jdhmnovel Chapter 189 This is... the mother-in-law?
Chapter 189 This is... the mother-in-law?
Listening to their conversation, everyone learned that Lu Yuan and Qiao Manman had been dating for a while, but they hadn't made it public.
"Uncle Captain, Aunt Xie, it's cold outside, let's go inside and chat!"
Wang Defa waved his hand: "You guys go back first, I'll go find Runming's wife."
"Uncle Captain, my mother is home. Today, my father and my distant cousin are feeding the pigs."
"Oh, I know."
Lu Yuan offered, "Uncle, I'll go. You and Manman go home and rest."
"No need, no need. The road over there is difficult to travel. You and Man go back. I'll be there shortly."
Lu Yuan nodded, pulled out the back seat, and invited Xie Susu and Qiao Manman to come in and sit down.
The mother and daughter got in hand in hand. Lu Yuan closed the door, walked around to the driver's seat, started the car, and drove towards the foot of the mountain.
The group exchanged bewildered glances: "How did they get together? How did they manage to keep it all a secret?"
"I don't think that's important. What's important is, how did she know that Lu Zhiqing wasn't Lu Zhiqing, but Battalion Commander Lu?"
They exchanged a glance, their hearts aching.
How can someone be so lucky? They have a good job, a good partner, are beautiful, and are loved by their parents.
Seriously, comparing goods makes you want to throw them away, comparing people makes you want to die.
***
Sitting in the back seat, Qiao Manman raised her hand and slapped Lu Yuan: "Lu, why didn't you tell me you were coming? What if I looked disheveled and Auntie laughed at me?"
Before Lu Yuan could respond, she turned her head and said with a grin, "Auntie, I didn't use any force, I was just playing around with him."
Xie Susu nodded in agreement: "He deserved it! I told him to rest and come back tomorrow, but he wouldn't listen. Oh my, he was so eager, he couldn't wait to marry you the next second."
"Ms. Xie Susu, I would like to remind you to speak objectively and fairly."
"What, aren't you in a hurry?" Xie Susu raised an eyebrow, looking like she was asking for a beating, saying, "You little brat, let's see if you dare to deny it."
Lu Yuan chuckled and replied, "Urgent! It's just that you said you were worried the snow would be too heavy tomorrow and it would take several days, so you insisted that I go to the Armed Forces Department to borrow a car."
"Hey, I was just kidding, why did you take it seriously!"
Lu Yuan glanced at the rearview mirror and, seeing that Qiao Manman wasn't angry, nodded: "I wanted to see Manman, so I'll just go with the flow!"
"See? I told you you had him wrapped around your little finger. He's so old and only now starting to date, it's like an old house catching fire."
One sentence made them both blush. Qiao Manman glanced at Lu Yuan with a flushed face and saw that his back was straight, but his ears were tinged with a blush.
The car quickly arrived at its destination. Qiao Manman got out of the car and helped Xie Susu, afraid that she might slip and fall.
The door was ajar, but it opened with a push. Big Yellow stood in the threshold, wagging its tail, looking at the group curiously, and even barked twice.
"Big Yellow, this is our guest!"
Big Yellow whimpered, sniffed the scents of Lu Yuan and Xie Susu, and went back to its nest to lie down.
"This dog is strangely intelligent!"
Qiao Manman nodded: "Dahuang is very smart, it can even go up the mountain to catch rabbits."
She called out into the house, "Mother, Lu Yuan is here!"
She turned her head and said, "Lu Yuan, you go with Auntie to the kitchen to warm up first. I'm going to check on my mother."
Lu Yuan nodded, and Qiao Manman jogged into the house. She saw that He Nian looked somewhat nervous.
"Girl, why did he suddenly come? He didn't even tell me beforehand, I wasn't prepared at all!"
Qiao Manman sighed, "I already mentioned him. I guess he was worried that the snow would be too heavy and the roads would be difficult to travel, so he came early."
He Nian thought about it and agreed: "Soldiers' holidays are short and can't be delayed."
As she put on her shoes and cotton-padded coat, she went out and saw two people standing by the car, smiling at her.
"This is...my in-laws' mother?"
Qiao Manman reminded her, "Mom, we're not engaged yet, don't call me that!"
"Then, how should I address you, Sister-in-law Lu?"
Xie Susu said with a smile, "Let's call her 'mother-in-law'!"
She stepped forward and took He Nian's arm: "My surname is Xie, and my name is Xie Susu. I'm a few years older than you, so you can call me Sister-in-law Lu or Sister Xie, it's fine."
However, I prefer the title "mother-in-law".
Seeing how gentle she was, He Nian felt relieved. She invited Xie Susu inside, saying, "You must be freezing after coming all this way! Come inside and warm up!"
"Okay!" he said, turning his head. "Xiao Yuan, carry the gifts!"
Lu Yuan grunted in agreement, opened the trunk, took out the suitcase and packages, carried them into the house, and made two trips.
Qiao Manman poured hot water for everyone and made two cups of malted milk powder and two cups of green tea, letting Xie Susu choose for herself.
Xie Susu smelled the fragrance in the air and her eyes lit up: "I haven't smelled this tea fragrance in a long time."
"Manman, the old man hid the tea you sent to Kyoto. We can only get a cup when we have guests."
Qiao Manman smiled and said, "I bought a lot, and I still have some at home. I'll bring you two cans when I leave."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" he said, picking up the enamel mug, bringing it to his nose, and taking a sniff, looking quite pleased with himself.
Lu Yuan said, "My mother doesn't like sweets, and she usually likes to drink coffee and green tea."
Qiao Manman raised an eyebrow: "Looks like I've figured out how to get my mother-in-law to open her heart to me!"
The tea trees in the space are growing particularly well, and a while ago she discovered coffee trees on the small hill where she recently checked in.
With such energy and nourishment, both the coffee and tea are of exceptional quality.
Lu Yuan secretly grasped Qiao Manman's hand: "Your ability to manipulate me is more powerful than anything else."
Qiao Manman withdrew her hand and gave a haughty "humph": "Didn't you say you'd be back soon? Why have you been delayed for so long?"
Lu Yuan chuckled: "I got promoted!"
He returned to his unit and reported his mission. He expected to be suppressed, but to his surprise, after a meeting, the leadership decided to promote him.
Knowing the gravity of the situation, Lu Yuan immediately wrote the necessary documents and went through the proper procedures to be promoted from "deputy" to "head." At the same time, he submitted a marriage report and applied for housing.
After finishing my work, I rushed back to Kyoto to discuss my wedding with my family.
Everyone in the family was looking forward to seeing Qiao Manman, but they were all busy with work, and only Xie Susu was able to take time off.
Therefore, Ms. Xie was chosen as the representative to propose marriage.
Of course, there was also an element of observation, to determine the family's attitude towards Qiao Manman based on her character.
Xie Susu was very satisfied with the meeting. She felt that her son was truly worthy of his choice, picking such an interesting girl.
And generous.
The four chatted casually when they heard the door open. Qiao Manman went out to see what was happening and found that it was the brigade leader, accompanied by Aunt Xianghui, the brigade's famous matchmaker.
"Well, Comrade Xie, I thought you were all busy with work, so I took the liberty of inviting a matchmaker to witness this. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all, Captain Wang is very thoughtful. I should be thanking you!"
He then invited Wang Xianghui into the house, saying, "Sister, our Lu family sincerely wants to marry the Qiao family's daughter. We would be grateful if you could help us mediate!"
Wang Xianghui was a little out of sorts, thinking to herself, "We've already decided to propose marriage, so why do I still need to mediate?"