40: Chapter 24: Return 40: Chapter 24: Return The waterlon was cut open, and Shen Xiu imdiately cheered up, “The flesh is really red, and the seeds are shiny black.
The taste must not be bad.”
She covered one half with a damp towel and put it back in the well water, while slicing the other half.
“Sister-in-law, here,” Shen Xiu handed a big piece to Lin Xiaoguai and took one for herself before putting the rest of the waterlon away for grandpa and grandma to eat when they returned.
Actually, Lin Xiaoguai wasn’t too fond of waterlon because it needed to be eaten with great care not to drip all over.
Usually, she would cut it into small chunks of two to three bites, but facing Shen Xiu’s kindness, she naturally wouldn’t refuse.
In fact, she used to grow seedless waterlons in her space, and this seeded version was newly planted.
There was no help for it; seedless waterlons hadn’t appeared yet at that ti.
After finally finishing a big piece of waterlon, Lin Xiaoguai washed her hands and wiped her mouth, about to pour so water, when the voices of Shen Zhangming and Luo Yufang ca from the doorway.
Hearing their quite annoyed tone, she tensed up and hastened outside, only to hear Luo Yufang say angrily and hatefully, “How did I give birth to such a creature?”
“What happened?” Lin Xiaoguai asked timidly.
“Isn’t it because of Xiuwa’s dad?
Holding tens of thousands of yuan, yet still trying to covet the spare ribs and walnuts I bought for you.” Luo Yufang was so angry that her voice trembled.
“Did they take the items?” Lin Xiaoguai glanced at the basket grandma was holding.
“How could they?” Luo Yufang glared at Shen Zhangming, “The old man was almost about to give it to them, but I quickly snatched it back.”
“It wasn’t who wanted to give it; it was Shen Xiaobao who ca up and snatched it, and I didn’t react in ti,” Shen Zhangming said sowhat sullenly.
They couldn’t bring themselves to like Shen Xiaobao, the nominal great-grandson, not to ntion any grandparent-grandchild affection.
Since the items were saved, there was no need to be angry anymore, to avoid harming one’s health.
“How co there are walnuts at this ti?” Lin Xiaoguai changed the topic.
“These are wild walnuts from the mountain, sold by small traders, three cents per catty.
I heard people say they are nourishing, so I weighed two catties for you,” Luo Yufang replied.
She scrimped on other things but wasn’t vague at all about providing nourishnt for her granddaughter-in-law.
Lin Xiaoguai took a look and said, “These seem to be hickory nuts.”
“What’s wrong with hickory nuts?” Luo Yufang beca a bit nervous; they weren’t cheap, and she had never seen them before.
Could she have been tricked?
“Hickory nuts aren’t bad; it’s just that the shells are hard and not easy to eat.”
Luo Yufang breathed a sigh of relief, “No problem, we can use a hamr to crack them open.”
“Are today’s spare ribs good?” Lin Xiaoguai nodded and then asked.
“Are they ever?” Luo Yufang happily unwrapped the paper to show her, “Didn’t you say you liked those small ribs?
Look, this is what you ntioned, just delivered from the slaughterhouse, very fresh.”
At that ti, spare ribs were not as expensive as pork belly, so Lin Xiaoguai’s liking for spare ribs wasn’t t with any objection.
“And you ntioned big bones; they didn’t have any today, but I’ve arranged with them to keep so for us tomorrow, for free.” Her granddaughter-in-law said that stewing those not only tastes good but is also very nourishing.
Trusting her knowledge and cooking skills, Luo Yufang had inquired without hesitation.
Seeing that grandma’s attention was completely diverted, Lin Xiaoguai felt relieved and smilingly started to talk about other topics with her.
The day Shen Chi returned, Shen Xiu accompanied Shen Zhangming to the station to pick him up, while Lin Xiaoguai and Luo Yufang stayed at ho.
“Wanwan, how should we prepare this kelp?” At the Shen family’s house now, Lin Xiaoguai had completely taken over the authority in the kitchen, with Luo Yufang and Shen Xiu usually acting as assistants.
“Let’s make a cold salad.” Lin Xiaoguai looked at the kitchen ingredients.
She wanted to make a kelp tofu soup, but tofu wasn’t easily available at the mont; not sold in the cooperative, and privately it was sold sowhat secretively, although she rembered people selling it in the countryside, albeit claid as for their household consumption.
She had plenty of soybeans in her space and could get tofu with a little processing, but it was hard to explain.
“Then you do it.” Here, the cooking usually involved only frying and boiling; cold dishes had only been experienced by them since Lin Xiaoguai joined the family.
As Luo Yufang washed the kelp, she couldn’t help saying, “This kelp is so fresh, like it just ca out of the sea.
Wanwan, you’re really lucky, every ti you go out, you manage to find these rare goods sold by peddlers.” She sincerely thought this granddaughter-in-law was very lucky; not many outings resulted in finding rare goods like waterlon or kelp which you might not encounter even once a year.
She spoke sincerely, and Lin Xiaoguai, feeling sowhat uneasy, quickly took out the stead at with rice flour from the pot.
“It slls delicious!” Luo Yufang praised, having sensed the aroma, “It’s much better than what I make.
Chi has loved this dish since he was young, he will definitely be happy.”
Lin Xiaoguai pursed her lips and smiled, then took out a handful of new soybeans from the cabinet.
