Chapter 192: The “Strange” Mother and Son

After politely declining Yu Fu’s offer, Gu Ning’an simply focused on his meal.

Since Yu Fu hadn’t been genuinely offering to help him find a job, he also sat down without pressing the matter.

However, as soon as they were seated, everyone at the table—except for Gu Ning’an and Zheng De—stood up one after another, saying, “I’m full, you two take your time.”

It was clear from their expressions that they weren’t actually full—they just didn’t want to sit through Second Aunt’s endless boasting about her son anymore.

“Cousin, your friend came all this way to help—how come there’s no wine on the table?” Yu Fu remarked.

Before Zheng De could reply, he chuckled and said, “I asked, and Mr. Gu doesn’t feel like drinking today…”

“Well, but I want to drink!”

Zheng De sighed, “I’ll go get some then.”

“No need!” Yu Fu waved his hand dismissively and pulled out a flask from the front of his robe. “I only drink this wine—I’m not used to anything else.”

“Oh,” Zheng De responded, showing no interest in continuing the conversation.

Bragging with no one to humor you is an extremely frustrating experience.

“This wine is called Eternal Vintage… Cousin—ah, forget it, you definitely haven’t heard of it.”

Saying that, Yu Fu turned his gaze toward Gu Ning’an and smiled, “Mr. Gu, you seem well-traveled. Have you heard of Xiangzhou’s Eternal Vintage?”

Gu Ning’an gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

“Then, Mr. Gu, do you know how much a jar of Eternal Vintage costs?”

Gu Ning’an smiled, “I don’t, but I recall that years ago, it was nearly impossible to buy, even with a fortune.”

“Exactly!” Yu Fu clapped his hands and laughed. “Back then, Eternal Vintage was priceless—you had to be someone of status just to get your hands on it.

“But now, that shopkeeper Wei has revived the brewery and started making Eternal Vintage again, bringing the price down to ten taels of silver per catty!”

“This flask holds about two catties of wine, so it’s worth twenty taels of silver!”

At those words, many people turned their heads, shocked by the price.

Twenty taels of silver—that was a year and a half’s income for an average household!

And that’s without considering daily expenses.

If Yu Fu could afford such an expensive drink, had he really made it big in Xiangzhou?

“Come, I’ll pour some for everyone to taste.” As he spoke, Yu Fu removed the flask’s stopper.

“Wait!”

Yu Fu’s mother, Madam Yu, quickly got up and snatched the flask from his hands. “Let me do it. You eat something first, son.”

Seeing this, Yu Fu smiled and nodded, sitting back down. “Alright, I’ll eat first then.”

Before long, Madam Yu poured herself a small amount first. Then, she poured a similarly tiny amount for Zheng De.

When it came to Gu Ning’an, she was slightly more generous, pouring him a bit more.

But when it was finally time to pour for her own son, she intended to pour a larger amount—only for Yu Fu to casually say, “I’m not drinking.”

Hearing that, Madam Yu immediately skipped over her daughter-in-law entirely.

The problem was… Jiao Qingqing, her daughter-in-law, had already silently picked up her cup, expecting to receive some.

This awkward moment made Jiao Qingqing lower her head and quietly put her cup back down.

At the table, both Gu Ning’an and Zheng De witnessed the scene.

The former chose to stay out of it—after all, he was an outsider, and it wasn’t his place to interfere in someone else’s family affairs.

But Zheng De, being a relative, hesitated for a moment before speaking up, “Second Aunt, you forgot to pour for Sister-in-law…”

“Her?” Madam Yu replied indifferently. “She doesn’t need any—she has to take medicine for her health.”

Hearing that, Zheng De’s expression stiffened. “This…”

“What’s with all this hesitation? Hurry up and taste the fine wine my son brought back! Ten taels of silver per catty—it’s not something you get to drink every day!”

As Madam Yu spoke, she lifted her cup and took a delicate sip. The small amount of wine in her cup smoothly slid down her throat.

Gu Ning’an lifted his own cup and took a sip as well. The wine was smooth, its aroma rich and lingering, yet the taste was astonishingly light… as if a fine wine had been heavily diluted with water.

“Mmm~~~” Madam Yu exaggeratedly raised her eyebrows, drawing out her voice as if savoring the moment. “Excellent wine! No wonder it’s worth this price!”

“Why does it taste so weak…?” Zheng De muttered under his breath.

“Weak?”

“What do you mean, weak?!”

“Good wine is supposed to taste like this!”

Madam Yu immediately defended her son.

Not wanting to argue, Zheng De simply gave a wry smile. “Yes, yes… I’m just a country bumpkin—I can’t compare to a city man like my cousin.”

“Ah…” Madam Yu let out a long sigh. “Look at your cousin—so capable, drinking wine that costs ten taels per catty—but after all these years, he still hasn’t given me a grandson!”

“Mother!”

“Don’t bring that up…”

Yu Fu frowned and cut her off.

“Fine, fine, fine!”

Madam Yu cast a glance at her daughter-in-law, who had her head lowered, and changed the subject. “Qingqing, have you been drinking the herbal tonics I told you to?”

Jiao Qingqing nodded. “Yes, Mother, I’ve been drinking them…”

“Then why is there still no sign of a baby?” Madam Yu frowned.

Even Gu Ning’an hadn’t expected this mother-in-law to ask such a question in front of everyone. Wasn’t she just publicly humiliating her daughter-in-law?

“Mother!” Yu Fu’s voice sank as he placed his chopsticks down.

“I’ll drink more tonics…” Jiao Qingqing murmured before standing up. “I’m full now. You all take your time—I’ll go check on the child.”

As she walked away, Madam Yu let out a disdainful “hmph”, then turned to her son.

“Son, your father passed away early, and I raised you all by myself—it wasn’t easy…”

“Now that I’m getting old, are you really going to let me leave this world without holding a grandchild?”

Yu Fu hesitated before replying, “Qingqing is already taking the tonics… this isn’t something that can be rushed…”

“Not something that can be rushed?”

“What do you mean it can’t be rushed?!”

Madam Yu raised her voice and pointed at Zheng De. “Even your cousin already has a child!”

“Sure, it’s a girl, but at least it counts as carrying on the family line!”

“And look at that woman! She’s already spent so much money on herbal remedies—why is she still so useless?!”

Bang!

Yu Fu slammed his chopsticks onto the table. “Mother! Enough!”

“What? Now that you’re grown, you think you can ignore your mother?”

Madam Yu immediately put on the posture of someone about to throw a full-blown tantrum.

Yu Fu, who he cared about appearances, quickly lowered his voice and begged for peace. “Mother, please, just drop it for now. My cousin’s daughter is having her one-month celebration tomorrow—can we discuss this at home?”

“Fine! But you have to promise me that when I come up with a solution, you won’t oppose it!” Madam Yu smirked.

“Fine, fine, fine!” Yu Fu nodded hastily. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

Satisfied with her victory, Madam Yu happily resumed her meal, while Yu Fu let out a long sigh and quickly changed the subject.