Gao Jiaxing said, "Wait a bit, it’s really hot now." Then he turned to Xia Xiao and said, "Chicken wings don’t have much at, you eat the leg and the breast."
Xia Xiao shook her head, "I’m not hungry—I like to eat chicken wings and feet." She liked chicken legs too, but at this mont, Xia Xiao wanted to leave them for Gao Jiaxing.
"One leg for each of us," Gao Jiaxing still tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Xia Xiao, then added, "After you finish the leg, you can have the wings."
"Brother Gao, you eat it, I’m really not hungry," Xia Xiao said.
Gao Jiaxing shook his head, "I’m not hungry either. Eat up; it’s getting late, and we need to hurry down the mountain."
Eventually, Xia Xiao took the chicken leg and started to eat, finding it really delicious.
"Brother Gao’s cooking skills are quite good, very fragrant and tasty," Xia Xiao complinted generously.
Gao Jiaxing replied, "I’ll bake so for you next ti." Since joining the army, he had picked up so cooking skills. Gao Jiaxing was still lacking in so aspects of cooking, but when it ca to roasting at, he was confident.
At that mont, Gao Jiaxing felt that the roasted chicken in his hands was quite delicious and thought about baking so for Xia Xiao again when he got the chance.
After they ate the pheasant, Xia Xiao took a sip of water from her flask and then handed it to Gao Jiaxing, "Brother Gao, you’ve run out of water—drink mine."
Gao Jiaxing had used the water in his flask to wash the chicken, so Xia Xiao gave him hers.
Both were quite satisfied with the al, and even without seasonings, it was delicious and morable.
"Let’s go, I’ll carry you down the mountain," Gao Jiaxing offered.
Xia Xiao shook her head, "No need, I can walk back."
"I can carry you down faster, plus I’m full and strong now," Gao Jiaxing insisted.
Xia Xiao laughed, "Okay then, but if Brother Gao gets tired, you can put down."
So, Gao Jiaxing carried Xia Xiao down the mountain and then rested, sleeping as usual outside Xia Xiao’s door.
On the third day, Gao Jiaxing’s training beca really tough. They went far without returning for lunch, and Xia Xiao cooked alone, waiting for them to co back for dinner.
Tomorrow was the day for Gao Jiaxing and his group to compete at the Dragon Training Corps, so Xia Xiao was leaving in the morning too. She wanted to watch Gao Jiaxing’s competition, but it wasn’t a one- or two-day event, and she needed to get back to the production team and couldn’t stay for long.
So presently, Xia Xiao was helping them prepare dried fish and dried vegetables, cooking for them; she would have liked to help clean up their place, but they were very diligent and disciplined—their quarters were neat and there were no slly socks like in so n’s dorms.
In the evening, Gao Jiaxing and the others returned, bringing a wild pig with them, and things livened up.
Tonight, there was no training. After a full al, everyone started butchering the pig and scraping its hair. By eight, they’d organized a bonfire party.
Xia Xiao made so bone broth and set aside the large intestines, small intestines, pig’s heart, lungs, and trotters after cleaning them, ready to be cooked for breakfast tomorrow.
These past few days, Xia Xiao had been using spring water to nourish Gao Jiaxing’s body, hoping in her heart that Gao Jiaxing would win the upcoming contest.
Early the next morning, Xia Xiao cooked a pot of pork bone and offal soup for everyone and added scallions, garlic, and celery to the broth.
As for the pork offal, she stewed it with chili peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms, making a fragrant pot that coaxed everyone’s appetites.
Today was the day they were going to the Dragon Training Corps, so after having a full breakfast, everyone set off early.
Before leaving, Gao Jiaxing stuffed a small cloth bag into Xia Xiao’s hands, saying, "This is the money I’ve saved. Take good care of it and use it for whatever you want to eat or buy."
Xia Xiao raised an eyebrow and asked, "It won’t matter if I spend it all?"
"The money I earn is for you to spend, and I’ve already sent the family’s share back ho. Spend it if you want to, I’ll earn more for you to use, but make sure you save so as well—it’s always good to have money in hand and not worry."
As soon as Gao Jiaxing finished speaking, Xia Xiao smiled and said, "Don’t worry, Brother Gao, I’m like a piggy bank—money doesn’t leak out of ."
Gao Jiaxing said, "Don’t go hunting in the mountains anymore, you hear? If I find out when I get back, I’m going to take you to task."
Gao Jiaxing was serious, and even tried to look fierce as he said this. Unfortunately for him, Xia Xiao was not afraid and even challenged him, "How are you going to take to task? Tell , and if it’s scary enough, maybe I’ll behave."
Seeing Xia Xiao’s fearless deanor, Gao Jiaxing’s temples throbbed with tension, and he thought about how unsettled Xia Xiao had always been, always seeking adventure. The thought alone unnerved him, considering he couldn’t be by her side.
Xia Xiao could no longer see Gao Jiaxing’s figure from the car window, and a pang of reluctance surged in her heart. A woman next to her said, "Big sister, that’s your husband, right? You two are newlyweds, aren’t you? You seem to have a great relationship."
Xia Xiao turned her head and saw a pregnant woman with a little girl. As her eyes focused on the two, her pupils suddenly constricted.
Crap, her grandmother and mother from her past life were right in front of her, although her grandmother was still young and her mother was a child. Xia Xiao had seen old photos before, and a good mory ant she recognized them.
"Big sister, what’s wrong?" Xia Xiao’s grandmother from her past life asked again.
Xia Xiao’s words rolled in her throat, and she mustered a smile towards her grandmother from her past life, "Oh, I’m fine. Where are we headed?"
"I’m here to visit my child’s father; he’s working around here," said Xia Xiao’s grandmother from her past life.
Xia Xiao’s mories of her grandmother were distant; she had raised her until she was six. After her grandmother passed away, she went back to live with her parents. At that ti, her brother Ah Yong, only five years old, was the little tyrant of the family.
It was because her mother was pregnant with Ah Yong that her parents had sent her to live with her grandmother, not with her maternal grandmother, because she did not like her granddaughters.
Now, the child in her grandmother’s womb from her past life was probably her little aunt. After the deaths of her grandparents, her mother and little aunt fought over the inheritance of the house.
Xia Xiao rembered that her grandmother’s house was just a single-room bungalow. At that ti, her little aunt was just divorced and living with her daughter at her mother’s house. Before her grandmother died, she intended to leave the house to her little aunt, but her mother disagreed. Eventually, the conflict got so bad the sisters stopped speaking, and they never reconciled.
Her little aunt remarried a man who was well-off, though a nouveau riche, and it was enough to make her mother jealous and feel imbalanced. This was one of the reasons why Xia Xiao’s mother always wanted her to marry into a wealthy family.
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