Chapter 52: Washing Hands and Making Soup
Qing Bai once again saw Jiu Nian, who was wearing a wide-sleeved long robe and had waist-length hair, still in the smoky and dimly lit kitchen.
Anyone who sees this picture will praise the dark room for its brightness, and then sigh that it is really a mismatch.
But there was no other way. Qi Xiaopang and Ai Chan went to the hospital to visit the sick and took away all the food that could be eaten directly or indirectly in the house, leaving only the most basic ingredients. Qing Bai now looked like a "young and unable to take care of himself" cub. It seemed that he could only hope to stay away from worldly affairs for nine years.
Jiu Nian was silent for a long time in front of the wood stove, not knowing whether he was embarrassed or thinking. Qing Bai did not urge him, but sat in the 'baby safety seat' that Jiu Nian had arranged for him, quietly admiring his tall figure that was as graceful as a pine or a bamboo.
After he had admired her for a while, he asked, "Can you cook?"
After asking this, Qing Bai was in a trance for a moment. Perhaps it was because the kitchens in the countryside were all similar, he suddenly thought of Tong Jionian. Many years ago, he was also like this, placed aside, without having to worry about anything, just swinging his legs and waiting for food.
Thinking about it this way, his life was actually not bad...it's just that the good times were too short.
Jiu Nian looked up at Qing Bai, took out a sling from his sleeve pocket, and said as he tied his sleeves, "I think so."
Qing Bai came back to his senses and smiled: "What do you mean by 'should'?"
This person is really not sure. When asked if he had been to school, he said he had. When asked if he could cook, he said he should be able to. When asked about his age, he said he forgot... The only definite answer he gave was probably "I'm not a human being."
He said he should be able to do it, but his actions were not vague at all. After figuring out the location of rice, flour, oil and grain, Jiu Nian started to work, his movements were skillful and not awkward at all: "When you live long enough, you can't help but know a little bit of everything. After a long time, sometimes you can't remember what you know. You only know it after you try it yourself."
"I see, time really is... merciless."
Qing Bai fell into deep thought again. When he came to his senses, there was a bowl of tomato and egg noodles in front of him, with some green vegetables and a fried egg that was golden on both sides and had a soft center.
The food is delicious and the chef is even more delicious. The shoulder strap was originally an auxiliary tool used by ancient working people to facilitate their work. It is simple and practical, but when put on the body of Jiu Nian, who has an upright posture and handsome face, and with his long and soft hair that reaches his waist, he inexplicably has the taste of... a gentle husband who washes his hands and cooks soup. Qing Bai, who was originally a little disappointed, almost drooled.
“Eat it while it’s hot.”
Qing Bai raised his paw, his voice still cold, but with his current appearance of a white kitten, he no longer reminded people of the cool and handsome guy he used to be. Instead, he only made people feel cute and... aggrieved and innocent.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Master Jiunian."
Jiu Nian was stunned for a moment before realizing that Qing Bai had lost the ability to take care of himself. He could neither cook nor eat by himself.
After swallowing the noodles covered in tomato sauce that were fed to his mouth, Qing Bai sighed, then glanced at Jiunian, who was holding the bowl in front of him, ready to feed him another mouthful at any moment. What kind of gentle husband washes his hands to cook soup? It's clearly a male mother chasing after him to feed him.
"I'm full, don't you want to eat?" In fact, he could have eaten a few more bites, but after comparing the size of the bowl of noodles with his current stomach, Qing Bai cautiously chose to stop.
Jiu Nian carefully looked at Qing Bai's belly, which seemed a little bulging due to eating, as if to judge whether he was really full or just being polite.
That look seemed as if he would reach out and touch the cub's belly in the next second to judge how full it was. Qing Bai silently shrank back, unable to tell whether he was embarrassed or looking forward to it.
"I haven't needed to eat for a long time." After saying this, Jiu Nian suddenly thought of something and added, "When you come of age, you won't have to stick to three meals a day anymore."
Qing Bai, who hadn't cared much about food, housing, and transportation in recent years, retorted: "What's the point of living like this?"
Jiunian thought he was encouraging the little cub to practice hard so that he could get rid of the shackles of worldly life as soon as possible, but he didn't expect that the little cub was so thoughtful and profound, and actually discussed the meaning of life with him. But he was speechless. In his long life, which he could not see the end when he looked back or the end when he looked forward, he had never thought about such a profound and philosophical question as "the meaning of life".
After all, his life was too long, so long that sometimes just a nap would cause a dynasty to fall like a dream, so long that his very existence was the meaning for many people.
Qing Bai was very smart and his understanding of Jiu Nian was beyond Jiu Nian's expectation, so Jiu Nian didn't need to say anything. There was just a period of silence during which he didn't know how to start, and he realized something unspeakable from it.
Qing Bai took the initiative to change the subject: "The chickens and dogs haven't been fed yet."
Jiunian's hand holding the bowl paused slightly, his thick eyebrows raised slightly, and he had that embarrassed but thoughtful expression again: "Chicken and dog?"
Qing Bai had gradually mastered the technique of exerting force with his beast-like body. He used all four limbs to leap onto the table with a light leap. "Yes, Coal Ball and the little chicken are still young. They can't starve."
Perhaps because he heard his own name, the little puppy who was digging in the soil in the yard jumped into the kitchen happily like a black ball. He didn't make any noise or bark, but squatted on the ground, tilted his furry head and looked at Jiunian with his big eyes like black grapes, his little tongue sticking out and his little tail shaking like a windmill.
