Once he sat down on the sofa, he began to complain, saying that his family was pressuring him to get married and have children, to the point that he was afraid to go home.
It's finally the weekend, but when I go home I just want to see if my parents are okay, and then I make an excuse that the labor team is busy before sneaking out again.
And it wasn't just him; even Wanwan was being pressured.
His mother even asked relatives and friends to introduce them to potential partners. Now, he and Wanwan have seventy or eighty young men and women waiting to meet in person on their phones, making them the laughing stock in the neighborhood.
Li Zhaozhao's sarcastic remarks made the people on the sofa burst into laughter, and Shen Yanming also smiled when he heard the sound.
He took a moment to cut a plate of watermelon and bring it to Li before returning to the kitchen to continue cooking.
Li Zhaozhao looked at the white porcelain bowl with red filling in front of him and couldn't help but swallow. He glanced at everyone and asked, "Would you like some?"
Zhang Heping and Ji Kangyong shook their heads with smiles, "We've already eaten."
"Where is Qiao An?" Li Zhaozhao asked.
Bi Qiaoan was about to say that she wasn't suited to eating cold-natured fruits. But Zhang Heping interrupted, saying, "Old Shen would rather starve his own wife than eat cold-natured fruits," which made everyone burst into laughter again.
Bi Qiaoan could only nod in agreement, "Yes, my husband always makes sure to give me the best food."
"See? I told you so. That guy is a henpecked husband," Zhang Heping said smugly.
Ji Kangyong and Li Zhaozhao exchanged a glance, both smiling but saying nothing.
Hearing that everyone had already eaten, Li Zhaozhao decided not to stand on ceremony.
He picked up a fork, pierced a piece of watermelon, and put it in his mouth. The long-lost fresh and sweet taste filled his mouth, almost bringing him to tears.
I thought to myself, "This life is just too damn damn bad. Every day at work it's just land, land, land. It feels like our standard of living has regressed by hundreds of years, straight to the 1960s and 70s."
These days, it's so damn hard to eat meat, eggs, or fruit!
It's only because Old Shen is capable that he can occasionally come up with some new gadgets to supplement their income. Otherwise, he'd almost forgotten what the prosperity of the past looked like.
Seeing the tears welling up in his eyes, everyone fell silent. They knew what he was thinking without him saying a word.
Yes, besides him, who here doesn't miss the past? Who here doesn't wish for the end of the world to pass quickly!
"Alright, our Qinghua Country is already much better than other countries. Don't you know how many foreign netizens want to immigrate to Qinghua Country?"
Ji Kangyong handed him a tissue, saying, "So, those sentimental feelings are useless; happiness is all about comparison."
"Yes, I know. Last time there was an earthquake, many countries almost perished." Li Zhaozhao took the tissue, wiped his eyes, and then continued eating watermelon.
Instead of continuing the conversation on this sad topic, they changed the subject and started talking about their recent lives.
Finally, Li Zhaozhao asked, "Are there any watermelons left? I want one to take home for my family to try; they haven't had one for two years."
Bi Qiaoan nodded, "There are three more in the box, one for each of you later. Because they are all large watermelons weighing twenty or thirty pounds, they take up a lot of space, so we didn't get many back."
Oh, and there are some peaches too, please share them with you when you leave.
Li Zhaozhao laughed, "Old Shen and Qiao An are still the best. They still think of their brothers even after finding something good."
"Yes, I appreciate that too," Zhang Heping nodded in agreement.
Although Ji Kangyong didn't speak, the gentle smile on his face showed his agreement.
Bi Qiaoan couldn't bear the grateful looks from the three grown men, so she smiled and said, "We don't have many relatives, so we're closer to you. It's only natural that we think of each other."
Besides, you all helped me and Lao Shen a lot at the beginning of the apocalypse. Come to think of it, we've all been helping each other out, there's really no need to be so distant.”
Hearing her say that, the group smiled knowingly. They thought to themselves that Old Shen had married a good woman; she hadn't thrown a tantrum over a little bit of material stuff. If it were any other woman, they probably would have already started a huge fight.
In reality, it wasn't that Joan was particularly generous or kind. If she didn't have her spatial ability as a trump card, she probably wouldn't have been willing to give the fruit away. That's just the selfishness of human nature.
Of course, now that I have a backup plan, it's perfectly fine to be generous to my friends as long as it doesn't jeopardize my own safety.
As they were chatting, they heard Shen Yanming call out, "Dinner's ready."
Zhang Heping and Li Zhaozhao hurried into the kitchen to help serve the dishes, while Ji Kangyong gently supported Bi Qiaoan and followed her to the dining room to take her seat.
As one delicious dish after another was served, Bi Qiaoan's mouth began to water.
She stared intently at Shen Yanming, who was wearing a pink apron, her longing evident in her eyes.
Shen Yanming chuckled, took off his apron, and sat down next to her, serving her rice and vegetables.
Since the vegetables were ostensibly brought home from the guard team, the only dishes on the table were stir-fried wood ear mushrooms with eggs, braised eggplant, stir-fried chrysanthemum greens, green peppers with sliced pork, and cold beef salad.
Although the menu wasn't extensive, the portions were generous.
There were still some vegetables left over, and Comrade Lao Shen generously gave them to Ji Kangyong, who was busy with work, so that he could have an extra dish for dinner.
As for Lao Zhang, let's just forget about him.
As far as he knew, this guy almost always ate at the hospital cafeteria. He didn't cook at home, and even the vegetables he grew either withered or dried out.
As for Old Li, with his large family and business, he certainly doesn't lack such a small amount of vegetables.
Because he had only heard his parents mention that Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan had been transferred to the guard team, Li Zhaozhao inevitably brought up the topic again at the dinner table.
Comrade Shen briefly recounted what had happened.
Even so, Li Zhaozhao was stunned, nodding repeatedly before bowing in complete submission.
After the meal, Shen Yanming remembered something and asked, "How's our land? Have you gone to check on it?"
Hearing this, Zhang Heping lowered his head guiltily. Ji Kangyong said, "I asked Chen Shunwei to take care of it. I only go over to check on it occasionally when I have free time."
He was very diligent; whenever he noticed the soil was cracked, he would carry water to irrigate it. As a result, the wheat seedlings in our field grew well and were much stronger than those in other people's fields.
Moreover, there are almost no withered leaves or pests/diseases.
Shen Yanming nodded. "I see. No wonder I found almost no weeds when I went there last time. Looks like we'll have to thank them properly after the harvest."
Ji Kangyong agreed, saying, "He's a good guy. Back then, you went to Suzhou, and I was busy until very late every day. Heping was almost never home. He noticed this and asked me for the keys to the fields."
I was thinking that once the harvest was plentiful, I would give him ten percent of the grain from my land as payment.
Zhang Heping was feeling guilty for neglecting his work in the fields when he heard Ji Kangyong's words. He quickly expressed his agreement, "I also agree to distribute grain to others."
Shen Yanming nodded, "You two don't need to worry about this. If anything is to be divided, it should be between me and Qiao An. You can keep your share for yourselves."
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