Chapter 33

After a while, the quiet room suddenly echoed with Yan Lei’s voice. He said, “Qiao Wei…”

But he immediately added, “Forget it, it’s nothing.”

Qiao Wei kicked him. “Speak!”

Only then did Yan Lei say, “I think soap doesn’t smell good.”

“Of course not; after all, it’s soap,” Qiao Wei agreed.

But there was no way around it; soap was now the best thing. Qiao Wei remembered very clearly that in the original text, in the 1970s, Lin Xixi, as Yan Lei’s wife, was one of the first people in their area to use soap.

“The one who possesses is the protagonist” is the principle of happy stories. So Lin Xixi being envied for using soap was heavily emphasized. That’s why Qiao Wei had such a vivid impression of it.

“It also burns the skin,” she said. “This thing is highly alkaline and not good for the skin.”

After saying it, she realized that Yan Lei wasn’t the type to waste words. If he brought up a topic, he must have something to say.

“Soap doesn’t smell good, and then?” she asked him. “What do you want to say?”

“Actually… sophora fruit smells good,” Yan Lei said cautiously. “I don’t know if you’d be willing to use it. If you are, I can make sophora fruit water for you. It’s very comfortable for washing hair, and your scalp won’t itch.”

The original owner yearned for the big city, disliked the countryside, and detested anything related to rural life. Soap was considered something only city folks used; in the countryside, even if people had it, they wouldn’t be willing to use it. They used sophora fruit water, shaving water, or tea oil cakes to wash their hair. The original owner, of course, took pride in using soap as a sign of being advanced and sophisticated.

So Yan Lei had never suggested this before.

But now, the way he felt about his wife had changed a lot. Some things he would never have mentioned before now came out naturally.

“Oh, sophora fruit?” Qiao Wei perked up when she heard this.

This thing had appeared in countless historical novels, but she had never seen it in real life. She was so curious.

“Sure, you can get some for me to try,” she said. “Actually, things like soap are chemical products. While they are strong in cleaning, they are not as good for the skin in other aspects as natural products.”

The suggestion was accepted, and Yan Lei felt like the distance between him and Qiao Wei had shortened again. Even though there was no physical distance between them, he could still feel it mentally.

He hoped this kind of distance could disappear in the future.

“Oh dear,” Qiao Wei suddenly exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to show you the plan I made.”

“… What plan?”

“It’s about the yard and the house.”

Qiao Wei roughly explained what she had thought about today and asked him, “Should we work on the yard first or the house?”

Yan Lei asked, “Are you really planning to plant vegetables?”

“Yes,” Qiao Wei said, “but you’re not allowed to use that kind of fertilizer; if you do, I’ll really go crazy.”

That memory was particularly sharp. Even now, talking about that incident, Qiao Wei could still smell the stench of the fertilizer Yan Lei had made in her memory. It showed how much the original owner hated that incident.

Not blaming her, Qiao Wei could hardly stand the smell, even from her memory. A city girl like her couldn’t tolerate it.

Yan Lei even muttered, “That way, it won’t grow well…”

How strong was the bloodline of the Hua family?

Qiao Wei almost burst out laughing and kicked him. Yan Lei promised, “I got it.”

“Remember, we have a farmers’ market; we’re not really relying on farming to eat,” Qiao Wei lectured him. “Give yourself a vegetable plot in the yard for beautification purposes and as a hobby to pass the time and cultivate sentiment. Don’t mix up the priorities.”

Culturally, people like to use four-word expressions a lot when they speak. Political instructors are the same; they love using four-word expressions.

Yan Lei expressed that he learned, “Good, understood.”

But after a while, he asked, “Can I get some mud from the river?”

Qiao Wei: “?”

See, even cultured people have things they don’t understand. Yan Lei explained, “The mud accumulated in the river is rich and good for fertilizing the soil.”

“…” Qiao Wei, “Does it stink?”

“Not at all; it doesn’t stink at all,” Yan Lei promised. “If that mud stinks, you can’t even drink the river water.”

Qiao Wei agreed but made a request: “If it stinks, you have to deal with it the same way you got it.”

Yan Lei was happy. “Sure!”

Qiao Wei asked, “So should we work on the yard first or the house?”

“If you’re not in a hurry, work on the yard first,” Yan Lei suggested. “Quickly get the vegetable plot done now; there’s still time. Planting depends on timing; other things can be done whenever.”

“That makes sense,” Qiao Wei agreed. “I don’t know how to plant, so I’ll leave the specific planting to you. What else can I do for now?”

“You don’t need to do anything.”

“I’m free and want to find something to do.”

When Qiao Wei said this, Yan Lei’s heart skipped a beat. Indeed, if Qiao Wei had nothing to do, he was afraid she might start having wild thoughts and get fooled by someone.

“In that case, loosen the soil first.” Yan Lei decided to assign Qiao Wei some work.

He explained in detail how to do it and where the tools were.

The couple spent the whole night discussing, not love and romance, but about farming and planting.

They woke up on Saturday. At this time, they had a single day off; Saturday was still a working day.

Qiao Wei stretched and got up, taking Yan Xiang out first to have breakfast in the large courtyard. After breakfast, they went to the farmers’ market and bumped into Sister Yang, who was with Lin Xixi and Junzi. Lin Xixi still had Wu Nier hanging on her.

Of course, Qiao Wei had to greet them: “Sister-in-law, why did you buy so many vegetables?”

“Well, Old Zhao is having a study session today with his people.” Sister Yang was very enthusiastic about everyone, especially Qiao Wei, who was famous for being proud. Recently, she had become closer to Qiao Wei, making her feel especially pleased. She performed particularly warmly: “Look, I quickly bought the vegetables. This group of young guys, they can eat you out of house and home.”

