Chapter 9

Under the big locust tree in Qingxi Village, there is a set of stone tables and stone benches that have been passed down for hundreds of years and have weathered many storms.

“You sit down first!” Song Qingwan pointed to the stone bench next to her.

Then, he placed the bamboo basket on the stone table, opened the blue cotton cloth covering it, and took out two aluminum lunch boxes.

This aluminum lunch box was issued by my brother Song Zhen’s unit. When the weather is cold, Song Zhen occasionally uses it to bring meals to the unit.

Lu Zheng sat down slowly and looked at the lunch box on the table hesitantly, “What is this?”

Song Qingwan smiled, opened them one by one and joked, “Eat them while they’re hot! Your mother-in-law made them early in the morning.”

When she said the word “mother-in-law”, her face became slightly hot, but she still pretended to be calm.

After all, whether it was the qualitative change in their relationship or the matter of getting a marriage certificate, she was the one who took the dominant position.

She likes this feeling!

In a lunch box, wild vegetable dumplings are neatly arranged.

In another lunch box, there was stir-fried sauerkraut with garlic sprouts, and a boiled egg that looked like a conspicuous bun.

After the food was served, Song Qingwan smelled the fragrance and swallowed her saliva quietly. Mother Song’s cooking skills were really good!

Song Qingwan sat down opposite Lu Zheng, propping up her chin and waiting, “Eat!”

Lu Zheng looked at the delicious and steaming food on the table, his Adam’s apple rolling slightly, but he didn’t move his chopsticks.

Seeing that he was hesitating, Song Qingwan picked up a wild vegetable dumpling and stuffed it into his hand.

“Eat quickly!”

What are you hesitating about? You have to wait until he finishes eating before you can go home for breakfast!

Lu Zheng took the wild vegetable dumpling helplessly, hesitated for a moment, and slowly put it to his mouth.

He can’t cook. In the past, he had a nanny at home and a canteen at work.

But since he arrived in Qingxi Village, he lived alone in the cowshed. There was no one to cook for him and there was no public canteen in the village.

Lu Zheng has been sent down to the village for such a long time, and he has always been confused about food.

He was alone, with no future, a stutter, and barely surviving.

Although the village chief didn’t know the details of Lu Zheng’s situation, he could guess some of it and felt sympathy for him.

Occasionally, I would take care of him and ask my wife to bring him some food.

But these days, no one had enough food, and the village chief’s care could only allow him to have an occasional snack.

Most of the time, he would stew some potatoes and sweet potatoes, and dig some wild cassava from the back mountain and roast it.

Or you could go fishing in the deep river, hunt in the woods, roast some food, sprinkle some salt on it and eat it.

Sometimes it was undercooked and would make him feel sick, and sometimes it was burnt. He could never get the right temperature right, so it was naturally no match for the fine food he was having.

“Is it delicious?” Song Qingwan pursed her lips and asked in a low voice.

She found a random topic and prepared to have a good talk with Lu Zheng about the task Jiang Chunlan had assigned to her.

Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered slightly. He glanced at her and nodded slightly, saying truthfully, “Yeah, it’s delicious.”

He thought about it, broke the wild vegetable dumpling in his hand into two halves, and handed over half.

Song Qingwan took a look at the half of the wild vegetable dumpling, then looked at the remaining five in the lunch box, and took it silently.

There’s still plenty in the lunch box, so it should be fine for her to eat half of it first.

What Song Qingwan didn’t notice was that when Lu Zheng saw her take half of the wild vegetable dumpling from his hand, a warm smile flashed in his eyes.

“The Song family is going to split up.” Song Qingwan moved closer and said calmly.

After saying that, he broke the wild vegetable balls into small pieces, put them into his mouth, and began to chew them carefully.

Lu Zheng looked up when he heard the voice, and was stunned for a moment, but soon understood, “Is it because of me?”

Song Qingwan glanced at him and waved her hand guiltily.

“Don’t think too much. It’s only a matter of time before the Song family splits up.”

“Our marriage was just a trigger.”

Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered slightly. So it was all because of the matter between them.

He lowered his eyes, hiding the unnecessary emotions in them.

Song Qingwan couldn’t guess what Lu Zheng was thinking, so she cleared her throat and continued:

“My mother asked me to come to you because there’s something important, and she wanted me to let you know in advance.”

