Mao Xiangling carried her books back to her dormitory with one hand. She had been having a really bad time these past two days. Not only did she lose her books and have nowhere to look for them, but even the handle of the kettle broke when she tried to boil water, scalding her hands and causing blisters.
During her three years of study at Yongning Medical University, she suffered a lot in the dormitory. Her roommate Jiang Ting even bullied her, just because she came from a single-parent family and depended on her mother.
Fortunately, her mother worked in a sugar factory and earned a decent income, enough to cover their daily expenses.
She pushed open the door, and the once lively dormitory suddenly fell silent.
Jiang Ting crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and shouted:
"Xiangling, you were really scared. It was just a scald from boiling water. Why did you have to wrap it in gauze?"
When Mao Xiangling went to the hospital to get her medicine, the doctor saw that the skin on her arms and hands was red and purple and broken. He repeatedly told her not to get infected, otherwise it would be difficult to heal. She herself knew from her medical background that such large wounds were most afraid of becoming infected.
"It hurt a lot, so I went to apply some medicine."
Mao Xiangling walked to the bed, tidied her clothes, and replied.
Jiang Ting pouted. This Mao Xiangling was the best at playing the victim. Why did she get all the honors at school? She was just as good at studying as Mao Xiangling.
The teacher must have been blind to award her the best paper recently; otherwise, the scholarship would have been hers.
They should have thrown all her books into the latrine and smashed her thermos even more, scalding her to death.
After packing her clothes, Mao Xiangling walked out with one hand in her lap.
"Where are you taking these clothes? You're really amazing, you can wash clothes with one hand."
Her words made her roommate burst into laughter.
"Jiang Ting, you don't need to worry about that. I can't wash it with one hand. I just happened to run into the laundry room today, so I'll take it there to wash it."
Mao Xiangling closed the door and went out.
"Did you see that? So what if she got a scholarship and a little money? What's she so smug about? She even uses the laundry room and pays to do her clothes. Let's make her contribute more to the class fund from now on. Doesn't she have money?"
Jiang Ting is Jiang Pei's cousin, and the two are alike, both used to being arrogant and domineering.
I was extremely envious of my cousin who sang and performed every day in the military arts troupe, but unfortunately, she wasn't photogenic and had a bad voice. In the end, she studied medicine. Since she couldn't be a soldier, she decided to marry one.
Jiang Ting had been urging Jiang Pei to introduce her to potential partners, but Jiang Ting was too picky. She wanted to marry not just any soldier, but an officer. Jiang Pei searched the military and found Yuan Qiang to be a suitable candidate, but Yuan Qiang refused to meet her and rejected her outright.
She's now eagerly anticipating finding a military officer as her boyfriend.
Mao Xiangling handed the clothes to Xia Enruo.
"Sis, these are the two items. Do you think they're okay?"
Xia Enruo picked it up and unfolded it in front of her eyes to take a look.
"These clothes are really beautiful, you have great taste. Of course, it's fine, just like I told you, 30 cents for one, 60 cents for two."
After hearing this, Mao Xiangling took out one yuan from her pocket and handed it to Xia Enruo.
"Sis, here's your money."
Xia Enruo thought to herself that this girl was really honest; she hadn't even washed her clothes yet, but she was already paying.
"No need to pay right away. I'll wash it and bring it over tomorrow afternoon, then you can pay me. By the way, what's your name? I'll register it. I'll wait for you here around 3:30 tomorrow afternoon."
Mao Xiangling withdrew her arm.
"Sister, my name is Mao Xiangling."
"Hey girl, my name is Xia Enruo. You're my first customer. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get a clean and fragrant wash."
Xia Enruo walked back with the clothes in her hand. As she passed the school gate, she took a special look at the prices for boxed lunches.
Wow, there are quite a lot of people here, crowding around several stalls.
She walked up to a stall and squeezed in.
"Big sister, I'd like a stir-fried garlic shoot."
"I want braised pork."
"I'd like stir-fried shredded potatoes."
"I want stir-fried rice noodles with pickled cabbage."
The students were giving money to the stall.
Xia Enruo looked at it and exclaimed, "Wow, it's like money is falling from the sky! Business is booming!"
She went to look at the other stalls, and they were all packed with people.
Boxed meals with meat are around 80 cents, while vegetarian meals are generally around 30 cents.
Xia Enruo also bought a box of braised pork and a box of stir-fried rice noodles.
I'll go back and try them out. I can have lunch with Gu Shaoxuan then, saving me the trouble of cooking.
Xia Enruo pushed open the door but didn't see Gu Shaoxuan; she only heard noises coming from the kitchen.
She thought he had fallen and rushed inside.
Why are you cooking again?
She saw Gu Shaoxuan struggling to cut the meat with the cleaver; his leg wasn't fully healed yet, so he couldn't exert any strength.
"I saw you went out to collect the laundry, and I was thinking of bringing you back for a hot meal. It's okay, I can manage."
Xia Enruo snatched the knife from his hand.
"What do you mean, 'okay'? Your legs are barely able to move around. If you fall and your old injury flares up, all the care I've given you these past few days will have been for nothing. You go and rest, I'll take care of you."
Gu Shaoxuan was kicked out. Xia Enruo saw that since the mutton was already cut up, she might as well make a mutton, radish and vermicelli soup.
It goes perfectly with the boxed lunch.
Xia Enruo deftly washed the remaining radish and then soaked the vermicelli in water.
She cut the mutton and then boiled water to make soup.
Xia Enruo and Gu Shaoxuan were eating boxed lunches.
"Why don't you try this? I bought it specifically at the entrance of the medical university today."
Gu Shaoxuan took a bite. What did it taste like?
"Enruo, it's nowhere near as good as your cooking."
Xia Enruo picked out a bite of the dish and tasted it.
Sure enough, the flavor needs improvement, and the saltiness wasn't quite right either; the braised pork was a bit too salty.
Gu Shaoxuan lost his appetite after taking a couple of bites. He had recently become picky about food because Xia Enruo had spoiled him. The food was far inferior to what his wife made. The radish soup was still the best.
He drank several bowls of water until he was full.
"Stop drinking and eat more. Otherwise you'll keep needing to use the toilet."
"This food is not good, it's far inferior to your soup. Enruo, don't buy it next time, it's a waste of money."
Xia Enruo also felt that the food was still a bit undercooked.
What do you think about me selling boxed lunches?
Xia Enru asked.
"Then they'd be scrambling to buy it."
Gu Shaoxuan answered without hesitation, saying that he had complete confidence in his wife's cooking skills and that he had never eaten anything better than what she made.
"I think so too. It seems I need to expand the scope of my laundry business."
After lunch, Xia Enruo settled Gu Shaoxuan back in his room to sleep.
She herself was washing Xiangling's shirt.
Having a washing machine is indeed convenient; I don't have to do anything myself, and it washes quickly.
Xia Enru hung the clean clothes out to dry in the courtyard.
After it dried in the afternoon, she took it inside and ironed it smooth, and it looked brand new.
Xia Enruo was planning to sell boxed lunches, but she needed a cart to do so, otherwise she really wouldn't be able to transport them all herself.
Currently, only Tian Xiuli's family in the compound has a handcart. We can either borrow hers for now, or if that doesn't work, we can buy a second-hand one.
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