"Aren't you the head of the family? How can the head of the family be broke?" Zhao Xiheng teased him intentionally.
The vendor was still rubbing his hands together, watching the two of them expectantly, waiting for them to pay.
After all, judging from their clothes and appearance, the two people were either rich or noble, and didn't seem to be poor. A tuft of mink fur plucked from that lady's body would be enough to buy a candied hawthorn.
Wei Li blushed under their gaze and quickly gritted his teeth, saying, "You're the head of the household, aren't you? Hurry up and pay up."
He usually just greets Zhao Xiheng and takes the money directly when socializing. He has never encountered a situation where she refuses to give him money or he doesn't have enough money on him. He has never been stared at so eagerly before.
Zhao Xiheng was very satisfied with his answer and began to prepare to pay.
But after searching for a long time, he couldn't get a single penny out.
Zhao Xiheng, “…”
She paused for a moment, then looked up at Wei Li with her big, watery eyes. "I didn't bring any either."
Zhao Xiheng remembered that she had brought it...
Both of their faces turned as if they were on fire. The vendor's gaze changed as he looked at them, his eyes sweeping over Wei Li's hands. "Since you didn't bring any money, then young master, this candied hawthorn..."
He tried to reach out and take it back.
Wei Li couldn't bear to lose face like that, so he grabbed a gold chain from the front of his shirt, jingled and jingled as he pulled off a string, unfastened a clasp, and threw it into Wei Li's hand. "Gold, is that enough?"
The vendor's eyes lit up, and he quickly took it and took a bite—it was gold!
But then she was troubled again, "My lord, I can't find the change."
Keep the change, please.
With such a good thing happening, the vendor naturally saw the two off as if they were the God of Wealth. He would treat them like ancestors, let alone the God of Wealth.
Zhao Xiheng's eyes lit up as she leaned closer, wanting a bite of the candied hawthorn. Wei Li held it up high, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Who's the head of the household now?"
“You are you, you are.” Zhao Xiheng was spineless.
Wei Li nodded in satisfaction and brought the candied hawthorn to her lips.
The candied hawthorns came in strings of five, with the largest one at the top and the smaller ones at the bottom. Of course, Zhao Xiheng wanted to eat the first and best one. She grabbed his hand and ate one, her cheeks bulging. The outer sugar coating was shiny and crispy, and the hawthorn inside was pitted. It was so sour that it made one's scalp tingle, but Zhao Xiheng thought it was just right.
She squinted her eyes contentedly.
"Give me a bite of your candied hawthorn," Wei Li greeted her.
"Eat up, eat up, eat up." She wasn't a stingy person, and besides, Wei Li had bought the candied hawthorns.
The sugar coating made a crunching sound.
She sensed something was wrong, and when she looked up, tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face. Her lips trembled with grievance. "You said you'd only take one bite."
Wei Li's mouth wasn't big, but now he exerted himself and ate the remaining four pieces like a glutton, his cheeks bulging so high that he could barely hold them in his mouth. Then he waved the empty little stick and mumbled, "I only ate one bite."
"Who says you can't eat four in one bite?"
"I only ate one, how could you steal food from a pregnant woman? You have no conscience." Zhao Xiheng sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes, looking pitiful and wronged.
Wei Li wiped away her tears with the back of his hand. "If you hold back your tears, they'll freeze on your face and sting. Just eat one to taste it. The doctor said last month that he would try to avoid letting you eat hawthorns because they promote blood circulation, which is not good. It's okay to eat one or two occasionally to satisfy your craving. You've used up your hawthorn ration for this month, so if you want to eat more, wait until next month."
He didn't try very hard to coax her; at least Zhao Xiheng wasn't appeased.
Zhao Xiheng thought about it carefully, and realized that the doctor had indeed said something like that. She'd been said to have "pregnancy brain" for three years after becoming pregnant, and with people around her constantly reminding her, she'd forgotten about it.
She angrily threw herself into his arms and pounded his chest. One wasn't enough to satisfy her craving; it only made her crave more. "Why didn't you say you didn't want me to eat it? Why did you buy it for me in the first place?"
Wei Li held her waist and mischievously whispered in her ear, "Because I want to eat it."
"If you're really craving it, I'll go back and eat two more for you. If I eat them, it's the same as you eating them."
Zhao Xiheng was so angry that she stomped on his foot, pushed him away indignantly, and walked forward on her own.
The ground was still icy. Wei Li was afraid she would fall, so he ignored the pain and quickly caught up with her. He skillfully took a handkerchief from her sleeve, put the gold chain he had taken off his body into it, tied it up, and put it in her hand. "Alright, don't be upset. Here's all the money. Buy whatever you want to eat."
Zhao Xiheng reluctantly accepted it, and only then was she a little happier.
"Give me a smile if you're happy." Wei Li lifted her chin, teasing her like a thug.
"Get out!" Zhao Xiheng cursed at him.
"Why are you turning your back on me like this? Can't you even smile?" Wei Li muttered, his arm around her waist.
"No way! Have you forgotten who has money in their pocket now?" Money makes people arrogant, money makes people stand tall.
Learning from past mistakes, Zhao Xiheng always asked Wei Li if she could eat anything she wanted along the way. Fortunately, apart from the longan soup sold at the stall, she didn't violate any taboos.
