Chapter 15: The Old Hen is Too Nutritious, Causing Some Heatiness

Seeing her mother still wanting to argue, Bai Ruoqiao quickly pulled her away, calling out,

“Mom, the meat’s all gone. Let’s hurry to the meat factory. Guests are still waiting at home.”

She really feared that if they kept causing a scene, their reputation would be truly ruined.

Before leaving, she shot a resentful glare at Liu Lan.

Everyone around looked disgusted, thinking, What kind of people are these?

“All right, nothing more to see here. Everyone, disperse.” The old lady waved her hand to clear the crowd once the troublemakers left.

With no more excitement, the people naturally dispersed.

The old lady then smiled and walked over to the two girls, now looking kindly and gentle.

“You two young comrades don’t need to be afraid. You did well today, sticking to your principles and not breaking the law. Good comrades.”

Cheng Yueya immediately straightened up proudly, “We’re all good comrades, determined to fight crime.”

Bai Ruoqiao smiled and nodded, “With kind-hearted people like you here, we’re not afraid.

They say the eyes of the masses are sharp; everyone knows right from wrong and definitely won’t side with evil forces.”

“Exactly, you’re right. The masses are sharp-eyed and won’t easily wrong anyone.”

The old lady’s heart warmed hearing Bai Ruoqiao call her “grandma.”

She had longed for a daughter but only had sons.

Looking at this pretty, well-behaved, and gentle young comrade in front of her, she liked her very much.

Too bad she just heard this girl was already married.

“But really, today I must thank you, grandma, for speaking up. Let me give you this piece of meat as a token of thanks.”

She had seen the old lady looking at the meat stall earlier and then went to buy chicken meat next door — clearly she wanted pork.

The old lady naturally refused firmly.

“Why would I take it? Helping others shouldn’t be repaid. What’s that about?”

Bai Ruoqiao looked a bit troubled, “My grandpa taught me since childhood to repay kindness like a spring of water bursting forth. If you don’t take this, I’ll feel bad inside.”

The old lady waved her hand, “This isn’t a favor, just a small help. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Every little bit of help is a favor, but you’re right. I can’t break your principles just for myself.

How about this — I’ll trade you this pork for your chicken. I know you also want pork.”

The old lady looked at the chicken in her basket, then at the pork in Bai Ruoqiao’s hand.

Her eyes quickly calculated and found the amounts about equal.

“Grandma, to be honest, we bought so much meat today because we’re building a house and need to invite guests.

We also planned to buy chicken, so trading with you actually benefits us — we don’t have to wait in line again.”

The old lady hesitated.

Though chicken and pork cost the same, chicken still wasn’t as good as pork.

She did want to make some twice-cooked pork for her son.

After thinking, she bit her lip and said, “Fine, but I’ll give you two persimmons too.”

Seeing Bai Ruoqiao about to refuse, she immediately put on a stern face.

“If you don’t want them, then no trade.”

Bai Ruoqiao was helpless. She had only wanted to give thanks, not make a big deal of it.

“All right, then, thank you, grandma.”

Hearing the sweet “grandma,” the old lady immediately smiled brightly — the more she looked, the more she liked this girl.

Too bad good things all go to the pigs (a saying meaning good things get spoiled or wasted).

The two of them finished exchanging the meat.

Meanwhile, Liu Meizi had been waiting outside for a long time.

Looking up at the rising sun, she wondered why they hadn’t come out yet.

Just then, she saw the two walking out happily chatting with an old lady.

At the door, they politely said goodbye to the enthusiastic old lady, both sighing with relief.

The old lady was really too warm and talkative; it was a bit hard to handle.

“That’s a lot,” Liu Meizi said, seeing the heavy baskets they were struggling to carry.

She lifted the cloth and peeked inside.

Goodness!

Staples like rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea were almost all there, plus plenty of meat, vegetables, sugar, canned goods, and pickles.

Especially seeing those two jars of malted milk powder, Liu Meizi couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.

But she was also happy for them — with Fourth Brother Sihai and Qiao Qiao around, they wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

The three quickly arranged the groceries into baskets.

“Qiao Qiao, do you need to buy anything else?” Fang Meizi asked, leaning on her somewhat heavy bicycle.

“You guys wait here first. I’ll go to the grain store over there to get some rice and flour, then we’re done.”

She said that, lifted her basket, and pulled the cloth cover—one piece she spread at the bottom, the other she folded on top.

Cheng Yueya wanted to go along, “Little Qiao Qiao, I’ll come with you.”

“No need, the bike’s too heavy. Yueya, you help Meizi hold it.”

She wasn’t seriously buying grain; bringing Yueya along would only risk revealing their real purpose.

After saying this, she quickly walked ahead and soon turned the corner.

Seeing no one nearby, she carefully reached into her basket.

In the next moment, the basket suddenly felt heavy — it was filled with cornmeal, at least five jin (about 2.5 kg).

She hadn’t dared to buy fine flour — that would be too conspicuous and cause trouble.

Carrying the basket, she turned back and handed it to Cheng Yueya.

Then she and Fang Meizi each pushed a bicycle.

“That was quick,” Fang Meizi was a bit surprised.

Bai Ruoqiao smiled, “We were lucky. The grain station didn’t have many people lining up. Let’s go, don’t keep everyone waiting.”

Their round trip had taken over an hour.

Now they still had to walk back to the village, which would take at least thirty minutes.

It was already past eleven.

This was the time when people finished work, and seeing their big baskets and small baskets full to the brim,

quite a few people’s eyes brightened and they approached to ask questions.

But they all got dismissed by little firecracker Yueya.

Since she was the village chief’s daughter, no one dared to offend her, so the road was relatively peaceful.

Still, some troublemakers glanced over and then looked toward the Zhao family’s house.

When the group neared the old house, they saw many people there already, bustling around helping—it was quite lively.

Most were close friends of Zhao Sihai.

Among them was the village chief’s eldest son, Yue Guoqing.

Since news spread that Zhao Sihai had been discharged from the army, the village chief’s attitude toward the family had noticeably softened.

It wasn’t that he had been unfriendly before, just businesslike and distant—finishing official matters and then leaving each other alone.

But now Bai Ruoqiao naturally noticed the village chief’s change was due to Zhao Sihai’s job.

Zhao Sihai had been assigned as a driver for the Zhangmu People’s Commune.

Others didn’t know this yet, but the village chief certainly did.

Driver jobs at the commune were highly sought after, especially since it involved driving for leaders.

Even with connections, it was hard to get such a position.

Usually, it required strong ties or going through leadership channels.

In their previous life, the Zhao family was willing to negotiate easily because they knew the job’s value.

Too bad Zhao Third was hopeless.

The family had even paid to hire someone to teach him to drive a tractor.

But on his first day of work, he ended up crashing the tractor along with the commune director into a field.

They lost money and he lost the job.

The house was now almost finished being repaired, proof that many hands made light work.

“Here comes Zhao Sihai!” someone called out.

He ran out to help.

He was wearing just a sweat shirt, his body drenched with sweat that slid down his bulging muscles.

The shirt was soaked through and clung to him, outlining his chest and eight-pack abs.

Just standing there, he radiated a strong masculine aura.

Bai Ruoqiao suddenly touched her nose, blushing and turning away.

Could it be because the empty nest had been lonely too long?

No, it must be that the old hen she had eaten earlier was too nutritious—causing a bit of heatiness.