Chapter 33

Startled by the threat to its life, the chicken found new energy and fled in panic. Xu Zhao immediately sprang into action to chase it.

A person and a chicken, one chasing the other, the chicken flapping its wings, and Xu Zhao in hot pursuit.

Jiang Suihan watched the scene in disbelief and couldn’t help but crouch on the ground, holding her stomach as she laughed uncontrollably.

“Oh, I’m dying from laughter! Can you even manage this?!”

Xu Zhao’s face was flushed with embarrassment. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he glared at the chaotic, flapping chicken and gritted his teeth in frustration.

After a commotion of feathers and chaos, Xu Zhao finally managed to catch the chicken again. This time, he was more ruthless and made a final decisive cut, ensuring the chicken was dead.

Jiang Suihan brought out a basin of hot water and, together with Xu Zhao, plucked the chicken feathers while recalling the amusing scene. Her lips couldn’t help but curl into a smile.

“You said you knew how to kill a chicken. How did it manage to escape?”

Facing Jiang Suihan’s teasing, Xu Zhao’s ears turned slightly red, but he maintained his composure and replied, “I’m a bit rusty. It’s normal to make mistakes.”

Pride was at stake.

Jiang Suihan didn’t argue with him. After plucking the feathers, Xu Zhao removed the chicken’s internal organs and cut the meat into pieces.

At home, there was both an iron pot and a clay pot. The chicken was first blanched, then added to the clay pot along with washed mushrooms, corn, red dates, and the blanched chicken. It was then slow-cooked over a fire.

Jiang Suihan left the kitchen. “There’s quite a bit of food tonight. How about inviting Captain Zhang to join us? He went through quite a bit of trouble picking us up yesterday.”

Interpersonal relationships are inevitable. Zhang Xiangqian and Xu Zhao were on good terms, and she didn’t mind giving Xu Zhao face.

Xu Zhao wheeled out his bicycle and said, “He should still be at the base. I’ll go call him.”

Since the soup took a long time to cook, Jiang Suihan wasn’t in a hurry to start cooking the other dishes and planned to wait until the soup was almost done before getting started.

Jiang Leyun came home with a dirty face. He smelled the rich aroma of meat as he entered and followed the scent to the kitchen, where he saw the steaming clay pot.

He ran back to find Jiang Suihan. “Sister, are we having chicken tonight?”

Jiang Suihan put down her book. “Yes, tonight we have chicken soup and potato stew with chicken, just the way you like it.”

She had painstakingly dug out this novel from Xu Zhao’s stack of books. His collection was all professional literature, which she found as incomprehensible as reading hieroglyphs.

Jiang Leyun grinned happily. “Great!”

It would be even better if they had meat every day.

Jiang Suihan also smiled. “Yes, it’s quite nice.”

Such days were something she had never imagined before. Gone were the intrigues and deceptions of Mingjiang City. Here, life was peaceful. She could sleep in, eat at the cafeteria if she didn’t want to cook, and sit in the yard in the evening enjoying the breeze. It was like living in a dream.

Zhang Xiangqian didn’t want to go empty-handed, so he went home, washed his hands, and took out five apples from the cupboard, putting them in a bag.

Dai Jia had just returned. She had left work an hour early in the afternoon, gone to her parents’ home, and informed her sister-in-law that the military officer she had planned to introduce to her niece was already married. Her sister-in-law’s face had fallen at the news, and she had been criticized in a roundabout way for not handling things properly.

Being blamed for a well-intentioned failure was normal. Dai Jia felt guilty and said nothing, but her sister-in-law’s increasing harshness made her snap. She left without eating, declaring, “If you have the ability, don’t ask me to introduce anyone in the future,” and stormed off on her bike.

“What are you doing with so many apples?”

The apples were bought from the supply and marketing cooperative at an internal price, slightly cheaper than the outside price. Since her son liked them, she had bought extra to keep at home.

Zhang Xiangqian ruffled his hair. “Xu Zhao invited me to his place for dinner. It’s not right to go empty-handed.”

Dai Jia’s expression was indifferent. “Oh.”

Zhang Xiangqian looked at his wife. “What’s wrong with you? You look unhappy. Who upset you?”

Dai Jia threw her bag onto a chair and couldn’t help but vent to her husband. “It’s my sister-in-law. She asked me to introduce someone to her niece. I agreed, thinking we’re family, and planned to suggest Xu Zhao. Who knew that Xu Zhao had quietly married in the meantime?”

“Someone else’s marriage is beyond my control. My sister-in-law gave me a cold shoulder right there and then, blaming me for not putting in effort and making her niece wait in vain. Do you think it’s all my fault? I didn’t know anything beforehand. From now on, no matter who asks me to introduce someone, I will absolutely refuse.”

She continued, “If it weren’t for my sister-in-law constantly begging me and praising her niece to high heaven, saying she’s good-looking, has a high school education, and respects military personnel, I wouldn’t have taken on this troublesome task. In the end, I’m like Zhu Bajie looking in a mirror—rejected on all sides.”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Her sister-in-law’s way of handling things could be quite infuriating. When asking for help, her attitude was impeccable, almost treating you like her own mother. But when you couldn’t help, she immediately changed her demeanor and gave you the cold shoulder.

Zhang Xiangqian frowned slightly. “Playing matchmaker is never easy. If it goes well, both sides are happy; if it doesn’t, both sides will blame you. I think you’ve got the wrong idea. This thankless job that’s easy to offend people is better left alone. You should think about whether you’re up to it.”

He didn’t side with his wife in this matter; both his elder sister-in-law and the others were at fault. It’s a situation where both sides are equally to blame, and no one should complain about the other. The most innocent party in this is Xu Zhao, who is completely unaware of the situation.

