Li Shuixian had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Bailu (the White Dew solar term) all day, but she dared not go to Xiao Cheng's house.
Knowing that Bailu comes to the market to buy groceries every day, I arrived early and waited, finally managing to catch her.
"Lulu, I'm so glad to see you."
Bai Lu wasn't surprised to run into her here, and deliberately asked, "Are you here to buy groceries too?"
Plastic bags were too expensive when they first arrived in the town and hadn't yet become common in the vegetable market. At that time, people would carry a basket from home, buy their groceries, and bring them home.
Li Shuixian had nothing in her hands, so talking about buying groceries was obviously not convincing, but she still nodded and made up a story: "Yes, what groceries are you planning to buy tonight?"
"I haven't decided yet, I'll just take a look first." Bai Lu said as she walked towards the vegetable stall, wandering around left and right.
Li Shuixian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
The market is bustling with people, and she occasionally runs into acquaintances and relatives, so she doesn't feel comfortable asking Bailu for money directly.
"Lulu, do you want to come sit at my place for a while? Anyway, you haven't decided what to buy yet, you can come and buy it later." Li Shuixian reached out and took Bai Lu's arm.
Bai Lu casually moved aside to let the passerby pass, avoiding her hand, and also switched the vegetable basket to the other hand, which happened to be in the direction where Li Shuixian was.
To prevent her from making another move.
Unmoved, she continued browsing the market: "The vegetables won't be fresh if we buy them later, it's better to buy them now."
Bai Lu stopped in front of a fish stall, and the fishmonger tactfully handed her a long-handled fish scoop.
Li Shuixian looked disgusted: "These fish aren't moving at all, they must be dead."
The fishmonger immediately splashed water with his hand, and the catfish that had just calmed down in the pond scattered and fled.
Whether they live or die is self-evident.
Slapped in the face on the spot, Li Shuixian turned her attention to another fish tank, "Lulu, the fish here don't look fresh at all, look, they're all belly up."
The fishmonger's face darkened, but since he valued harmony in business, he didn't say anything and instead splashed water with his hand.
The grass carp, which had turned belly up, immediately flipped over and, as if waking up, swam around in the pool.
One of them even splashed Li Shuixian with a tail full of water.
Li Shuixian immediately lost her temper: "Are you doing this on purpose? All I said was that your fish wasn't fresh, and you started shooing the fish away and shaking them with water. Is this how you do business?!"
The fishmonger knew she was there to cause trouble, so he stopped tolerating her.
"Buy it or don't, it's up to you!"
"You're a terrible person, spouting nonsense. You got splashed with water by a fish and then tried to frame someone. I don't think you're any better! If you can't afford it, don't come here and act crazy!"
Li Shuixian had been a boss for a few months. She was always greedy for small gains and had a little money in her pocket.
How could she stand it when others said she was poor?
Her fiery temper flared up instantly: "Who are you calling crazy? Who can't afford it! I'm a grocery store owner, how could I not afford your half-dead, stinky fish!"
"Running a grocery store and still having such a sharp tongue, you're sure to have no business." The fishmonger knew best what businessmen feared.
Li Shuixian was completely enraged. Ignoring the growing crowd around her, she started arguing with the fishmonger on the spot, and the fishmonger retorted in every way.
Bai Lu leisurely withdrew from the battlefield.
Before leaving, he used a long-handled fishnet to poke the blackfish nest in the water.
The powerful blackfish immediately caused a rain of fishy smell to fall on the scene, and it even fell on Li Shuixian.
This fueled her anger.
As expected, Li Shuixian argued even more fiercely, and even tried to fight with the fishmonger.
The onlookers watched with great interest.
—
While they were having dinner, there was a knock on the door. Bai Lu was about to get up when Xiao Cheng had already put down his chopsticks and gone out to open the door.
Xiao Wei silently sat back down on the stool he had just left.
Wang Hao, looking travel-worn and furious, stood outside the door: "Brother Cheng, the sand quarry won't let us sell sand. I asked around, and it turns out Li Chengbin is behind it all."
Wang Hao was angry but also felt guilty. It was all his fault for mentioning the debt when he met Li Chengbin, which led to this series of troubles.
He didn't go dig the foundation in the afternoon; he originally wanted to do a good job of what Xiao Cheng had asked him to do and bring Sarah back as soon as possible.
While we're at it, let's negotiate the price down to make amends.
But then I stumbled again and failed to accomplish anything.
Xiao Cheng pondered for a moment. He feared that Li Chengbin's revenge this time was more than just seeking compensation.
"Have you inquired with all the sand quarries in the city?"
Wang Hao nodded: "We asked around, but no one was willing to supply us with sand. If we go to Nanshi to buy it, the gas money we spend on the road would be enough to buy several times the amount of sand."
The town is close to the city center, and going to Nanshi is the nearest neighboring city, but it doesn't seem to be worth the effort.
Wang Hao was furious and slammed his fist against the wall: "Damn it, I didn't expect Li Chengbin to be so cunning. He's already lost money, and he's still resorting to these low-class dirty tricks behind the scenes."
Violent thoughts began to rise in Xiao Cheng's mind, but the next second, they were dispelled by the sudden sound of a girl's voice.
"Is this Wang Hao? Have you eaten yet? We're eating right now. If you haven't, eat before you go back."
Bai Lu walked out slowly, stood beside Xiao Cheng, and greeted him with a smile.
She always finished all the food at every meal before, so today she cooked extra, and an extra set of chopsticks and bowls would be enough.
Wang Hao didn't know that Xiao Cheng was eating. At this time in the past, Xiao Cheng would just eat something casually outside to get by. Even if he ate at home, he would only make a simple fried rice or boil some noodles. Now, the aroma of the steaming food that couldn't be contained even across the courtyard made it obvious that Bai Lu had made it.
She's so virtuous; he just came at the wrong time.
"Thank you, sister-in-law. Chunli has already prepared dinner and is waiting for me at home. I just came over to talk to Brother Cheng about something."
Since that's the case, Xiao Cheng didn't keep him. "I'll take another look later."
Wang Hao knew that his words meant he would inform them of his plans, so he said goodbye and didn't linger.
But after turning around, the smile turned bitter and lonely.
There were never any prepared meals waiting for him at home. From the very first day he confirmed his pregnancy, Chen Chunli became like an empress dowager, doing nothing but sitting and lying down waiting for her meals.
His mother has an eye disease and her eyesight is poor. She not only has to take care of his father, but also cook and do laundry every day.
Today, my mother has a bad cold and can't get up to cook. Chen Chunli doesn't cook either; he only cooks when he gets home from work.
Otherwise, where would we get food...?
Wang Hao never imagined that he, with both parents alive, would one day envy Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng took over the laundry chores again that evening, and even washed the pots and pans after dinner.
This completely shattered Bai Lu and Xiao Wei's perception of him, a truly unexpected surprise and a chilling surprise.
Before going to bed, Bai Lu noticed that Xiao Cheng had frowned several times, so she couldn't help but ask, "Did Wang Hao run into some trouble when he came to see you?"
Xiao Cheng leaned against the headboard, his brows furrowed. His left leg, which was not covered by the blanket, was lying flat naturally, while his right leg was bent. His hand was casually placed on his knee, and his slender fingers were playing with an unlit cigarette. He turned his head to look at the sound.
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