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◎The King of Scrolls, Day Thirty-Eight◎
As soon as the steamer in the cafeteria was opened, white steam carrying the aroma of wheat filled the room.
Jiang Wanzhou picked up a steamed bun with the steamer cloth, her fingertips burning from the heat, but she didn't pull her hand away as usual.
"Wait a minute, it's hot!" The head chef squatted in front of the stove, doing his calculations, the abacus beads clicking loudly. "Look at you, all flustered, have you lost your mind?"
Jiang Wanzhou placed the steamed buns into the basket, her movements a beat faster than usual: "No, I just wanted to finish delivering the food as soon as possible so I could come back and help you chop firewood."
The head chef added a piece of firewood to the stove, making a soft crackling sound: "The team came to check the accounts this morning, but they didn't find any mistakes."
He paused, then looked up at her. "Sister Zhao followed behind for a long time, her face long and drawn, like someone owed her something."
"Let her do whatever she wants." Jiang Wanzhou picked up the food box, the straps digging into her palms until they turned red. "I'm going back to deliver breakfast first."
I had only walked a few steps out of the cafeteria when I bumped into Zhao Xiulan carrying a cloth bag and walking towards me with a smirk on her face, as if someone had offended her.
"Wanzhou, have you seen Dr. Zhang?"
"No." Jiang Wanzhou turned to leave, but Zhao Xiulan grabbed her arm.
"I heard that the new doctor Zhang has a cousin who came from Beijing?" Zhao Xiulan's eyes lit up.
Jiang Wanzhou's heart skipped a beat, and she pulled her hand away: "I don't know."
Watching Jiang Wanzhou's retreating figure, Zhao Xiulan spat on the ground.
After delivering breakfast, Jiang Wanzhou took a shortcut back to the cafeteria as quickly as possible.
The seashells on the beach shimmered in the morning sun. She was counting the seashells when she bumped into someone.
"I'm so sorry!" she apologized hastily, but when she looked up, she was stunned.
The man was wearing a blue cotton jacket and carrying a canvas bag. He had distinct features and was looking down at her with a look of astonishment and a hint of something else in his eyes.
Jiang Wanzhou's throat suddenly tightened, and she was about to speak.
The man suddenly turned his head away, took a few quick steps toward the dock, and whispered something to Dr. Zhang who came to greet him.
Dr. Zhang glanced in her direction and waved to the man.
The man boarded the boat.
That back view, that profile, it's clearly Zhou Qingyu!
Jiang Wanzhou stood rooted to the spot, her feet seemingly nailed to the sand.
The sea breeze tousled her hair, carrying a salty, fishy smell that filled her mouth, while her heart pounded like a drum.
He's here! He's really here!
"Wanzhou! What are you doing here?" Lin Xiaomei's mother, carrying a basket, passed by and patted her on the shoulder. "Why is your face so red?"
Jiang Wanzhou snapped out of her daze and rubbed her burning cheeks: "It's nothing, Auntie, I just got sunburned."
As she walked back, her steps were light and airy.
She hadn't noticed in that brief glance whether he had lost weight.
Back in the canteen, the head chef was adding firewood to the stove. When he saw her come in, he frowned and said, "Why did you take so long? Why is your face so red?"
"The sun is very strong today."
Jiang Wanzhou poured flour onto the work surface, her fingertips still trembling.
I can't wait to go back and share it with Shen Xinglian.
The master chef's spatula clattered against the edge of the pot.
The head chef sprinkled some corn husks into the steamer, and the aroma wafted out: "Get to work, don't get distracted."
Jiang Wanzhou nodded.
On the other side.
Zhou Qingyu peered through the crack in the door, watching Jiang Wanzhou's figure disappear, her knuckles clenching until they turned white.
"Have you seen enough?" Dr. Zhang handed him a cup of hot water. "Why didn't you talk to her just now?"
Zhou Qingyu turned around, her Adam's apple bobbing: "It's not the right time yet."
