Chapter 40 Do I know you guys?
Huang Guilan saw Xie Zhongming return to the main room, his heavy bag still on his shoulder, and he was already holding his Hero brand fountain pen, walking impatiently towards the kitchen.
As they approached the kitchen door, the boy's tall and imposing figure stopped there again.
Huang Guilan couldn't see the boy's face, but she could see that his back was straighter than when he did morning exercises, and his right hand was gripping a fountain pen with a red ribbon wrapped around its cap. His knuckles were white. He stopped at the kitchen door. He was clearly a tough and passionate young man, but at this moment he didn't even have the courage to go up and give him a fountain pen.
You little rascal, are you getting nervous when you see the stars and moon?
As a mother, how could she not know what her son was thinking?
With so many outstanding and beautiful women in the compound, which one would make him nervous or blush?
It's always been the women who like him who, when they see him, become nervous, stutter, blush, and avoid him, not daring to look at him. No woman has ever made her son's ears turn red.
Star and Moon are the first!
Xie Zhongming just stood there at the kitchen door, without going inside.
Qiao Xingyue stood in front of the stove, wisps of white steam rising in front of her, mixed with the aroma of braised pork belly with potatoes, spreading under the 15-watt light bulb at dusk.
Her fair and clean face was flushed with a light pink from the fire and heat, as eye-catching as a peach blossom just beginning to bloom in spring.
Xie Zhongming's back tensed involuntarily, his palms sweating as he gripped the pen, and he cautiously took a half-inch forward. "Comrade Qiao!"
When he shouts commands on the training field, his voice is booming.
At that moment, he hesitated for a moment before finally managing to say "Comrade Qiao" in a seemingly calm manner.
Qiao Xingyue, who was standing in front of the stove, stopped shoveling potatoes and stewed meat, picked up the straw lid tied with hemp rope and put it over the steaming pot, and then looked at Xie Zhongming.
"Comrade Xie?"
Seeing Xie Zhongming in his military uniform, with a bag slung over his strong shoulders, she casually said, "Perfect timing, the food is almost ready. Comrade Xie, go and rest for a while, we'll start eating soon."
Dishes were cooking on the stove, and rice was steaming on the honeycomb briquette stove next to it, filling the kitchen with a delicious aroma.
Xie Zhongming tightened his grip on the pen, his prominent Adam's apple bobbing slightly before he said, "This time when I came back, I brought a small gift for everyone. Comrade Qiao, this is yours."
Finally, I mustered up the courage to hand over the pen in my hand.
But the man, whose back was ramrod straight, had a calm and composed expression on his face, except for the tips of his ears which were slightly red. “Comrade Qiao, I saw that you were still using your broken pen, so I bought you a new one.”
Qiao Xingyue didn't intend to take the fountain pen with the red ribbon wrapped around its cap, and she didn't say anything.
Xie Zhongming quickly added, "Comrade Qiao, please accept it. I just brought it back casually. Everyone should have one."
At first, Qiao Xingyue hesitated to take the pen, but when she heard that everyone had one, she wiped her hands on the apron and took the pen wrapped in red silk. "My pen is indeed broken, so I won't be polite. Thank you!"
Xie Zhongming, who was standing in front of him, relaxed his tense back a little, but his face remained calm. "I heard from my mother that the driver, Xiao Tang, suddenly had appendicitis. Did you drive him to the hospital?"
Qiao Xingyue gripped the pen tightly in her hand. "Comrade Xie, you wouldn't be doubting my identity again, would you?"
Xie Zhongming frankly said, "Comrade Qiao, to be honest, you saved me in Shantang Village, and a few days later you appeared at my house as a nanny. Moreover, you also speak English. At that time, I did suspect your identity and was afraid that you were a spy who had gotten close to me. But now I can say with certainty that you are not."
Seeing that the stewed potatoes and meat in the pot was almost cooked, Qiao Xingyue walked to the stove, turned off half of the firewood, and then looked at Xie Zhongming and said, "You really don't doubt me anymore?"
"Um."
He deliberately tested Qiao Xingyue by keeping important intelligence at home, but Qiao Xingyue never touched it.
"Comrade Qiao, my identity is special, and I had some doubts about you before. Please forgive me."
"It's alright, I understand, Comrade Xie. Go put your bag down, wash your hands, and get ready to eat."
Xie Zhongming then came out of the kitchen and saw the old lady Chen Suying wiping the square table with a cane. He was a little surprised and asked, "Grandma, you can walk with a cane now?"
Chen Suying smiled from ear to ear, "Thanks to Xingyue! Zhongming, the pear syrup candy you brought for Grandma from Kuncheng is really sweet."
At this moment, Deng Yingying and her daughter Jiang Chunyan returned from outside the main room.
Jiang Chunyan was dressed in a gaudy manner, and her dark face was covered with rouge, making her look even worse than when she wasn't wearing any. It was obvious that she had just returned from a blind date.
Upon seeing Xie Zhongming return, Jiang Chunyan noticed that An'an and Ningning had received a colorful checkers set from him, Huang Guilan had a new scarf, and there was a jar of Kuncheng specialty pear syrup candy on the table, which must have been brought back for the old lady. Jiang Chunyan couldn't help but ask, "Zhongming, you brought something for everyone, right? Yingying and I got something too?"
Deng Yingying said happily, "Brother Zhongming, you brought me a gift too?"
Xie Zhongming gave the mother and daughter a cold look. "Do I know you?"
One sentence extinguished all the enthusiasm and expectation on Deng Yingying's face. Then, Qiao Xingyue came out of the kitchen carrying a large pot of stewed potatoes and meat. In the half-apron pocket in front of Qiao Xingyue, a brand-new pen cap was sticking out, with red silk wrapped around it. It was obviously a gift that Xie Zhongming brought to her from Kuncheng.
Deng Yingying felt a pang of jealousy. She looked at Xie Zhongming with a wronged expression and asked, "Brother Zhongming, why did everyone else get a gift, but my mom and I didn't?"
Xie Zhongming didn't mind repeating it again, "Do I know you?"
After saying that, he added, "The organization has approved the single dormitory rooms for you and your daughter. You will move out of my house tomorrow."
Watching Xie Zhongming take off his backpack and walk into the inner room, Jiang Chunyan's face turned green with anger. "Huang Guilan, is this how your Xie family treats their savior?"
In the past, Huang Guilan would have been timid and hesitant, not daring to say anything, and might even have apologized.
But ever since Xingyue's words woke her up, she was no longer afraid of Jiang Chunyan. She said confidently, "Chunyan, if you think Zhongming's attitude is bad, don't wait until tomorrow to move out, just move out today. You're staying at my house, and you still have the nerve to ask Zhongming for gifts. You get upset when you don't get gifts, but your attitude is much better now?"
“Aunt Lan, my mom and I didn’t mean it that way, we’re sorry…” Deng Yingying panicked, “Aunt Lan, we have indeed been bothering you these past few days, we…”
Huang Guilan, mimicking Qiao Xingyue's aura, decisively made a stop gesture, "Yingying, don't say sorry. If you really feel you're disturbing our family, move to your own dormitory tomorrow."
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