The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 114 - 112: Harmonious Family

Chapter 114: Chapter 112: Harmonious Family

Jiang Nanzhou saw that everyone was bored with the conversation, so he brought out the fruit they had brought back from Yangjiang.

He asked Shen Mu to fetch a knife from the kitchen and cracked open the jackfruit.

He was ready to take advantage of the free time to peel some and let everyone have a taste.

"This thing is too heavy, so we only brought back two."

Big Brother Shen said curiously, "I saw this fruit on a business trip to Yangcheng City the year before last. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to buy any."

Lu Jingqiu peeled a longan for Shen Yuxian, and since she didn’t know how to feed a child, she let her sister-in-law do it.

Wei Ling tried one and commented, "Hmm, this has a lot of juice. Ah, thanks to our second brother and sister-in-law, we’re getting to eat rare fruits."

Shen Mu and Shen Ting helped Jiang Nanzhou peel the jackfruit; it was too sticky and got all over their hands, but after tasting a piece, it was quite good.

Shen Mu said with regret, "Xiuya mentioned before that she wanted to join you guys for a few days in Yangjiang. If she sees this, she’s definitely going to blame me."

Shen Ting said, "Big sister, second sister, I’m graduating next year. Brother Wenhong and I can go over there and get some for you guys; I’m pretty strong."

Big Brother Shen asked, "How did you get friendly with Wenhong? He’s married, you know."

"Oh, Big Brother, Brother Wenhong is my second brother’s good friend. When you guys weren’t around, he looked after me."

Jiang Nanzhou asked, "Where did Wenhong go?"

"He went to Yangcheng City."

Jiang Nanzhou didn’t ask further, guessing what that kid was up to.

Mrs. Shen and Father Shen were quick; within fifteen minutes, the remaining dishes were all ready.

The family hadn’t even started their meal, but they were already enjoying the fruits brought back by the couple.

These days, it was a delight for any family to eat an apple even a few times a year, let alone other fruits.

Some families did grow some fruit trees of their own; around here, it was mostly persimmon and pomegranate trees, which would be ready to pick in another month.

At the dinner table, Mrs. Shen had a smile on her face but didn’t talk much. Father Shen, however, was enthusiastic, asking when they planned to have the wedding. Having lived a previous life, when it came to his own affairs, he really didn’t know how to respond.

Jiang Nanzhou smiled and replied, "We’ve already started discussing it with Uncle Lu."

Father Shen said, "I’ll give Uncle Lu a call one of these days. You’re not getting any younger. Getting married won’t interfere with Jingqiu’s schooling."

Mrs. Shen asked, "Jingqiu, what do you think?"

Lu Jingqiu said, "I’ll listen to the elders."

Mrs. Shen was satisfied inside and urged her to eat more.

Big Brother Shen said, "Xiao Mu mentioned that our sister-in-law is also an educated youth from the same commune as him. Speaking of which, it seems destiny has brought Jingqiu to our family; it was meant to be."

Shen Mu hadn’t expected that Lu Jingqiu, who used to be haughty and headstrong, had changed so much after leaving Gao Shu, becoming much gentler. She got along well with the Educated Youth Spot crowd, and after returning to the city, she found a job and even got into university. Now she was actually his sister-in-law.

Mrs. Shen had heard that her second son had a girlfriend and learned she was an educated youth from the same place as him, so she asked him a lot about it.

Shen Mu only mentioned the later parts of the story; he never brought up the conflicts between Lu Jingqiu and Xia Lin.

Of course, in reality, he still disapproved of some of Xia Lin’s actions, and it wasn’t all Lu Jingqiu’s fault at that time.

Father Shen smiled, "In the future, our big family will get better and better." Father Shen was already in his fifties this year and worked at the Bureau of Statistics, holding a leadership position there.

Mother Shen worked at a financial office as a director, and both their salaries were quite high. Their eldest was in the Education Bureau, and their daughter-in-law was a teacher, so they didn’t need to worry about them.

