He is my husband
Seeing that Qin Xing and Song Tiao Tiao knew each other before, Zhao Huaian didn't rush to introduce them. He smiled and touched Qin Xing's head: "You kid, you rushed here and forgot about the matter in the blink of an eye."
Qin Xing smiled sheepishly, "I met Miss Song. Brother Su asked me to tell you that he'll be staying in Songbai Village for the next two days, so he'll be staying at your house for a few days. He also said he has something important to discuss tonight, so he asked me to let you know as soon as possible."
Zhao Huaian nodded, indicating that he understood, and briefly introduced Gu Chengjue to Qin Xing.
The two exchanged names, one smiling like a spring breeze, the other as indifferent as water. Although both had smiles on their faces, their eyes met, but the smiles did not reach their eyes.
Qin Xing lowered his cat eyes, looked at the coat on Gu Chengjue, and said to Song Tiaotiao, "The family Miss Song mentioned turned out to be General Gu."
Song Tiaotiao was suddenly asked. She glanced at Gu Chengjue and saw him smiling calmly. He nodded and said, "Yes. He is my husband."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue's eyes sparkled and the corners of his lips rose slightly.
Qin Xing's cat-like eyes darkened for a moment. After a moment, he turned his gaze to Song Tiaotiao and said with a smile, "Miss Song, can I have an extra helper at home? I have nothing to do today and I'm feeling bored. When this is over, I can go home with Brother Zhao, which will be great for company."
Seeing that Qin Xing's words were sincere and Zhao Huaian also wanted to do so, Song Tiaotiao smiled and agreed.
Gu Chengjue frowned slightly, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes for a moment, then he lowered his eyelashes, trying to hide the indescribable emotion.
The people outside the house worked together and diligently, while the people inside the house cooked, filling the yard with fragrance.
The family had agreed in advance to keep the men for dinner.
Now, Song Tiaotiao sat on the wooden stake that Gu Chengjue had sawed off, fulfilling her childhood wish of having a barbecue freely in front of the clay stove.
She flipped the large pieces of meat skewers with one hand and pinched her own secret barbecue ingredients with the other hand, recalling the moves she learned at the barbecue restaurant and pouring them in with great skill.
The pork belly and pork belly were taken in sufficient quantity, cut into pieces of meat that were big enough to satisfy one bite, and then strung with pre-processed pine and cypress branches and roasted on a clay oven.
The aroma of pine and cypress penetrates the texture of the meat in the form of firewood and skewers, giving the uncured fresh meat a unique flavor.
The tender and juicy meat skewers were sizzling with oil under the scorching flames. As the wooden skewers turned, oil splashed in the flames and the meat pieces kept splashing with juice.
Song Tiaotiao's watery almond-shaped eyes sparkled in the firelight. While she waited for the barbecue to come out of the oven, she also used a stick to stir the three pounds of potatoes roasting next to the oven.
On the other side, Zhao's white porridge was quickly cooked and she and Bo Shuang were serving the rice and tidying up the tableware.
Song Tiaotiao sprinkled the last handful of seasonings, and seeing them completely melted and seeped into the oil, her almond eyes curved in satisfaction.
Seeing her bright smile, Zhao smiled warmly as well, "Tiaotiao, are you ready too? Then let's treat the guests to dinner."
Song Tiaotiao nodded, took a deep breath of the fireworks, pushed open the door with a smile on her face, and invited everyone to come in for dinner.
Seeing how hospitable the family was, the men felt embarrassed to leave even though they had already done the work, so they all went home and brought some vegetables, eggs and rice to join the family.
There were too many people to allocate stools, but no one was upset. Everyone sawed some wood and sat on the stakes. They ate skewers, drank hot porridge, laughed and talked, and were very happy.
After dinner, Zhao Huaian specially invited a skilled house builder from the village to teach the men how to build houses.
Everyone was very excited and worked together for four or five days. They not only renovated the thatched hut into a wooden house, but also installed two sturdy kangs in the house.
Beyond her expectations, a semi-enclosed wooden shack had appeared on the side of the house. Song Tiaotiao loved it. She kept thinking, when winter passed and spring arrived next year, she would build two lounge chairs and place them there, where she could grow flowers, enjoy the scenery, drink tea, and chat. It would truly be a paradise on earth.
The day the work was nearly finished was the winter solstice, and the family decided to take this opportunity to treat the men to a dinner to express their gratitude.
The men accepted the invitation with great enthusiasm, and each of them brought a gift to congratulate them on their new home.
Bo Shuang and Zhao came from wealthy families and had never been exposed to cooking, so they started washing and cutting vegetables in advance, while Song Tiaotiao was responsible for cooking and seasoning.