The fragrant and spicy aroma of roasted bean curd sheets wafted along the street. She bought fifty bean curd sheets; she ate two, and Wei Li ate one. Once the bean curd sheets were finished, the entire snack street was over. Zhao Xiheng also ate osmanthus and sesame glutinous rice balls along the way.
The stall owner didn't mention that the sesame dumplings contained both black and white sesame seeds. She didn't like white sesame seeds and always felt that the white sesame dumplings didn't have the rich aroma of black sesame seeds.
If one sesame seed is white, feed it to Wei Li; if it's black, eat it yourself.
"Zhao Xiheng, I feel like a garbage can right now." Zhao Xiheng put another white sesame dumpling into his mouth. Wei Li burped and then complained, "Can't you give me something good to eat? Don't give me what you don't want to eat."
“How is it not a good thing? We eat glutinous rice balls on the Lantern Festival.” Zhao Xiheng looked at him seriously. “Besides, what’s wrong with you? When you said you loved me, you called me A-Dan, but now you call me Zhao Xiheng. Don’t you love me anymore?”
Wei Li's ears turned red, and he quickly covered her mouth, looking around. "What love? Aren't you ashamed to say it in public? When did I say I love you?"
"Oh! Someone said I'm afraid to admit it, but the day I fell off the wall and was lying in bed, I clearly heard you say you loved me so much, that you'd loved me for a long, long time." She pulled his hand away from her mouth and said sweetly.
Wei Li awkwardly scratched at the table with his fingers. "You were unconscious at the time, you must have misheard me. I didn't say anything."
"I'm not unconscious, the anesthesia hasn't worn off yet, so I don't have the strength to open my eyes. Don't think I can't hear anything."
Wei Li was almost cooked; he was steaming like a boiling kettle.
He thought Zhao Xiheng was unconscious and was terrified, so...
As a result, everything was heard.
He covered his ears, trying to hide his embarrassment and not wanting to hear Zhao Xiheng speak.
Zhao Xiheng was determined not to let him off easy. She forcefully pried his hand off his ear and leaned in to ask, "Then tell me, do you still love me or not?"
Wei Li was so excited he was practically boiling over; his face, neck, and ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
He remained silent for a long time, so Zhao Xiheng poked his arm and pouted, complaining, "Fine, someone's about to have their child with you, and now you've changed your mind."
She looked like a sorrowful, resentful woman, her eyes and brows etched with despair. "How pathetic I am," she said, "I learned the devastating news of my husband's infidelity on the Lantern Festival. We sleep in the same bed but dream different dreams..."
“Love, alright?” Wei Li interrupted her, as if he had mustered up some courage, but his expression was still fierce.
"How much love is that?" Zhao Xiheng pressed on, continuing to ask.
"Don't ask anymore, the fireworks are about to start, let's go to the riverbank to watch them." Wei Li pulled her to her feet.
Zhao Xiheng reluctantly let him go.
The river at Bhumibol Adulyadej is a tributary of the Yalu River. The river is wide, and you can see Goguryeo from the other side. Although the river is frozen now, it is a holy place to watch fireworks.
The river surface is as bright as a mirror and as white as silk. When the dazzling fireworks bloom in the sky, the river surface will also reflect the colors, which is a magnificent harmony between heaven and earth.
Moreover, even if fireworks explode and fall onto the river, they will not cause a fire.
The two arrived early and occupied the pavilion on the riverbank.
Wei Li had already handed over the fireworks to the government office, and he didn't know what kind of fireworks Hua Shangle had sent.
As the silvery-white and golden gardenia blossoms in the sky bloomed one after another, a crack appeared in his expression.
Hua Shangle somehow learned that Wei Li's wife liked gardenias and that Wei Li loved his wife very much. So he had people work overnight to make these gardenia-patterned fireworks, hoping to please her.
Zhao Xiheng stood at the window watching the fireworks with great interest, clearly enjoying them very much.
As Wei Li watched her retreating figure, he thought to himself, "It's not a big deal that Zhao Xiheng knows I love her, and it's not a big deal that she doesn't love me either."
He was already very happy that she was willing to stay and give birth to the child.
If one were to think even more presumptuously, the fact that she was willing to give birth to her child might mean that she liked him a little. Moreover, Zhao Xiheng even took him to pay respects to her parents' memorial tablets and formally introduced herself to them.
"Wei Li." He was deep in thought when Zhao Xiheng suddenly turned and called to him.
Her eyes sparkled, as if filled with stars, far more dazzling than the fireworks outside.
"Hey," he replied to her in a soft voice without realizing it.
"Shall we go out to watch the fireworks again next year?" she asked enthusiastically.
Wei Li nodded slightly, "Okay."
As long as she doesn't leave.
“Then when the child is a little older, we can bring him out to play together, okay?” Zhao Xiheng asked again.
I probably won't be able to bring the child out next year at this time; the little one is still too young.
Zhao Xiheng talked to him about the future.
She made a rough agreement for next year, the year after, and even many years later.
Wei Li's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes suddenly welled up with tears. "Okay, whatever you say."
She turned her head away again.
Wei Li answered the question he had evaded in his mind: Of course he loved her very much!
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