Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Everyone Has Their Own Agenda

Gu Lanting finished writing the Spring Festival couplets, then picked up a few paper window cuttings that Gu Qinghuan had made. She planned to deliver some to Ji Linhai’s family, and some to Zhong Zijun’s.

Xu Huai’an stood on a stool to paste up the couplets at their own house. By the time he finished, it was almost time to go.

Gu Qinghuan checked the clock—ten o’clock. If they didn’t leave soon, there’d be no way to make the “flying dragon” dish today.

Gu Lanting was off to work at the cowshed again today, so there was no need to worry about him. He’d pick up Grandpa and Grandma in the afternoon for New Year’s Eve dinner.

Zhong Luoning and Ming Ruxue wouldn’t be joining them for lunch at the Xu family’s either; they’d stay home and cook for themselves—there was plenty of food at home.

As for Dabao and Beibei, Gu Qinghuan asked them what they wanted to do. Both said they’d rather stay home than go to the Xu family’s for lunch.

Gu Qinghuan respected their wishes and left them at home to keep You Ran and the others company.

After tidying up, she and Xu Huai’an headed out with the flying dragon dish in tow.

Xu Huai’an was actually a bit puzzled. Gu Qinghuan was always reluctant to eat the flying dragon herself—why was she giving it to the Xu family?

But he’d never questioned Gu Qinghuan’s decisions. Whatever she said, he just did.

Gu Qinghuan’s heart ached as she watched Xu Huai’an carrying the flying dragon. She was really going all out this time to win over Lin Xiaomeng.

Along the way, she made sure to tell everyone they met that they were going to the Xu family’s for lunch.

Everyone said, “You two are really kind and dutiful.”

After all, everyone knew Xu Mingshan had divided up the family property behind his second son’s back, leaving him with nothing. Yet here they were, bringing a flying dragon for the parents to eat at New Year’s—truly the most filial children in the whole area.

Gu Qinghuan used this flying dragon to earn herself a great reputation. Satisfied, she arrived at the Xu family’s.

After all, if she was giving something away, she had to get something in return, right? She couldn’t just give it for nothing.

What she didn’t know was that her good sister-in-law, Lin Xiaomeng, was plotting her own move.

Lin Xiaomeng thought nothing of last night’s dream—just the result of thinking too much during the day. After breakfast, she came over to help prepare lunch.

She was in a rare good mood, thinking she’d finally be able to deal with Yan Lijun, that tough nut, today. She even had a smile on her face.

Liu Guifang, acting the part of the matriarch, didn’t help in the kitchen. Only Yan Lijun was there with Lin Xiaomeng, busy cooking.

Maybe Xu Mingshan had said something to Liu Guifang last night.

When Gu Qinghuan arrived, Liu Guifang’s attitude was better than ever—especially when she saw the flying dragon in Gu Qinghuan’s hands. She smiled so widely her eyes nearly disappeared.

Now that the second son was healthy again, he could be counted on, and his wife had money—she had to hold on tight to this golden ticket.

She was so busy scheming, she completely forgot her previous nastiness and plotting.

“Oh my, this is a real treat! Second daughter-in-law, you’re so thoughtful. By the way, where are your two kids? Why didn’t they come?”

Gu Qinghuan was startled. This old lady had never spoken to her so kindly before. What was going on?

“There are guests at home, so I left them there.” (Isn’t that saving you food? Still not satisfied?)

“Huaiyu, bring a stool for your second sister-in-law!” Liu Guifang called out to Xu Huaiyu.

Gu Qinghuan noticed a completely gray progress bar behind Xu Huaiyu—meaning his luck was completely depleted.

So, Lin Xiaomeng hadn’t been able to resist making a move against Xu Huaiyu after all. Given her personality, she’d never let anyone who crossed her off the hook.

Xu Huaiyu obediently brought over a stool.

“Second sister-in-law, have a seat!”

“No, thanks. I’ll go help with the cooking.” Gu Qinghuan waved her hand and quickly escaped into the kitchen, not wanting to talk to them any more than necessary.

That mother and son were both bad news.

Seeing Xu Huaizhi pasting up couplets, Xu Huai’an went over to help as well.

Everyone in the family was busy, except for Xu Huaiyu, who sat under the eaves playing children’s games with Dacheng.

As soon as Gu Qinghuan entered the kitchen, Lin Xiaomeng hurried over. “Qinghuan, you’re here! Perfect timing, come help me. There are so many people for lunch today, I can’t manage it all myself.”

Gu Qinghuan was baffled. Why was everyone being so nice to her today? After all the previous drama, this sudden change in attitude left her at a loss.

“Sure!”

Lin Xiaomeng deliberately greeted Gu Qinghuan first, both to appear close and to isolate Yan Lijun.

Where there are people, there’s drama. Three women make a stage.

Yan Lijun had never met this sister-in-law before, only heard about her from Liu Guifang—the second son’s family had returned.

But she didn’t think much of it. After all, Xu Huaiyu had told her that the second son, Xu Huai’an, was the least favored in the family, so they weren’t worth worrying about.

She didn’t realize this sister-in-law was such a remarkable person.

Even without makeup, her face was so striking you couldn’t look away. Her delicate features were even prettier than movie stars.

She wore a light green cotton jacket that set off her complexion beautifully, and the fabric looked high-quality and smooth.

Compared to the three sisters-in-law, Gu Qinghuan looked the youngest and most beautiful, Lin Xiaomeng came second, and Yan Lijun, the youngest, was actually the least attractive.

Yan Lijun glanced at her own dull, black cotton jacket and felt a little self-conscious as she stood up to greet her.

“Second sister-in-law! Hello, I’m Yan Lijun.”