Who can resist a hungry puppy that looks at you and wags its tail? Not even a spiritual animal, not even a spiritual cat.
Qing Bai was tilting his head to admire the grace of a rural househusband who had been cutting vegetables, preparing rice porridge, feeding chickens and dogs for nine years when the cell phone on the table rang. The caller ID showed it was Fat Qi... Either there was a new problem at the hospital or there was a result from Officer Yang at the police station.
Qing Bai pricked up his paws and tried hard to answer the call with his paw pads. As soon as the screen lit up, he heard a chorus of "brothers".
"Brother Qing, brother Qing! That Li Nan is still alive!!!"
Li Nan? The PE teacher of Class 2, Grade 9? Without Qing Bai needing to respond, Fatty Qi continued without a single stumble.
"Officer Yang and his team are incredibly fast at handling cases. They just learned about the situation yesterday, and they've already handled it today! I heard that Li Nan was found in the hospital. He's been relying on medication for years and was even in the intensive care unit a while ago. He almost died. He's lucky, but it's a bit of a relief for him to die just like that..."
As he was talking, Fatty Qi suddenly became mysterious and kept the topic a secret: "Brother Qing, do you know what disease Li Nan has?"
Qing Bai: "What disease?"
Qi Xiaopang's tone was filled with gloating and the joy of "the wicked will be punished as they are" and said, "Same disease as Zhou Xiaoya!"
"That really is... fate." Qing Bai paused, "Did he explain why he locked Zhou Xiaoya in the gymnastics equipment room?"
"I've explained it, I've explained it." Qi Xiaopang was also furious when he talked about this. "Because Zhou Xiaoya couldn't attend physical education class due to health reasons, only Class 2 of Junior High School 9 had a poor attendance rate among the several classes he taught. And that day, the leader who came to observe said that the teaching was too rigid and the students' physical fitness had not kept up... He was so angry that he felt that Zhou Xiaoya was holding him back, so he wanted to teach Zhou Xiaoya a lesson and also wanted to tell her not to hang around outside the playground if she couldn't attend physical education class in the future..."
Fat Qi sighed, "Actually, I didn't take Zhou Xiaoya's illness seriously. I thought she could walk, jump, eat, and drink. Besides being a little thin and pale, she looked no different from the other students. I thought... the little girl was just too delicate."
Is the little girl too delicate? Qing Bai snorted coldly: "Then he takes the disease seriously now."
"It's not just in my eyes, it's in every cell of my body! I can't ignore it for even a second, day or night!" Fatty Qi sighed, "He made me realize that retribution really does exist in this world... It's great!"
"It's pretty good... Where is Zhou Xiaoya's father?" Qing Bai asked.
The person who caused Zhou Xiaoya's death due to illness got his retribution, and the murderer who hit Chang Qiuqiu to death should also be brought to justice.
Qi Xiaopang sighed, a bit sadly: "He was executed several years ago. He hit someone on the street and ran over him repeatedly... After running over him, he didn't run away. He called the police himself, then guarded the body and waited for the police to arrest him. After being arrested, he confessed to the crime..."
"Until the moment of his execution, he thought he had avenged his daughter."
After saying this, both of them fell silent. This incident ten years ago was filled with evil and was full of mistakes.
These later bystanders could not hate or curse with satisfaction, and could only sigh and say, "Why has it come to this?"
"...Oh, right! There's some good news!" After a moment's silence, Fat Qi perked up again. "Officer Yang said Minglang's case is progressing smoothly. Although the He family has been making trouble and spending all sorts of money to hire a famous lawyer, the evidence is overwhelming, so there won't be any major uproar. Don't worry!"
"Reassure me?" Qing Bai raised an eyebrow. "You want me to tell Minglang to rest assured, right?"
"Hehe, I think so too!" Qi Xiaopang grinned and said with a bit of pride, "But Officer Yang certainly couldn't have imagined that Minglang was in the thermos cup in Zhiliao's hand. Minglang heard everything he said clearly!"
"You brought Minglang with you when you went to visit the patient?" Qing Bai didn't understand. Was it because the gifts were not enough, so ghosts were used to make up for it?
Ban Beiyi Gaotai might not be happy.
"Isn't this just to make some space for you guys...?..." Qi Xiaopang couldn't stop himself from talking, and he regretted it the moment he said it. What a rotten mouth he has! He never thinks before he speaks! His brother Qing has turned into a kitten, so how could he still be in the mood... It's not like he's in love!
Qing Bai looked out the door. In the courtyard, Jiu Nian, dressed in a black robe, was bending over, pouring freshly mixed natural feed into a basin. His long sleeves were gathered at the waist, revealing a smooth and beautiful forearm. Although his skin was pale from years of darkness, it was as delicate as white jade, and therefore did not look sickly. Instead, it had an indescribable beauty that made people want to touch it, tinging the cold jade with an ambiguous warmth...
Perhaps sensing Qing Bai's gaze, Jiu Nian suddenly turned around, her waist-length hair swaying gently with his movements, even more alluring than the spring willows sprouting by the river in March...but the group of milk-yellow chickens chirping and begging for food around his feet really ruined the atmosphere.
Qing Bai: "Well, thank you, I'll hang up first."
Qi Xiaopang: “???”
Thank you? What are you thanking him for? Thank him for delivering the message? Or thank him for being considerate and making room for you?
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