These were to be fried as a snack to accompany the drinking for the two n, as the local n here liked this kind of accompanint.
With cold kelp salad, stead at with rice flour, fried soybeans, stir-fried vegetables, brine shrimp, and boiled fish, the mont Shen Chi entered the yard, he was surrounded by the full aroma, his brows lifted, and a slight smile appeared on his face.
“I’m back.” Shen Chi, his voice tender and low, looked at his petite wife with her apron-clad, slightly bulging belly as she walked out of the kitchen.
Lin Xiaoguai hesitated for a mont, “…Welco back.”
Shen Chi didn’t bring much luggage, just a small bag, which he put down once inside the house and sat down at the dining table.
While in the military, he hadn’t realized it, but sitting here now, he beca aware that he had always missed this ho and his little wife.
Lin Xiaoguai brought over a basin for him to wash his face and hands.
Just as she was about to take it out to pour out the water, Shen Chi stopped her, “You sit, I’ll do it.”
He had just been lost in thought for a mont, but now he couldn’t let his pregnant wife do these chores.
Lin Xiaoguai handed him the basin and went to the kitchen to get the bowls and chopsticks.
“Chi, try this stead pork with rice flour.
Wanwan cooked it even better than your mom and I,” Luo Yufang said as she placed a large helping of the dish into Shen Chi’s bowl at the dining table.
Shen Chi took a bite and imdiately smiled, the taste was truly unparalleled.
If his wife took this cooking skill to the city to do business, she would undoubtedly make a fortune.
The stead pork was on the sweeter side, perfectly complented by the spicy baijiu, although Shen Zhangming always preferred rice wine and loved spicy and flavorful boiled fish even more.
“Right, brother, didn’t you say you were going to get so stock?
How co you have returned empty-handed?” Shen Xiu asked curiously after they had eaten and drunk their fill.
“The defective goods at Second Aunt’s place were all dealt with, and if we brought back the acceptable goods, breaking even would take too long.
It’s both ti-consuming and labor-intensive, so this ti I made so money and we won’t be selling clothes for now,” he explained.
Actually, during his trip to Licheng, he had also asked about other business opportunities, but they either required high costs or were sothing his grandparents couldn’t manage, or simply weren’t feasible back in the county.
Indeed, his wife’s skills could be used for so small business, but he couldn’t bear to let her suffer through that hardship.
Shen Chi was always capable, and Shen Zhangming and Luo Yufang were used to giving him free rein, never prying too deeply into his affairs, so even when he ntioned making so money, they didn’t investigate further.
Shen Chi had been traveling for a full day and night and was actually quite tired now, so after chatting for a while, he went back to his room to sleep.
Entering the room, Shen Chi paused, seeing the changes that had taken place in just a few months.
The items were the sa, but there were additions that weren’t there before.
On the writing desk, there was a new powder-white, thin-necked vase holding two unknown white flowers, with neatly arranged textbooks, books, pens, and ink beside it.
The desktop was covered with a white lace tablecloth, over which lay a whole piece of clear glass.
In a corner of the room, a low cabinet held a wicker basket containing a few balls of wool and a half-finished baby garnt.
The red wardrobe was polished to a shine, with several pairs of shoes next to it against the wall, so his and so Lin Xiaoguai’s, all cleaned and neatly arranged.
The changes in the room weren’t significant, but Shen Chi felt an indescribable sense; it should have been an ordinary farmhouse room, yet it suddenly felt…
a bit warr, yes, that’s the word.
He was about to change into slippers and change his clothes when Lin Xiaoguai entered with a basin of water, “Soak your feet before you sleep.”
Shen Chi was sowhat surprised, hesitating before taking the basin.
“Sit with for a while.” He pulled Lin Xiaoguai to sit next to him, his gaze drifting unintentionally towards her belly.
In a place Lin Xiaoguai couldn’t see, he unwittingly curled his fingers.
Lin Xiaoguai didn’t really want to be alone with him, feeling unbearably awkward, not knowing what there could possibly be to talk about.
Shen Chi noticed but pretended not to know, his tone gentle as he asked, “Did the baby trouble you while I was away?”
Lin Xiaoguai shook her head, “No, he’s been very good.”
“Can I…
touch?” Shen Chi finally couldn’t hold back and blurted out.
He wasn’t actually ntally prepared to be a father, but that didn’t an he didn’t desire it; n always think about settling down and starting a family, marrying a girl they like, and naturally hoping she could bear them a child.
The last ti he ca back, Lin Xiaoguai wasn’t feeling well and her belly wasn’t showing yet, so the feeling wasn’t so profound.
But now, realizing that his child was growing inside the belly of the woman he loved, he felt almost overwheld with satisfaction.
“What?” Lin Xiaoguai was stunned for a mont before realizing what he ant.
Her face turned red, and though she wanted to refuse, she felt it would be impolite since he was, after all, the father.
Finally, she stamred, “Go ahead,” her body tensing involuntarily.
In her previous life, although she had many male friends and often played around, she was born in a conservative era and wasn’t as open as the young people today, always adhering to her moral baseline.
Even though Shen Chi had been sowhat “forceful” in his intimacy last ti he was ho, she still couldn’t get used to it.
Seeing her tenseness, Shen Chi didn’t plan to back off; instead, he gently placed his hand on her protruding belly, and for a mont, felt his heart uncontrollably heating up.
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