"No," Qi Chengyan said coldly.
There was nothing to say anyway.
"Qi Chengyan!"
He ignored her, and Qi's mother had to step forward herself.
"What, you came to the countryside and don't even want to recognize your own mother?"
Zhou Qi solicitously helped Qi's mother, chiding, "Brother Yan, you can be angry with me, but there's no need to treat Mom like this, is there? She came all this way to see you."
Cheng You scoffed, "You just said you were here about your own matters and wanted an explanation from me. Now you're saying you came to see your son?"
"I'm talking to my son, and it's not your place to interrupt!" Qi's mother snapped at Cheng You.
Cheng You smiled coldly, "That's an old-fashioned way of thinking, isn't it? You're talking to my husband, why can't I speak?"
Qi Yang quickly intervened, "Mom, can you please speak properly? Do you have to make things so tense? This isn't your home, and no one is obligated to indulge you."
Zhou Qi couldn't help but speak up for Qi's mother, "Sister, how can you talk to Mom like that?"
"You shut up! I'm saying the same thing to you. This isn't your home, and you have no business babbling here!"
Qi Yang had tolerated him for a long time.
In the past, her parents at home would protect her, and she would just let it go.
Now, with Cheng You here, she felt inexplicably emboldened.
Qi's mother was so angry she almost lost her balance, trembling slightly.
This was the first time anyone had defied her like this.
"If I had known you were so unfilial, I shouldn't have given birth to you in the first place!"
Qi Yang sneered, "Even if you hadn't given birth to us, you wouldn't be able to turn Zhou Qi into your own son."
She raised her hand and patted Cheng You's head. "Let's go, Little Youzi, we need to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner."
Cheng You was a bit surprised. Was this Qi's mother some kind of idiot? To have such a relationship with her own children and dote on an adopted son.
She followed Qi Yang out and glanced back at the doorway.
"You two hurry up and leave, don't be a nuisance here. You're not celebrating the New Year, but we are!"
Zhou Qi watched their figures disappear through the doorway, feeling a sense of unwillingness.
"Mom, are we just going to let it go at that?"
Qi's mother sneered and adjusted the shawl around her shoulders.
To maintain an air of composure, she hadn't worn a coat, only a cashmere shawl.
Now she was stiff with cold and hadn't even had a cup of hot tea.
This wasn't quite what she had envisioned.
She had expected a country girl to be easy to handle, someone who would at least show her respect as a mother-in-law, if not grovel.
"Let it go? I came all this way, how could I just let it go!"
She tightened her cashmere shawl and walked out quickly, following Cheng You and the others.
She stopped after watching them enter a house, gritting her teeth.
Such a rundown place, and Qi Yang and Qi Chengyan chose to stay here for the New Year?
What a joke.
She walked over, knowing that this was likely Cheng You and Qi Chengyan's home.
They had agreed to send him away to lie low, but he refused and quietly signed up to come to the countryside.
He deserved to suffer here!
"Little Youzi, how are you going to prepare these offal?"
As soon as Qi's mother entered, she saw Qi Yang carrying a bag of pig innards.
She recoiled in disgust.
Poor families couldn't even afford meat, so they had to eat things like this.
"Qi Yang, come home with me quickly!"
Qi Yang said helplessly, "I'm not going. I'm celebrating the New Year with my brother this year. You three have your loving family time, I don't want to be an eyesore."
These words sounded like jealousy to Qi's mother.
Her expression softened somewhat, "What are you saying? You're my daughter, and I care about you. I just nagged you a bit about getting married, you're the one with the temper."
Qi Yang ignored her and took out the pig intestines from the bag.
Cheng You came out from inside. "Sister, you need to wear gloves to handle these. Don't touch them, let Qi Chengyan do it."
Qi's mother: "..." Even more infuriated.
"Is this how you order your man around? Do you know who he is? His hands are meant for holding guns, how can they handle such dirty things!"
Qi's mother trembled with anger. Her son was the youngest deputy regiment commander in the military region!
Cheng You looked bewildered, as if she didn't understand why she was angry.
"Who is he? He's my man."
Qi's mother thought she was pretending to be stupid and needed to teach her a lesson.
"These tasks are meant for women to do, how can you let a man do them!"
Cheng You looked at her and gestured towards the pig intestines.
"Then you do it?"
Qi's mother froze. "I'm your mother-in-law, how can you order me around!"
Cheng You retorted, "Did your mother-in-law ever order you to do these things?"
Qi Yang wanted to give Cheng You a thumbs-up. She had rarely seen anyone shut her mother down so effectively.
Her family had a nanny, and Qi's mother had lived a pampered life since childhood, so she had naturally never done such chores.
Qi Chengyan naturally put on gloves and skillfully began to clean the pig intestines.
Living a life with Cheng You was simply about the three meals and four seasons.
He wanted to participate in everything, regardless of whether it was hard work.
Qi's mother watched, dumbfounded, as if she were shocked, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"Qi Chengyan, do you know what you're doing!"
Qi Chengyan glanced at her. "Do you not see what I'm doing?"
Of course, he was helping his wife.
Qi's mother said sternly, "This is self-degradation!"
Cheng You couldn't be bothered. Isn't this how everyone lived? How was this degradation?
Making a meal for her own family was like facing a life-or-death situation. It was ridiculous.
Qi's mother wanted to step forward and stop him, but the smell of the pig intestines made her eyes water.
She could only grab Zhou Qi's hand and command, "Ah Qi, go up quickly and stop your brother!"
Zhou Qi's scalp tingled. He found it disgusting too.
"Mom, let's just forget it. Brother Yan wants to do it himself, we can't stop him."
Qi Chengyan quickly finished cleaning the pig intestines, took off his gloves, and placed them on a clean plate.
He then took out the remaining offal and asked Cheng You, "What are these for?"
"To make soup, I learned a new recipe. I'll let you all try it later."
Small intestines, liver, lungs, with a little lean meat, boiled into a clear soup, simply seasoned, with some chopped green onions, it would be delicious.
"You clean the yard first. We'll have lunch, and then we'll prepare the New Year's Eve dinner."
The New Year's Eve dinner would be with Uncle Li's family as usual, so they needed to prepare quite a few dishes.
Qi Chengyan nodded and began to tidy up the yard.
Qi's mother watched, stunned. How could he do these things so naturally?
"Qi Chengyan, do you plan to never return to Yancheng for the rest of your life!"
To live a pathetic life in this small mountain village forever.
Qi Chengyan scoffed mockingly, "A good-for-nothing like me deserves to hide in the countryside forever. Didn't you say that?"
Qi's mother's face turned pale. She had said that in a fit of anger in front of Zhou Qi.
At that time, after the incident in the military, his leg was injured, and everyone was laughing at her Qi family.
She had originally contacted her maternal family, hoping to send Qi Chengyan to the border to lie low.
Unexpectedly, he had deceived everyone and signed up to come to the countryside.
She was so disappointed that he wasn't living up to expectations that she said those words in front of Zhou Qi.