Xia He realized that something was wrong with Qiao Mei’s reaction and immediately picked up a piece of braised pork rib for herself. As soon as she bit on it, she spat it out. This was not something edible. There was too much vinegar in it.
“Why is it so sour… It’s so sour that my teeth hurt!” Xia He said as she quickly drank a lot of water.
Liu Fen did not believe it and took a bite as well. Her reaction was exactly the same as Xia He’s. She frowned and said, “Impossible! I clearly tasted it after I was done! There wasn’t any problem then! How strange!”
Tan Jing lowered her head and ate silently. Xu Lan tasted the dishes one by one. There were a few dishes that still tasted fine, but the dishes that Qiao Mei liked all tasted weird.
!!
These dishes were either too salty, very sour or especially sweet. It was not as if she had never eaten Liu Fen’s food before. This was definitely not her usual standard.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Qiao. This is too inhospitable of us. There are a few dishes that aren’t done well. We’ll remove them now.” Xu Lan and Liu Fen took away the unpalatable dishes.
Qiao Mei was not usually picky about what she ate, but after she got pregnant, her taste buds became more nitpicky and sensitive to tastes. There was indeed nothing left on the table that she could eat, except for the bowl of chicken soup.
She could not eat anything that was numbing and spicy or sweet and sour. Nor could she eat cold seafood dishes. Xia Fang had told her before that these things were not good for the babies, so she could only bear with it for now.
“Xia Wen! Go to the state-owned restaurant to pack a few of your sister-in-law’s favorite dishes!” Xu Lan said.
Qiao Mei quickly dismissed the suggestion. “Don’t go. I’m almost done eating. Let’s cook tomorrow. Don’t worry about me. Please continue eating.”
Qiao Qiang looked at everyone present and ate silently without saying anything. Xu Lan did not eat anything after that and felt as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest.
After dinner, everyone sat in the living room and chatted. It had been a long time since they last met and they missed each other a lot.
“Eldest brother! Do you remember I called to ask you about buying another house? Is there any news? I hope it’s not too troublesome?” Qiao Mei asked.
“When did you call me? Didn’t you always call mother directly? I don’t remember receiving any calls from you,” Xia Wen said.
Qiao Mei was about to speak when she thought about what happened with the food today and immediately understood what was going on. She did not say anything else, but smiled as she patted her own head and said, “I must have remembered wrongly. Then I’ll have to trouble eldest brother to help me find another house. I want to buy one that’s close to my place.”
Xia Wen nodded and noted down Qiao Mei’s request. He knew that Qiao Mei had a good memory and buying a house was not a small matter. It was impossible for Qiao Mei to have remembered wrongly, so the problem must be on his end.
Xu Lan stared at Tan Jing for a long time without saying anything.
It was getting late and there was no room for so many people to sleep over in the house. Xia Wen arranged for a car to send Qiao Mei back to the courtyard house. When all of them reached the entrance of the courtyard house, the children were even more shocked.
Qiao Mei had only said that her house in the capital was big enough for all of them to live in, but they did not expect it to be so big. It was several times bigger than their house in the countryside!
“Elder sister! Is this our house!” Zhang Qin said in shock.
“That’s right, it’s our house. We’ll all stay in the front part today. You can all go in and take a look.” Qiao Mei patted the children and let them go in to choose their own rooms.
Xia Wen stood in the courtyard and called out to Qiao Mei. He felt that he had to explain what happened today.
“Qiao Mei, I’m sorry. It’s my fault for what happened today,” Xia Wen said sincerely.
Qiao Mei also knew what Xia Wen was referring to. She had originally thought that Tan Jing just had a dour personality, but she did not expect her to play such a small trick. It was really childish.
She did not have the energy to confront Tan Jing, nor did she want to embarrass everyone because of these things, so she did not argue with Tan Jing. If Xia Wen had not mentioned it, she would not have brought it up.
“It’s fine, eldest brother. We’re a family. There’s no need to apologize. I understand what you want to say. I also know that eldest brother treats Xia Zhe and I very well,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
They were both smart people and there was no need to say anything else. Xia Wen did not want to disturb Qiao Mei further and left after giving her a few simple instructions and teaching her how to use the floor heater.