Chapter 328: Chapter 201: Taking Shen Baobao back to the hometown! A series of unexpected encounters at the entrance of the scenic area! [Request for Monthly Ticket]
「Morning.」
After Lin Xu got up, his mother had already prepared their meal.
Today, they were having tofu pudding.
Last night, after returning from the Shen Family’s place, Chen Meijuan had soaked some soybeans. In the morning, she used a soy milk machine to turn them into soy milk, filtered it, and then followed an online tutorial to make a smooth, fragrant tofu pudding.
Besides the tofu pudding, there were also small fried dough sticks, vegetable pastries, sugar cakes, and fried sliced steamed buns.
Well, they were going back to their hometown today. Instead of letting the leftover steamed buns in the fridge go to waste or get freezer burn, it was better to slice and fry them.
After washing up in the bathroom, Lin Xu sat down at the small dining room table.
"If you want it sweet, add sugar; if you want it salty, add the savory pickle relish."
Chen Meijuan handed him a pair of chopsticks and then continued eating.
Lin Xu looked at the bowl of tofu pudding and immediately added a spoonful of a savory topping stewed from soybeans, minced celery, and minced pickled vegetables. This was a common way of eating tofu pudding in the Central Plains, and this particular kind of topping was also frequently added to other local dishes like savory soybean porridge.
He stirred the tofu pudding and savory pickle relish in the bowl with a spoon and then took a bite.
The light fragrance of the tofu pudding and the savory aroma of the pickle relish combined perfectly. The soft soybeans and crisp minced celery enriched the tofu pudding’s texture.
He picked up a small fried dough stick and took a bite with the pudding. It was absolutely wonderful!
After finishing a dough stick, Lin Xu tasted the vegetable pastries his mother had fried.
The filling of chives and eggs also contained chopped dried tofu and dried shrimp, lending it a delicious savory flavor. Paired with the pastry’s crispy yet tender crust, it brought Lin Xu right back to the joy of savoring his mother’s home cooking during school vacations.
Chen Meijuan muttered as she ate, "The weather forecast said it’s going to be up to 40 degrees today. After we finish eating, we’ll pick up Yueyue and leave."
This time, because they had to take Dundun, they couldn’t take the high-speed train and had to drive back instead.
Beijing was over five hundred kilometers from Yinzhou.
Without traffic, they could get there in five or six hours.
After finishing a bowl of savory tofu pudding, Lin Xu served himself another. Then, betraying the savory camp, he added a spoonful of White Sugar to it.
He had a long drive ahead of him today. He couldn’t eat too much salty food, or he’d easily get thirsty.
After eating and drinking their fill, they packed the clothes they needed. They also gathered a few of Dundun’s favorite scratching boards and cat toys, brought his small blanket, and prepared a disposable litter box for the car so the little fellow could use the toilet on the way.
After Chen Meijuan tidied up the kitchen, she finished packing their luggage.
Once everything was ready, they turned off all the appliances in the house, locked the door, and went downstairs.
When they got downstairs, they loaded their things into the car. Chen Meijuan held Dundun, and she and Lin Hongqi sat in the back seat.
Lin Xu put on his sunglasses, drove out of the residential complex, and turned onto the North Fourth Ring road, heading towards the Shen Family villa.
Just as he arrived at the villa entrance, he saw Shen Baobao under the shade of a tree by the gate.
The girl had her hair in a high ponytail and was wearing a white baseball cap, a white T-shirt, denim shorts, and white sneakers. She was perched on a large suitcase covered in various cartoon stickers, idly gazing towards the intersection.
Seeing the car approach, she propped herself up with the suitcase handle, her long legs scrambling to move it towards the car. As she moved, she wailed dramatically, "Uwaah! You’re finally here! My mom kicked me out early this morning and wouldn’t let me stay in the house!"
Then you must have really annoyed your mother-in-law... Lin Xu silently grumbled to himself about Shen Baobao. He then got out of the car and put the suitcase she’d been riding into the trunk.
Afterward, he went into the Shen Family’s house with his parents to bid farewell to his parents-in-law.
"Yueyue started packing before five this morning. If she couldn’t find something, she’d start yelling. She nearly drove us crazy."
When the Lin Family of three entered, Han Shuzhen was eating a chicken breast sandwich, while Shen Guofu was grimacing as he drank his coix seed porridge.
Clearly, this "healthy" meal was making his father-in-law suffer.
Lin Xu went to the cold storage room and moved all the gifts they had stored there the previous day into the car.
While he was busy, Shen Guofu brought over two more cases of Moutai and some high-end sweets and other things, stuffing the trunk until it was completely full.
Seeing that his daughter was already in the front passenger seat with her seatbelt fastened, Shen Guofu instructed, "Be polite when you get to Yinzhou. Don’t be as unruly as you are at home."
"I know, Dad! You and Mom behave at home too, okay? No sneaking snacks! I’ll bring you back yummy treats when I return!"
"Alright, alright. You should set off now while it’s still cool. It’ll get hot later."
Once his parents were in the car, Lin Xu bid farewell to his parents-in-law, "Dad, Mom, we’re leaving now. We’ll call you to let you know we’ve arrived safely."
After they bid each other farewell, Lin Xu drove away.
Watching the car disappear into the distance, Han Shuzhen sighed softly, "Why do I feel so empty now that they’ve left?"
Shen Guofu chimed in from the side, "I feel empty too..."
Eating these diet meals is torture! Son-in-law, you all have to come back soon!
Lin Xu drove onto the West Fourth Ring road, found a gas station to fill up the tank, and then followed the GPS navigation onto the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway, heading straight for Yinzhou.
"Woohoo! This is my first road trip with Xu Bao!"
Shen Baobao, in the front passenger seat, was as excited as Andy Dufresne escaping Shawshank, gesticulating wildly. One moment she was taking selfies by the window, the next she was turning around to tease Dundun in Chen Meijuan’s arms. She simply couldn’t stay still.