Chapter 32 He couldn't stand seeing a certain jealous girl being jealous.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu subconsciously turned her head to see Zhao Wenchang's reaction.
However, Zhao Wenchang's face remained calm; he even gave the other person a slight smile.
His eyes, which appeared exceptionally deep in the dim light, swept over Zhao Fu indifferently, his voice so calm that it betrayed no emotion.
"The train waits for no one," he said succinctly. "Let's talk about it next time."
After saying that, he didn't look at Zhao Fu again. He turned around, took Jiang Wanqiu's arm, and with a strong effort, steadily lifted her onto the back of the tractor. He then took a long stride, nimbly climbed on, and sat down next to her.
Jiang Wanqiu was puzzled. What kind of person would want to jump into the river again?
The tractor sputtered to life again, belching out a plume of black smoke, and to Zhao Fu's astonishment, it lurched away from the village entrance.
Inside the truck bed, Jiang Wanqiu couldn't help but tug at the man's sleeve, lowering her voice to ask, "You're really not going? What if..."
“There’s no such thing as ‘what if’.” Zhao Wenchang interrupted her, turning his head to the side. He stretched out his finger with a half-smile and gently pinched her slightly reddened cheek. “Besides, if I really did go back,” he drawled, his voice tinged with a hint of teasing, “someone’s jealousy would probably boil over, and they might even start crying.”
Jiang Wanqiu's face flushed instantly. She slapped his hand away and retorted stubbornly, "Who...who's stingy! I wouldn't!"
That's what I said, but I couldn't hide the inexplicable feeling of comfort in my heart.
The villager driving the tractor seemed genuinely worried that the two trains would be delayed, so he drove incredibly fast. The dirt roads of the 1970s were full of potholes, and the tractor bounced around so much that it made everyone dizzy.
Jiang Wanqiu's small frame couldn't withstand this.
She was jostled about, her face pale, her hands gripping the iron railings on the side of the truck bed tightly, feeling as if her internal organs were about to be shaken out.
Zhao Wenchang couldn't stand it any longer. He frowned, stretched out his long arm, and pulled the person over, trapping him between his arm and the side of the truck bed.
"Sit on my lap." He wrapped his arms around the woman's slender waist and was about to pull her into his embrace.
"No need, I... I can sit still!" Jiang Wanqiu still wanted to show off.
Just as she finished speaking, the tractor ran over a large rock, and the trailer bounced violently upwards! Jiang Wanqiu was thrown up without warning and then fell heavily back down.
My butt made a solid, intimate contact with the bottom of the metal car.
"hiss--"
She gasped in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.
She looked up and saw Zhao Wenchang's smiling eyes staring intently at her, clearly enjoying the show.
Jiang Wanqiu glared at him angrily, then stopped being stubborn and crawled over on all fours, landing hard on the man's muscular thighs.
Zhao Wenchang let out a muffled laugh, and his arms tightened around her, pulling her firmly into his embrace.
Strangely enough, it was as if the man had some kind of shock absorber in his arms, and the jolt was reduced by more than half.
She leaned against his broad, sturdy chest, the faint scent of soap emanating from him lingering around her nose, making the bumpy journey seem less unbearable.
“The military trucks in the army are much bumpier than this.” Zhao Wenchang’s deep voice sounded above her head. “You have to be skilled at riding in a vehicle. You have to go with the flow and not go against it.”
It was only six o'clock in the evening, but it was already completely dark in Northeast China. They finally arrived at the county's train station.
The villager dropped them off, waved goodbye, and drove off in his tractor.
People came and went at the station entrance, and under the dim yellow lights, everyone's face showed the weariness of rushing around.
With two hours to go before departure, Zhao Wenchang said, "Let's go buy some things to eat on the way."
As he spoke, he instinctively reached out and pulled her into his arms, protecting her as they walked towards the less crowded supply and marketing cooperative.
Jiang Wanqiu struggled in his arms: "Let go, I'm not a child, I won't get lost."
Zhao Wenchang glanced down at her, a smirk playing on his lips. "That's not necessarily true." His gaze swept over her still somewhat bewildered face. "Judging by your confused look, I doubt it."
Finally, Zhao Wenchang picked out some steamed buns and eggs, and also bought some snacks for the woman.
Just as the man was about to pay, an overpowering aroma of meat wafted into Jiang Wanqiu's nose.
Following the scent, she spotted a small stall at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. An old woman was taking something wrapped in lotus leaves out of a large earthenware jar. It was steaming hot and smelled so delicious that it made her mouth water.
It is called beggar's chicken, also known as lotus leaf chicken.
Zhao Wenchang followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow: "Want some?"
Jiang Wanqiu's eyes sparkled, and she nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice.
The man slowly uttered three words: "No, I won't buy it for you."
"Why?" Jiang Wanqiu pouted. "You're so stingy! If you won't buy it for me, I will."
She could afford to buy just one chicken.
She angrily pulled out her money from her pocket and walked to the stall: "Grandma, I'll buy it myself! Give me one!" She even deliberately raised her chin and insisted on picking the biggest and heaviest one, holding it in her arms as if she were showing off to Zhao Wenchang.
Zhao Wenchang didn't stop her, he just leaned to the side with his hands in his pockets, a faint smile always on his lips, which made Jiang Wanqiu feel inexplicably uneasy.
Is there something wrong with this chicken?
Once on the train, Jiang Wanqiu realized that Zhao Wenchang had actually bought a sleeper berth!
In this day and age, you'd be lucky to even get a seat ticket, let alone a sleeper ticket.
"I have an officer's ID issued by the military, so I get priority when buying tickets," Zhao Wenchang explained casually after settling his luggage.
The train clattered slowly into the distance, and the platform and figures outside the window receded into the distance. After a while, Jiang Wanqiu checked the time and realized it was almost time for dinner.
She proudly took the heavy lotus leaf chicken out of her bag, placed it on the small table, and even waved it at Zhao Wenchang: "Don't get so drooling from the smell later."
Zhao Wenchang leaned back on the bed, looking at her with a relaxed expression: "Don't worry, it won't happen."
Jiang Wanqiu pursed her lips and began to dissect the chicken with great interest.
She first peeled away the outer layer of dry, hard lotus leaves, revealing a huge lump of yellow mud inside.
It's okay, all beggar's chicken is like that.
She forcefully chipped away another layer of dry, cracked yellow mud...
There was even a layer of wet mud inside...
It's nothing, it's probably for keeping warm.
She patiently and carefully peeled away the wet mud, thinking that now she should finally see the fragrant chicken.
As it turned out, underneath... it was still just a layer of mud!
Layer upon layer, like Russian nesting dolls, endlessly.
Finally, after she had stripped all the mud off, all that was left on the table was a pile of dirt and a few rotten lotus leaves.
As for the chicken? Not a single feather was seen!
Jiang Wanqiu was completely dumbfounded as she held the empty "chicken shell".
Suddenly, a muffled laugh came from the side.
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