Chapter 10: Shopping Spree

“Don’t, Second Brother, I’m not kidding you. There are just too many things. I’ll get it for you later.”

She said this while communicating with Bond.

“Bond, quickly get me a men’s watch.”

He remembered that his second brother had been craving a watch for a long time.

She pretended to reach into her bag and took out the watch.

“Ding-dong, Second Brother, look what this is?”

“Is it a watch?” Xia Ninghao yelled and rushed over.

He held the watch and kissed it many times before opening the box. He was so excited that he couldn’t speak.

Xia Ning’an didn’t bother with him. She went to get the radio and walked over to Lu Zecheng.

“I bought a radio. I’ll put it on the kang in your room. You can listen to it when you’re in the room.”

Lu Zecheng was touched by her thoughtfulness and consideration. He couldn’t see, so he was confined to this small courtyard. When he was alone, his whole world was dark. He knew she understood that feeling, so she was like a ray of light, giving him light and the courage to live.

“Have you guys eaten?”

“Mom made sweet potato porridge for lunch. It’s been digested.”

“It’s just right. I packed some food from the state-owned restaurant. Push Zecheng Ge over here. I’ll heat it up for you.”

Xia Ning’an kept half of the braised pork for dinner. She added water to one of the stoves and put the steamed buns and buns on top to steam. She thought there wasn’t enough food, so she took out six eggs and some minced meat and made a minced meat and egg custard.

Xia Ninghao came over to help with the fire, showing her his new watch. He would probably disappear after dinner. He was definitely going to show it off in the village.

After the braised pork was heated, she also heated four fried cakes for them.

“Little Sister, this egg custard is really delicious. I didn’t know you could make egg custard with meat.”

“I’m just trying to give Zecheng Ge some nutrition, so I invented a new way to make it.”

Xia Ning’an realized that this dish was a common one in her hometown in the future. They didn’t have this dish here yet.

After they finished eating, Xia Ninghao washed the dishes and pushed Lu Zecheng back to his room. Then he disappeared.

Xia Ning’an had to tidy up the things she had bought.

Before tidying up, she unpacked the radio, installed the batteries, tuned in to a channel, and let Lu Zecheng listen to it while she tidied up.

She put all of Lu Zecheng’s things in his room and all the food in the kitchen. She also put 50 pounds of rice and 50 pounds of white flour, and five pounds of noodles in the kitchen.

After tidying up everything, she quietly went to see Lu Zecheng to see if he was asleep.

She had just reached the door when she heard Lu Zecheng say, “An’an, go and rest. I’m fine.”

This was the first time she had heard him call her An’an. His voice was so soothing. She inexplicably found it very pleasant to hear him call her that.

She poured him a glass of Farm Spring Water. “Zecheng Ge, drink some water before you sleep. Otherwise, you’ll get thirsty.”

She also filled the army water bottle and placed it not far from him. “I’ll put a water bottle next to you. Drink it if you get thirsty. I also put a chamber pot on the ground by your sleeping kang. If there’s no one at home, use this. There are some peach cakes next to the water bottle. You can eat them if you’re hungry.”

Lu Zecheng knew he couldn’t refuse, so he hummed in agreement.

He didn’t hear Xia Ning’an continue speaking, so he said,

“An’an, can you do me a favor?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Can you help me get something? I buried it on the path that goes into the mountains from the cowshed. There’s a big locust tree on the left side. There’s a plastic bag buried about a meter south of the locust tree. Can you get it for me?”

“Okay, I’ll go now.”

“Be careful on the road. Carry someone with you.”

“Okay!”

She ran quickly out of the house towards the place Lu Zecheng had described.

She found the old locust tree and started digging. The soil wasn’t hard, and she quickly found what he had mentioned.

After retrieving the item, she filled the hole and ran back home quickly.

She handed the item to Lu Zecheng and turned to leave, but he called out to her.

He fumbled to open the bag and took out a passbook and a thick envelope.

“An’an, this is for you. This is my allowance and bonus from all these years. The envelope contains some tickets. Take them, keep them safe.”

Xia Ning’an immediately refused. “This is your life savings. I can’t take it.”

“An’an, are you rejecting me because I’m disabled, so you won’t take my money?” he said deliberately.

“How could I? Besides, you’ll definitely get better. You have to have faith in yourself.”

“An’an, I can come to your house to recover from my injuries with a clear conscience. Why won’t you accept my money? You’re my fiancée. Isn’t it only right to give you money?”

Tsk tsk, so you’re that kind of Lu Zecheng.

He said this, and Xia Ning’an couldn’t find a suitable reason to refuse. She was afraid that if she didn’t accept it, he wouldn’t even recover from his injuries.

“Okay, I’ll take it. If you want to eat anything in the future, just tell me. I’ll buy it for you.”

“Okay. Also, take my officer’s ID from the inner pocket of my bag. You’ll probably need it when you withdraw money.”

“Okay, you’re so smart. It’s a good thing you hid the money beforehand. Otherwise, the Lu family would have taken it all.”

“I made An’an worry. Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid.”

“Did you know you weren’t their biological child all along?”

“Yes, I overheard it last year when I came back. I had guessed it for years.”

“That’s right. You’re so handsome. You don’t look like that family at all.”

Xia Ning’an blurted out the truth, and she felt embarrassed.

“I’ll go to the kitchen and start boiling the bone broth. You stay in the room and listen to the radio.”

“Okay!”

Why does his voice sound so gentle?

Xia Ning’an’s ears burned as she ran to the kitchen to get busy.

She started boiling the bone broth.

She first threw the two bones into the space and asked Bond to chop them for her. She was afraid that her strength wouldn’t be enough and she would waste the marrow.

She boiled a pot of hot water, added cooking wine, put the chopped bones in the water to drain, scooped out the foam from the water, took out the bones, poured out the water, washed the pot, added another pot of water, put in the bones and ginger, washed a small handful of red beans and barley, brought it to a boil over high heat, and then simmered it over low heat.

She chopped the pig trotters and drained them in another pot.

She poured in a small amount of oil, bay leaves, star anise, cloves, cinnamon bark, and other seasonings and sautéed them. Then, she added the pig trotters, scallions, ginger, and rock sugar and stir-fried them until the skin was golden brown. She added dark soy sauce and cooking wine and stir-fried them to color them. Then, she added oyster sauce, light soy sauce, fermented bean curd juice, pepper, and water.

She brought it to a boil over high heat, added the washed peanuts, and then simmered it over low heat.

She went to the firewood shed and took a few pieces of durable firewood and put them in the stove.

“Zecheng Ge, I’m going to the river to try my luck and see if I can catch any fish. I’m stewing meat in the pot. I’ve started the fire. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. Oh, there are oranges next to your water bottle. Remember to eat them.”

After giving her instructions, she grabbed her tools and ran out.

Why was she in such a hurry? She had discovered a business opportunity. She was going to stew fish in the space to make money tonight.