He glanced out the window. "The approval hasn't come through yet. I came here secretly this time, so I can't cause her any trouble."
"You," Dr. Zhang sighed, "you had a huge fight with your dad just to see her. Was it worth it?"
Zhou Qingyu smiled, her eyes shining brighter than the sunlight streaming through the window: "It's worth it."
He touched the small box in his pocket, inside which was a newly carved wooden hairpin with a small daisy on the head. "Once I've settled things here, I'll go and propose to her brother."
When Jiang Renzhou came to find Jiang Wanzhou at noon, he ran into Zhou Qingyu.
The two bumped into each other at the corner, and Zhou Qingyu's canvas bag fell to the ground.
Jiang Renzhou's face instantly darkened: "Why are you here?"
“Comrade Jiang.” Zhou Qingyu stood up straight, his back as straight as a gun. “I am in charge of this operation.”
"My sister is doing just fine on the island, it's none of your business!"
“Wanzhou and I agreed on this a long time ago.” Zhou Qingyu’s voice also turned cold. “This is between the two of us, and it’s none of your business.”
"She's my sister, so it's none of my business!" Jiang Renzhou took a step closer. "If you know what's good for you, get lost and don't force me to take action!"
“I won’t leave.” He glanced in the direction of the cafeteria. “I can wait, wait for her to make her own decision.”
Jiang Renzhou watched his retreating figure, his anger surging as if it were about to explode.
He turned and walked towards the cafeteria. Just as he reached the entrance, he saw Jiang Wanzhou coming out with a bowl in her hand, her eyes sparkling.
"Brother, what brings you here..."
"I've come to pick you up from get off work," Jiang Renzhou interrupted her, his tone curt.
Jiang Wanzhou looked at his tense profile and swallowed the rest of her sentence.
She knew that her brother must have seen Zhou Qingyu.
Jiang Wanzhou couldn't calm down while taking inventory of supplies in the logistics warehouse in the afternoon.
Jiang Renzhou squatted on the ground, keeping accounts. The sound of his pen slicing across the paper was loud, as if he was venting his anger.
"Brother," Jiang Wanzhou knelt down beside him, her voice soft, "If you don't like Zhou Qingyu, I..."
“It’s not that I don’t like him.” Jiang Renzhou put down his pen and looked out of the warehouse. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on the floor. “I’m afraid he’s unreliable, and I’m afraid you’ll be wronged.”
“He won’t.” Jiang Wanzhou’s voice was firm. “Brother, I’ve made up my mind. Once he’s settled things, I’ll marry him. I’ll stay on the island and live with him.”
Jiang Renzhou's pen fell to the ground with a "thud".
Looking into his sister's eyes, he suddenly sighed: "Fine, you choose your own path."
As she finished work in the evening, Jiang Wanzhou headed towards the dock, hoping to try her luck again.
The setting sun dyed the sea surface golden red.
She saw Zhou Qingyu standing on the reef, looking in the direction of the cafeteria, holding something in her hand that gleamed in the setting sun.
He seemed to sense something and suddenly turned around.
The moment their eyes met, Jiang Wanzhou's heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Zhao Xiulan carrying a basket passing by and shouting, "Dr. Zhang! Your cousin is here!"
Zhou Qingyu hurriedly turned her head away and walked inside, her steps so fast it was as if she were hiding from something.
Jiang Wanzhou stood there, watching his figure disappear around the corner, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart.
Back home, Jiang Wanzhou sat in the yard sewing shoe soles.
Shen Xinglian leaned closer and said with a smile, "Judging from your smug look, something good must have happened."
Jiang Wanzhou licked the thread with her tongue: "Xingxing, I saw Zhou Qingyu."
"I've made up my mind. I'll agree to Zhou Qingyu's formal marriage proposal."
"You've figured it out?" Shen Xinglian slipped a candy into her hand. "Aren't you worried he'll change his mind?"
