Chapter 9 Getting Along
Meng Wanqiu shook her head. She couldn't keep money in her hands. In her previous life, she spent every penny she had because she didn't know how long she could live and had no idea of saving money at all.
She is able to save her own money now because she cannot go out. Her pocket money in recent months has been deducted, and it was secretly given to her by her elder brother and sister-in-law.
But there was only a little left, and she had spent most of it. Occasionally, the town's supply and marketing cooperative would come to the village to sell some expiring items, and she had figured out the pattern.
"No, keep it for yourself."
Why not? Is it because he thinks it’s too little? “Keep it. I will continue to make money later.” Ever since deciding to get married, Pei Xingzhi has accepted that he will share everything with Meng Wanqiu in the future.
"That's not what I meant. I don't have a plan for spending money. You'd better keep the money with you." If he kept it with her, who knows, one day she might suddenly take a fancy to something delicious or fun, and then spend all their money at once. She has a family to support her, but Pei Xingzhi would definitely feel embarrassed.
So that's it. Pei Xingzhi nodded, took the five yuan and two cents from Meng Wanqiu, and put it into the inner pocket of his Zhongshan suit.
In Meng Wanqiu's opinion, this speed was a bit too smooth.
Meng Wanqiu was stunned for a moment, then curled her lips.
What's the matter? I put it in my clothes to protect her. Humph, she doesn't care about this little money. She can earn it back by going to the mountains a few more times and picking some herbs.
The room fell silent. The two of them were not familiar with each other, and it was always Meng Wanqiu who started the conversation. When she also fell silent, the atmosphere became subtly awkward.
Pei Xingzhi glanced at Meng Wanqiu who was sitting on the bed. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her chin supported by her hands, her legs swinging back and forth, her round eyes darting around, but she didn't look at him, and he didn't know what she was thinking.
Pei Xingzhi couldn't understand it either. His deep phoenix eyes were half closed, his thick long eyelashes trembled, and the corners of his lips were pursed into a straight line. He was talking a lot before, why was he suddenly quiet now?
But for some reason, Pei Xingzhi didn't like this atmosphere, but he didn't know how to ease it.
He frowned, opened his mouth, then closed it again, and finally said, "Tell me when you need money." After thinking for a moment, he added, "I will tell you the details of the income and expenditure of the family accounts in the future."
Meng Wanqiu's ears twitched, the speed at which her eyeballs moved slowed down, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. This was right. Although she didn't intend to manage the money, she had the right to know and control the amount of money in the family. No one could hide it from her or be on guard against her.
"I'm glad you know." Meng Wanqiu looked at Pei Xingzhi, unable to suppress the smile on her face. Her eyes curved into crescents, the arc of her swinging legs became larger and larger, and her whole body exuded a cheerful atmosphere.
Not bad, not bad, very self-conscious.
Seeing Meng Wanqiu recover, Pei Xingzhi's frown relaxed.
"Are you hungry? I'll go to the kitchen and find you something to eat." Meng Wanqiu decided to reward Pei Xingzhi.
After all, if you want a horse to run fast, you have to feed it more grass.
"Okay." Pei Xingzhi nodded. Since he was given the opportunity, he had to go down. Besides, he was really hungry.
He is not Meng Wanqiu, who has someone to wake him up in the morning and bring him food when he is hungry. He is busy all morning and has no time to eat.
Meng Wanqiu came to the kitchen. There was no one else inside. Everyone was eating outside to entertain the guests. The fire in the stove was still burning. Meng Wanqiu boiled some water and took out the noodles from the top of the kitchen cabinet. These were rare items and usually her family would not bear to eat them.
But since it was Pei Xingzhi's first time eating at home, Meng Wanqiu decided to prepare something good for him. She put the noodles into the pot after boiling the water, blanched them for two or three minutes, then took them out and rinsed them with cold water to make them more refreshing and chewy.
