Chapter 8
On the way, they met Grandma Lin taking her grandson out for a walk. Jiang Suihan remembered that she still owed medical bills. She took out the money from her pocket and counted it. She only had 8.6 yuan in her pocket, two of which she had taken from Huang Qiujuan.
It was so miserable that poverty made her want to cry on the spot. She never thought that one day she would be so poor that she couldn't even find ten dollars after searching all her pockets.
Jiang Suihan was very conflicted. She took out four dollars and handed them to Grandma Lin: "Thank you for sending me to the hospital. Please keep these four dollars first. I will find another way to pay you back the rest as soon as possible."
She felt a little guilty. Now she had difficulty even supporting herself and her brother, and she still owed people money. She wondered why God didn't send a thunderbolt to strike her back.
Grandma Lin tried to refuse, but finally accepted the money after Jiang Suihan persuaded her.
It's not that she doesn't know that the Jiang family is in difficulty. However, when her daughter-in-law heard that she helped Jiang Suihan pay for her hospital bills, she hasn't been looking at her in a good light for the past two days. She also asked her why she didn't save the money for her grandson, and it's not known whether she can get it back if she lends the money to outsiders.
Grandma Lin glanced at Xu Zhao standing next to her and said, "Don't worry about the money. It's not easy for you two siblings. Who is this?"
Jiang Suihan hesitated, wondering whether to tell the truth, but she didn't know what Xu Zhao was thinking, so she didn't speak rashly and turned to look at him.
Xu Zhao said politely: "Hello, I am Comrade Jiang's fiancé. Thank you for your help. I will pay the remaining money for her."
From their conversation, he pieced together what had happened and thought, his fiancée had been through a lot of misfortunes. Just now she had her head smashed, and now her relatives were targeting her, and they were planning to sell her for a good price.
Grandma Lin waved her hand and refused: "We are neighbors. Her father helped our family a lot before. I just helped a little bit, it's nothing."
Although it was just a small favor, Grandma Lin was still willing to lend a helping hand when everyone was avoiding her, which shows that she is very kind. Otherwise, Jiang Suihan might not have survived. The doctor also said that it was fortunate that she was sent to the hospital early. If she had been sent there ten minutes later, she would have lost too much blood and would have been too late to rescue her.
Grandma Lin couldn't persuade Jiang Huihan, so she finally accepted the money: "What are you going to do in the future?"
This city is becoming more and more chaotic. Jiang Huihan is beautiful, and the Jiang family is in decline. If no one protects her, she will have to endure a lot. Sometimes, being beautiful is a sin and will bring disaster upon herself.
Grandma Lin had a good first impression of Xu Zhao. Apart from the military uniform he wore, which made her feel safer, he had clear eyes and did not look like a deep-minded person.
She thought that with him protecting Jiang Suihan, nothing serious should happen. As an old lady, she couldn't help the Jiang family in any way. She just hoped that the two siblings could live a better life. She could be considered to have repaid the kindness of Jiang's father.
Xu Zhao glanced at Jiang Suihan and said, "The unit I'm serving in is in Li Province. If Comrade Jiang is willing and doesn't mind the remote and backward area, I can take them there."
Li Province and Mingjiang City are far apart, and Xu Zhao would be unable to reach them if something happened. He was worried about leaving the two siblings in Mingjiang City.
The place where the troops were stationed was very remote. In the past, many family members had gone there, but because of the difficult conditions, they could not stay there for long and had to return to their hometowns. He was worried that Jiang Suihan could not bear the hardship.
If she didn't want to go to Li Province with him, it was actually not impossible. After they got married, she could go to the imperial capital. His parents were both there, and they would probably take good care of her and her brother.
Le Province?
Jiang Suihan immediately pulled out the map of Li Province in her mind. It was indeed far away.
She was still worrying about how to leave Mingjiang City, and it was just like someone gave her a pillow when she was sleepy, which was exactly what she wanted. Now she doesn't have to worry about it and can leave with a clear conscience.
Judging from what Xu Zhao said, he wanted to acknowledge his engagement with her. She should be right, right?
Jiang Huihan glanced at Xu Zhao suspiciously, wanting to ask him what he meant, but when she saw there were outsiders around, she swallowed the words back.
Grandma Lin had never been out of Mingjiang City in her life, and she had no idea where Li Province was. She said sincerely, "You two should have a good talk. It's actually good to leave here. There are so many troubles here. When things are over, you can come back when you want to."
What couple? !
Jiang Huihan's face turned red in an instant and she had no idea how to respond.
The tips of Xu Zhao's ears also turned red. He glanced at Jiang Suihan calmly, then quickly looked away.
After walking for a while, Jiang Suihan couldn't help but say, "Although you said you're welcome, I still want to say thank you. I will return the money to you with interest in the future."
Xu Zhao said simply: "You don't have to pay it back."
He didn't care about that little bit of money. He had already decided to accept the marriage. Jiang Suhan was his fiancée, and they would get married in the future. Her affairs were his affairs.
Jiang Suihan insisted: "How can that be? It is only natural to pay back debts. I must pay back the money I owe. This is not a question of money, but a question of principle. People and things are based on principles."
