"Just consider it as me going on a 'trip through the countryside,' and I'm not sad anymore." Meng Chijian was wearing an old short-sleeved shirt, revealing his collarbone at the neckline. This area was covered by his tanned skin, with a clear dividing line where the clothes covered his skin.
A-Mian touched the brown patch on his shoulder. The Brother Li from before was wearing a round-necked robe and long boots, and he didn't have a single patch on his body.
"Then, when you go to Zhoucheng, buy yourself some nice clothes. It's better to be well-off on the road than to be poor, so you don't become a laughingstock."
Meng Chijian said, "Don't be fooled by my comrade's seemingly new clothes. His boots are so smelly they could stink a cow. These guys' clothes look new because they never wash them. They don't even take a bath for ten days or half a month."
This is the secret to how silk looks shiny.
Ah Mian's undergarments were made of silk, while her inner garments or floral skirts were made of cotton, their colors faded and turning a worn white. Although their clothes didn't look particularly bright, they were clean and soft, and Ah Mian's skin never felt red from wearing them; in fact, they became more comfortable the more she wore them.
"Then I'll get you your old clothes and help you pack a bag."
Seeing that her mood was gradually calming down, Meng Chijian rubbed her wrist. "Last time we went to Zhoucheng, we were too rushed and didn't have time to explore properly. This time, I'll bring you back a gift."
"good."
The two talked for a while about what they wanted to buy and decided that Meng Chijian would leave the next afternoon and return quickly.
As she had done before when "traveling to the countryside," A-Mian packed three sets of clothes and changed into her own.
Cut half a piece of cured pork into slices and put it in a jar as a side dish. There is also a jar of dried radish that was prepared beforehand, along with twenty flatbreads, all wrapped in oil paper.
Before embarking on a long journey, they must have a very good meal; this is a belief ingrained in their family.
The next day, Meng Chijian brought back twenty or thirty iron skewers from the shop, and in the vegetable basket he carried was a fresh piece of pork belly, a pig's heart, and a basket of small miscellaneous fish about the length of a hand; the vegetables were sunflower, spinach, and potatoes.
"I'll slice the potatoes!" A-Mian volunteered. "We'll make roasted meat, and the fruitwood branches will give it a nice aroma. I'll go find some more branches."
She used to use a sharpened branch of a pear tree from the village to skewer small fish and shrimp she caught; she had never properly eaten roasted meat.
"My brother was originally thinking of buying some buttermilk (milk wine), but he said that my sister-in-law couldn't drink alcohol, so he bought this big jug of plum wine instead—with ice in it!" This was a bit expensive, but since it was a farewell dinner, no one said it was inappropriate to buy it.
Meng Chijian was in charge of marinating, cutting, and skewering the meat. Xiao Jing set up a temporary stove in the yard and placed fruit tree branches that A Mian had specially found underneath.
"Whoa!"
The meat skewers sizzled and dripped oil, causing the flames to intensify. A-Mian searched high and low at home but couldn't find a suitable brush. Suddenly, she slapped her forehead and retrieved a clean calligraphy brush from the study.
"It's alright, at most a little bit of ink will get into his stomach... I can't exactly ask you to get the brush I use to groom Adou, can I?"
Meng Chijian's left eyelid twitched. "We won't use this for now. There's a special sauce brush in the kitchen that hasn't been used in a long time. I'll go find it."
Ah Mian put black bean sauce, scallions, ginger, chili peppers, and a little vinegar into a bowl, and stirred it well with chopsticks. This was her own homemade sauce. After the others found a brush, she brushed it repeatedly onto the meat skewers and grilled fish.
"I think it's cooked. I want to taste it first." Ah Mian pinched the metal skewer, then immediately let go. "Hot, hot, hot!"
Haste makes waste.
She was completely absorbed in the roasted meat in front of her, and didn't even ask whether Meng Chijian would come back.
The vegetables grilled quickly, and Ah Mian ate a few skewers before finally waiting for the meat skewers to turn slightly charred.
She quickly held one end with her handkerchief, blew on it to cool it down, and then took a bite: "Delicious! Juicy and flavorful, the meat skewers are amazing!"
"Hey, it tastes pretty good even without sauce..."
While A-Mian was enjoying her meal, Meng's mother couldn't eat much.
As Meng Chijian grilled the meat, he would occasionally wipe the sweat from his brow, the aroma of meat filling the courtyard. He glanced up and saw that A-Mian was so focused on eating the skewers that she didn't even notice the two skewer marks on her face, like the whiskers of a greedy cat.
"Would you like more grilled fish?"
"I want it! I want it!" A-Mian and Xiao-Jing both handed over their plates.
Fearing he wouldn't have enough to eat, Meng Chijian thought he'd have to make some fried rice later.
"Pour another bowl of plum syrup, it's refreshing and helps cut through the richness, it's so delightful!"
After eating another half bowl of pickled mustard greens and egg fried rice, A-Mian was satisfied and stretched, leaning against Meng Chijian. This lunch took a long time, even longer than her usual afternoon nap.
Click.
Meng's mother put down her bowl and sighed inwardly, "San'er, A'mian, I have something to say to you."
A-Mian sensed the unusual atmosphere, sat up, and hurriedly recalled if she had done anything wrong recently. Meng Chijian put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Mother, tell me."
“Third son, I’m mainly saying this to you. When your father was still alive, he said something like this. He said that in all the time he’d been running his shop, he’d seen two kinds of couples: one kind could share hardship but not happiness; the other kind could share happiness but not hardship.”
Upon hearing this, A-Mian nodded in agreement, thinking that only someone with considerable experience would say such a thing.
Speaking of which, her parents were the kind of people who could share hardship but not happiness. Even when life was incredibly tough, their relationship was actually quite good as they worked tirelessly together.
“But I don’t think so. San’er, when your father passed away, I almost wanted to go with him. If Xiao Jing hadn’t been so young, I…” Mother Meng’s voice choked with emotion, “Enough, enough, let’s not talk about these sad things from the past. Just remember, this time when you go out, no matter what is promised to you, you must come back. I’m just telling you, there is a third kind of couple in the world. If you can’t be by each other’s side, there is no taste of joy or sorrow.”
Meng Chijian nodded blankly, then looked at A-Mian, whose round eyes were also curiously looking at him. "Mother, I know."
“You must not only find a way, but also not implicate the family. Third son…” Meng’s mother touched their hands, clasped them together, and remained silent for a long time.
After Meng's mother returned to the house, Meng Chijian said to A-Mian, "Our family used to be very poor. My father worked as an apprentice in someone's shop. He had a hard life and had to take care of his master during festivals. After so many years, he and my mother finally managed to make a living together, but then he passed away."
Ah Mian thought, how few couples in this world can share joys and sorrows and spend their whole lives together.
Many people claim they can withstand temptation before they even encounter it.
Which type of relationship will she have with Meng Chijian?
As Meng Chijian pondered, he suddenly saw the mischievous ghost in his arms using an indescribable—
He stared at me with a complex look that seemed to say, "You might be a heartless man."
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