She even winked at Qiao Wei.

Qiao Wei glanced at Lin Xixi. Lin Xixi showed no reaction, apparently unaware that today’s so-called study session was actually an arranged blind date for her.

Qiao Wei said, “If you need anything, just let me know.”

Sister Yang was very satisfied with their current relationship. She didn’t hold back. “I need a few chairs.”

“Okay, I’ll buy the vegetables and bring them to you when I get back,” Qiao Wei said.

“No need. Where would you get them? I’ll have Gangzi and Yingzi come over and move them.”

“Alright.”

That was settled. The two groups of people went in different directions.

Qiao Wei liked the idea of Captain Zhao and Sister Yang arranging a blind date for Lin Xixi. If it could give Lin Xixi another choice and make her give up on Yan Lei, then she and Lin Xixi could coexist in this timeline. That would be perfect.

After buying the vegetables and returning home, before the morning sun became too harsh, she found the tools Yan Lei had mentioned and started preparing a square area on the ground in the yard. She called Yan Xiang, “Let’s dig for earthworms.”

She didn’t know how to plant vegetables, but loosening and turning the soil was something she could manage.

In the early morning, she loosened the reserved soil for the vegetable plot.

Yan Xiang, on the other hand, searched for earthworms in the freshly turned soil. Kids had a boldness about them and dared to catch earthworms with their bare hands.

Qiao Wei took an empty jar and filled it with some soil, placing the large earthworms inside. She even informed Yan Xiang, “Earthworms don’t give birth to baby worms like mommies and daddies, but if you cut an earthworm in half, it will grow into two separate earthworms.”

She asked Yan Xiang, “Should we try it?”

She was prepared to cut the earthworms into sections, but Yan Xiang shook his head and said, “It’ll hurt too much; don’t try it.”

Alright then.

On the coal stove, a small pot was simmering tomatoes bought today, and they were cooked into sauce after a whole morning of simmering.

Qiao Wei felt a great sense of accomplishment.

She had never done this before. Although her mom mentioned that her grandma used to make tomato sauce for her when she was a child, that was a long time ago. In Qiao Wei’s generation, who would bother making their own tomato sauce? This skill hadn’t been passed down from her mom.

Qiao Wei learned to make it because she followed a foreign girl from West Asia on a video-sharing platform. The girl’s videos were about daily life, and in one episode, the whole family went out to make tomato sauce. Qiao Wei learned from that.

The first attempt was a bit hard to control, and after filling a canned jar, there was still some leftover sauce.

Qiao Wei chopped a piece of meat and stir-fried it with scallion, ginger, and garlic. Then she poured the freshly made tomato sauce into the pot, creating tomato meat sauce.

She cooked some noodles.

Noodles had to be bought from a side dish shop; they belonged to coarse grains. Since many people in this era were still eating mixed grains rather than refined white flour, noodles were considered a good thing.

After boiling the noodles, she took them out and rinsed them with cold water. She placed them on a plate, poured tomato meat sauce on top, and added two pieces of blanched green vegetable leaves, creating a red, green, and vibrant dish.

It could barely be considered a non-authentic pasta since she used noodles.

Yan Xiang exclaimed, “It looks great.”

Hardly any child could resist the allure of tomato-scrambled eggs and pasta. After taking a bite, Yan Xiang was immediately won over. “It’s delicious! Mom, what’s this called?”

Of course, it couldn’t be called pasta. Qiao Wei said, “Let’s call it… Tomato Sauce Cold Noodles.”

Slightly sour, with meat, and cool, it was perfect for a summer lunch.

Yan Xiang ate a large plate, his little belly bulging. He still wanted to eat more.

Qiao Wei, fearing he might overeat, took away the plate and said, “Don’t eat too much.”

Meanwhile, in Captain Zhao’s home, after lunch, Junzi and Wu Nier went to take a nap. Sister Yang and Lin Xixi weren’t idle. The two of them prepared the dishes for the evening.

With the dishes prepared, the two of them washed their hands, and Sister Yang said, “Come with me.”

Leading Lin Xixi to the bedroom, Sister Yang opened the wardrobe and took out a few pairs of pants, saying, “Take a look and pick one. Today, everyone who came is from your uncle’s unit. If you dress a bit better, it’ll give your uncle some face.”

Unattainable objects in youth will trap you for a lifetime.

Lin Xixi was stunned as she stared at these skirts. This… weren’t these the kind of skirts she dreamed of wearing when she was young?

Back then, she thought that once she followed her educated young husband into the city, she could dress as she pleased. Little did she know that fantasies were beautiful, but reality was quite harsh. Her husband and mother-in-law wouldn’t give her an extra penny for dressing up.

The village belle spent her days in front of the stove, her face covered in cooking fumes.

The yearning for the city from the countryside had been smoked into a greasy and dim haze.

She couldn’t help but touch one of them.

“This one?” Sister Yang swiftly collected the others like a clap of thunder before Lin Xixi could stop her.

Perhaps her expression was too obvious. Sister Yang said, “I’ll keep these. When you need them, I’ll take them out for you to wear.”

Sister Yang thought that since she usually had to work, there was no need to dress up every day. It would be better to wear them during a blind date.

Moreover, keeping them would be safer and better preserved. If they were well preserved, they could still be worn when Yingzi grew up.

Lin Xixi missed the chance to stop her and could only pick up the only pair left.

After changing into them, Sister Yang praised, “Indeed, people rely on their attire.”

The clothes Lin Xixi brought were typical rural flower-print shirts and grey trousers. Suddenly, changing into these fancy trousers made her look fashionable.

The female lead’s halo of appearance manifested at this moment, astonishing Sister Yang.