Chapter 353: Sweet Burden

"What, you have to go to the research institute tonight? You must be exhausted from your day!" Mrs. Qin said, her heart aching for her.

"I’m not tired, I’m fine," was all Fu Mingxue could say.

She wouldn’t talk much about work.

Mrs. Qin felt she absolutely had to make sure her younger daughter-in-law was well-nourished.

Just then, Mr. Qin spoke up. "Since you have something to do later, let’s eat first."

The family immediately moved to the dining room.

The rest of the Qin Family sat down, while Mrs. Qin and Gao Lan went to the kitchen to help Aunt Li bring out the dishes.

Only after all the dishes were on the table did Mrs. Qin and Gao Lan finally sit down.

The Qin family had certain rules; Elder Qin had to be the first to pick up his chopsticks.

Only then could everyone begin to eat.

"Mingxue, try this. Aunt Li stewed this chicken soup for a long time this afternoon. This chicken leg is for you."

Mrs. Qin ladled a bowl of chicken soup for Fu Mingxue, then placed the big chicken leg inside.

"Mom, the children can have the chicken leg. I’ll just have some of the chicken—"

’A chicken only has two legs, and her mother-in-law had just given one to her.’

’And there were two children at the table!’

"This isn’t from me. Yu Yu specifically told me ahead of time to save this chicken leg for his Little Aunt. Yu Yu, am I right?"

Qin Yue immediately nodded. "Grandma is right."

He looked up at Fu Mingxue. "Auntie, this is the chicken leg Yu Yu saved for you. Please eat it! Otherwise, Yu Yu will be sad."

Fu Mingxue: ...?

’My goodness, this kid is so well-spoken. He’s completely melted my heart.’

"Well then, thank you, my precious Yu Yu!"

That single word—"precious"—made Qin Yue’s face flush red with shyness.

Just then, the little girl, Qin Ruqiao, also picked up her chicken leg with her chopsticks.

"Little Auntie, Qiaoqiao wants to give her chicken leg to Little Auntie, too—"

Fu Mingxue quickly said, "You should eat it yourself, my dear Qiaoqiao. That way, you’ll grow up big and tall."

"But I want to give my chicken leg to Little Auntie, too—"

"How about this? We’ll each have one, and we’ll see who can eat theirs faster, okay?" Fu Mingxue said with a grin.

’The little girl was so young, she was easy to fool.’

As soon as she heard that, she immediately chirped, "Okay!"

The exchange between the two of them made the Qin Family burst out laughing.

Gao Lan watched them laughing heartily, and her heart filled with complex emotions.

’She felt like she really didn’t fit in with this family.’

’It was as if... she just couldn’t blend into this family.’

A bitter smile touched her lips.

Just then, a piece of chicken was placed in her bowl.

Gao Lan looked up in surprise and saw that Qin Wenze had put it there.

"I... I can serve myself."

"Then eat." Qin Wenze had noticed she seemed a little down.

However, he didn’t think much of it.

Gao Lan hummed softly in acknowledgment.

’She didn’t want to draw everyone’s attention.’

The Qin family’s meals were certainly lavish. There were nine dishes and a soup on the table.

This was something Gao Lan, who was used to being frugal, still wasn’t quite accustomed to.

After all, when she was sent down to the countryside, even a bowl of vegetable mush was considered a good meal.

In the years before, she had often worked on an empty stomach.

Days like those had taught her to cherish every grain of food.

’She just couldn’t get used to the Qin family’s lifestyle of feasting on rich food every other day—’

By the end of the meal, Fu Mingxue had eaten quite a lot.

’It was mainly because... too many people kept piling food onto her plate.’

If it wasn’t her mother-in-law, it was Qin Wenhao.

And the little girl sitting beside her would occasionally add something to her plate with her own chopsticks.

’Good heavens, it wasn’t that she was grossed out by the little girl’s saliva, but... could they please use serving chopsticks?’

’This sweet burden... Next time, could they please not all put food on my plate?’

’She liked serving herself.’