"I'm not worried anymore." Jiang Wanzhou unwrapped the candy, the sweetness spreading on her tongue. "He's here, that's enough."
—
The steamer basket in the cafeteria was opened.
Jiang Wanzhou picked up the steamed bun with the steamer cloth, her fingertips tingling from the heat.
Shen Xinglian has been saying she's hungry lately and often needs to eat something extra at night.
"Is this for your sister-in-law?" The head chef stopped to drink his porridge. "Look at how thoughtful you are, you're like someone who's about to become an aunt."
Jiang Wanzhou piled the steamed buns into the basket: "She's pregnant, she needs to eat more."
The steam from the steamer blurred her features. "Master chef, what color should I use to make a new cotton-padded jacket?"
The head chef tapped the edge of the pot: "It's red, for celebration."
"For boys."
He suddenly realized what she meant and looked at her face. "What? Is there some good news?"
Jiang Wanzhou's face flushed red, and she stuffed another steamed bun into the basket: "I'm going back first, my sister-in-law must be getting impatient."
When I pushed open the courtyard gate, Shen Xinglian was sitting in the yard picking vegetables.
Mingyuan lay on the stone table drawing, making crooked and messy marks on the paper.
"You're back?" Shen Xinglian looked up and smiled. "The steamed buns smell especially good today."
Jiang Wanzhou placed the basket on the stone table, sat down next to her, and reached out to help her pick vegetables.
The edges of the seaweed were a bit prickly, like rough, unpolished sand. "Sister-in-law, I went to the dock this morning."
"You saw it?" Shen Xinglian's hand paused.
“I didn’t get a chance to speak, I just caught a glimpse of him from afar.” Jiang Wanzhou’s fingertips traced the vegetable stalks. “He’s lost some weight, and his hair has grown longer.”
Shen Xinglian glanced into the room and lowered her voice, "Your brother saw him too, didn't he? He had a really long face."
“Brother is just stubborn.” Jiang Wanzhou put the picked vegetables into the basin, the water splashing loudly. “He said Zhou Qingyu asked him to pass on a message, telling me not to worry.”
She pulled a small cloth bag from her pocket, inside which was a wooden hairpin with a small daisy carved on the head. "I also brought this."
Shen Xinglian held the wooden hairpin, her fingertips rubbing against the smooth wood surface: "This craftsmanship is a set with your wooden box."
She suddenly laughed, "He's so thoughtful, he even remembers what kind of flowers you like."
“Xingxing, you said…” Jiang Wanzhou’s voice was a little unsteady, “If I go to Beijing with him, will I be able to get used to it? I heard that it’s very cold there in winter, and the snow can be up to knee-deep.”
“I can’t bear to part with you either. Leaving him on the island would only hold him back.”
"Why can't I get used to it?" Shen Xinglian held the wooden hairpin up to her head. "You're quick and efficient; you can settle down anywhere. Besides, if he truly cares for you, would he let you suffer?"
She gestured towards the kitchen with her lip, "I rummaged through the chest yesterday and found a piece of red cloth. I'm saving it to make you a new dress, which will match this hairpin perfectly."
Jiang Wanzhou's heart skipped a beat: "I haven't even made a deal with him yet..."
"It was bound to happen sooner or later." Shen Xinglian poured some water into the basin. "When your brother came back, he told me that Zhou Qingyu asked Dr. Zhang to buy something, saying it was to nourish my body."
She glanced at Jiang Wanzhou and said, "Your brother is very stubborn, but he knows exactly what's going on. He's already accepted this marriage."
Mingyuan ran over holding the drawing. Next to the sun on the paper was a little person wearing a flowery dress and with a long braid: "Auntie, this is you! Brother Zhou said he would buy you a flowery dress!"
Jiang Wanzhou took the painting, her fingertips tracing the crooked lines, and her eyes suddenly felt a little hot.
"How did Mingyuan know?"
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