Worried that his wife might not remember this, Zhang Xiangqian repeatedly reminded her, “I have to remind you that these minor issues should stay at home. Don’t discuss them with anyone else, understand? We don’t want to affect Xu Zhao and Comrade Xiao Jiang’s marital relationship. Don’t let it come to the point where they’re arguing and you’re held responsible.”

Dai Jia responded grumpily, “I got it, I’m not brainless.”

Initially, she had only discussed it privately with her elder sister-in-law and hadn’t yet consulted Xu Zhao. Now, she was immensely relieved that the matter hadn’t gone through. With her elder sister-in-law’s temperament and the way her maternal family’s niece was, she wouldn’t be a good match for Xu Zhao. If it had been another elder sister-in-law, she would have ended up harming Xu Zhao.

Since Xu Zhao and her husband had a good relationship, she hoped that in the future, Xu’s family might support her husband, and she certainly didn’t want to offend them.

Thinking about this, Dai Jia took the cloth bag she had thrown onto the chair, pulled out a piece of unopened ham, and cut a portion of it in the kitchen, wrapping it in paper: “You should take this over too.”

Zhang Xiangqian’s eyes lit up, “Where did this come from? This ham smells so good.”

Dai Jia placed the remaining half of the ham aside, “My mother gave it to me. You should take it to the Xu family.”

She had been upset with her elder sister-in-law, and her mother had chased after her, giving her a piece of ham that her uncle had brought back from a business trip to the south, saying it was a special product for her to take home and eat.

Jiang Suihan tasted a bit of soup and found it a bit bland, so she asked Jiang Leyun to try it too.

The child pouted and took another taste: “It’s a bit bland.”

Jiang Suihan added a bit more salt to the soup, covered the pot, and set it aside, preparing to stir-fry.

Jiang Leyun dutifully squatted by the stove to start the fire. It was too hot in the kitchen, so Jiang Suihan told him to go out and play.

Xu Zhao rolled up his sleeves and crouched down: “Let me do it.”

Jiang Leyun, holding the fire stick, looked at his sister and then at his brother-in-law, feeling suddenly superfluous.

In a hot pan with oil, she added ginger, garlic, and star anise, first stir-frying the chicken, then removing it from the pan. She added cut potatoes, stirring until golden, then added the chicken back in, covered with water, and simmered for fifteen minutes. Finally, she added salt and soy sauce, reduced the sauce, and served it.

Jiang Suihan picked up a piece of potato with chopsticks and gestured for Xu Zhao to open his mouth.

She looked at him expectantly: “Is it good?”

Xu Zhao replied, “It’s good.”

Pausing, perhaps feeling it wasn’t sincere enough, he added, “It’s very good.”

Jiang Suihan’s eyes curved into crescent moons, and her dimples made her even more charming: “You’re not lying to me?”

Xu Zhao took the chopsticks from her hand and picked up a piece of potato, holding it to her mouth.

Jiang Suihan couldn’t help but look into his eyes and instinctively opened her mouth.

Xu Zhao smiled, “It’s good, right?”

Maybe it was the heat in the kitchen, but Jiang Suihan’s face was flushed, and she softly replied, “Mm.”

“Hiss, I have got a stye on my eyes.”

Zhang Xiangqian covered his eyes with one hand, curiosity bubbling up, peeking through his fingers at the young couple in the kitchen who were engrossed in each other.

He quietly stepped back, rubbed his face in disbelief, and muttered to himself, “Tsk tsk, seems like he hadn’t met anyone he liked before. Just look at him now, all lovesick and fluttery. It’s like a house fire, he’s eager for it to burn for two days and nights.”

Jiang Leyun moved closer to Zhang Xiangqian and blinked at him, “Brother Zhang, what are you mumbling about? Aren’t you looking for my brother-in-law? He’s in the kitchen. Didn’t you see him?”

The child’s fair, chubby face looked so pinchable, and Zhang Xiangqian thought exactly that. Ignoring the child’s struggles, he pinched Jiang Leyun’s face, grinning broadly.

Outside the Xu family’s courtyard, by the kitchen.

“Let go.”

“No.”

“Let go right now.”

“I just won’t let go.”

“If you don’t let go, I’ll call my brother-in-law.”

“Go ahead, I’m not afraid of him. Worst case, we’ll have a fight.”

Jiang Leyun shouted towards the kitchen, “Brother-in-law! Come quickly and save me! I’m being bullied by a bad person.”

The sharp cry of the child made Zhang Xiangqian flinch, unable to stop himself from rubbing his ears. He looked at his good buddy’s “cheap” brother-in-law with some exasperation.

“I told you, Jiang Leyun, you should have given me a warning before screaming. You almost burst my eardrum.”

Xu Zhao, knowing Zhang Xiangqian had arrived and had entered the kitchen, quickly avoided him.

If he hadn’t noticed even such small commotion, he would have wasted his years in the army.

However, he hadn’t expected Zhang Xiangqian to have such a “childish” side, actually bullying a seven-year-old. It was both amusing and exasperating.

“It’s okay. It’s Zhang Xiangqian. I’ll go out and check.”

Jiang Suihan followed behind and saw Zhang Xiangqian and Jiang Leyun standing face to face. The older one had a mischievous smile, while the younger one was pouting and looking angry.

At a glance, she guessed that Zhang Xiangqian was teasing the child, and the child was upset with him.

With two more dishes to cook, Jiang Suihan turned back to the kitchen to continue her work.

Jiang Leyun dove into Xu Zhao’s arms, clearly ready to complain, “Brother-in-law, he’s bullying me.”

With someone to back him up, the child was quite confident.