Family Dinner
Jaden was startled for a moment, a little uneasy, but after all, he was not afraid of his mother.
Every day he was causing trouble with Jadel, he was long not afraid of being spanked.
Jaden didn't run away.
On the contrary, he jutted out his chin, flicked his nose with the thumb of his right hand, and provocatively said in a nonchalant manner,
"Oh? So, you can't pretend any more and want to hit me now?"
"Let me tell you, I, Jaden, am not afraid of you! If you have the guts, kill me today!" Seeing the provocative look on Jaden's face, Elena sighed helplessly.
It seemed that the image of the cruel mother of the original host was deeply rooted in the hearts of these children.
She looked at Tyler, her tone flat, "Are you going to do something about this?"
In other words, if you don't handle it, I will.
In the end, whatever happens, don't come looking for me to take responsibility.
Tyler also felt that Jaden was a bit over the line.
He lifted Jaden out of the kitchen and instructed, "Go play with your brothers for a bit, I'll call you when it's mealtime."
"Dad, what will you do when we're gone? You mustn't be poisoned by that woman!"
Jaden said with worry. Elena held her forehead.
At this point, could Jaden still suspect that she would poison Tyler? Feeling both amused and annoyed.
Tyler gently patted his head,
"Don't worry, Daddy won't be poisoned. Go and play."
Seeing Tyler's serious face, Jaden.
strangely came to trust this long-unseen father.
He curled his lips, though a bit reluctant, he still obeyed his father's words and ran off with Jadel and Joel.
By the time Tyler returned to the kitchen, Elena had already cleaned the wok and was frying eggs.
The air was filled with a delicious aroma, enticingly appetizing.
Watching her hustle about, Tyler felt a quirk and walked over, "Let me stoke the fire for you."
Upon hearing his words, Elena curled her lips,
"I thought you were planning to stand there forever."
Tyler glanced at her without uttering a word, his gaze fixated on the fire in the stove as he fell into deep thought.
For some reason, Elena was very strange today...
Could something else have happened before he returned, besides the house burning down? Elena didn't pay attention to his silence, focusing on her own tasks.
"The egg soup needs some green onions for flavor.
I'll go and pick some." Before she had even finished talking, she was already out of the kitchen.
When she returned, she held a bunch of clean green onions, neatly cut into sections, and evenly sprinkled them into the pot.
The aroma of onion, egg, and oil intertwined, instantly filling the entire kitchen.
The snowy white egg soup, adorned with bright green scallions, looked and smelled delicious.
By the time she served it, the rice was almost ready. As she lifted the lid off another pot, the sweet fragrance of sweet potatoes wafted out.
Seeing Tyler lift his head, Elena experienced a hint of satisfaction, "How does it smell?
Did I cook well?" She spoke while curling the corners of her lips, offering a faint smile.
Like a spring breeze brushing against the willows or a crescent moon hanging from the branches, her movements exuded an indescribable gentle charm.
Tyler was slightly taken aback and felt a bit surprised.
So, Elena could smile too? In his impression, Elena was always like a grumpy woman.
Although beautiful, she had a terrible temper. She was quick to violence and very resentful, often criticizing him harshly.
They had been married for quite a while, and he had thought that Elena didn't know how to smile at all.
This perceived strangeness intensified in his mind.
Was this the Elena he knew? "What's the matter? Why are you staring at me?
Got flowers on my face?" Elena too was aware that her behavior drastically differed from her usual, and hence knew she should transition slowly.
However, she was simply not good at adopting the original owner's pretentious demeanor and had to try being audacious and domineering.
Feigning annoyance, she glared at Tyler,
"What are you looking at? Quickly invite everyone back for dinner!"
Tyler raised an eyebrow, this was more like the person he was familiar with.
He skillfully put out the fire, walked out of the kitchen and went to call the three children to come back for dinner.
As soon as the three children entered the yard, Elena hurriedly called out,
"Go wash your faces first!" The children listened to this advice, and they didn't retaliate.
Jadel took his two brothers to the well to fetch some water.
He had Jaden wash his hands while he himself held Joel and painstakingly cleaned each of his fingers.
When his two younger brothers had finished washing, he finally used the remaining water to wash himself.
Watching his series of actions, Elena felt even more heartbroken.
How could the original host bear to abuse such a sensible child? Lost in thought, she had already set out the dishes and called the children to come to the table and eat.
