Chapter 6

The chili sauce Jiang Rou prepared was packed in thick, pear-shaped canned bottles. Jiang Rou had eaten this kind of pear-canned sauce when she was a child. It used to be a common item for gifting during the holidays, but she hadn’t seen it in years, not even in supermarkets.

At first glance, she felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had encountered it before.

The just-filled, pear-canned sauce was still hot. Jiang Rou didn’t seal it and placed it in the cupboard. The prepared dough was hung in the well, ready to be cooked for him in the morning.

The man didn’t say a word from beginning to end and followed Jiang Rou back to the room.

But he knew in his heart that everything Jiang Rou did was for him.

The two lay down in the room. It was a bit late, past the time Jiang Rou usually went to sleep, so it didn’t take long after lying down to hear her breathing become steady.

Li Xiao, on the other hand, couldn’t fall asleep. He tossed and turned in bed several times. Finally, he turned to face Jiang Rou.

The moonlight shone in from behind him, and from his perspective, he could see the woman’s back, which had a beautiful curve. Because she faced away, her belly wasn’t prominent and was covered halfway by a quilt. But it seemed a bit hot, and she unconsciously pulled it down.

He leaned his arm against his head and looked more closely. He saw her peacefully sleeping profile and noticed her fair and slender right hand holding a fan.

In a moment of absent-mindedness, Li Xiao reached out and gently touched her round belly. Perhaps it was telepathy, as the little one inside her belly kicked gently.

The little one’s light kick momentarily stunned the usually tough-hearted man.

He was stunned until he heard the woman’s unconscious groan before quickly retracting his hand with a guilty conscience. However, as he pulled back, he lifted the quilt covering Jiang Rou’s belly, pulling it up to her chin.

In her sleep, Jiang Rou seemed to feel hot, furrowing her brows and lifting her hand to pull it down.

The man refused to let her pull down the quilt covering her so, he pulled the quilt up to her neck. However, this time he conscientiously pulled out the fan from Jiang Rou’s hand and raised his arm to fan her.

The slight cool breeze gradually eased Jiang Rou’s furrowed brow, and she no longer resisted.

……………

The next morning, before dawn, Li Xiao got up. Jiang Rou also got up with him. She remembered the dough she had prepared the night before and the stuffing she had made. While Li Xiao went to freshen up, she went to the kitchen to steam the buns and mantou.

Meat buns don’t last long, so Jiang Rou made fewer of them. Mantou, on the other hand, could last for two days. She steamed over twenty of them, considering he would be going out with others.

In the house, there were two pots: one for steaming buns and mantou, and the other for noodles.

The noodles in the second pot were made from the leftover dough, sliced into pieces, and thrown into the pot. Four eggs were added, along with green onions and sesame oil.

When the noodles were ready, Li Xiao had already finished washing up. Jiang Rou served him a large bowl and placed it on the stove. As he glanced at her in the dim light, the woman, with her head lowered, lifted the lid of another pot. Stray hair fell on her cheek, and the white steam blurred her gentle and graceful face.

He pursed his lips, took the bowl, and went outside to eat.

Jiang Rou noticed that the buns were almost done but didn’t pay much attention. She grabbed a basin and toothbrush to wash up, worried that the noodles in the pot might stick if left for too long.

When she finished washing up and went to the kitchen to eat noodles, a knocking sound came from the courtyard.

In the main room, Li Xiao went to open the door. It was Zhu Qiang, who had come prepared in advance for the trip. Since he was going far, Zhu Qiang deliberately wore his most presentable clothes—a faded blue striped collar short-sleeve shirt and army green pants.

He carried a snakeskin bag on his shoulder, appearing slightly burdened, causing him to stoop a bit.

Zhu Qiang looked up, smiled at Li Xiao, and was somewhat surprised to see him holding a bowl. He hadn’t expected Li Xiao to bother cooking.

He thought Li Xiao didn’t eat either, so he came to the station early to buy steamed buns and eat them with him.

With full uncertainty, “Brother Xiao, are you leaving?”

Li Xiao glanced at the person and said calmly, “I’ll finish eating this first before we leave. Come in.”

Zhu Qiang didn’t say much and followed him into the courtyard. After a few steps, he realized something was amiss and suddenly exclaimed. His gaze fell on the clean and spacious courtyard, and for a moment, he thought he had entered the wrong house. Even when he put down the snakeskin bag in the main room, he couldn’t recover.

To add to the surprise, when he saw Jiang Rou coming out of the kitchen, he was even more perplexed. In his impression, Jiang Rou was afraid of Li Xiao. Even though they were living under the same roof, she would find ways to hide from Li Xiao.

Both Li Xiao and he had woken early to leave, and yet Jiang Rou was already up.

However, what surprised him even more was that Jiang Rou smiled at him and, after seeing him, put down a small bowl. She went to the kitchen and brought out a plate of buns and a bowl of noodle soup, saying to him, “You probably haven’t eaten yet. Since there’s no more noodles, have some buns and fill your stomach.”

Zhu Qiang looked at this scene and felt a bit speechless.

Iang Rou felt uncomfortable under his gaze and carried the bowl back to the kitchen.

