Chapter 86: Rolling on the Ground

On the third day, Jing Xi noticed that the imported sedan with the license plate 888 did not appear in Fucha Village. She figured that after facing rejection for two consecutive days, the couple must have lost their patience.

She spent her day checking the fields, helping out at the construction site, and then sneaking into her personal space to cook a little feast for herself. Before she knew it, most of the day had already passed.

When people are busy, time seems to fly by.

As she stepped out of her space after eating her fill, she heard Liu Jianchang and Zhang Rui arguing outside. Curious, she quickly went out to see what was going on.

She was so focused on the commotion that she didn’t even realize she was still carrying the strong scent of hot pot on her clothes.

The moment she stepped out, she saw Zhang Rui sitting on the heated brick bed, looking troubled.

“Auntie, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Zhang Rui smiled awkwardly. “Oh, it’s nothing—just a little bickering between an old married couple. No big deal.”

Liu Jianchang’s face was slightly red. “We’ve let the child see a joke.”

Hearing that, Jing Xi felt relieved. “I thought something serious happened! Haha, don’t worry, I get it.”

After all, what couple doesn’t argue now and then?

She herself had been in relationships before and had her fair share of fights.

She sat down next to Zhang Rui, ready to chat casually with them. But before they could start, Zhang Rui sniffed the air and frowned slightly.

“Xiao Jing, why does your clothes smell so oily and spicy?”

Jing Xi’s face instantly turned red as she suddenly remembered—she had just eaten hot pot in her space and hadn’t changed her clothes before coming out!

Scratching her head, she quickly made up an excuse. “Maybe someone nearby was cooking, and I happened to stand too close and got the smell on me. I’ll go change in a bit.”

Zhang Rui waved it off. “Oh, it’s fine! I wasn’t complaining. It actually smells quite good, just a bit spicy.”

Jing Xi suddenly felt a little guilty. She had been secretly enjoying her private meals every day, and now someone had caught a whiff of it.

“Auntie, have you ever heard of Sichuan-style hot pot?” she asked, trying to divert the topic.

Zhang Rui shook her head. “What’s that?”

“What about Beijing-style lamb hot pot? Have you heard of that?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“Well, they’re quite similar, except Sichuan hot pot is spicy. They add a lot of Sichuan peppercorns and chili, then cook things like offal and other ingredients in the broth. It’s incredibly flavorful.”

Zhang Rui’s interest was piqued. “Is it really that spicy? You know, I actually enjoy eating spicy food. I always add chili when I cook.”

Jing Xi smiled. “I’m not sure how spicy it actually is, but I’ve read about the broth recipe in the newspaper. It’s not hard to make. We can try it with lamb, and we can also pick some fresh vegetables from the field to go with it.”

Zhang Rui nodded enthusiastically. “That sounds great! How do you make the soup base?”

Jing Xi, full of confidence, said, “Auntie, leave that part to me. You don’t have to worry about the base. Once I’m done preparing, we can all enjoy it together. We can dip green beans, potatoes, leeks, cilantro, scallions, cabbage—pretty much anything!”

“That sounds amazing! Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll prepare the ingredients. I’ll also have your uncle buy some lamb.”

Jing Xi nodded in agreement.

Then Zhang Rui suddenly remembered something. “Oh, Xiao Jing, I need to trouble you with something tomorrow.”

“Auntie, just say it.”

“Tomorrow, I need to visit my cousin’s house and won’t be home for the whole day. Can you help me deliver some supplies and living expenses to Liu Yan and Liu Chun?”

Jing Xi agreed without hesitation. “No problem!”

The next morning, Zhang Rui had everything packed and ready, placing the items on the stove. She also left some money for Jing Xi to cover the travel expenses.

Then she set off on her trip.

After getting up, Jing Xi went to the village entrance to catch a ride.

She checked the supplies that Zhang Rui had prepared for Liu Yan and Liu Chun—mostly food, along with five yuan for each of them.

Previously, Liu Chun had mentioned to Jing Xi that while their family wasn’t as wealthy as the Zhang family, their income had increased several times over in recent years. As a result, their living expenses had also risen accordingly.

