Qin i covered her nose, then poured another ladleful of water. Seeing the fire was completely extinguished, she was finally satisfied.
She helped Jing Qi to a seat in the courtyard. ’I’ll wait for the sll in the kitchen to fade before I go back in,’ she thought.
When Qin Xiang returned from buying groceries, he saw Qin i and Jing Qi sitting in the courtyard. He parked his bicycle, and holding up the net bag, he looked at Qin i and asked teasingly, "Little sis, is the rice cooked?"
Qin i thought for a mont, an embarrassed look on her face. "It’s half-cooked."
Qin Xiang took this to an she had drained the rice and was steaming it. "The at was sold out, so I couldn’t buy any. I got tofu instead, and the roast duck that Jing Qi likes."
The ntion of roast duck reminded Qin i that this was the second ti Qin Xiang had bought one. From the first duck, she had only eaten the head, the neck, and one foot. Qin Xiang had eaten the other foot, and the rest had been given to Jing Qi.
Qin i looked toward Jing Qi. ’She couldn’t have finished it all already, could she?’
"I wasn’t hungry. I haven’t touched it," Jie Jingshan said, keeping her head down. She hadn’t been in the mood for roast duck, so it was still in her room, completely untouched.
"No, that’s not what I ant," Qin i explained.
"I’ll go get it." Jie Jingshan got up and slowly walked toward her room.
"Qin i," Qin Xiang called out.
Qin i ducked her head and walked toward the kitchen.
When Qin i entered the kitchen, Qin Xiang pointed at the briquette stove. "Explain this."
Qin i explained what had happened. A wave of fear washed over Qin Xiang as he listened, and he regretted letting her cook alone. Nothing serious had co of it, but if sothing had, he would have been to bla.
"Little sis, just go play outside." Qin Xiang had given up. His little sister cooking alone was terrifying. He finally understood why Jie Jingchen would rather let her eat out than teach her how to cook.
’Go play outside? Does he think I’m a three-year-old?’ Qin i glared at Qin Xiang. "You help start the fire. I’ll cook it again."
"No need. I’ll cook," Qin Xiang said, a smile fixed on his face.
"You’ll cook?" Qin i was surprised. Just at lunchti, he had insisted she cook by herself, solemnly declaring it was for her own good and saying, "You don’t have to cook, but you must know how."
Only a few hours had passed, and he had already changed his tune.
"That’s right, I’ll cook," Qin Xiang said, nodding with a smile.
"What about the other dishes?" Qin i asked.
"I’ll stir-fry them," Qin Xiang said, patting his chest confidently.
"So you’re cooking the rice and stir-frying the dishes. Do you need any help from ?" Qin i asked.
Qin Xiang shook his head. "Nope. You just need to wait outside to be served."
"For real?" Qin i asked in disbelief.
"You’re being a pest. Don’t just hang around in the kitchen; you’re in the way and cramping my style. Now, get out." Qin Xiang grabbed her by the shoulders, spun her around, and pushed her toward the doorway.
Just as Qin i stepped over the threshold, Jing Qi approached, holding the roast duck wrapped in oil paper. It was, indeed, untouched.
Qin i took the duck from Jing Qi, turned to Qin Xiang, and handed it to him, saying deliberately, "I told you Jing Qi doesn’t like roast duck, but you refused to believe . See? The duck you bought, returned to you completely untouched."
Qin Xiang took it and looked at Jing Qi, completely bewildered. After all, Jing Qi herself had told him she liked roast duck.
Jie Jingshan was a little confused and wanted to explain, but Qin i pulled her away.
Qin Xiang glanced at the new roast duck sitting on the table, then at the one in his hands, and was lost in thought.
Jing Qi returned to her room to study, and Qin i kept her company. But after a short while, Qin i grew bored.
"Jing Qi, I’m going to go for a walk," Qin i said.
Jing Qi was so focused on her studies that she rely nodded upon hearing Qin i, not offering a verbal reply.
Qin i got up, left the room, and closed the door behind her. She wandered around the courtyard for a bit, pausing under the grapevine for a mont before ambling outside to sit on the threshold of the main gate, waiting for Jie Jingchen to return.
Students got out of school and workers began heading ho from their shifts. They passed by the Jie family ho, so on foot, others on bicycles. Seeing Qin i sitting on the threshold, none of them greeted her. They weren’t familiar with Qin i, and since she was just sitting at the gate by herself, no one stopped.
The ones who were a little more familiar might call out her na, nod, or offer a smile, but not a single one actually stopped to talk to her.
Qin i didn’t mind. She had no intention of getting particularly close with the neighbors anyway. ’My mother-in-law gets along great with everyone in the neighborhood,’ she thought. ’She’s respected by practically everyone. But she’s a doctor, and they only respect her because they hope she won’t charge them for treatnt. To put it bluntly, it’s a relationship built on self-interest.’
Seeing that Jie Jingchen still hadn’t co ho, Qin i noticed a group of neighbors not far off, chatting together under a tree.
Qin i had no desire to join them, but she was so bored she wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation. She got up and slowly moved closer to them.
An older woman, cracking lon seeds, asked, "Have you all heard?"
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