Lu Zheng raised his head and said calmly, “What’s the matter? Tell me.”

Thinking of what she was going to say next, Song Qingwan’s eyes began to wander and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.

“Since we’ve gotten married, there’s no reason for me to live in my parents’ house anymore.”

Lu Zheng’s hand trembled, and the wild vegetable dumpling in his hand almost fell. He raised his hand and touched the back of his head with the back of his hand, and replied in a low voice: “Well, then what?”

Song Qingwan glanced at Lu Zheng and whispered, “Grandpa wants me to move to your place within three days.”

Lu Zheng stuffed a large piece of wild vegetable dumpling into his mouth, choking so much that his neck felt thick. He quickly took off his water bottle to drink water, “Cough, cough!”

“Isn’t it a bit too fast?”

“I mean, I’m not ready there yet.”

Song Qingwan looked at his shy, awkward, and bewildered appearance, and her mood suddenly brightened up. She smiled faintly and said:

“It’s okay, my house is ready!”

“After the Song family divided their property this morning, the second branch will receive a share of the money.”

“My parents wanted to give me 200 yuan as a dowry, plus nine sets of 36 legs.”

After hearing this, Lu Zheng was stunned and his whole body gradually tensed up.

Their eyes met, and Lu Zheng’s eyes were deep and unfathomable.

Song Qingwan was a little confused as to what he was thinking at this moment, so she just said:

“What Mom and Dad mean is… I’ll give you the two hundred dollars and thirty-six legs quietly for now.”

Song Qingwan was unsure, and while she was talking, she was paying attention to Lu Zheng’s reaction. After all, this was related to the man’s face.

“Well, when the time comes, just say it was you who paid the betrothal gift.”

Lu Zheng was silent for a long time, then said faintly:

“Everyone knows I live in a cowshed, with nothing at home and no money to spend. Where does the money come from?”

Song Qingwan chuckled and waved her hand nonchalantly, “Don’t worry about that, my mother has already thought about it!”

“You’re obviously from a big city. You’re educated and knowledgeable!”

Song Qingwan first gave a positive response, then looked around, and after confirming that no one was around, she moved closer and whispered in his ear:

“If anyone in the village questions you, just say it was the salary you received when you were working at the unit.”

“Or maybe they said it was sent by family.”

Lu Zheng raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling a little surprised. “Is this possible?”

Song Qingwan smiled and said, “Why not?”

As he spoke, he patted Lu Zheng’s shoulder and said proudly:

“Don’t worry! The Song family is a big family in Qingxi Village. Since you married me, I will naturally protect you in the future.”

Song Qingwan didn’t expect that this matter could be communicated so smoothly.

After the two of them agreed, they parted at a fork in the road.

Lu Zheng took some food and went to the back mountain; she carried the empty food basket and walked slowly back home.

Thinking of Lu Zheng’s reaction just now, Song Qingwan couldn’t help but praise in a low voice:

“He’s truly from a big city! Reasonable and adaptable!”

Suddenly, a frustrated voice came from the bushes beside him, “What do you mean by being flexible? That guy is clearly just looking for a gigolo!”

The next second, a wet figure emerged from the grass.

Song Qingwan was startled and quickly shouted in a low voice: “Zhao Yuanshan! Shut up!”

After saying that, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the figure in the distance, thinking to himself: We have walked so far, he should not be able to hear it, right?

Lu Zheng’s figure was almost blurred, but the moment Song Qingwan looked over, the figure actually slowed down and turned around slowly.

Without saying anything, Song Qingwan pushed Zhao Yuanshan back into the bushes and threatened him in a low voice, gritting her teeth:

“If you dare to talk nonsense again, I’ll let my brother take care of you!”

Zhao Yuanshan huddled in the grass and didn’t say a word.

Even though they were so far apart, Song Qingwan could still feel that Lu Zheng was looking back at her…

“Don’t look at me anymore, you’re almost drooling,” Zhao Yuanshan said sourly with red eyes, “that guy has already gone into the back mountain.”

Song Qingwan subconsciously raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth. It was obviously clean!

She glared at Zhao Yuanshan, turned around and walked home.

“Zhao Yuanshan, from now on, I am a married woman, stay away from me!”

Although this was once the original owner’s true love, the story line has now taken a turn and can never return to the right track. It’s better to end it as soon as possible.