Huang Qinqin stood there in confusion, quietly waiting for Chen Ermei. She felt a little strange: although they lived in the same family compound, they were not familiar with each other. When would Chen Ermei come to see her?
Chen Ermei jogged over, and when she stopped she was still panting. She stood there taking deep breaths and said intermittently, "Huang Qinqin, I... I have something to tell you."
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Huang Qinqin asked, puzzled.
At this moment, Chen Ermei hesitated and didn't say what it was about, only that she had something she wanted to talk to Huang Qinqin about and needed to talk to her alone.
Huang Qinqin thought for a moment and said to Huang Jianjun, "Second brother, you go home first. Go back and chop the ribs and peel and cut the potatoes into chunks. I'll be back in a bit."
Huang Jianjun glanced at Chen Ermei and asked Huang Qinqin, "Are you alright by yourself? Or should I wait for you at the door?"
Seeing this, Huang Qinqin gently nudged Huang Jianjun and said with a smile, "No need, it's just a few steps, how could I get lost? You go back quickly, I'll be back in a bit."
Huang Jianjun then took the things and walked into the family compound.
After seeing Huang Jianjun leave, Chen Ermei led Huang Qinqin to the tree by the entrance of the family compound and asked with a shifty expression, "Qinqin, I heard you went to the steel plant for a job recruitment event. Are you going to complete the formalities today?"
Huang Qinqin looked at Chen Ermei in front of her, feeling somewhat speechless. That's it? What's the point of asking her about that? She replied, "Yes, but I don't think working at the steel mill is suitable for me, so I gave the job to my second brother."
"What?! You actually gave your job to your second brother?!" Chen Ermei suddenly raised her head and screamed in astonishment.
Huang Qinqin frowned, thinking to herself: Why is Chen Ermei making such a fuss? What does it matter to her whether I go to work or not? They're not even acquainted!
Seeing Chen Ermei's surprised look, Huang Qinqin felt that she was even more strange.
The two barely exchanged a few words on ordinary days. Apart from occasionally hearing the gossipy women in the family compound talking about how she was lazy and that Chen Ermei, who was diligent, was completely incomparable to her, they had no contact with each other.
Thinking this through, Huang Qinqin decided to ignore Chen Ermei's reaction and turned to leave. However, Chen Ermei didn't seem to intend to give up so easily. She chased after Huang Qinqin, stopping her and continuing to question her:
"Why did you give up your job to him? Don't you know how important this job is to you? If you don't have a job after graduating from high school, aren't you afraid of being sent to the countryside?!"
Huang Qinqin stopped and glanced coldly at Chen Ermei, replying indifferently, "This is my own business, and it has nothing to do with you."
After saying that, Huang Qinqin walked past Chen Ermei without hesitation and continued walking forward without looking back.
However, Chen Ermei didn't seem willing to give up easily. She quickly moved and stopped Huang Qinqin again, pressing on and asking, "So, are your parents arranging blind dates for you?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Qinqin abruptly stopped and stared sharply at Chen Ermei.
A strange feeling welled up inside her, as if she realized that this was the question Chen Ermei really wanted to ask.
At the same time, Huang Qinqin was filled with doubt and confusion - her parents' plan to arrange blind dates for her should only be known to the five members of their family!
After all, her parents had told her privately that if she hadn't found a suitable job by the deadline for registering to go to the countryside, she would be in trouble.
This month I plan to ask around to see if there are any suitable candidates. If there are, we'll meet and see each other. Whether we get married or I become a worker, we want to stay in the city.
So, how exactly did Chen Ermei find out about this? This sudden question plunged Huang Qinqin into deep thought…
Although Huang Qinqin was very puzzled, she remained calm and slowly replied, "No, I don't plan to go on blind dates."
After saying that, she pushed aside the somewhat stunned Chen Ermei and went home. Chen Ermei stood there, watching Huang Qinqin's departing figure, a hint of confusion and bewilderment in her eyes.
Family compound...
"Second brother, I'm back~" With a clear and sweet voice, Huang Qinqin gently pushed open the door and called out to the house with a smile.
Hearing his sister's voice, Huang Jianjun, who was working in the kitchen, quickly put down his knife and the unpeeled potatoes, and hurried out of the kitchen. He was wearing an apron with his sleeves rolled up high, clearly having been focused on preparing the ingredients.
Huang Jianjun looked at Huang Qinqin carefully for a while, but did not notice anything unusual about her emotions. Reassured, he turned around and went back to the kitchen to continue his work.
"You're back just in time! Come in and help me out! I just finished preparing the ribs. What do you think we should do for lunch today? Steamed buns or noodles?"
Huang Jianjun's loud voice came through the half-open kitchen door, carrying the unique vigor of a young man.
Huang Qinqin walked to the small kitchen, opened the cupboard, and said, "Let's steam some buns. There are two leftover buns from this morning, we can steam them together later." Then she walked out of the kitchen.
Huang Qinqin's home is a little over 50 square meters, which is not very big in the residential compound, but it is still manageable because there are not many people living there.
The house, which was over 50 square meters, originally had only two rooms, but they divided it into four rooms. The largest room was the master bedroom, which was the room of Huang Ermin and Chen Zhaodi. A wall was added in the middle to create a room for Huang Qinqin to live in.
The other room was similarly divided into two, one for Huang Jianguo and one for Huang Jianjun. A small kitchen and a small bathroom had been added to the courtyard. There were no separate toilets; everyone had to use the public ones. Meals were also eaten in the courtyard.
Huang Qinqin pushed open the door to Huang Ermin's room, walked to the corner, opened the box on the ground, took out some flour, walked to the dining table, and prepared to knead the dough to make steamed buns.
Huang Qinqin only needed to cook at home; her two older brothers did all the other housework. Therefore, the aunties in the residential compound all thought Huang Qinqin was lazy and had never seen her help with chores.
Huang Qinqin skillfully added the right amount of water to the flour and stirred the dough with her hands. In no time, the loose flour transformed into a soft, smooth dough. She nodded in satisfaction, placed the dough on the work surface, and began to knead it vigorously.
Kneading dough is hard work, but Huang Qinqin enjoys it immensely. She finds it enjoyable, and watching the dough in her hands gradually become elastic and chewy fills her with a sense of accomplishment.
During this process, she seemed to forget all her troubles and wholeheartedly devoted herself to the joy of cooking.
Huang Qinqin was spoiled by her family since she was a child. Originally, she was not required to cook, but she was more interested in cooking. Moreover, with the same ingredients and the same cooking methods, the food tasted better when she cooked it.
In terms of cooking skills, even Chen Zhaodi, who taught her to cook, was ashamed of herself.
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