When Jiang Xue returned home, she was utterly speechless at what her family had done.
The two little ones were squatting in the yard playing in the mud. She first tidied up the house again. Perhaps because the house was too dilapidated and the furniture was too old, she always felt that no matter how she cleaned, it was still not bright and clean.
After finishing her chores, she said, "Shaoheng, Shaomeng, let's go to the city to buy groceries. Let's have a good meal today."
I've been here for so long, focused solely on making money. It's been almost half a month, and I haven't even had a single bite of meat.
She walked for half an hour with her two little ones before finally reaching the street.
She bought each of her two children a candied hawthorn, then spent two yuan on a chicken and seven mao (0.7 yuan) a pound of pork.
This amount of food may not be much to her earning power, but for ordinary families, they wouldn't dare to buy food like this for the Chinese New Year.
When she got home, she first scalded the chicken with boiling water, and then plucked the feathers one by one. She sighed in her heart that people in this era had to do these things themselves.
She prepared green and red peppers, then stir-fried the chopped chicken in a wok until golden-yellow chicken fat was rendered, before adding scallions, ginger, garlic, and simple seasonings.
When it was almost done, she scooped out half of it and put it on the small stove to stew for the two children. She poured all the green and red peppers into the pot and stir-fried them until they were cooked through. The fragrant and spicy aroma wafted throughout the yard.
The two little ones must have smelled the aroma, because they rushed over and clung to the stove, drooling.
Seeing that the two little gluttons were practically drooling, Jiang Xue took a small bowl and gave them a few pieces of the stewing chicken from the stove.
"Go ahead and eat, but don't burn yourself. It's not stewed properly yet. Here are a few for you to enjoy." Jiang Xue gently handed the bowl to Shao Heng.
The two little ones couldn't wait to sit on the doorstep and start eating.
Seeing that the wok was already hot, Jiang Xue quickly poured a handful of bok choy into the oil. She skillfully stir-fried it a couple of times and then took it out of the wok.
Cooking is a simple task for Jiang Xue, but she suddenly felt troubled when she thought about planting wheat the next day.
"Uncle, Uncle!" The two little ones shouted to Ji Chen from the bluestone threshold.
Ji Chen washed his hands and went to the stove to look around.
He sat down coldly by the firewood and abruptly said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Jiang Xue pursed her lips. "If you can actually do something for me in a down-to-earth way, that would be the real comfort."
Ji Chen listened to the crackling sound of the firewood burning in the stove.
"you say."
"Let's get dinner ready. The soup will be done soon. Let's eat and chat. The child is hungry," Jiang Xue instructed efficiently.
Ji Chen frowned and hesitated for three seconds before getting up to pick up the plate.
His hesitation stemmed not from anything else, but from the realization that the woman before him had truly changed completely.
He didn't dare to ask too many questions, so he could only silently follow orders.
After taking a bite of the spicy chicken, his entire taste buds were stimulated. "When did your cooking skills become so good?"
As Jiang Xue picked up a piece of stewed chicken that was tender and soft and fed it to the two little ones, she smiled and said, "I may be lazy, but I'm not incapable."
"How do you plant wheat?" Jiang Xue changed the subject abruptly.
"Cough, cough..." Ji Chen coughed for a while after being choked.
"Isn't all the land in the house for your parents to cultivate?" He took a sip of water.
Jiang Xue scratched her head sheepishly, "Since we're getting a divorce, we need to be clear about the assets."
Ji Chen couldn't help but spit out the water he had just drunk.
He joked, "I'm so poor, how can I talk about property? Are you kidding me?"
Jiang Xue's expression suddenly turned very serious. "Don't underestimate those few plots of land."
Ji Chen was completely bewildered by Jiang Xue's seriousness.
"Are you planning to plant wheat on my plots of land?" He put down his chopsticks and took out a stack of oil coupons, grain coupons, and twenty yuan from his pocket.
Here's what I earned this month.
"Yes, I'm going to plant wheat in it tomorrow, so my family won't take it."
Jiang Xue blinked her bright, peach-blossom eyes as she looked at the scattered pieces of paper, one or two pieces, and a few cents.
She knew this was a monthly routine.
"No, no, we'll go our separate ways sooner or later. What's yours is yours, and what's mine is mine," she laughed.
“I’ve saved enough money for rent now. See when your sister can come.”
When Ji Chen saw that Jiang Xue had refused his salary, he frowned uncomfortably. He knew that Jiang Xue had been earning a lot of money recently.
He hesitated, unable to look Jiang Xue in the eye, and stammered, "You think it's not enough?"
Jiang Xue froze instantly. She hurriedly waved her hands and explained, "No, no, didn't we already agree on this?"
After finishing his meal, Ji Chen said in a somber tone, "What's yours is yours, there's no reason to take it back. Anyway, this is the last time."
After he finished speaking, he walked straight out, and Jiang Xue looked at the stack of money with some confusion.
Ji Chen walked out of the house, took out a cigarette, and stood at the door for a couple of puffs in a very sullen manner.
"Brother Xiaochen is back?" Xie Xiaotian, wearing a blue dress, popped out from the east room.
Ji Chen frowned slightly and asked politely, "What are you doing here?"
Xie Xiaotian walked up to Ji Chen with a pitiful look on her face. "Brother Xiao Chen, you must be working very hard lately."
Just then, Jiang Xue, who had finished eating, was clearing away the dishes and heading to the kitchen. She forced a smile and said awkwardly, "My cousin is here too."
When Ji Chen saw Jiang Xue come out, he instinctively stubbed out his cigarette.
Xie Xiaotian said in her sweet, cloying voice, "I don't know what's wrong with my cousin lately, she's suddenly been acting very diligent."
Seeing that Xie Xiaotian was making sarcastic remarks about her, Jiang Xue said without any hesitation, "You two can sleep in the inner room tonight, and I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
After saying that, Jiang Xue turned and left, not wanting to waste any more words on them.
Xie Xiaotian was so embarrassed that her ears were practically steaming. She said angrily, "How rude and unrestrained!"
Ji Chen chased after him angrily, rolled up his sleeves, and said indignantly, "I'll wash the dishes."
Jiang Xue was terrified by Ji Chen's expression; it was gloomy, cold, and carried a terrifying aura.
She felt a chill run down her spine, gently placed the bowl on the stove, and prepared to slip away as fast as she could.
"I'll pretend you're mute from now on if I don't speak." Ji Chen was furious, so angry that his chest ached.
Thinking back to that year, Xie Xiaotian invited me to the reservoir, where we bumped into Jiang Xue taking a bath naked.
He already knew Xie Xiaotian's motives.
Now that she has nowhere else to go, she comes to him for help. Does he really think he's a sucker? He's only refraining from breaking ties with her because they grew up together.
"Tch, I'm just telling the truth." Although Jiang Xue was a little scared inside, she didn't back down verbally.
As she stepped out the door, she didn't forget to shake her head and add, "Brother Xiaochen, yue..."
She made a vomiting gesture at Ji Chen, which made Ji Chen tremble with anger.
Jiang Xue came out and bumped into Xie Xiaotian who was still there. "Cousin, wait a little longer. In three more days, you'll be able to enter the house."
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