In the past, they only received five yuan per person per month. Now, they spent around five yuan each per week.

The school cafeteria was cheap—a meal of just meat-filled buns cost only a few cents, and simpler dishes like noodles or coarse grains were even cheaper.

Moreover, after Liu Chun’s incident—where she tried to save up money to buy paper-cutting materials but ended up getting scammed at the Great World Market—Zhang Rui had learned an important lesson. She realized that children should be given enough pocket money to avoid such situations.

Since then, Liu Yan and Liu Chun’s allowances had increased significantly. During the last New Year, Zhang Rui had even given them fifty yuan each as lucky money.

That was no small amount.

After all, some people couldn’t even earn fifty yuan in an entire month.

After waiting at the village entrance for about ten minutes, the bus finally arrived.

When Jing Xi got off at the town’s bus station, she immediately noticed a man selling steamed buns and mantou by the roadside.

Meat buns were five cents each, while mantou were two cents apiece.

Seeing that there were quite a few customers and that the buns were quite large, she decided to buy one with pork filling to try since she hadn’t eaten at home that morning.

To her surprise, it tasted pretty good—but still not as good as the ones she made.

“Big brother, give me five more buns.”

“Alright! Do you still want the pork ones?”

“Yes!”

The man quickly packed five pork buns for her. Jing Xi paid, ate another one on the spot, and carefully stored the remaining four before heading toward the school.

Even as she walked, she could still smell the rich aroma of the meat filling.

Suddenly, she thought of Old Man Xia and the conversation with Xia Lidong about opening a mantou shop. Since her meat buns tasted even better, why not open a bun shop in the village?

Lost in thought, she arrived at the school gate without realizing it.

She greeted the familiar gatekeeper and asked a classmate to help call for Liu Chun and Liu Yan.

Since it was a holiday, the two soon came running out hand in hand.

Seeing Jing Xi carrying several bags, they quickly took some off her hands.

“Eat a bun first!”

Jing Xi took out a bun and handed it to Liu Yan, but before she could take it, a large hand suddenly snatched it away.

The three of them looked up at the same time, only to see Kong Yu—the guy they had encountered last time—standing beside them, grinning widely as he stuffed the meat bun into his mouth.

“Buns from a pretty girl taste even better! So good!”

With that, he shoved the entire bun into his mouth in one go.

Jing Xi was beyond shocked—she actually felt a little nauseated.

Meanwhile, Liu Chun, who had been deprived of her bun, was absolutely furious. She snatched the bun Kong Yu was holding and yelled, “Kong! I’ve had it with you! If you don’t compensate me for my bun today, I swear I’ll rip your mouth open!”

Kong Yu laughed as he ate, glancing at Jing Xi. “Delicious, delicious! Heh, you can’t hit me! Can’t catch me! You’re so mad!”

Liu Chun didn’t hesitate—she slapped him across the face.

The slap landed solidly.

Kong Yu was stunned for a moment, but as soon as he saw Liu Chun raising her hand again, he started shouting, “Help! I’m being attacked! Someone’s hitting me!”

Not only did he shout, but he also threw himself onto the ground, rolling around.

His clothes got completely disheveled from all the rolling.

Before long, students passing in and out of the school gathered around.

Seeing that it was Kong Yu, someone immediately suggested getting a teacher.

Liu Yan quickly grabbed Liu Chun. “It’s fine, don’t be scared. Everyone knows Kong Yu isn’t right in the head. No matter who comes, we have the moral high ground.”

Liu Chun nodded, but her shoulders still trembled slightly.

Jing Xi held Liu Chun’s hand—it was ice-cold.

“This Kong Yu… what’s his deal?”

Liu Yan sighed. “He has an uncle in the school’s administration, so he basically does whatever he wants. It’s not that he’s mentally challenged—he’s just extremely stubborn and a bit aggressive. If things don’t go his way, he’ll throw himself on the ground and start rolling around in frustration. That’s why most people at school avoid provoking him—nobody wants to risk getting punished because of him.”