After the meal, all the men at the table were completely drunk and staggering.
Battalion Commander Jiang didn't drink much, but he was the most drunk and had to be half-supported and half-carried away by Deng Cuixiang.
Commander Wang was only slightly drunk, so Zhu Yingying only needed a little support to walk.
Shen Huaichuan, who had drunk the most, had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Zhou Qiqi instructed Qin Lei to take care of Shen Huaichuan, and then escorted today's protagonist, Lei Ming, to the courtyard gate.
Of all the people at the table, Lei Ming drank the least.
Shen Huaichuan almost always turned down his drinks.
Seeing Lei Ming's slightly pale face, Zhou Qiqi's eyes were full of concern.
"Comrade Lei Ming, are you still holding on? If you're not feeling well, I'll have Qin Lei take you home?"
Lei Ming forced a bitter smile, but his eyes betrayed his deep disappointment.
"No need, I only had two drinks, it's not like I need someone to take me home."
Zhou Qiqi nodded, exchanged a few polite words, and then prepared to close the door and go back inside.
The moment she turned around, Lei Ming's heart tightened, his Adam's apple bobbed twice, and he cried out.
"etc!"
He slowly raised his head.
"If, I mean if..."
He started to speak, but his lips trembled even more violently, and he struggled to continue.
A gentle smile appeared on Zhou Qiqi's lips.
"Comrade Lei Ming, there is no 'if' in the world. Don't waste your time on the word 'if,' or you will suffer a lot."
Her expression was serious and composed, filled with kindness and concern, but there was absolutely no hint of the ambiguous feelings that should exist between a man and a woman.
Lei Ming swayed slightly, nodded mechanically, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
He didn't say anything more, turned around and strode away.
Zhou Qiqi went back to the house to clean up the mess, but before she was finished, Deng Cuixiang came back in a flurry, carrying a bag of kudzu root and sour dates.
She and Battalion Commander Jiang both love to drink baijiu (a type of Chinese liquor), and this is a hangover remedy that her mother-in-law found for them from her hometown.
It works really well.
Drink a bowl of this after getting drunk, and you won't have a headache when you wake up the next day.
It's just a bit troublesome to cook.
You need to soak it for a while first, then simmer it in a clay pot over low heat. The heat must be just right, otherwise it won't be effective.
She was prepared to demonstrate it to Qiqi herself.
While burning coal briquettes, the whole house smelled of hot pot, and they shared tips on how to get rid of the smell.
"My mom taught me a method: just put a circle of oranges around the stove and roast them."
After grilling for a while, the hot pot smell in the house dissipated, leaving only the aroma of oranges.
After roasting, the orange peels became shriveled, but the flesh inside was roasted until soft, warm, and sweet and sour—it was delicious.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiqi immediately realized that this was the same as the tea gathering around a stove in later generations.
She had wanted to try it before, but the price deterred her.
I didn't expect someone to do this so early.
The two ate oranges while waiting for the hangover soup. Deng Cuixiang came over, her eyes filled with gossipy excitement.
"What did Lei Ming say to you before he left?"
Zhou Qiqi didn't hide anything and told them everything about their conversation.
Deng Cuixiang was stunned when she heard this, and gave Zhou Qiqi a reproachful look.
"You really say that? You little brat, you're really heartless!"
Zhou Qiqi popped a segment of orange into her mouth, blinked her eyes, and looked a little innocent.
“How is that heartless? I just saw that he was in a bad mood and wanted to say a few words of comfort.”
She used to be always anxious and insecure, always thinking that if she hadn't been born into that kind of family, her life might have been completely different.
But after thinking it over, I realized that "if" is completely meaningless.
Nothing can be changed.
After she abandoned these childish fantasies, she stopped being sad and gradually grew into a mature adult.
She genuinely cared about Lei Ming, which is why she said those things to him.
Seeing her so serious, Deng Cuixiang rolled her eyes, her tone full of disappointment.
"Silly girl, don't tell me you can't tell? That Lei Ming likes you!"
"ah?"
Zhou Qiqi was completely stunned, her face blank.
She hadn't felt any of what Deng Cuixiang was saying.
She has never been in a relationship and has absolutely no concept of love.
She and Shen Huaichuan were a "wait-and-see" couple, and she had absolutely no romantic feelings for other men.
He immediately shook his head and denied it.
"You've misunderstood, Sister Cuixiang, that's not true."
Deng Cuixiang looked completely confident.
"No mistake! Our Deng family used to make money by acting as matchmakers and arranging marriages. I've seen it all since I was a child!"
"It's not just me, I reckon Commander Shen knows about this too! He's been acting strange today, like he's drowning in vinegar..."
She moved closer to Zhou Qiqi and clicked her tongue in feigned jealousy.
"Tsk tsk, you brat, two men are fighting over you, you're really lucky!"
As he spoke, he touched Qiqi's shoulder again.
"You brat, let me ask you this: if you didn't marry Commander Shen, but instead met both Commander Shen and Lei Ming at the same time, who would you choose?"
“I’ve already said, there are no ‘what ifs’ in this world. I never waste God’s time on such things.”
Zhou Qiqi lowered her head and smiled, her face full of helplessness.
Seeing that she clearly didn't believe her, Deng Cuixiang waved her hand.
"You brat, you can't even dream. How boring. Alright, alright, I'm not talking to you about this anymore."
She glanced at the hangover soup in the casserole.
"That's about right, just simmer it over low heat for another five minutes."
She glanced at the time and looked somewhat anxious.
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