Chapter 34

Xiao Yicheng knew that the state-owned restaurant was full, so he stood up and walked to Xia Yunxuan, saying, “Xia Zhi, if you don’t mind, join us at our table. It’s dinner time, and there probably won’t be any seats.”

Xia Yunxuan was taken aback. This was the new educated youth, they weren’t even familiar, why was he inviting her to share a table?

But there were no seats, and there were so many people sharing tables anyway. “Comrade, thank you. I don’t know how to address you.”

“Xia Zhi, sit down first. There are a lot of people, be careful not to bump into anyone. I’ll go order food, we haven’t ordered yet.” Xia Yunxuan said, “Comrades, just order what you want, I’ll order myself, no need to trouble you.”

Xiao Yicheng said, “It’s fate that we met, it’s just a meal. You’re being too polite. Besides, next time you can treat us, right? Don’t you want to eat with us?”

Gu Beihai was speechless, his jaw dropped in disbelief. What had gotten into his eldest brother today? Usually, any girl who dared to get close to him would be met with a cold face and sharp words. But today, he was actually inviting a girl to eat with them. It was like the sun had risen in the west.

Gu Beihai thought to himself, his eldest brother must have a crush on this little girl. But her family background was a bit too low. He wondered if his eldest brother’s family would agree. But that face, she was definitely pretty, no worse than those rich girls in the compound.

Xia Yunxuan didn’t know that Gu Beihai was thinking so much about just sharing a meal. If she did, she would definitely give him a few head-knocks and see if his head was filled with water.

Xiao Yicheng quickly ordered the food. His face was a focal point wherever he went, attracting the attention of men and women alike. He was just too handsome.

The staff at the state-owned restaurant usually had a bad attitude towards the diners, tossing them around. But when they saw Xiao Yicheng, they were like they had lost their souls, their mouths wide open.

Where did this handsome young man come from? He was like he had walked out of a painting, tall and handsome, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. His high nose bridge, chiseled features, and fair skin, everything was right up her alley. She wondered if he had a girlfriend.

When the staff came back to their senses, they saw Xiao Yicheng and Xia Yunxuan laughing and talking. This made her furious. She couldn’t believe that he already had a girl by his side. She must be a vixen, just a pretty face, seducing others, with nothing but malice in her eyes.

Xiao Yicheng introduced himself, “Xia Zhi, hello, my name is Xiao Yicheng, I’m 20 years old, unmarried and without a girlfriend. This is my childhood friend, Gu Beihai. You can call me Yicheng or Achen, you can also call me Xiao Zhiqing or Comrade, it’s too formal.”

Xia Yunxuan was puzzled. Why did he have to mention that he was unmarried? How old was he? Was this a blind date?

“Xia Yunxuan reciprocated the introduction. “Hello, my name is Xia Yunxuan, I’ll be 18 soon. I’m from the Xiangshuwan Brigade. As for my family, you’ve probably heard about them since you just arrived, so I won’t introduce them. They don’t count as family to me, and I don’t want to mention them. You won’t mind, will you?”

Xiao Yicheng said, “No, that kind of family should have been cut off long ago. Why keep them for the New Year?”

Gu Beihai had just taken a sip of water, and he almost choked, coughing uncontrollably. He looked at Xiao Yicheng with innocent eyes, meaning, Eldest brother, what’s wrong with you today? Why are you so funny?

Soon, they heard the staff shouting. Their food was ready. In those days, you had to get your own food at the window, there was no delivery service.

Gu Beihai was very quick to pick up the dishes. His eldest brother had already ordered the food, so it was no problem for him to run a few errands. Besides, wouldn’t it be good for the two of them to spend more time together? He was very observant. From his experience, his eldest brother definitely had a crush on this girl named Xia Yunxuan.

He was just a little worried about his eldest brother’s family background. Would they not let him marry a country girl? Their family standards were too high.

Besides, there were so many girls in the compound who were eyeing his eldest brother, wanting to marry him. If they knew he wanted to marry a country girl, they wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

His eldest brother could have stayed in Beijing and not come to the countryside. He couldn’t stand his sister-in-law, who always seemed to be unhappy with everyone and spoke with sarcasm. So he signed up to go to the countryside with his eldest brother, to get away from her, out of sight, out of mind.

He didn’t know what Xiao Ge was thinking, how he could have fallen for that kind of woman. She was always trying to outdo everyone. She had no real ability, and she always acted like everyone owed her something.

Sigh, every family has its own problems. Forget about it, the food in front of him was the most important thing, he had to fill his stomach first. They hadn’t eaten meat for days since they came to the countryside, they were so hungry.

Gu Beihai brought the dishes to the table. “Xia Zhi, these are the dishes, I don’t know if you like them. But there’s braised pork, I guess everyone likes that.”

Xia Yunxuan said, “I’m not picky, anything that fills my stomach is fine. Besides, it’s good to have meat to eat. We don’t have such good conditions here to be picky.”

“Xiao Yicheng said, “Let’s eat, everyone’s hungry.” Xiao Yicheng used the public chopsticks to put several pieces of meat in Xia Yunxuan’s bowl, as well as other dishes.

“Xia Yunxuan said, “Okay, okay, just put some in after we finish eating. Look, my bowl is already piled up like a mountain. You guys eat too.”

“Xiao Yicheng said, “You’re too thin, you need to eat more to replenish yourself. I bet your family didn’t let you eat much meat before. Now that you have the chance, eat more to make up for it.”

Xia Yunxuan was helpless. Could she tell him that she didn’t lack meat to eat now? But she couldn’t refuse his kindness.

Gu Beihai was shocked again. His eldest brother was actually serving a girl food! It seemed like there was a real chance. He never even sat at the same table with girls before, he found them too talkative and their perfume was too strong.

His eldest brother’s actions today had completely shattered his worldview. So many wealthy girls in Beijing couldn’t get his eldest brother, but a village girl got him. He didn’t know whether those wealthy girls would cry or laugh when they found out.

He was really looking forward to seeing the expressions of those rich girls when they found out that his eldest brother had a girlfriend. They were all so good at pretending. They were all gentle and understanding on the surface, but they were all vicious behind their backs.

He and his eldest brother had seen it with their own eyes. If they were upset, they would take it out on the small animals in their house. They were really cruel.