have so many snacks with me. You should eat them before you go back to New York!" Yu Huan leaned out of the wide-open car window and teased Yu Chengcheng.
"You don't need to tell me, I'll definitely go and eat it!" Yu Chengcheng waved her hand with a smile.
Yu Huan immediately stepped on the gas, urging the BMW to take Lao Lin and President Xu on their return journey.
The trunk was already packed full.
Having barely rested all day, everyone felt somewhat tired. President Xu and Lao Lin, having drunk some wine, were even more drowsy.
Yu Huan glanced at President Xu through the rearview mirror and saw that he had tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes, probably asleep.
So Yu Huan quickly reached out and turned the knob on the center console to lower the music volume.
Old Lin yawned wearily, and listening to his daughter's melodious singing, he suddenly said, "Yesterday your mother told me that You Rong's very popular song right now, the one called 'It's You,' was written by you?"
Yu Huan gripped the steering wheel, carefully considering Lao Lin's words.
My mother-in-law really doesn't say much.
Perhaps he was worried that Lao Lin would be unhappy to find out that his son-in-law had also gotten involved in the entertainment industry?
However, it seems that remarkable results have indeed been achieved, which is why the mother-in-law took the initiative to talk to Lao Lin about it.
Yu Huan certainly wouldn't go around brazenly spreading the news to show off, so it wasn't until more than a week later that Lao Lin found out the truth.
The current trend is to keep a low profile and focus on developing your skills quietly.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he said, "To be precise, I wrote a total of three poems, but only one has been released so far."
"Really?" Old Lin's expression was one of utter astonishment.
Just one song was already beyond his expectations. When his mother-in-law mentioned it yesterday, he could hardly believe his ears; it was utterly astonishing.
Upon learning that his son-in-law's song was so popular, Old Lin was filled with emotion.
Thankfully, he mentioned matchmaking at the hospital, which helped find a good spouse for his daughter.
When I came over today, I found that this family has a very good family tradition and upbringing; they are all hardworking people.
Aside from a slight difference in social standing, they are a perfect match in every way.
However, since both sides are only children, this isn't a big problem.
Old Lin pondered.
"Yes." Yu Huan smiled slightly and gave an affirmative answer.
Old Lin gave Yu Huan a deep look: "I listened to your composition 'It's You.' The melody is indeed very good and catchy, but it feels a bit too noisy."
"Dad, do you like listening to ballads?"
"What is a 'Balala Song'?" Old Lin asked curiously.
"It's the kind of ballad with a very slow tempo."
"almost."
Upon hearing this, Yu Huan smiled and said, "The second song I wrote for Rongrong is 'Balala.' Everyone has different musical preferences, but you should like this song."
He deliberately emphasized the word 'write'.
"Great! Be sure to tell me as soon as your second song is released," Old Lin said expectantly.
Hearing Lao Lin's explanation that he still wanted to create something, Yu Huan smiled helplessly and said:
"no problem."
(End of this chapter)