"You did this? Enruo."
Gu Shaoxuan looked at her.
"Exactly. This is fruit tea, not soda. Soda is full of food coloring, and it's not good for your health to drink it now. My fruit tea is made with fruit, so it's high in vitamins. You can drink more of it without worry."
Gu Shaoxuan took several sips; it was sweet and sour, and tasted really good.
"Enruo, the fruit tea you made is really delicious."
Gu Shaoxuan stared at Xia Enruo with longing eyes, like a little baby.
"Gu Shaoxuan, I want to ask you a question, and you have to answer it seriously!"
Xia Enruo decided to tease him a little.
"Okay, go ahead and ask. As long as I know the answer."
Gu Shaoxuan looked at her intently.
"Which tastes better, the fruit tea I made or the water Jiang Pei is drinking?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Shaoxuan's eyes widened immediately.
"Enruo, I've explained it to you so many times. She's lying. She forced a kiss on me."
Gu Shaoxuan's tone was somewhat impatient.
Xia Enruo found his expression amusing and continued, staring at him seriously:
"Don't interrupt. Please answer my question directly: which one tastes better?"
“I didn’t drink the water from her mouth, I don’t know. Go ask someone who did.”
Gu Shaoxuan replied sullenly with annoyance.
Xia Enruo felt incredibly pleased to see his angry expression with his thick eyebrows and big eyes. She thought to herself, "You deserve to be annoyed. Who told you to provoke me?"
Xia Enruo went to the water room to wash her lunchbox and happened to run into Qiao Huizhen. She found it strange to see Qiao Huizhen dumping half a lunchbox of food into the trash can.
"Sister-in-law, you're being so wasteful. You've thrown away perfectly good food."
Xia Enruo felt that she was wasting food.
"Xia, having a job and not having a job are really different. For us who have jobs, we don't feel anything if we skip meals, but for you who don't have a job and no income, of course you feel bad."
Qiao Huizhen hummed a little tune as she scrubbed the jar.
"No, it's you, sister-in-law. Brother Ding is truly blessed to have married you!"
Qiao Huizhen doesn't need to think before she brags. She flaunts her wealth in front of Xia Enruo. In her eyes, none of the military wives in the family compound are as good as her. Everyone else has the best job.
Since being hospitalized, Ding Haotian has been eating the hospital cafeteria food every day. Now, he feels nauseous at the smell of it and can only eat a few bites each time before throwing the rest away.
He stayed in the hospital for half a month and lost a full 5 pounds.
Today, he got so angry that he started a hunger strike. Qiao Huizhen didn't stop him. Since he was going on a hunger strike, she told him to just throw everything away and not eat anything. She said that when he got hungry, he wouldn't be picky anymore.
After Xia Enruo finished washing the lunchbox and helping Gu Shaoxuan relieve himself, she went home to prepare dinner for him.
Now that she doesn't have to go out to host banquets, she has much more free time and doesn't have to rush to do anything. She plans to wait until Gu Shaoxuan can be discharged from the hospital and go home to recuperate before trying to find a viable business opportunity that can take care of him without interfering with making money.
Now that Gu Shaoxuan knows Xia Enruo is a skilled cook, he has started to order food himself. He has told Xia Enruo many times to take out her savings book from her pocket and withdraw money from it when needed.
To make him feel at ease while eating, Xia Enruo took the savings book and put it back at home, without withdrawing any money from it. She had earned quite a bit of money recently, so her food expenses weren't much.
Gu Shaoxuan wanted to eat braised carp and stewed pork ribs today, and also wanted to drink the millet porridge he had on the first day. Now, just thinking about being able to eat the delicious food his wife made filled him with warmth.
Xia Enruo spoiled him, making him eat whatever he wanted. So he ate! How much money could it cost to eat? As long as he recovered soon, it was worth spending a little more money.
"I'm going home to cook. You stay here and remember not to drink any water."
Xia Enruo packed the lunchbox into her bag and said.
Yuan Qiang pushed open the door and walked in. He had no work at the army base today, so he returned to the city early and stopped by the hospital to visit Lao Gu.
"Sister-in-law, are you going out?"
"Yuan Qiang is here. I'm going back to prepare dinner."
When Yuan Qiang heard that Xia Enruo was going back to cook, his eyes lit up. He had been coming to the hospital to mooch meals from Lao Gu whenever he had free time lately, and he rarely even ate at home anymore.
"Sister-in-law, what delicious food are you making today?"
"Gu Shaoxuan said he wanted to eat braised carp, stewed pork ribs, and millet porridge. I'm going out to buy groceries."
Yuan Qiang's mouth watered at the thought.
"Sister-in-law, it seems my trip today was worthwhile; I came at just the right time."
Xia Enruo smiled as she looked at Yuan Qiang rubbing his hands expectantly:
"Or, I could say you're lucky, and you can wait at the hospital while I cook and bring it over so we can eat together."
Gu Shaoxuan knew that Yuan Qiang was just there to freeload a meal.
“Yuan Qiang, you have to give half of your salary to your sister-in-law this month. You eat too much, and our family’s accounts are going to be in debt.”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Qiang thought that Old Gu was too stingy, and that he was even asking him for money.
"You old Gu, you're such a tightwad. You're already asking me for money after just a few meals with you. I'm broke, I have nothing but a thick skin. By the way, sister-in-law, how about I take you grocery shopping? I can help you with the cooking, and that'll count as payment for the meals."
Gu Shaoxuan felt that Yuan Qiang was right. Xia Enruo was working too hard running back and forth. It would be faster for Yuan Qiang to drive her. He felt sorry for his wife.
"Enruo, just let Yuan Qiang take you there. That way I'll feel at ease."
“Brother Yuan Qiang, I can go by myself. I don’t have much stuff, and it’ll be quick. You keep Gu Shaoxuan company while I get back.”
Yuan Qiang knew that Lao Gu was now starting to feel sorry for Xia Enruo.
"Alright. People really change a lot. One minute they can't stand it, the next they're protecting their own."
Yuan Qiang raised an eyebrow at Gu Shaoxuan, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
Xia Enruo arrived at the vegetable market with her bag on her back. She now knows Yongning City very well, knows where the markets are, and is familiar with where things are cheaper.
She bought 6 jin (3 kg) of pork chops, a carp, some spinach, and almonds to make a cold dish. Now that she has more time, she buys and cooks on the same day, so she can have fresh vegetables for every meal.
Xia Enruo walked out of the market carrying a full bag of things. The shouts of vendors on both sides rose and fell in her ears, full of the lively atmosphere of life.
She had only taken a few steps when a military green Liberation brand truck blocked her way.
Xia Enruo was about to curse this person for being so immoral, parking his car in the middle of the road and blocking pedestrians.
The car window was pushed open, and Wu Shaojun leaned out and shouted to Xia Enruo:
"Sister Enruo, I saw you from afar. You're still quite agile, walking so fast."
Xia Enruo saw that it was Wu Shaojun driving the car; the two hadn't seen each other for a long time.
"Shaojun, who did I think it was? I was just about to say that he has no manners, parking his car to block the sidewalk. What have you been up to lately, bro?"
"Hey. Nothing much, just running around with my boss all day. I just dropped him off at home and ran into you here. Hop in, I'll give you a ride."
Xia Enruo was carrying heavy things when Wu Shaojun arrived just in time.
She got into the car and placed her things under the passenger seat's feet.
The leather box under the windshield caught her attention.
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