Chapter 528: Chapter 526: A Mother’s Heart

Jiang Feng looked at the task and fell into deep thought.

He could probably understand the meaning behind the game issuing this task. Although Zhao Mei hadn’t starved recently, she had been avoiding meals to escape the Braised Meat, leading to an extremely irregular eating pattern, which was clearly very unhealthy behavior for a soon-to-be mother.

Originally, she had come back to her mother’s house to nurture her pregnancy better, but after returning home, she couldn’t even guarantee stable meals, eating as if she was engaging in guerrilla warfare. Advance when the enemy advances, retreat when the enemy retreats, she was short of employing all 36 stratagems.

The thought was a little heart-wrenching.

But how should he complete this task?

Jiang Feng was well aware of Tian Lin’s culinary skills; when it came to meat dishes, she either neglected to season them or over-seasoned them, hovering between serving food that could kill and couldn’t. Her cooking skills were at a basic level where she could only boil noodles well, and while she could manage simple vegetables, anything slightly more complicated was beyond her.

To put it bluntly, teaching Tian Lin to cook was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. It wasn’t because Tian Lin was a beginner; on the contrary, she had been in charge of the Zhao Family’s kitchen for decades and had developed her own set of cooking theories. Even if those theories were wrong, Jiang Feng couldn’t easily correct them.

With these worries in mind, Jiang Feng left the bathroom and returned to Zhao Mei’s room.

Everyone had already started eating glutinous rice balls, each holding a bowl and spoon, with the plump rice balls floating adorably in the bowls.

Among them all, Zhao Mei’s husband was eating the most cheerfully, and indeed, he was the one who suffered the most these days. Zhao Mei could use feeling sleepy to avoid meal times, but he couldn’t. Not only that, but he also had to forcibly grin and bear his mother-in-law’s ‘lovingly’ prepared Braised Meat, assist his wife in guerrilla warfare, provide her with food, and apologize to his wife when necessary—and even when not necessary.

Zhao Mei, having eaten 5 buns and two or three glutinous rice balls, felt full and scooped the remaining balls into her husband’s bowl, not forgetting to praise Jiang Feng, “How about it, my cousin’s skills are not bad, right?”

“Excellent, amazing!” Zhao Mei’s husband exclaimed, devouring the rice balls.

“Eat slower, chew more. Glutinous rice balls are made from sticky rice; if you eat too fast, they won’t be easy to digest,” Zhao Mei advised.

Seeing everyone eating glutinous rice balls, Zhao Mei leaned on the bed and slowly got up.

Because she was about to give birth and was carrying twins, Zhao Mei’s belly was incredibly large, making her originally round face, neck, hands, and somewhat swollen feet look very delicate by comparison.

Seeing Zhao Mei getting up to move, her husband quickly helped her into her coat and followed behind her.

“It’s warm inside with the air conditioning, so you all stay here. I’ll go out and talk with Third Grandma and the others, and also get some exercise,” Zhao Mei said with a smile, supporting her belly and walking out.

Zhao Mei’s room was indeed much warmer than outside. Going out not only meant facing the cold but also the risk of being forced to consume a bowl of Braised Meat by the uncle. Therefore, everyone obediently stayed inside, continuing to eat their glutinous rice balls while chatting.

“Meimei’s belly is so big, isn’t it exhausting for her to walk like this?” Jiang Junqing exclaimed.

“The more so, the more she needs to move around,” Jiang Shoucheng said. “But I feel that Meimei has changed a lot.”

“She has become gentler,” Jiang Zaidi agreed, nodding.

Jiang Feng was busy eating his glutinous rice balls and couldn’t join the conversation, only intermittently nodding his head and listening to everyone discuss how pregnant women endure hardship and difficulties.

It was only after Jiang Feng finished his bowl that he joined the discussion group.

“Cheng, isn’t it a bit bad for Meimei to have such irregular meals?” Jiang Feng asked.

“It isn’t great, but if it’s just for a few days, it should be okay. I see that Meimei is quite rosy and often gets down to walk around; her state is not bad,” Jiang Shoucheng said. “Plus, Sir’s family won’t be able to stew meat for many days; they can’t have that much Wuhua pork to keep up with Aunt’s cooking.”

Although Jiang Shoucheng’s words made sense, since the game had issued a task, Jiang Feng couldn’t just sit on his hands.

He decided to take a turn in the kitchen first to see if there was any space for intervention.

“I’ll check out the kitchen,” Jiang Feng said, getting up.

No sooner had Jiang Feng stepped out when he overheard the voice of Aunt talking with Zhao Mei in the living room. As he passed by, he glanced in and saw Zhao Mei sitting central like a star, the center of attention, surrounded by a group of elders, while her uncle sat on the side laughing and drinking tea, all in high spirits.

Jiang Feng briskly walked toward the kitchen and before even entering, he heard voices coming from inside, Mrs. Jiang and Tian Lin conversing.

Since the Zhao Family’s kitchen was small, he could see everything inside from the doorway. Realizing they were discussing Zhao Mei’s issue, Jiang Feng did not enter directly but instead eavesdropped from the doorway.

Tian Lin was washing vegetables while Mrs. Jiang was helping her pick vegetable leaves.

“Aunt, this isn’t me overthinking things, I’m sure Meimei is being bullied at her in-laws’ place,” Tian Lin said with a worried look, “Lately, I’ve sensed that something was off with her; I feel like she’s been hiding something from me. Ever since she was little, Meimei has shared everything with me. If she isn’t being mistreated by her in-laws, why else would she keep secrets from me?”