Zhu Qiang turned his gaze to Li Xiao, who remained composed. Holding the noodle bowl, Li Xiao went to the big table and calmly said, “Eat.”

He took a pork bun for himself.

Curiosity gnawing at him, Zhu Qiang suppressed it, walked over, and sat across from him. The aroma of steamed buns and baozi filled the air, making Zhu Qiang’s stomach growl louder. Without uttering a word, he reached out and unabashedly grabbed a bun for him to eat.

The steamed buns that were just out of the pot were very soft, soft to the touch, and slightly hot. Zhu Qiang squeezed it gently, and it sank. Seizing the opportunity, he took a bite. The flavorful broth oozed out, scalding his tongue, but the taste was so good that he hesitated to spit it out.

It was even better than what his uncle had made. ((Note: his uncle is a chef.)

Zhu Qiang then picked up a bowl and took a sip of the noodle soup. The taste was excellent. Growing up with Li Xiao, he knew for sure it wasn’t Li Xiao’s cooking.

It had to be Jiang Rou.

He was surprised and amazed; he never thought Jiang Rou had this skill. He had always assumed Li Xiao was at a disadvantage being pursued by Jiang Rou, but now it didn’t seem bad at all.

Unlike him, when he left in the morning, his parents were still asleep. Ever since Mei Zi’s family demanded a hefty dowry, his mother’s interest has waned. She felt it was more expensive than marrying a city wife. Knowing he was earning money for the year-end wedding, his mother went to bed at seven last night, leaving him to leave alone in the morning.

Feeling a bit uneasy for no apparent reason, he remembered that when they were in school, he always had something to eat no matter when he woke up, while Li Xiao often went hungry.

Now suddenly, it felt like it had changed.

Li Xiao finished eating the noodles and went to the kitchen. Jiang Rou sat in front of the stove, eating noodles. Li Xiao saw that the steamed buns and mantou on the stove were already packed, wrapped in clean white gauze, covered with two sheets of newspaper, tied with a string, and next to them were two jars of neatly closed chili sauce.

Li Xiao glanced at them, took out a small stack of money from his pocket, placed it on the stove, and said to Jiang Rou sitting below, “I’ll call you when I get there. Use this money; don’t be frugal, but don’t give any to your brother.”

At this point, his face suddenly turned a bit cold, and his eyes were pitch black. “If you give him more money, I’ll break his leg.”

His voice was icy, showing no hint of joking.

Clearly, he deeply resented “her” past actions in supporting her brother.

Jiang Rou looked up at him, quickly assuring, “I won’t give him any. I won’t have any contact with them in the future.”

The man’s expression softened a bit, and after a moment of thought, he added, “I’ll be back in September. If anything happens, go to the neighbor; I’ve already informed them.”

Jiang Rou nodded and finally looked at him and said seriously, “You also need to be careful when you’re outside. There are many bad people outside, and you… need to be cautious.”

The man laughed as if it were nothing, showing an indifferent look. “Alright, don’t think too much.”

He picked up the mantou and chili sauce, turned around, and left.

Watching his indifferent departure, Jiang Rou felt even more guilty. After spending the past few days together, Li Xiao has treated her well.

With these thoughts in mind, unable to eat anymore, Jiang Rou got up and went to see them off. Li Xiao packed steamed buns, mantou, and two cans of chili sauce into a snake-skin bag. Together with Zhu Qiang, they walked out one after the other, and Jiang Rou followed them to the courtyard gate.

Once outside the courtyard, the man turned around, smiling at Jiang Rou next to him. “Sister-in-law, no need to see us off. We’ll be back soon.”

Jiang Rou nodded, looking conflicted as she glanced at Li Xiao, unable to resist reminding him once again, “Be careful outside; don’t be impulsive if you encounter any trouble. Come back early if things don’t go well.”

In the eyes of Li Xiao and Zhu Qiang, her expression turned into a reluctant gaze.

Li Xiao glanced deeply at her, his thin lips raised, and said, “Alright, go back.”

He turned and walked away.

Zhu Qiang caught up.

One on the left and one on the right, both carrying snake-skin bags. Li Xiao walked like a runway model, and Zhu Qiang beside him resembled a little old man.

Zhu Qiang waved to Jiang Rou and, as they walked away, turned back to Li Xiao, saying, “Sister-in-law is still watching.”

Li Xiao paused his steps, resisted the urge to look back, and continued walking forward. After a few steps, he complained seemingly impatiently, “Women are troublesome.”

Zhu Qiang scratched his head, not catching the meaning, and feeling envious, he said, “If Mei Zi could be like my sister-in-law in the future, that would be great.”

Li Xiao in front faintly smiled at the comment.

However, when Zhu Qiang caught up, he concealed the expression, maintaining a calm demeanor.

After seeing them off, Jiang Rou returned to the kitchen to continue eating noodles, counting money while doing so—three hundred yuan in total.

With the addition of rice and noodles at home, these three hundred yuan would last her a long time.

Although Li Xiao was not talkative, the absence of one person made the house much quieter. Fortunately, Jiang Rou was adaptable and quickly got used to it.

In the following days, she stayed at home, sewing clothes for the children, practicing yoga and prenatal education, and preparing some delicious food for herself.

Three days later, Mrs. Wang next door called her, saying that Li Xiao had called.