By the time Tyler came in with washed hands, the three children were already sitting at the table.
But a closer look revealed that their toes were pointing outward, ready to run away at any moment.
Elena didn't notice their subtle movements.
Seeing that the youngest one was still too short to reach the table, she straightforwardly reached over, and picked him up.
"What are you doing!"
No sooner had she picked him up, than the Jadel and the Jaden jumped up to snatch him back.
"Give our brother back to us!" "Give him back to you?"
Elena let out a scoffing loud laugh, "If you want your brother back, eat your food properly.
If I'm in a good mood, perhaps I'll give him back to you."
She finally figured it out, these two adults didn't fully trust her.
Making good use of Joel as a "hostage," she made those two eat their meals obediently.
Hearing this, Jadel and Jaden revealed an expression of "this woman always does this".
However, as they were concerned about the Joel in her hands, they reluctantly picked up their bowl and Spoon and began to eat.
While their hands were shoveling rice into their mouths, their eyes were glued to Elena, worried that she might harm Joel.
Tyler saw this scene and began to suspect Elena even more.
Taking the Joel "hostage" to make the others behave and eat their meals?
This woman appears to be fierce, but something seems quite amiss.
Elena didn't care what the father and sons were thinking, she served Joel a bowl of rice, poured some egg soup into it and mixed it into soupy rice, then topped it with a big spoonful of scrambled eggs, and then fed it to the child, spoonful by spoonful.
"Good, delicious!" Joel was not very articulate yet, his reflexes were a bit slower than children his age.
But when he tasted the soupy rice with egg, his dark and shiny eyes lit up instantly, never leaving the bowl.
Elena had indeed put a lot of effort into making this bowl of egg soup.
The cooking time, the aroma of scallions, the concentration of the soup, she got them all just right.
And long before Joel spoke, Jadel and Jaden, who were initially watching Elena, were taken aback when they took their first bite of the rice. Delicious...
Too delicious! The two brothers instantly set aside concerns about their younger brother's "life-or-death" and began to devour their food crazily.
The deliciousness of the egg soup had even made the brothers forget about the roast chicken sitting next to them, single-mindedly savoring the broth in their bowls.
Not until after she had fed Joel nearly half a bowl of rice did Elena realize that Tyler had been eating with pickles as his only side dish all along and had not touched the egg soup nor roast chicken.
No need to wonder, it must have been some mischief done by the original owner.
Elena thought for a moment, then directly picked up her bowl of soup and poured half of it into Tyler's bowl.
Half a bowl of egg and half a bowl of soup.
The hot and savory aroma rushed up to his nostrils, and Tyler suddenly felt a jolt of awakening.
Instinctively, he looked at Elena, not understanding why she had suddenly done so.
You should know, usually at home, if he ate a bit more, Elena would think he was wasting her food.
Why was she so generous today all of a sudden?
Before he got the chance to ask, after swallowing a few more mouthfuls of rice, he finally said,
"Once I start working at the tractor station, I will be making only twenty-five per month."
"Twenty-five... is that a small amount?" Elena's question was sincere.
Considering the cheaper cost of living during that era, twenty-five should be more than enough to support a family in a rural area, right?
"Not much, but not too little either." Said Tyler.
The income was just enough to support a family, saving money though, seemed to be an unlikely possibility.
The pocket money that he'd promised to Elena, he really couldn't afford.
Upon hearing this, Elena quickly had a clear understanding.
"As long as it's enough for our family to survive, if it's really not enough, I can work and take care of the children too."
Tyler raised his eyebrows, seemingly wanting to say something but didn't.
He only gave her a deep look, then continued eating his meal.
It must be said, Elena's cooking skills were indeed good.
Even a bowl of plain egg soup tasted so delicious!
Elena waited until she finished feeding their Joel before pouring the leftover egg soup into her own bowl, then began to eat.
In reality, she usually did not eat much for dinner.
Plus, cooking her own meal somehow made her less hungry, so she just ate a few bites.
"The food was cooked by me, so you guys have to wash the dishes."
After saying this, without waiting for the three men's reactions, Elena took Joel out for a walk.
After the meal, a stroll leads to a life of ninety-nine years.
But as soon as she walked into the yard, there was a rush of footsteps outside, along with a voice crying out anxiously. "
Tyler, Tyler, something happened to your mom, hurry up and go see!"