The fragrant pickled cabbage was just being served on a plate. When Song Tiaotiao raised her head to wipe the sweat off her face, she saw Bo Shuang pushing open the door with a smile on her face.
Song Tiaotiao hurried forward and saw Bo Shuang's beaming face, knowing her design had been accepted. Smiling, she took the cloth bag from Bo Shuang's hand and jokingly said, "Sister-in-law is finally back. Please tell us the great news."
Bo Shuang covered her smiling lips with her hand, then tapped Song Tiaotiao's nose and said with a smirk, "Tiaotiao, you're teasing me again. Shopkeeper Su said he's very satisfied and has officially hired me. He also said he's planning to open a branch in Songbai Village, which will be completed soon, and then I can work in his cloth shop. By the way, there are some dried persimmons and frozen pears in this cloth bag. You can use them to treat guests and drink later, and it's enough for you to eat for a few days."
Song Tiaotiao mentioned it casually the day before yesterday, but she didn't expect that Bo Shuang actually took it to heart.
Song Tiaotiao felt warm in her heart. She put her arm around Bo Shuang and said affectionately, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I knew that you dote on Tiaotiao."
Zhao Huaian had just finished laying the straw on the roof and jumped off when he saw the two of them, all happy and laughing. Just as they were about to go inside for a drink of water, they overheard the name "Su Merchant" and asked, "Mrs. Bo, is this Su Merchant you just mentioned a very tall man with a high nose and deep eyes? And was he wearing red silk with a butterfly pattern?"
Seeing the descriptions answered one by one, Bo Shuang nodded in surprise.
Zhao Huaian laughed heartily. "That must be Su Lin. He's the only Southern Dynasty man within a hundred miles who's handling the Northern Dynasty's cloth business. He's been staying at my house these days, planning on opening a branch in Songbai Village. You don't know, he keeps talking to me about butterflies, butterflies, with such anticipation, he's almost turning into a butterfly."
Song Tiaotiao said happily, "Is this the Big Brother Su that Brother Qin mentioned that day? We really do have a great fate between us."
Bo Shuang was also stunned by this fate for a moment. After a moment, she lowered her eyes and smiled, "I hope I haven't let Manager Su down."
Zhao Huaian smiled and sighed, "How could it be disappointing? It will definitely exceed expectations. Before, I thought he was overly happy. Now that I think about it, if it was done by Madam Bo, it would definitely be more joyful than finding a treasure. I can't blame him for being like this. But when I go back tonight, I'm going to see him go crazy again."
Song Tiaotiao turned around with a smile and placed the fragrant vinegar-stirred cabbage on the table. She looked at the table full of food with satisfaction.
On the dining table, boiled pork slices, cabbage stewed with tofu, and pickled cabbage were arranged in a clover pattern, with chilled pears and sweet persimmons inserted in between, and a large bowl of brightly colored braised pork and potatoes in the middle.
The staple food was dumplings stuffed with pork and cabbage, accompanied by a large bowl of salty and fresh soy sauce egg custard, and a jar of old wine brought by Zhao Huaian. The group of people ate enthusiastically around the round table, and it was very lively.
Zhao Huaian picked up a piece of braised pork and praised, "Miss Song is truly gifted in this matter. Ordinary ingredients in your hands always taste beyond imagination."
Qin Xing nodded vigorously: "Yeah, it smells so good that I can't put my chopsticks down."
Zhao Huaian patted his shoulder: "You greedy cat."
Song Tiaotiao lived alone for many years in the modern era, so she had done a lot of research on cooking. However, she usually cooked alone. Although she couldn't take all the credit for the enhanced effect, she still felt the warmth of the crowd's praise.
Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled. "If you like, please eat more. If there's a chance in the future, please come and join us."
Seeing that the atmosphere was set, Zhao Huaian smiled and raised his glass: "To thank you for this delicious meal, and to thank everyone for working together. I'm honored to meet you. Come, let's have a drink together."
After three rounds of drinks, candles were lit in the kitchen. Zhao Huaian saw it was time to leave and raised his last glass of wine: "General Gu, this is a toast to you and the unyielding spirit of the Gu family. I will treat your military service as my own. I hope you return to the barracks soon!"
Gu Chengjue knew that the possibility of returning to the military camp was almost impossible, but he didn't want to spoil Zhao Huaian's interest. His eyes were hazy and confused, and he drank the wine in his hand in one gulp: "Thank you, Brother Zhao."
The men, though still drunk, did not forget to help clean the kitchen before leaving. After saying goodbye, the more sober ones supported the drunken ones, and they staggered along, disappearing into the southern end with the setting sun.
Just as Song Tiaotiao was about to go out to see off Zhao Huaian and Qin Xing who were the last to leave, a hand wrapped around her arm.
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