Mrs. Jiang picked through the vegetables indifferently, offering comfort, “Zhuangshi, you’re just prone to worrying. I just saw Meimei, and she seemed to be in a good mood. Her husband seems like a decent man, very earnest. Whenever she walked ahead, he’d follow right behind her, obviously very attentive to Meimei. Besides, didn’t you tell me that Meimei doesn’t live with her in-laws? Meimei is a smart girl, not someone who would get easily bullied.”

“No, I’m sure she is being bullied. Aunt, I went to the city especially to ask a doctor, and the doctor said pregnant women experience significant emotional fluctuations; they can make a mountain out of a molehill over trifles. Meimei was fine before, but ever since Zhu (Zhao Mei’s husband) arrived, she suddenly lost her appetite. There must be something Zhu did that reminded her of something upsetting. What could be so disturbing that it made her unable to eat?” As Tian Lin spoke, she abruptly put down the potato she was holding.

“Could it be that Zhu abuses her?”

“Tut-tut-tut, what are you talking about? How could you even speak of such things, careful not to ruin the harmony between Meimei and Zhu. Zhuangshi, don’t you trust your aunt? When have I ever misjudged a person in all these years? There used to be so many wife beaters in our village; don’t you think I’d be aware of their type? Zhu is definitely not one of them; he’s clearly an honest lad. It looks to me like you’re the one with wild thoughts instead of Meimei.” Mrs. Jiang was stern, “Don’t talk nonsense like that again. You’re grown up now; don’t you understand such basic principles?”

Tian Lin knew she had spoken recklessly, “But Aunt, why did Meimei suddenly lose her appetite?”

“Meimei looked quite rosy to me, not like someone who hasn’t been eating. How could she not have an appetite?” Mrs. Jiang questioned.

“Ever since Meimei was a child, I don’t know what happened, but every time mealtime comes around, she just gets sleepy. She doesn’t want to eat anything, only willing to drink some soup and have something light. Meimei used to love Braised Meat when she was young; she’d light up at the sight of it during the New Year’s, able to eat two big bowls at a go. Seeing her lack of appetite, I’ve been getting up before dawn to make Braised Meat for her, even picking out the fattiest cuts for her, but Meimei always says she isn’t hungry and doesn’t want it, she would rather have something sweet instead.”

Mrs. Jiang: …

A brief silence fell in the kitchen.

“Listen, Zhuangshi,” Mrs. Jiang didn’t quite know what to say, “Braised Meat can indeed be too greasy for pregnant women; perhaps it doesn’t suit her. From now on, you should cook less Braised Meat for Meimei; just make her some meatball soup in the morning.”

“How could she be averse to it? When I was pregnant with Meimei, I remember it was also during the Spring Festival, and I relished eating two bowls of Braised Meat every day,” Tian Lin disagreed.

Mrs. Jiang was at a loss for words.

“Just thinking about it makes me worry; I feel like Meimei has lost quite a bit of weight these past few days,” said Tian Lin with a face full of concern.

“Zhuangshi, take my advice; cook less Braised Meat. Maybe if you do, Meimei’s appetite will improve,” Mrs. Jiang suggested meekly.

“Actually, Aunt, I came today to ask Uncle for a favor,” Tian Lin began.

“What is it?”

“Meimei has been having cravings for sweets lately because of her lack of appetite, but she can’t have too much because she’s pregnant. It’s not nutritious only eating sweets without meat. When I got married to Zhuangshi, the city was repairing the dam, and you found Zhuangshi a job carrying bags, but he wasn’t well, so I took over. During that time, I would eat and stay at your place, do you remember?” Tian Lin asked.

“Of course, I remember,” Mrs. Jiang replied.

“There was this one time Uncle made Braised Meat, I think with bamboo shoots, and it was sweet and incredibly tasty. Meimei hasn’t been having much of an appetite and wants something sweet, so I was thinking, what if Meimei would like to eat sweet Braised Meat? That’s why I wanted to ask if Uncle still remembers how he made that dish. If he does, could he teach me?” Tian Lin requested.

Mrs. Jiang remembered when Tian Lin came to the city to carry bags but didn’t recall that particular Braised Meat dish. Having eaten Sir’s cooking for decades, there wasn’t a single Braised Meat dish that would linger in her memory, even if it was sweet.

“I’ll ask him for you, and even if Weiguo doesn’t remember, I’ll have him show you something else. A different recipe might just be to Meimei’s taste,” Mrs. Jiang began to speak truthfully.

“Thank you for the trouble.”

Jiang Feng stood at the doorway, stunned.

He realized that he and Zhao Mei had both fallen into a misunderstanding.

Zhao Mei couldn’t stomach the Braised Meat and didn’t want to disappoint Tian Lin by directly telling her it was too unpleasant for her to eat, so she chose to use “Lies” to deceive Tian Lin.

That deception stemmed from Zhao Mei’s concern as a daughter and her desire not to disappoint her mother.

They only thought about how to deceive Tian Lin, making her believe that Zhao Mei just wasn’t hungry and not that she disliked the Braised Meat. However, they overlooked the fact that Tian Lin was making Braised Meat out of a mother’s concern and love for her daughter. Tian Lin always remembered how Zhao Mei loved eating Braised Meat as a child, so she believed making Braised Meat for Zhao Mei during the New Year was showing her the greatest care because Braised Meat was the best food she could offer Zhao Mei.

Completing this task was actually quite simple, just as indicated in the mission tips: teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish.

Tian Lin needed to learn how to make truly delicious Braised Meat so she could pass on that acceptable form of care to Zhao Mei.

The heart of a loving mother.

Jiang Feng entered the kitchen.