Chapter 155

Lu Weiguo and Shi Tingyu bought a chicken, some dried mushrooms, and a few red dates on their way back, preparing to stew chicken soup for Shi Muhuan that night.

There wasn’t any service available to help slaughter the chicken like in later times, so naturally, this task fell to Lu Weiguo.

Lu Weiguo was swift and skillful in killing and plucking the chicken, while Shi Tingyu watched with admiration.

Feeling the gaze beside him, Lu Weiguo couldn’t help but smile.

After preparing the chicken, Lu Weiguo washed and chopped it in the yard before bringing it into the kitchen.

The house they rented was quite nice.

The kitchen was kept very clean, and the landlord had been using the stove these days without conflicting with them.

The landlord was an old lady who almost regretted renting to them when she saw Shen Ziming bring Lu Weiguo to store things.

Previously, when Shen Ziming, dressed in military uniform, came to rent the house, the old lady agreed without a word, thinking it would only be a few days, convenient for a comrade in arms.

But now, seeing Lu Weiguo, the old lady felt he didn’t look like a good person and was hesitant about renting to them.

Being just an old lady, if she ended up living with a bad person, she wouldn’t even have a chance to resist.

Lu Weiguo used to not care how others saw him, but in front of Shen Ziming, he didn’t want to be a laughingstock.

Just as he was about to show his officer’s ID, Lijian came running over with his food bowl.

The police station’s reward logo on the food bowl was strikingly conspicuous.

It barked at the old lady twice, and if Shi Tingyu had been there, she would definitely have heard that Lijian, a tall Kunming dog, managed to bark with a hint of a clip.

It was afraid it hadn’t helped Lu Weiguo and made the old lady scared.

The old lady, a native-born and bred, hospital doctor, was also literate.

When she saw Lijian’s food bowl, she said, “Is this dog still a police dog? Are you a public security officer?”

As she had guessed, the old lady wasn’t as nervous anymore.

Lu Weiguo said, “I’m a soldier. I’m here with my wife to visit relatives. My uncle is in the hospital nearby, so we wanted to rent a room here for a couple of days to take care of him.”

Nearby, there was only one military hospital, so the old lady knew most of the patients there were soldiers, which put her mind at ease.

Shi Tingyu took out the dried red dates she bought and also soaked the dried mushrooms, starting to prepare other ingredients.

To help Shi Muhuan recover soon, she cooked and stewed the chicken soup using spiritual spring water. However, to prevent it from being too effective, she used diluted spiritual spring water.

Before long, the kitchen was filled with the savory aroma of chicken soup.

Since it was for a patient, Shi Tingyu made the soup mild, but it still smelled delicious.

Lijian wandered around the kitchen door with the bowl in its mouth, drooling.

After putting the chicken soup into the clay pot to simmer, Shi Tingyu fried two dishes before finishing. The main staple was steamed buns they bought from outside.

With just two days, they didn’t find it worthwhile to buy rice.

After serving Lijian its food, Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo each carried a clay pot and packed the dishes and buns in a lunch box before heading to the hospital.

They were planning to eat with Shi Muhuan at the hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital with their meal, they unexpectedly saw Doctor Liu there.

However, this time, there was no more food delivery.

Seeing her sister-in-law and brother-in-law come over, Shi Muhuan felt relieved.

It’s not entirely accurate to say Doctor Liu was pursuing him persistently; at least after Shi Muhuan refused her food, she stopped sending it. However, she still cared for him daily. But Shi Muhuan truly had no feelings for her.

If he did, he wouldn’t wait for her to take the initiative.

After growing up in America, he knew that relationships there were much more open than here.

Seeing someone arrive, Doctor Liu went back to continue her shift.

Shi Muhuan was quite attractive, as anyone could tell from looking at Shi Tingyu. They were a handsome brother and a beautiful sister, attracting a lot of attention from medical staff.

But only Doctor Liu dared to act on it.

Not to mention now, in such an open environment in later generations, a woman pursuing a man wasn’t seen as much.

After arranging the dinner on the nearby small cabinet, Shi Tingyu handed chopsticks to her elder brother.

Looking at the chicken soup in the clay pot, Shi Muhuan felt his mouth water.

After taking a sip of the delicious chicken soup, Shi Muhuan exclaimed sincerely, “Xiaoyu, your cooking skills have improved so much. You’re almost on par with big brother now.”

Lu Weiguo’s radar immediately went off in his mind.

So, his elder brother was such a skilled cook?

Shi Tingyu teased Shi Muhuan, “Brother, whoever marries you in the future will be truly fortunate.”

Lu Weiguo: …

Feeling a bit misunderstood.

He decided he needed to study cooking seriously in the future to relieve his wife from the kitchen sooner.

As Shi Muhuan ate steamed buns, he looked at Shi Tingyu hesitantly and asked, “Are you indirectly hinting at marriage with that comment?”

That Doctor Liu came over twice and was found by him both times.

Shi Tingyu almost rolled her eyes at him.

“What are you thinking? I’m not hinting at marriage at all. Marriage is something you should be willing to do. After all, the days after marriage are yours to live.”

Shi Muhuan nodded. He was already twenty-five this year, and there were quite a few prospective sisters-in-law introduced to him by family members. However, knowing his family background, some introductions were awkward.

His parents were still in the countryside, and he wasn’t really interested in getting married now. So, he had a consistent refusal towards those who wanted to introduce him to someone.

Seeing his elder brother lost in thought, Shi Tingyu picked up a chicken leg for him and said, “Stop thinking about it. There’s no pressure about marriage. Both I and Mom and Dad have no intention of pushing you. As long as you’re happy, not getting married is fine too. Come on, eat quickly to nourish yourself.”

Shi Muhuan smiled at her and accepted the chicken leg she offered.

Lu Weiguo quickly picked up another chicken leg and put it in Shi Tingyu’s bowl. “You need nourishment too.”

Shi Tingyu glanced at him and quietly held his hand beside him.

A hint of a smile flashed in Lu Weiguo’s eyes.

After dinner, Shi Tingyu helped clean up the tableware while Lu Weiguo went to fetch water for Shi Muhuan to freshen up.

When he was injured, he had relied on doctors for help with washing up.

They seemed to have gotten used to these military men who reported only good news and not bad.

With someone helping him now, Shi Muhuan felt like he had someone to rely on.

The two of them were busy until after nine o’clock before leaving.

Back in the yard, Lu Weiguo washed the pots and bowls.

The landlady heard the noise and brought over two thermoses for them.

“I boiled this water on the stove. Take it for washing up so you don’t have to boil more.”

Lu Weiguo thanked her hurriedly.

The landlady waved her hand and went back inside.

It wasn’t easy being away from home.