Nanzhou hadn’t needed their care since junior high school. With the youngest two left at home, their third child had been admitted to university and received a subsidy. The couple were worried that he wasn’t eating well at school would subsidize him a bit. The youngest child was rather frugal, reluctant to spend money they gave him.

The couple had it tougher in the earlier years, after all, raising four children, all boys, who could eat as much in one meal as other families in a whole day.

Fortunately, they had some savings, Nanzhou’s grandfather had subsidized the children a lot, and Shen Cheng’s uncle worked in a transport team and would also give them subsidies from time to time. They got through those years and saw better days ahead. As Father Shen got promoted, even more people became envious of them.

As for having so many children without following the national policy, Father Shen, as a leader, didn’t set a good example. Father Shen thought he might not stay in his position, but he didn’t want his children to suffer in the countryside. However, out of consideration for them, the children secretly signed up to go down to the Educated Youth Spot.

Shen Qinghai, though his life had been full of ups and downs, was blessed with a good wife and children.

Jingqiu was also curious how Shen Cheng and Nanzhou, brothers from a blended family, could get along so well, not to mention Shen Mu and Shen Ting seeming to admire their two older brothers a lot.

She couldn’t help but admire Father Shen and Mother Shen for raising them well.

After dinner, Mother Shen washed some fruits, and the family sat together to chat for a while.

Then came the question of where they would have their wedding—here or in West City.

This stumped both Lu Jingqiu and Jiang Nanzhou.

They hadn’t thought about this issue at all.

Jiang Nanzhou looked at Lu Jingqiu, wanting to hear her opinion.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Jingqiu said, "Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, why don’t the elders discuss it with my dad? We don’t really understand these things, wherever is fine for us."

Mother Shen said, "Nanzhou’s grandmother left him a courtyard house. If you want to have it here, I’ll talk to your grandfather and have it fixed up for your wedding home."

Father Shen said, "With Nanzhou’s position, he can be stationed with the troops. The young couple should not live apart."

As a teacher, Wei Fang considered things systematically but as a sister-in-law, she couldn’t interfere too much, simply reminding them, "Dad, Aunt Yang, have you forgotten that Jingqiu is attending university in West City and Nanzhou is in the West City Military Region? They’ll be away from Capital City for at least four or five years."

Shen Mu said, "Mom and dad, we’ll be assigned to work after graduation, we don’t know where we’ll end up."

Jiang Nanzhou said, "Uncle Shen, Mom, don’t worry about where to live. We can stay either at Grandpa’s place or the courtyard house in Capital City. I plan to buy a place in West City, somewhere closer to Jingqiu’s school. I won’t apply for military housing for now. Uncle Lu only has Jingqiu as a daughter and wouldn’t want her to be too far away. On Saturdays and Sundays, Jingqiu can still come back to the compound to stay."

Mrs. Shen said, "Since you’ve thought it through, we won’t worry about the housing. Regarding the marriage, we adults will discuss it further."

Big Brother Shen suggested, "It’s best to choose a holiday, after all, those who work work, and those who study study. On a holiday, whether here or there, it’s suitable for everyone."

Lu Jingqiu hadn’t expected that on her first visit they would start discussing marriage and housing. She felt nervous yet somewhat expectant, not knowing why.

Perhaps it was because of the good family atmosphere at the Shen Family, lacking any scheming or problems between siblings and their spouses.

Because of this, Lu Jingqiu had many questions she wanted to ask Jiang Nanzhou.

Jiang Nanzhou also seemed to have something to say to her. Instead of hurrying to cycle her back after leaving the house, he pushed the bike with one hand while holding hers with the other, walking slowly with her.

"Are you wondering why I call him Uncle Shen and my brother calls my mom Aunt Yang?"

Lu Jingqiu nodded, "From the way you interact, it doesn’t seem like there are any barriers."