She brought four bowls of honey water to the courtyard and smiled at the old man and the little girl: "Grandpa, little girl, have some water first. This water has grapefruit honey added, it's good for your throat."
Thank you.
The old man smiled kindly at her: "Thank you for your trouble. My surname is Sun."
"Okay, Grandpa Sun, please have some water. Do you have any dietary restrictions?"
"No, no, we can eat anything."
The little girl's complexion improved, the wariness in her eyes lessened, and she gave her a timid smile.
There wasn't enough for dinner, and it was too late to cook more rice. Ji Xia looked at the kitchen cabinet and decided to cook a big pot of noodles and steam a pot of sweet potatoes and white potatoes on the side.
The whole pheasant was chopped into pieces, and the seasonings were already prepared; the cured pork was sliced thinly and steamed with preserved mustard greens; then, some small green vegetables and sweet potato leaves were picked from the yard and stir-fried, and two cucumbers were made into a cold salad.
When they bought the yard, Ji's mother said that growing some vegetables there would be convenient for their own use, and it has indeed proven to be very convenient.
The aroma of food kept wafting from the kitchen. Chen Jing, having finished bandaging her wound, came over, saw the prepared food, gave her an approving look, and then turned to instruct Ah Hu to take it out.
Scallion oil chicken, steamed preserved pork with preserved mustard greens, cold cucumber salad, garlic-flavored sweet potato leaves and vegetable soup, and staple foods including rice, tomato and egg noodles and sweet potatoes—it might seem a bit meager in later generations, but in this era, it was quite abundant.
"Dinner was a bit rushed, we'll just eat whatever's at home, don't worry about it."
Old Sun waved his hand and chuckled, "You're too kind, young comrade. It's already a very sumptuous meal. We haven't had such a good meal in years."
Sun Xiaoyu didn't say anything, but just kept swallowing hard as she looked at the chicken that had been specially placed in front of them.
Ah Hu scratched his head sheepishly and said with a sheepish smile, "Little sister-in-law—"
"Cough cough—"
Chen Jing glared at him warningly, and Ah Hu belatedly changed his tune: "No, Sister Ji, I meant you're too kind, you've prepared so much delicious food."
"These are just ordinary home-style dishes, nothing special. Sit down and eat."
Ji Xia then placed the bowls and chopsticks in front of everyone, saying, "No need to be polite, please start eating—"
Old Sun was the first to grab half a sweet potato. Ji Xia smiled and served him a bowl of noodles: "Grandpa, drink some soup first so it's easy to digest. Sweet potatoes can cause bloating. Eat them later."
Chen Jing immediately put two boneless chicken breasts on his plate: "Eat the meat first, old man. Since you're here, don't be shy."
Old Sun thanked them repeatedly before the others started eating.
Ah Hu ate a piece of chicken and gave Chen Jing a thumbs up: "Brother Jing, sister-in-law, no, Sister Ji, it's delicious, so delicious."
"Eat more if it's delicious."
Chen Jing sat down next to Ji Xia, turned around and glanced at her with a smile, his eyes so tender they were almost dripping with tears.
He picked up a piece of chicken leg for her and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."
Ji Xia narrowed her eyes slightly. Being hospitable was one thing, but she would have to settle accounts with him later.
Saving someone is one thing, but why bring them to her yard?
The dinner was quite substantial, with five dishes for five people, and it was all eaten clean. Not only that, but even the last bit of soup was scraped clean with sweet potatoes.
After dinner, Ah Hu leaned against the wall, patted his belly, and exclaimed, "This meal is definitely the best I've ever had in my life."
Chen Jing gave him a light kick: "Eat your fill and get to work. Come and clear the dishes."
"No need, I can do it."
Ji Xia was about to be polite when Chen Jing grabbed her arm and said, "He's eaten too much. Let him do some work so you can rest."
Without saying a word, Chen Jing directed Ah Hu to clean up the dishes together.
When Ji Xia returned after clearing away the dishes, she found Old Man Sun chatting casually, having learned about the day's events.
In the past two years, many comrades who were sent down to the countryside have been exonerated and returned to the city, but there has been no news of Old Man Sun and his grandson.
Their ancestors were officials and large landowners, so it's extremely difficult for them to be exonerated.
Seeing that his granddaughter had grown up and was constantly being eyed by people in the countryside, Old Man Sun planned to exchange his old belongings for money to smooth things over and bring his granddaughter back to the city.
The news that he had something good got out, and today a group of thugs from the inspection team went to arrest him.
Chen Jing and Ah Hu happened to run into them while exchanging things, and rescued the grandfather and grandson from the group of people, bringing them to Ji Xia's place for refuge.
Hearing that there were some good things, Ji Xia's heart stirred, and he asked in a low voice, "Grandpa, what kind of old things are you talking about? Are they calligraphy and paintings, vases, or gold and jade artifacts?"
The old man and Sun Xiaoyu looked troubled upon hearing this, and Ji Xia quickly explained:
"I'm not interested in anything else, I just like old jade and gemstone items, like bracelets, hairpins, rings, and pendants. If you want to exchange them for money, I'd like to trade some."
Upon hearing this, Old Man Sun glanced at his granddaughter hesitantly: "You only want jade and precious stones, and you don't want the calligraphy, paintings, or vases?"
Ji Xia shook her head: "Forget about those. We country folk don't know how to preserve things. If we leave calligraphy and paintings in our hands, they'll get damaged if we don't take good care of them. Cultural relics will also be ruined. Vases are easy to break. We only accept gold and jade items, preferably jadeite."
Old Sun stared at Ji Xia's calm gaze, his heart filled with hesitation.
He wanted to tell them everything, but worried that the two had ulterior motives, so he hesitated for a while before making a request.
The old man admitted that his ancestors had left him a batch of gold and jade jewelry, and he was willing to exchange it for her at a low price, but on two conditions.
He has a daughter who married and moved to the provincial capital more than 20 years ago, but they have lost contact over the years because of his being sent to the countryside.
The old man and his grandson couldn't leave the village brigade and couldn't get a certificate to return to the city. They wanted Chen Jing to go to the provincial capital to inquire about their daughter and ask her to help them find a way to bring them back to the city.
Besides inquiring about his daughter, he also requested to stay in Ji Xia's courtyard for the time being, so as not to be bullied again when he returned to the brigade.
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