It was already dark when they returned to the family compound.

Summer nights are very hot and humid, and many people in the courtyard sit under a large banyan tree to cool off.

Jiang Qiaoqiao and Huo Beixiao had to take the route under the big banyan tree on their way home.

"Hey, Xiao Huo, you're back with your wife? What are you carrying that big sack of stuff?"

An elderly woman resting under the tree greeted him warmly, but her eyes gleamed with gossip.

These days, without mobile phones and the internet to pass the time, even televisions are a luxury. The unemployed women in the compound pass their time by gossiping.

They would perk up at the slightest sound or disturbance.

"Hmm," Huo Beixiao replied indifferently.

He went straight home.

Jiang Qiaoqiao was about to follow when she was stopped by a woman. "Huo Gong's wife, Huo Gong has already gone back with his things, so you don't need to worry about him. It's too hot to sleep in the house right now, so let's all have a chat."

Jiang Qiaoqiao smiled. After all, she was a newlywed, so it wasn't easy for her to refuse.

As soon as she stopped walking, the older women and their wives shoved her to sit down.

"Huo's wife, I heard from my husband that Huo got into an argument with the factory manager at the factory today. Do you know what it was about?"

As soon as Jiang Qiaoqiao sat down, someone asked her a gossipy question.

Jiang Qiaoqiao remembered the thirty yuan Huo Beixiao had given her today.

Did Huo Beixiao go to borrow that thirty yuan and get into an argument with his father?

She couldn't continue chatting with the people in the compound, so she smiled politely and said, "Sister-in-law, I didn't know about this. Bei Xiao and I just got home and haven't had dinner yet, so we'll stop chatting with you and go back now."

She hadn't gone far when the old woman behind her curled her lip in disapproval.

"Although Engineer Huo and Factory Director Huo and his son weren't very close before, they had never had a serious argument. She just came in yesterday, and the father and son started arguing. I think she probably instigated Engineer Huo to cause trouble with Factory Director Huo."

"Isn't that her? Let me tell you, the girl originally betrothed to Engineer Huo by the Jiang family was Jiang Yiran, whom Deputy Factory Director Jiang raised by his side. She was supposed to marry a child from the countryside. I don't know what methods she used to get the Jiang family to switch her marriage with Jiang Yiran. She's definitely marrying Engineer Huo for the Huo family's wealth."

"Tsk tsk, what scheming... With Engineer Huo's quiet and reserved nature, how could he possibly outmaneuver her?"

"The Huo family is going to have a good time from now on!"

...

Although the Zhongxian Cement Plant and the Food Factory are located in the east and west of the county, respectively, and are separated by the entire county town, they are the two largest factories in the county town, and most of the factory workers have managed to establish connections with them through various channels.

The people in this residential compound generally know Jiang Jiahua and Peng Cuiying, and they also know a thing or two about the Jiang family's situation.

When Jiang Qiaoqiao arrived home, Huo Beixiao had already set up the coal stove and was preparing to cook dinner.

Jiang Qiaoqiao originally wanted to ask him if the argument with his father was because of the thirty yuan.

But once the words were on the tip of my tongue, I hesitated to ask.

They weren't a real couple, and were even ready to divorce at any time.

Since Huo Beixiao didn't tell her on his own initiative, he probably didn't want her to know.

She swallowed back the words she was about to say, and took out the flour she had just bought yesterday from the cupboard. "It's late today, I'll just make two bowls of noodles to tide me over."

"Okay." Huo Beixiao naturally had no objections.

As Jiang Qiaoqiao spoke, she began kneading the dough.

Before long, the dry flour turned into dough, and then into thin noodles.

By this time, the water in the pot had boiled.

Jiang Qiaoqiao put the noodles into the pot, and then fried two eggs in another pot.

When the noodles were almost cooked, she threw in a handful of washed bok choy to blanch them.

Once the noodles are cooked, place a poached egg on top. The plump white noodles are paired with bright green bok choy, topped with a golden-brown poached egg, and sprinkled with a few chopped green onions.

The aroma of noodles, eggs, oil, and scallions blend together, making one's mouth water.

When Huo Beixiao took his first bite of noodles, he felt every taste bud explode with joy. He was used to eating in the cafeteria and had never thought it was bad.

Now that he's suddenly eating such delicious noodles, he realizes that what he used to eat in the cafeteria was really just enough to fill his stomach.

"Is it not to your liking?" Jiang Qiaoqiao asked when she saw him pause.

Huo Beixiao snapped out of his daze. "It's delicious. You're a great cook."

Of course!

In her previous life, she made her fortune through food.

As someone who loves food, she is very happy that someone appreciates her cooking skills. She smiled and revealed eight bright white teeth, saying, "If it's delicious, eat more."

After the meal, Huo Beixiao, as usual, took the initiative to clean up the dishes and kitchen utensils.

Jiang Qiaoqiao took a shower and then changed into her pajamas before going into the room.

Just like last night, she slept in the bed, while Huo Beixiao slept in the cot.

She was exhausted after a long day, and she had to get up early to set up her stall tomorrow. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

When Huo Beixiao entered the room, he saw her long, straight, and beautiful legs, so white they were almost blinding, draped over the blankets, and she was fast asleep.

Huo Beixiao himself didn't realize that the expression on his face softened in that instant.

He walked over, pulled up a corner of the blanket, and draped it over Jiang Qiaoqiao's chest.

His deep gaze fell on Jiang Qiaoqiao's serene face, and the curve of his lips turned up even more pronounced before he returned to his cot.

When Jiang Qiaoqiao woke up the next morning, Huo Beixiao was no longer in the room.

Even the cot he used to sleep on at night had been put away.

She went into the outer room, where two lunch boxes were on the table.

One lunchbox contained two large, still-steaming meat buns, and the other contained half a box of soy milk.

She had just opened the door to pour water after washing up.

Aunt Zhao from next door said to her with a smile, "Mr. Huo, your husband is so good to you. He gets up first thing this morning to buy you breakfast before going to work. I doubt any of the wives in our whole residential compound waits for their husbands to hand them food like you do, and you get to eat big meat buns every day."

Jiang Qiaoqiao finally understood; Aunt Zhao was just jealous.