Meng Wanqiu's soup base is the pheasant soup that was heated up before. The milk-yellow soup exudes a rich aroma and is poured over the bright yellow noodles. It is topped with chopped green onions, coriander, a drop of sesame oil and soy sauce, and finally a spoonful of chicken.
A bowl of delicious chicken noodle soup was ready. Meng Wanqiu sniffed and her mouth watered unconsciously. It was so fragrant that she had never been so extravagant as to treat herself.
There was also a drop of Meng Mu's precious sesame oil and soy sauce. These were very precious seasonings. In this era when only salt and oil were used in cooking, one can imagine how luxurious the bowl of noodles Meng Wanqiu made for Pei Xingzhi was.
Pei Xingzhi was also shocked when he got the bowl of noodles. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had eaten meat. Meng Wanqiu just put the noodles in front of him so casually, but Pei Xingzhi still didn't dare to pick up his chopsticks.
"Eat quickly, otherwise the noodles will clump together." Meng Wanqiu urged Pei Xingzhi.
Pei Xingzhi opened his mouth, "This, is it okay?" He remembered that there was no chicken on the banquet, so where did the meat come from.
"Of course it's okay, don't worry. This is a pheasant I caught with a trap in the mountains. It tastes great, eat it quickly." Meng Wanqiu urged repeatedly, as if out of sight, out of mouth.
The rich aroma entered Pei Xingzhi's nose, and his already hungry stomach began to thunder in protest. He no longer hesitated and began to eat with big mouthfuls.
It smelled delicious and tasted even better when put into the mouth. The noodles were full of chicken soup, and the taste exploded with one bite. Pei Xingzhi felt very complicated. He didn't know how long it had been since he had a proper meal like this.
Gudong——
Pei Xingzhi glanced sideways and found that Meng Wanqiu was sitting cross-legged on a stool with her back to him, and slurping sounds could be heard from time to time.
Thinking of Meng Wanqiu's greedy nature, she must be drooling with greed at this moment.
Pei Xingzhi couldn't help but laugh, "Would you like some?"
Meng Wanqiu shook her head and said in a muffled voice, "Don't pay attention to me. I'm just greedy. You eat yours."
She has principles. Pei Xingzhi hasn't eaten yet, but she has already eaten. Of course, she can't snatch food from others.
Pei Xingzhi was stunned, and his heart was pricked softly.
Knowing that Meng Wanqiu didn't want to snatch the food from him, he simply stopped worrying about it. Since she didn't plan to eat, he would finish it quickly to avoid making her jealous.
The two of them didn't stay in the house for long. After the guests outside finished their meal, they needed to see them off. They stood at the door and waited for everyone to leave one by one, then began to help the family pack up.
The tables, chairs, benches, bowls and chopsticks for the banquet were all borrowed from various households. They had to be washed, distributed and returned to the owners. Meng Yanchun and Meng Fengdong went to the village to deliver the things, and the other people in the family started cleaning.
Pei Xingzhi was also busy, cleaning the yard with Meng's father. Meng Wanqiu was not so self-conscious, she was playing with Zhuangzhuang.
When everything was over and it was getting dark, they heated up the chicken soup and added some dried mushrooms, potatoes and cabbage that they had stored at home. It was another delicious dish. The family sat together in the yard, except that Pei Xingzhi was beside Meng Wanqiu.
There is one more person in the house, someone I don’t know very well. To be honest, it’s a bit awkward.
Pei Xingzhi was the same. The wedding happened too quickly. He was busy with wedding preparations for the past two days, and whenever they met, they only talked about business. Now that he has some free time, he doesn't know what to talk about.
Pei Xingzhi was embarrassed, but he didn't show it. After sitting down, he politely called everyone around him. Zhuangzhuang also called him uncle, and Pei Xingzhi even took out two dimes and gave them to him.
Zhuangzhuang is young, but he is very smart. He knows that this is a good thing, and he called out sweetly a few times.
Meng Wanqiu was a little jealous standing by, not because she felt sorry for the money, but because she simply envied Zhuangzhuang for having money.
