Facing Aries like this, even Mawen could only stay angry silently. He glared at the others in the courtyard before turning reluctantly and walking into the kitchen.
But Sky had already finished making breakfast, so there wasn't really anything Mawen needed to do.
Of course, even if breakfast wasn't ready, he would have just ordered Sky to do it—he never planned to cook himself.
The women of the Aries family were all shocked by what they saw. Aries had really changed.
Her older cousin, Gu Xingyuan, looked up at the sky, wondering if the sun was rising from the west today.
Aries pretended not to notice their reactions and calmly greeted them.
"Auntie, Second Aunt, Cousin, please sit. Breakfast will be ready soon."
Even though they were family and didn't need to be paid, when people come to help, it's only right to feed them first.
Sky had made enough food for everyone, so there was no problem feeding the guests.
The eldest sister waved her hand. "No need, we already ate. You all go ahead."
The others followed, shaking their heads and waving their hands. "We've already eaten too."
If they were surprised before when Aries stood up to Mawen, now they were completely shocked to be invited to eat.
It was a joke—over the years, they hadn't even had a sip of water from Aries' household, let alone a meal.
That's why they made sure to eat well before leaving their homes.
They had to. Helping out at Aries' place would be hard work. If they got hungry and there was no food, they'd suffer, so they made sure to eat more before coming.
But now, Aries was actually inviting them to eat first? This wasn't just about where the sun rose from anymore.
Did Aries get hit on the head or something?
Still, if she was acting foolish like this, they thought it was a good kind of foolish.
Aries remembered that they had never offered meals when the family came to help in the past. The relatives would eat at home first, go back home to eat again during meals, and then return to help.
It looked like they really had eaten before coming today.
She also blamed herself for not telling Grandma Gu yesterday—it was all because of how Aries used to act.
Right then, Sky came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming tray full of white buns. "Wife, breakfast is ready."
He had already heard the aunts arrived while in the kitchen, so he sped up his work and quickly brought the food out.
"Auntie, Second Aunt, Cousin, come eat! The buns just finished steaming, they're still hot. There are dishes in the pot too—I'll bring them out in a moment."
Sky quickly cleaned the table and went back into the kitchen to get the food.
The women stared at the soft, white buns, unable to look away. The smell filled the whole courtyard, and they couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
They even felt like the meal they had eaten earlier was already digested.
When Sky came out again with a big pot of oily braised pork, the smell rushed straight into their noses, making their mouths water.
Aries pretended not to see and gently said, "Even if you already ate, you can still have a little more. The work we'll be doing later takes a lot of energy."
The kids all looked at their mothers with hopeful eyes.
Since Aries was being so sincere, refusing would seem too polite.
Besides, the food was already made. It would be a waste not to eat.
"Then we'll have a little more."
The eldest sister made the decision as the elder, and that settled it.
In the end, they ate half of the buns and most of the braised pork before finally heading to fix the house—still full and satisfied.
They really couldn't eat anymore.
But that meat… it was enough that they wouldn't need to eat meat for the rest of the month.
Aries getting beaten up last time—totally worth it!
Since Aries didn't know how to do this kind of work, she just helped with the small tasks on the side.
But the family was straightforward and honest. Seeing Aries eager to learn, they started teaching her on their own.
Maybe it was because Aries had truly changed, and they started to see her differently.
Or maybe it was that breakfast of white buns and braised pork that warmed their hearts and made them accept Aries again. Either way, the atmosphere while fixing the house was great.
Once they started chatting, everyone was cheerful and relaxed while they worked.
Only Mawen sat gloomily in the kitchen, sulking by himself.
Sky noticed Mawen's bad mood and didn't dare to upset him. He quietly went on with his own work, not daring to say a word.
Mawen stomped hard on some vegetable scraps on the floor, like he was stepping on the heads of those women. He even wished he could hit them with his shoe.
Hmph! Just fixing a house, and they had to eat so much of their family's white flour and meat?
And they were relatives too—they really had no shame, eating that much. Why didn't they just become pigs?
If he had known, he never would've let them come to help fix the house. It was a huge loss.
If Aries hadn't been there keeping him in check during the meal, he would've exploded and yelled at them already.
Watching them eat their food and meat made him feel like they were cutting flesh off his own body. It hurt like losing bone and blood, even his heart ached.
He was so focused on being angry that he didn't even realize they'd be eating not just this morning, but also lunch and dinner.
As Sky was cutting meat, he wondered if Mawen might get sick from being so angry.
Should he try to comfort him?
But when he thought about how fierce Mawen got when yelling, Sky backed out. Better not.
Maybe he'd calm down on his own after a while.
Honestly, Sky also felt like the amount of meat Aries wanted to use was a bit too much.
They could have cooked it together with vegetables—it would still smell great with just a little meat. But Aries didn't agree.
Still, the aunts were family, so making more meat wasn't a big deal. It was all going to their own people.
But they couldn't keep being this extravagant. They still needed to save money to build the new house. If they kept eating like this, there'd be no money left.
Sky wasn't being stingy—it's just how farmers lived.
If they could eat meat once a month, that was already good. Having meat three times a day was unheard of.
Ever since Aries brought back food, they hadn't eaten any coarse grains—only refined rice. It was really too luxurious!
Mawen didn't think the same way as Sky. He just couldn't stand giving good things to outsiders.
He had been stingy his whole life, always taking advantage of others. He couldn't bear to lose anything himself.
He was lazy and greedy. He didn't mind enjoying good food himself—he even felt it was what he deserved, thanks to his daughter.
But giving it to others? That felt like someone was digging out his flesh.
After muttering and cursing for a while, Mawen finally started picking vegetables. While doing that, he turned to Sky and told him:
"In the future, when guests come, don't do it like today again. Even if Aries tells you to, can't you just add more vegetables to the meat?"
Sky nodded honestly, not even hesitating.
"I understand."
But in the end, he still did things the same way.
After these days together, he had figured out Mawen's personality: agree with whatever he says.
That way, Mawen wouldn't say more or scold him.