Xu Zhao's lips curled up slightly: "It's up to you."
"Um, you just told Grandma Lin that you wanted to take us away, what did you mean?"
Jiang Suihan couldn't hold back the doubts in her heart and didn't want to make random guesses by herself, so she decided to ask first.
Xu Zhao matched Jiang Suihan's pace and slowed down his pace: "Literally, you are my fiancée, and we are going to get married in the future. Now that your parents are dead and you have severed ties with your relatives, there is no one to take care of you and your brother. I have the responsibility and obligation to take good care of you."
He stopped, looked at Jiang Huihan, and asked, "Don't you want to marry me?"
Jiang Huihan was dumbfounded. The topic changed a little too quickly: "Marriage? I haven't thought about this issue yet."
Suddenly a fiancé appeared, and she hadn't fully reacted yet. She was still trying to figure out how to get along with him. But he was better. He went straight to the point of thinking about getting married. This was a big step and she seemed unable to keep up.
Xu Zhao: "Then you can think about it now. Tell me when you've made up your mind. No matter what decision you make, I respect you. But I only asked for a week's leave. If you decide to leave, there are many things that need to be prepared in advance."
He vaguely remembered that when he was young, an uncle brought a very delicate and cute little girl to visit his home. The adults joked about whether the little girl would be his wife in the future. He seemed to answer yes in a daze. Later, the two families gradually lost contact and no one talked about this matter anymore.
Since he has taken on this title, he must shoulder the corresponding responsibilities. It is his duty. If Jiang Suihan wants to cancel the marriage, he will not force her. He only wants to do his best to have a clear conscience.
Jiang Huihan was extremely conflicted. She had only met Xu Zhao once and had no idea what kind of person he was. She felt a little lost and helpless about being asked to marry a man she had only met once.
But if she didn't accept Xu Zhao and continued to stay in Mingjiang City, with wolves in front of her and tigers and leopards behind her, she had no confidence that she could survive in this era.
She is just an ordinary girl. Time travel did not give her any golden fingers, nor any special abilities. She may not be able to deal with Qin Rongguang alone, let alone those people who have bad intentions towards the Jiang family and want to step on them when they are in trouble.
Jiang Suihan pursed her lips and said, "I need some time to think about it. The day after tomorrow, or tomorrow morning at the earliest."
Xu Zhao didn't urge: "Okay."
The three of them first went to a nearby state-owned restaurant to eat. Xu Zhao asked Jiang Suihan and Jiang Leyun what they wanted to eat. The siblings were not picky, as long as there was something to eat. Xu Zhao quickly ordered the dishes and paid the money and food coupons in the blink of an eye.
It was a bit early for lunch at this time, so there were not many people in the restaurant and there were a few empty tables.
When the last dish, braised spareribs, was served, Jiang Leyun couldn't help but swallow his saliva, his eyes revealing desire. He hadn't tasted meat for more than two months.
Xu Zhao handed Jiang Suihan a pair of chopsticks: "Eat."
The three of them enjoyed the meal very much. The dishes in Mingjiang City are relatively light, and the chef likes to add some sugar when cooking, which people in the north are often not used to.
Jiang Suihan had a clear goal to eat the meat first. She picked up a piece of braised pork ribs, which tasted really good, with real ingredients, and good color, aroma and taste. She wanted to learn how to cook this dish from the restaurant master Jiang.
But you can imagine that this is someone else's unique skill, and it is impossible to steal it.
"How is it? Is it tasty?" Jiang Huihan asked Xu Zhao after seeing him take a few bites of the food.
"Not bad, a little bland."
Xu Zhao felt it was okay. He had eaten all kinds of things to fill his stomach when he was on missions in the past. He was from the north and had been to many places after serving in the army. His tastes were a bit mixed, so it was nice to change the taste by eating food from other places once or twice.
Jiang Suihan expressed her understanding: "We are all used to it. It may be due to the climate. Our eating habits are different from your northerners. Our dishes are sweet and light. It is normal that you are not used to it."
She pushed the braised lion's head closer to Xu Zhao: "Try this, I think it tastes very good."
After dinner, he went straight to the grain and oil store to buy food. This time, Xu Zhao specially exchanged a lot of national grain coupons with others in case of emergency.
That’s right, that miserable person is Zhang Xiangqian.
Xu Zhao asked the staff to weigh three kilograms of flour and five kilograms of rice. Since they arrived late, many vegetables had already been sold out. The three of them picked and chose and bought some white radishes, potatoes, and cabbages.
When they got to the pork stall, there were only a few lean meat and bones left over. Jiang Huihan looked at the pork with shining eyes and bought all of it with a wave of her hand.
She turned around and said with a smile: "I'm a pretty good cook. I'll make you something delicious when I get home."
Xu Zhao picked up the things consciously and walked away. The thing weighing more than ten pounds seemed light in his hands, as if it had no weight at all.
Jiang Suihan felt a little bit reluctant to be a laborer and a payment machine at the same time, but she was short of money and had to accept it shamelessly.
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