*

Nan Qing looked in the direction from which the sound came and saw a man wearing a dark blue round-neck shirt. His skin was a bit dark, but he had a handsome face and a bright smile on his face.

He whispered something to a woman sitting next to him, then got up and walked towards them.

"Brother He, it really is you! Why didn't you say you were coming to Jiangcheng yesterday? I should have come with you."

"What is this?"

"This must be my sister-in-law!!"

Lin Guofu, being very clever, noticed a beautiful female comrade standing next to He Monian and immediately remembered what He Monian had mentioned yesterday as the "daughter of a comrade-in-arms".

Even before he joined the army, Brother He didn't like talking to women. After he returned from the army last year, countless matchmakers practically wore out his doorstep, but Brother He just didn't seem interested in meeting any women.

But yesterday, Brother He suddenly came to his house. No matter what he said, He Monian still managed to buy the cotton quilt and bamboo mat that he needed for his wedding next month at a high price, almost by force.

When asked, he said it was his "comrade's daughter" who came to their team to work in the countryside and stayed at his place. At that time, he felt something was wrong. This was not like his brother He's personality at all. He actually let a female comrade stay at his house. This was very strange, very strange.

If he hadn't arranged to meet Xiuxiu in the city today, he would definitely have gone to see the daughter of the comrade-in-arms he was talking about.

But he never expected that he would run into his brother He in Jiangcheng before he even went to his brother's house.

He had seen it from afar just now. When his brother He was talking to that beautiful woman, his face was so gentle it was almost dripping with tenderness, and his mouth was practically stretched to his ears.

This is exactly the same as when he spoke to Xiuxiu.

Then what else could she be but my sister-in-law?!

Lin Guofu's mouth was like a machine gun. After calling her "sister-in-law," before Nan Qing and He Monian could say anything, he immediately looked at Nan Qing again and said:

"Sister-in-law, my name is Lin Guofu. I'm also from Xiangyang Brigade. I grew up with Brother He. You can call me Guofu, just like Brother He does."

"Sister-in-law, you and Brother He are coming to Jiangcheng..."

Lin Guofu's eyes, gleaming with gossip, darted around rapidly, frantically scanning Nan Qing and He Monian. Just as Nan Qing was about to explain, he immediately added:

"I understand, I understand. I came to Jiangcheng today to meet Xiuxiu. Sister-in-law, I won't disturb you and Brother He any longer. I'll head over now."

Nan Qing watched as the man rushed over, rattled off a long string of words, and then rushed away again. She turned to look at He Monian, completely dumbfounded. Although she knew that people in this era were very enthusiastic, she wondered if this enthusiasm was... a bit too much.

Nan Qing was unaware of Lin Guofu's personality; before she could even say a word, the man ran off. He Monian, preoccupied with his own little schemes, showed no intention of explaining himself to Lin Guofu. Instead, he spoke to Nan Qing:

"He's getting married next month. Seeing us together probably makes you think we're the same as him. But that's just his personality—he's impulsive and carefree. Don't worry about him. Let's go see what we want to eat first. The braised pork and braised fish here are especially delicious."

He Monian explained a few words to Nan Qing, then led her to the order window, telling her about the specialties of this state-run restaurant.

Nan Qing had just thought that the other person had misunderstood and wanted to explain, but since the other person had already run away, she couldn't very well run over and tell them that she wasn't, so she didn't take it seriously. Instead, she started to seriously consider what food to order while listening to He Monian's introduction.

While Nan Qing was focused on looking at the names of the dishes written on the menu window, He Monian turned his head and glanced in the direction where Lin Guofu was sitting. Lin Guofu, who had been staring at him, immediately gave his brother He a big smile.

He Monian slightly curled the corners of his mouth. Lin Guofu, that kid, has a good eye. He felt at first glance that he and his Qingqing were a perfect match.

When he and Qingqing stood together, anyone with eyes could tell they were a couple.

That pretty boy at the post office is so clueless!

Finally, Nan Qing and He Mo ordered a braised pork, a braised fish, a vegetable dish, and a soup.

Nan Qing ate the braised pork cooked by the state-run restaurant of this era. She had tasted so many delicacies from all over the world and from all countries, but she thought the most delicious food was still the food from the East. No matter what kind of flavor it was, she liked it very much.

He Monian remained as stubborn as ever, only eating the plate of vegetables and occasionally taking a bite of fish. He didn't touch the braised pork at all. As he expected, the kind-hearted Xiao Nanqing started putting meat on his plate again!

He Monian ate the braised pork, which was clearly salty, but in his heart it tasted sweet, and even cloyingly sweet.

Only after Nan Qing finished eating and put down his chopsticks did he take the initiative to wrap up the remaining braised pork on the plate.

After finishing their meal, He Monian and Nan Qing went to the state-run vegetable market.

It was already past one o'clock in the afternoon, and there wasn't much good-looking meat left on the meat stall. There were only a few pieces of lean meat, a few ribs, and a pig lung.

Pork belly and the most sought-after fatty cuts, especially those with fat, sell out the fastest, sometimes with people lining up very early.

Looking at the meat on the stall, which didn't look very appealing, He Monian turned to Nan Qing and said:

"Nanqing, all the good cuts are sold out. How about buying some ribs to make soup? I'll come earlier tomorrow, then I can buy any cut of meat."

Nan Qing herself couldn't cook or anything, so she had no idea which cuts of meat were good, but she liked pork ribs for soup, so she nodded.

She took out a stack of meat coupons, grain coupons, and some money from her small bag and handed them to He Monian.

"Brother He, use my coupons to buy it. My mother sent me a lot of grain coupons and meat coupons, and they will expire if I don't use them."

He Monian looked at the thick stack of tickets in front of him. He was reluctant to use her money tickets, but as Nan Qing said, most of the tickets had an expiration date and would become invalid after that.

He Monian took the stack of money and tickets, took out a few meat tickets that were valid for this month, and put the rest of the tickets and money without time restrictions back into the small bag hanging on Nan Qing's body.

"These are about to expire, so use them first. The rest aren't urgent. Don't argue with me. If Commander Sheng knew you were eating and drinking here and using your money and coupons, he'd probably beat me up."

He Monian once again used Nan Qing's father's name to shut her up, so she could only nod. In her heart, she thought that when she got back, she would immediately use the package she received to feed the Chosen One some things he had never eaten before.

He Monian bought all the spare ribs and the piece of lean meat. After leaving the market, they rode their bicycles back home.