It was better that Meng's father stood up and said a few personal words to Pei Xingzhi.
"Xingzhi, from now on, just stay at home and don't worry about those gossips outside."
Inevitably, there was gossip in the village about Pei Xingzhi's residence at the Meng family's house. Those people were unaware of the valuable betrothal gift Pei Xingzhi had given, and the Meng family hadn't told Pei Xingzhi about it.
"That's right, those people are just nosy. Just ignore them. They are all bored." Meng Yanchun stood up. He was annoyed by those people. They kept saying this and that, as if they wished his family to be unlucky.
"If there are those blind men who talk nonsense in front of you, just slap them in the face." Dong Hanyun didn't care about that. There were a lot of fights in Qinghe Village, but no one would slowly explain the reason to you. When she got angry, she would just start fighting.
"That's right, just go ahead. Even if we can't beat us, we still have our family." Meng Yanchun clenched his fists menacingly, as if he was ready to go.
Pei Xingzhi was silent for a moment. He had always thought that Meng's father was the village party secretary. The Meng family had always had a good family tradition and was one of the few reasonable families in the village.
Now it seems that it is not what he imagined.
"...Okay, I understand. Thank you, brother and sister-in-law, and dad."
Mother Meng patted Dong Hanyun's hand, signaling her to be gentle. Turning to Pei Xingzhi, she said, "Don't let your sister-in-law scare you. She's worried that your gentle nature will put you at a disadvantage against unreasonable people. If we meet someone who's reasonable, we'll be reasonable. If we meet someone who's unreasonable, there's no need to waste time arguing with them. Just get back at them."
At the end of her words, Meng Mu covered her mouth. Oh no, why did he become more and more aggressive? She wanted to explain.
Meng Wanqiu burst out laughing, and the soft flesh on her cheeks bulged out, which was very eye-catching. Her mother was so funny.
Seeing this, Meng's mother glared at her. Meng Wanqiu leaned towards Pei Xingzhi, not wanting to be hit by her mother's iron hand.
Pei Xingzhi felt the warmth beside him, and clenched the chopsticks in his hand for a moment, then quietly relaxed. He felt a little uncomfortable, but he did not avoid it, allowing Meng Wanqiu to lean on him.
Father Meng was helpless as he watched his wife continue to smear the truth, so he had to add, "But don't worry, Xingzhi. Our Meng family still has some respect in the village. Aside from a few scoundrels, there are very few people who are blind."
Meng Aiguo has worked in the village for so many years and still has some prestige. If there is anyone who is so blind as to bully his son-in-law, he will definitely deal with him.
Pei Xingzhi smiled gently at Meng's father and said, "Don't worry, I know how to handle it." Although he hated trouble, he was not afraid if trouble really came to him.
After a few words, everyone started talking, one after another. Pei Xingzhi discovered that he was not the one who spoke the least, but Meng Wanqiu.
However, he soon discovered the reason why Meng Wanqiu was so quiet.
Perhaps she realized that she had said something wrong just now, so Meng Muxing kept picking up food for Pei Xingzhi, determined to let him feel the warmth of family, and she didn't stop until the food in Pei Xingzhi's bowl was full.
Pei Xingzhi helplessly hid with the bowl in his hand, but he still couldn't escape Meng Mu's enthusiasm.
Meng Wanqiu was heartless. Seeing her mother busy picking up food for Pei Xingzhi, she didn't even bother to say anything and silently increased the frequency of her chopsticks.
She almost bumped into Meng Mu's chopsticks in the pot several times, causing Meng Mu to glare at her several times.
Pei Xingzhi found it funny, and seeing that he couldn't escape, he simply shared the meat with Meng Wanqiu and Zhuangzhuang who were sitting next to him.
Meng Wanqiu gave him a look that said 'you're very smart' and finally slowed down.
Zhuangzhuang smiled so hard that his gums were exposed, and said in a soft voice, "Thank you, uncle."
With this one move, Pei Xingzhi once again won the favor of the whole family.
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