Gu Qinghuan pretended to notice her just then, exclaiming, “Oh, you’re the third brother’s new wife? Hello, hello!”

The three exchanged polite but insincere greetings and got back to cooking.

Since everyone was home, Liu Guifang had brought out some good stuff—wild boar and roe deer meat from the winter hunt, and a big fish.

Xu Huaizhi had brought a wild pheasant to add to the table.

And with the flying dragon from Xu Huai’an’s family, today’s spread was looking pretty good.

Before Gu Qinghuan arrived, Lin Xiaomeng had already prepped the other dishes.

Today’s staple was mixed-grain steamed buns, already steaming in the pot. Yan Lijun sat by the stove, feeding the fire.

Lin Xiaomeng introduced the lunch menu to Gu Qinghuan.

In summary, there were two main pots:

One was a big stew of wild boar and roe deer.

The other was a big pot of fish in soybean paste.

The wild pheasant was originally meant for soup, but since Gu Qinghuan had brought a flying dragon, they decided to stew them together.

“Qinghuan, I’ll handle these two dishes. Can you take care of the pheasant and flying dragon soup?”

Lin Xiaomeng had already made up her mind to add the luck-stealing “Fortune Spring Water” to the dish Gu Qinghuan would make.

That way, Yan Lijun wouldn’t suspect a thing and would eat it without any guard up.

If anything happened, Lin Xiaomeng could easily distance herself from it.

Heaven was helping her—Gu Qinghuan had brought a flying dragon, perfect to stew with the pheasant. She could quietly add the Fortune Spring Water to the pot, and no one would be the wiser.

Yan Lijun would never refuse such a nutritious soup made by Gu Qinghuan. She’d probably have several bowls, drinking it all down—wouldn’t that be perfect?

Plus, Lin Xiaomeng wanted to observe Gu Qinghuan and Xu Huai’an’s luck again.

What kind of “child of fortune” was Gu Qinghuan, to have even changed Xu Huai’an’s fate? It didn’t make sense.

“Sure!” Gu Qinghuan had no objection. Making soup was easy—just throw everything in, watch the heat, and don’t let it boil dry.

The two divided up the work, both seemingly ignoring Yan Lijun, who could only sit by the stove and keep feeding the fire.

Gu Qinghuan put the chicken and flying dragon meat into the iron pot, added ginger slices, red dates, wild mushrooms, and filled it halfway with water to simmer.

The small stove hadn’t been lit yet, so after starting the fire, Gu Qinghuan brought over a little stool and sat to watch the pot, pulling out a handful of pine nuts from her pocket to snack on.

She even handed some to Yan Lijun beside her.

Yan Lijun took them without thinking much, and started eating as well.

Seeing that Yan Lijun was completely off guard around the second daughter-in-law, Lin Xiaomeng felt relieved.

Although Gu Qinghuan had slept deeply last night, she’d heard the King of the Underworld’s words.

It seemed Lin Xiaomeng was planning to make her move on Yan Lijun today.

Xu Huaiyu might be a scumbag, but Yan Lijun and her unborn child were innocent.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t bother debating what was right or wrong—if Lin Xiaomeng dared to act, she’d let her know what real consequences looked like.

Lin Xiaomeng took out the steamed buns and started preparing the big stew.

Gu Qinghuan and Yan Lijun chatted idly by the stove.

When Lin Xiaomeng finished the stew and started cooking the fish, she deliberately sent Yan Lijun out to set the table.

Once Yan Lijun was gone, she scooped out a bowl of stew and handed it to Gu Qinghuan. “Qinghuan, can you take this out for me?”

Gu Qinghuan gave her a long, meaningful look.

This woman had completely deviated from her character in the book and become a true villain.

Human nature really was unpredictable.

She wondered, if she herself had gotten the Fortune Spring, would she have become so ruthless, stealing others’ luck for her own gain?

She didn’t know.

That look made Lin Xiaomeng nervous—she almost thought Gu Qinghuan had seen through her plan.

It wasn’t until Gu Qinghuan naturally took the bowl from her that Lin Xiaomeng relaxed.

“Big sister-in-law, could you watch the soup for me?”

Lin Xiaomeng forced a smile. “Of course, go ahead.”

Gu Qinghuan “carelessly” carried the bowl out of the kitchen.

Lin Xiaomeng immediately lifted the lid of the iron pot and poured a cup of Fortune Spring Water into the soup.

Just like that, the pot of soup became her weapon.

Standing outside the kitchen, Gu Qinghuan watched this scene, feeling complicated.

So Lin Xiaomeng was still up to no good—she’d have to help the King of the Underworld. Lin Xiaomeng had brought this on herself.

Gu Qinghuan had once felt some sympathy for Lin Xiaomeng. After all, Xu Huaiyu had caused her miscarriage and the loss of her child, so she’d actually supported her in dealing with Xu Huaiyu.

If a person can’t even avenge themselves, what’s the point of living?

But Lin Xiaomeng kept using her methods on innocent people, taking her revenge to extremes. That wasn’t right.

So, as the King of the Underworld said, if she was so stubborn and had no bottom line, her powers would have to be taken back.

When Gu Qinghuan and Yan Lijun returned, Lin Xiaomeng was busy with the fish, acting as if nothing had happened.

Outside, Liu Guifang’s voice could be heard—Chen Jianghe had arrived just in time for lunch.

Xu Meiling hadn’t come; she was still on bed rest for her pregnancy. Chen Jianghe came on her behalf to deliver New Year’s gifts and join the meal.

Yan Lijun took the steamed buns out of the steamer and brought them to the table.

Gu Qinghuan finished the final seasoning for her flying dragon soup. After simmering for more than two hours, it was just about ready."